Sun Exec Offers Vision of a Webbed World

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Nuclear-powered homes where the walls have "eyes and ears" and kids learning not in classrooms filled with students, but at their own pace from an online curriculum--that's Scott McNealy's vision of the future.

The Sun Microsystems chair and chief executive gave a peek into his ideas on the direction of technology and "the unlimited potential of the post-personal computer world" for the National Press Club here Thursday. Besides advocating an overhaul of energy, the economy, and education, McNealy worked in a swipe at a favorite target--Microsoft--noting that the antitrust defendant is "not above the laws."

The education system would be overhauled in the land of McNealy. "It's at an opportunity cost that we make kids go through grade levels based on age," McNealy said. "What we need is an online curriculum developed for students to go through at their own learning pace."

Then, students could anonymously take tests on a national curriculum standard to see how they compare to other students. But radical education reform is just the start of his proposals.

Shooing Off Government--Mostly

Trade should be free, McNealy said. "I'll say it flat out: Free trade helps everyone," he said, adding that the North American Free Trade Agreement is "a huge start in the right direction, but we've got to get down to Latin and South America, and we can't let environmental concerns stop us."

And the government should ease export controls because, as McNealy observed, "the only way computers could be considered a weapon of mass destruction is if you dropped a mass of Sony PlayStations off an airplane."

Encryption that "helps honest people protect their information from bad people" should be an integral element of all technology, McNealy said.

He supports President Bush's goal of reducing taxes. "We don't have a surplus, we have an overcharge, and we need to get discretionary spending back in the hands of individuals," he said. But for the most part, he'd like government's role minimized.

"There's absolutely no way, looking at the speed of Congress, that government legislation can keep up with all the nuances of technology," he said. McNealy is also concerned about states taking matters into their own hands and coming up with a multitude of differing rules.

Yet for the immediately serious problem of rising energy costs, McNealy hands responsibility back to the government. "This country has to figure out its energy policy," he said, urging politicians to find a solution.

"And I'm not going to be politically correct, but I'll tell you right now that the answer is going to be nuclear power," McNealy said. "I don't see any other solution. It's the only way we're not going to get rolling blackouts, which are a bad thing, especially if you're getting laser eye surgery."

The Wired World Watches

His prophecy for technology, however, is something McNealy sees no need to defend.

Sun Microsystems employs 37,000 people, and during fiscal 2000 the company's market value grew $91 billion. Its mission statement centers on the vision of the network as the computer.

"A vision of computers that talk to each other, no matter who built them," McNealy said of Sun's goal. "A vision in which technology works for you, not the other way around."

He extends that vision to endow every consumer electronics device with a digital or electric heartbeat, working with the Internet. As an illustration, he offered the story of a "smart card," his son, and the family car.

As his son approaches the car holding his smart card, the doors unlock and the stereo starts playing the radio station of his choice. But once the boy starts driving faster than the speed limit, the "smart card" telephones McNealy to alert him.

"Some people will call that big brother," the senior McNealy said. "I call that Dad."

And in the near future every device, "even as dumb as your pen," will integrate with the Web, McNealy says.

Business would also use such "smart" technology in McNealy's world. Factories could be notified that a new light bulb was delivered to replace the one that the "smart service" detected would soon burn out.

"The good news is that you won't be getting out on the Internet yourself to do this--the smart service will do that for you," McNealy says. "It will change your world significantly. You'll have more time to play golf or do whatever, because you'll be much more efficient."

Praise for the Justice Department

But McNealy, a self-described "Microsoft basher," said nobody should own the language of this technology.

"I'm a market economist, capitalist, and proud of it," he said. "The Department of Justice has done a fantastic, effective job in creating an amazing pro-choice, pro-consumer environment."

McNealy denied Sun Microsystems has any monopolistic tendencies with its Java technology, and emphasized his support for consumer choice and innovation.

"This isn't an emotional or financial issue, it's about choice. Clearly anticompetitive behavior will hurt the consumer," he said. "Microsoft has clobbered innovation; just go into a computer store and look at your choice. I don't care how much time Microsoft spends in Washington, they're not above laws."