ForbesOnTech

The HP Affair So Far--Winners and Losers

Last night, I watched with wry amusement CBS' "60 Minutes" which featured back to back interviews with Patricia Dunn and Carly Fiorina. The latest installment in what may go down in history as one of the blackest marks in the history of Silicon Valley was entertaining and informative.

What was entertaining was reporter Lesley Stahl's eyebrow wrenching question  "What Went Wrong" to Ms Dunn as well as Ms Dunn's statement high in the interview that she didn't know whether or not she was going likely to be taken away in handcuffs.

Recounting the substanceof last night's segment isn't the point of this entry. Rather, I wanted to point out the winners and losers in last night's episode of HP  Torn Open.

To much of the world Ms Dunn now has a face. It's that of a courageous woman who has battled cancer to a draw twice before but now faces an uneven battle with Level 4 ovarian cancer-- a fact that didn't come out until 11 minutes into the interview. Ms Dunn did an incredible job of explaining the Byzantine board room politics she faced and the challenges to management that leakers present, to a company and to the sanctity of a board of directors meeting. She also was able to put a face on someone she apparently sees as a villain in this melodrama--alpha dog venture capitalist Tom Perkins, whose abrupt resignation was the first beacon in this drama.

Score one for Patty Dunn, although the value of this round is likely to be steeply discounted by the time this case gets a hearing in the California Courts.

I also give Ms Dunn considerable credit for trying to distance herself from the investigation by outside agencies of reporters, other board members and HP employees. That in itself helped her to score a win in this first (or depending on how you count them)Second Act of the HP drama.

The other real winner in last night's segment was Carly Fiorina, ,whose book about her tenure at HP goes on sale later this morning. What was very clear in 60 Minutes interview with Fiorina was that she's found some peace of mind since her firing by the board.  More than segment with Ms Dunn, Carly Fiorina's interview pointed out how dysfunctional HP has become, and how reluctant the company's managers were to deviate from the "HP Way." The company's first female chairman scored a knockout with her brief discussion of the negative effects of toxic board members.

The part of the villain in last nights segment on the two women who have been HP's board chairpersons was former board member and leading Silicon Valley Venture capitalist, Tom Perkins, who was unavailable for comment because he was at sea sailing his boat (described by Ms Stall as the world's most expensive private yacht.). Patty Dunn said Perkins was close to HP's board room leaker and described his huffy departure from the board. She also noted that the board voted to accept his resignation in record time and rapidly moved on to other business.

What's most apparent in the very public disclosures about HP's pretexting investigation are two important points:

1. Executive management could not be counted on to exercise critical thinking skills and as a result hazarded the company and its brands.

2. The HP Way may be out of synch with today's fast track executives who are more focused on stock prices than on product development or brand enhancement. Bracing your feet, resisting change and chanting "that's not the way we do things here, It's not the HP Way!" Is a surefire method to suborn management and endanger a company.

3. Nepotism doesn't work. Founder's progeny in board positions may be great inroads for philanthropic entities, but unless they're qualified to actually run a division, or a company, they are little more than window dressing to an increasingly astute skeptical world.

4. HP needs to better identify potential leaders brought into the company. It's Board should reach out and find new consultants for executive staffing and security.  Their failure in this specific area is glaring.  Blaming senior HP managers doesn't cut it. HP had tremendous stature among stock holders and the general public.  Such audiences have a right to expect that board-level executives know right from wrong and moral from immoral. When a board member has to call a law clerk to see if something is legal or illegal, something is very wrong. Like Nixonian wrong.

Finally, there are two real losers in this battle. The HP brand and the company itself.

More than at any other time in its long history, HP needs to get back on track. Executives at this company need to pull together now to design new products for mass and specialty markets alike.

There was a time in the not-so-distant past when HP lead the way in technology design, innovation and implementation. Three of the products on my "All Time Greatest List" carry the HP brand. Those products are a scientific/technical calculator, an ultra compact notebook (the original OmniBooks)that has yet to be equaled, and a laser printer line.

To survive, HP needs to get back on track and spend more time working on new technologies and less time on damage control.

For the moment, I've stopped buying HP products, despite my need to replace a less than two-year old  17-inch screen Pavilion 7000 Series 17-inch notebook which croaked inopportunely this weekend. As much as I'd like to replace this notebook with another HP product, I won't. The reason is simple, the company has (I hope) temporarily lost its focus.

But there is a productive public relations path HP can take to regain some limelight.  That trail leads to Texas where the former Compaq organization-- now a member of the HP family, can wipe the dust off its products and technologies and hold them up in the bright southwestern sun.

But right now, i hear the coyotes loudly baying. I'm not sure, but the noise could be drifting down from Northern California near HP's corporate offices, or from down in the corner of my orchard here in rural Northern San Diego County. Either way, My dog Perro hears it too and is nestled securely in my bed, awaiting my return--Jim Forbes very early in the morning on 10/09/2006.

(Mandatory disclosure statement:  I own no stock in HP, but have purchased numerous HP products over the years and while working as an editor reviewed at least 15 notebook and desktop computers made and sold by HP.)

Maste of the Universe vs. Real World Small Business--Oh the Horror!

I’ve used my blog a couple of times to pitch the idea of small business moving to the web. It seems like such a natural idea. And when it's done right, it builds a tight bond between the customer and the business. My online relationship with Catalpa nursery is one example.  This smallish

New Jersey

nursery supplies me with exotic seeds (Havana Presidential Tobacco) which I grow down in my lower garden as an insect barrier. When I’ve had a problem with infertile seeds, Catalpa has been quick to supply new seeds and very good information on how they should be started. This small business gets how to use the web and understands customer service.

And it's not like I'm some huge customer. I think I've spent all of $60 with Catalpa, but they treat me like I'm the chairman of some agricultural cooperative. Not all small businesses are capable of offering great customer service, even though they may have great basic functionality on their web sites.

Truth is, I have pretty low expectations about small business web ventures and I believe that customer service is something you get better at over time.

Not every one, however, is quite as forgiving as I am.

Imagine how angry someone who has grown accustomed to most companies they deal with literally bending over backward to gain their favor when they encounter an inexperienced small business with a web component. GO just a step further and imagine how annoyed a low-level employee of that small business would be when some Master of the Universe unhappy with his experience says "I'll blog this experience with your company."

Whoa! I betcha they were quivering in their Nikes over that promise.

Now go to Stew Alsop's blog: http://salsop.typepad.com/smallthoughts/ and read about the problems he had going to his house in Santa Fe, which started with his being seated in the back of a plane next to an enormous woman and then having a tussle with a shuttle service's clerk/dispatcher.

Poor Stew is use to getting first class service and now he has to deal with someone who’s unmoved by his threat to write a negative blog post about his experience. Oh the horror!

Right off the top, I've avoided using my blog as an instrument of retribution. I've taken some shots at companies; notably Apple and Dell, but I've never made it personal. When I'm critical, it's been to suggest and note cause an effect. It's not about "well, I use my pen to vent and get even."

One of the things I really dislike about the blogosphere today is the growing number of on-line urine fests. They do little more, i believe, than show a lack of maturity or an understanding. In this medium, it’s one on one, not who you are and what your Technorati ranking is.

Frankly I don’t think anyone cares where you are on a Technorati list, although when it comes to .22 rat shot, I rule. How sad is that?

But it is fun to watch what happens when a Master of the Universe given their due in the real world, outside of technology and

Silicon Valley

. Everyone needs a “welcome to the real world moment,” even venture capitalists and retired technology journalists--Plain old retired Jim Forbes from Walla Walla, Washington, wirelessly via an EvDo modem equipped itty bitty ThinkPad X60 on 08/19/2006

Will Hell Freeze Over--Cell Phones to Supplant PCs?

http://news.com.com/Does+cell+phones+impact+outweigh+PCs/2100-1041_3-6097950.html?tag=html.alert

I get a hoot every time some esteemed pundit says "cell phones will overtake PCs . It makes me laugh, especially when they say handsets have replaced the wristwatch and some cameras. Then they go off into offshore Fantasy world, pointing out how cell phones have replaced wallets and eliminated the need to carry cash....

Yeah, right. In Japan, parts of Asia and in northern Europe and other places where Bluetooth is used for things other than Borg headsets, in-car cell phone connections (providing you can get your address book to work with your car's bluetooth system.

But guess what? The US market isn't like Japan. Most US consumers would suffer cardiac arest if they got a phone bill like the ones Japanese carriers routinely send their cell phone subscribers (which includes all their cell phone-initiated transactions and various surcharges as well as air-time voice and texting charges). Furthermore, the Japanese cellular and US markets don't share a lot in common.

It's very true that in Japan cell phones are much more an important part of their culture   and that this technology is much more important to consumers in Nippon than PC technology. To a US technologist, Japan's cell phone and networks are extremely futuristic. But the assumption that the US market attributes will match that of the Japanese market just isn't based in reality.

TO begin with the infrastructure in Japan is years ahead of that in the US. Billing for consumer purchases initiated by Bluetooth cell phone hand sets is done by the cellular carrier. The consumer sees one bill at the end of the month, not a basketful of paper.  Also, the purchase of third party products like phone based games is handled though the cellular carrier. Moreover, Japanese consumers upgrade their phones to take advantage of new technologies much more often than US consumers. Also, Japanese cellular subscribers are very driven by the latest fashions and trends, traits that don't overlay the US market, where cell phones are often kept for two years or more.

Anecdotally, none of the US startups tring to eek out a buck with cell phone game business models hav yet to generate returns. Companies like MForm and Digital Chocolate have recieved considerable funding but are still a long ways from paying back on their investments. Also, over the last 10 years there's been no shortage of start-ups come and go in the cell phone services category.

Are there lots of people who use their cell phones to tell time? You bet there are. Are there legions of people who use their cell phones to buy goods and services? absolutely. There's just not many of them in the US market, yet. But this will change by 2010. Before it does, however Bluetooth usage will have to become a more integral part of  US consumer behavior.(More on this later this week here)

Will the cell phone supplant personal computers here in the US?  Not for at least a decade. US cell phone networks have been designed largely for voice, not data. Data (an expensive option in US cell phone markets today) is what drives emerging non-traditional cell phone usage . It's data and acceptance of new compelling ways to use a handset that will cause the cell phone to supplant the PC in consumer markets, not pedictions by futurists, entrepreneurs or venture capitalist.

And what the heck, unless your a really sharp technologist who blogs using a Treo 650 on a helicopter on your way to the best golf match in the country, how ya gonna blog on a cell phone-- Cranky old Jim Forbes on a 90 degree evening waiting for a cool ocean breeze to wash over my little mountain here next to the southern California coast. 07/24/2006

Adios BillG-- you were relevant and fun

Nothing goes on forever, not Bill Gates at Microsoft, not even inshore tuna runs just beyond La Jolla Beach.

Microsoft without Bill Gates is going to be a much different place and probably a much more aggressive competitor. I'm an unashamed Microsoft supporter. Over the last 20 years I've seen numerous competitiors demonize Gates and Microsoft while they jump up and down saying "Our product is better and Microsoft is an unfair competitor."

And the noise level from the collective crybaby dot coms drowned out an important fact. Business may be fun, but making a profit for your stock holders, employees and invstors is a serious undertaking. If you're not turning a profit, don't expect to be taken seriously. And only  a few of the companies who cried they were being crushed by Microsoft were profitable. I've always laughed at industry conferences when some temporary luminary would stand up and attack Gates, as if he ran the entire company by himself. Or when they tried to project an image that "our technology is so damned good and we're so bright, we can kill Microsoft and they know it."

Case in Point, Netscape:

Hey, where's Netscape today?  oh that's right, they were broken up, their capital equipment was sold at auction and much of their technology is at AOL or Sun.

And what put Netsacpe on the slippery slope to hell?

As much as Netscapes former executives, backers and consultants would have you believe that it was Gates,  pitchfork in one hand, swishing competitors aside with swipes of his mighty pointed tail and then stomping on them with mighty kicks from his cloven heels, that killed them. More often that's pretty far from the truth.  Most often companies that wanted to compete against and overtake Microsoft lost the race due o numerous bad decisions.

Microsoft didn't kill Netscape, flawed decisions did. One of mya favorite Netscape decisions was one made at the highest levels of the company to release  a browser that included  word processor, spreadsheet and presentation graphics modules (all of which are core Microsoft revenue makers. Netscape execs and marketing staff though they would topple Microsoft and that there plans to turn Netscape into an online commerce giant  would give them added street cred.

All that Netscape's failed strategies did though was force Bill Gates to do something he's the best in the world at-- strategic mid- and long-term planning. Gates launched his strategy, Netscape died and the rest is history.  but it wasan't Gates that slew Netscape, it was the company's own actions.

For many years I would sit through meeting after meeting with start-ups laden with one-time Netscape managers. Repeatedly I would hear about how evil Microsoft and Bill Gates were. It r eally pissed me off, because the entrepreneurs had been blinded by drinking their own poisonous KoolAid. I always wanted to ask the management teams of startups loaded with ex Netscapers, if "They could blow up their new company faster than they did Netscape."

I never asked the question, but I thought a lot about it. and in the following years all but a couple of those start-ups have gone fins up, victims of bad business plans that thought clicks would be equal to dollars, or which launched unproven technology or which based their business on solutions for which there were no real immediate problems. That's not a mistake Bill Gates made very often, although I still smile when I think about Microsoft BOB and other attempts by the company to implement social interfaces.

What gets forgotten in discusisons about Microsoft is a simple proposition-- millions of people and legions os businessses have put their faith in the company by purchasing and using its products.It's been Bill Gates, his vision, and his willingness to force the company into spending money to turn R&D projects into products that's been a driving force at Microsoft.

There's another side of Gates I often think of. And this image brings me into this story. Over the years, I've done numerous interviews with Gates, sometimes they were formal, other times they came about as a result of my improbably being near him in a public or semi-public setting. Even when it seems like he's been physically uncomfortable, he's always engaging and takes the time to provide direct and expanded answers to questions. He's fun to talk to and he doesn't talk down. If he thinks you may not understand something, he provides logical explanations.  And he's not above admitting he made a mistake. Or laughing at himself.

If you've never seen them, make an effort to view anhy of the severalMicrosoft parody videos that Microsot made and privately showed o small audiences in the late 1990's.  My all time favorite is one that's a send-up of an infomercial starring Bill Gates called Web of Wealth. i give it two thumbs up.

But even in the formal setting of an interview in his office, with PR minders at hand, it's hard not to see the personal side of Gates.  He has a nice desk, that's often cluttered with the business at hand. But one of the first things i've always noticed about his office is the credenza bewhind his desk, on which sit numerous snapshots of his children, wife, sisters, mother and father and momentos of his private life.  It's the contents of credenza that speaks the loudest about citizen Gates, his values and what he may do going forward.

I can't help but be impressed by Gates' determination to use his personal fortune and very public image to help provide solutions for vey real problems for current and future citizen's of the world. There have been very few people in the world of technology who have dedicated their fortunes and lives to issues as important as those being addressed by the William and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The only thing that comes to my mind, that's even close,  is what Jim Barkesdale did for the schools and students of his native Mississippi.

I wish more technologists would be like Gates or Jim Barksdale, take a look around the world or their home regions and invest in solutions to real problems. But I'm not going to hold my breath for anyone to even come close to what Bill Gates can and will do. Too many of our technologists are more invested in the big score-- finding a solution to the one big problem rather than many solutions to many small problems that cummulaitvely have a huge impact on our lives.--Jim Forbes, from rural,northern, San Diego County.

Larry Ellison Wants To Bring Home America Cup

I have a confession of sorts: In the world of things that plow through the water,stopping infrequently to sacrifice a defenseless anchovy in the hopes of hooking something bigger, I'm called a "stink potter."  That is to say  that I use fossil fuel (gasp!) to push my boat about the better known fishing spots here on the southwest corner of 'Merika.  But wait, there's more: I love the symmetry, efficiency and bliss of sailing. Running on a long reach in a following sea, listening to a sail boat hiss through the water and the canvas snap in response to zephyrs as wind cools my sun savaged face, is my idea of bliss.

A long time ago, i pictured myself in my retirement years, ghosting quietly up to a mooring buoy in Avalon harbor on Catalina Island, looking skyward at gulls wheeling, diving and pooping freely on the shiny teak decks of my imaginary sloop.  Hell, I even dreamed I'd do a TransPac transit or two and make my way unburdened by cares to Southeast Asia, or the South Pacific in this dream boat.  But things turned out differently. 

My boat is an fisherman from it's raised bow, past its stout center console and two-scoop bait tank, ending to my oh-so reliable 40 horsepower Suzuki four stroke outboard. It fulfills my need to imagine myself as an over-50 pirate ranging the California Coast and it satisfies this burning desire to fish where no one else has a line in the water. On the sea, I find that elusive "one clear" moment, that keeps me on an even keel.

But, I still haven't lost my love of sail. That's why I follow off shore regattas and the ultimate race for upscale American rag baggers with more money than sense-- the America Cup.

America Cup boats are to sailing what a Porsche 917 was to Le Mans road racing.  Designed to  slip through the water with a minimum of drag and rigged with sails that are actually airfoils, America Cup racers are the absolute pinnacle of marine architecture.

One of the entries in the forthcoming heats that lead to a coveted berth in the America Cup race in Barcelona, Spain, next year, was unveiled today this week in San Francisco. The boat is sponsored jointly by BMW and Oracle. Here's the big surprise, Oracle's Larry Ellison intends to skipper this boat in part of America Cup race, if the boat wins the preliminary heats leading up to the '07 race.

BMW has gone all out with the new boat, equipping it with enough bells and whistles to make your inner geek go all tingly. High on the list of technologies supported on the boat is full wireless connectivity. But the wireless link doesn't just end with a custom tactics and navigation program running on a waterproof notebook mounted near the coxswain in his crowded cockpit. The link also runs to self-darkening sunglasses worn by crew. The oh-so cool shades not only protect the crew's vision, they also provide heads-up displays of wind velocity, direction and other critical data points.  How cool is this?

God, I want one for my boat, so I can visualize the species of fish, water conditions and distance to the target connected to my little fishing boat's 802.11 network. I'm sure i could afford it, if I sold my children for medical research.

And speaking of money, wouldn't it be more economical and a better use of Ellison's time, if he had just bought the America Cup, halyards, rigging, tiller and all, rather than say Siebel?--Jim Forbes, tongue firmly lodged against the side of my cheek wirelessly from rural northern San Diego County.

Wheels of Zeus Suffers Fatal Blow Out

It's  official, Apple Co-founder Steve Wozniak's Wheels of Zeus, had been focused tracking items of value to people and corporations using inexpensive GPS technology, has been shut down.  By my count this is Wozniak's second failed attempt to start a company that would pioneer new ground. 

More info at: http://news.com.com/Wozniak+shuts+down+Wheels+of+Zeus/2100-1047_3-6050677.html?tag=nefd.top

With Wheels of Zeus gone the way of the sock puppet, Wozniak is free to focus his talents on acquisitions at  AcQuior, with fellow Apple alums Gil Amelio and Ellen Hancock. I wonder if Wozniak will be more successful under the button down tutelage of Ellen Hancock than he's been in previous attempts as an entrepreneur.

I'm not going to hold my breath to see how long it takes Acquicor to exhaust its considerable checking account or how long Wozniak will last. Who's next for the Acquicor lineup, Del Yocam?

Meeska,Mooska Mouskateer

Meeska,Mooska Mouskateer, Mouse cartoon time now is here, And there Steve Jobs goes, zipping down the coast in the leased Gulfstream to join Disney's Board of Directors.  And $7.4 billion for Pixar really isn't a bad thing, since some of Pixar's employees will be picking up Disney stock along the way.

I've been watching the dance between Disney and Pixar as raptly as I watched Mickey Mouse Club Mouskateer Annette Funicello fill out her sweaters, back in the days before color TV when I was a boy.. Alas, the current dance doesn't have near the hormonal kick as Annette produced in the young male audience of the Mickey Mouse Club.

I think there are two big winners in this deal; first this is a huge validation for Pixar, and all its employees, Second this is also a huge step for Disney Studios, which over the last five years has become somewhat moribund.  Disney is one of the most conservative organizations in the southern California entertainment industry. For it to reach out and seek a partner for fresh DNA goes against this company's traditional culture.  Fortunately, for Disney, there new partner is first-rate and has the virility and technology to bring Disney running into the technological age.

For Pixar kings like Ed Cutmall and John Lasseter this is also a big win. Cutmall becomes president of the Disney Pixar Studio and Lasseter becomes the studio's creative director and will consult on development of new rides and attractions. On tactical and strategic levels this is great for Disney. Steve Jobs' as an active member of Disney's Board, is, I believe, a different proposition. In the near three decades I covered Apple, I've never seen much to suggest that Jobs is a good fit with a conservative board. And Disney's board is about as button-down as you're going to find in Southern California, so I think Jobs will have to tread very lightly for a while.

The merger has the potential to create a very big losr here; Apple Computer Inc.  Today, Apple needs Jobs to keep his eyes on the prize. They may not be abble to afford Jobsg following Mickey around La LA land while his feet  float above hallowed Disney ground. Something else, I hope Apple doesn't over respond to its founder getting a seat on Disney's board. Apple needs to keep maturing and I hope it stays away from delivering a double scoop of sanitized, vanilla Macintosh or iPod products specially decorated for marketing through the Disney stores.

Something else, As Steve Jobs' Journey continues, its becoming very clear that Apple needs a designated number hitter to carry-on for Jobs. It's very surprising that the financial press has given Jobs a free ride on this, given his history.

Oh, how did the market react to news of the merger?  Apple stock dropped $1.63 a share at the close of business Tuesday. Maybe I'm not the only one who think Jobs needs to keep focused on Apple.

As Disney employees are found of saying "Have a good show, Steve."

What's Next For Apple, MR. Jobs?

I admit to having a fascination with Apple Computer. I covered the company for about 20 years, fell in love with its products and to a lesser degree its technology but moved on when less expensive products out-paced those made by Apple.

The core of Apple's success isn't due to its technology, edgy advertising or on-again, off-again marketing. It's due to a fanatical base of users that other computer makers would either kill  for, or merge with Satan to acquire. It's the installed Macintosh base that suffered through operating system problems for year after year and which quickly became accustomed to providing it's own technical support that is responsible for Apple being in business today.

Apple has done wonders with the iPod. This best selling device came to market long after other companies had introduced portable personal music players but very quickly reset the bar for a new category. iPod's success has been helped by Apple's online music store,iTunes. It's ironic, iTunes converted me from an occassional intellectual property pirate into a perfectly legal music listener. but it's just this sort of category redefining technology and products that has helped to keep Apple in business and more importantly kept it foremost in a lot of people's minds.

But is Apple a computer company or one of the legions of California companies that hang on to the fringes of the entertainment business clinging to "B" list party invitations and positions as seat fillers? The answer to both parts of the question is "Yes."  And just for today that's great, because as Apple has shown, it's capable of introducing top flight technology very quickly.

When it comes to computer technology Apple has become staid. It appears now to be focused more on form and factor than it is on breaking new ground. I like Apple's portables a great deal and think it's current 15-inch Powerbook has just about all the features I want in a business/personal notebook. For me, it's as likely to be used on an airliner as it is in my "outside" office in the shade of my spreading Reed avocado tree. I"m particularly fond of the facts that Apple has embraced Bluetooth as a personal network technology and increased the the overall speed of the processors in its current Powerbook line.   Moreover, the current incarnation of t he Mac operating system is rock solid and the basic software supplied with Macintosh is well above average.

I suspect that forthcoming portables from Apple that use Intel processors could become breakaway products for Apple and vault this maker to the best selling charts. I just hope that the new machines don't force me to go out and spend a king's ransom on software, which is my biggest complaint with Mac OS-based notebooks like the 900 MHz iBook sitting here on my desk.  But given Apple's success with an installed base that puts up with such annoying inconveniences, I'm not going to hold my breath that Apple will launch new hardware that lets me run my existing Windows-based software anytime soon.

I also wonder how long it will take Apple to introduce new desktop systems that have been designed from the beginning to be used as video editing systems.   Given Stephen Paul Job's "other" job over at Pixar, that doesn't seem too far-fetched an idea and it's certainly something he has to have given serious consideration when it comes to new products.

Bu there is something that I think Apple really needs to do now. But, given the attitude of and past history of Jobs, I think it's unlikely he'll do it.  One of t hen things Apple should do for t he sake of its stock holders is demonstrate the existence of it successor to Steve Jobs. If Apple is  going to survive over the long haul it needs to have someone ready in the wings to carry forward the company's legacy.And the time for Apple to do this is now, right before or in conjunction with the roll out of its New systems powered by industry standard processors. 

Welcome to the world of real corporate responsibility, Mr, Jobs. Seriously.

Lenovo Gets a New CEO

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2005/tc20051221_376268.htm

Lenovo is getting a new CEO from Dell's Asia-Pacific operations. William J. Amelio. Stephen Ward, Jr. had been Lenovo's CEO.  but will continue as a consultant to Lenovo, according to an article posted on 12/21 technology section of BusinessWeek's online edition. The article suggests that Amelio will b help Lenovo further it's presence in China's  growing business segment.

Lenovo's hiring of Amelio is just the most visible sign of a remodel at ThinkPad's new home. The company has also been beefing up its ranks with several bright and up and comers from outside of IBM.

I believe Lenovo's ThinkPad website could be an example taught at business schools. If a company wants to know how to sell, market and support portable communities look at Lenovo's website, which also has one of the best shipment tracking modules I've ever seen. Th only other portable maker that I believe comes close to Lenovo in supporting its portable market is Hewlett Packard

Kudos to BusinessWeek's Bruce Einhorn who, after introducing an analyst and their comments in the piece disclosed the analyst's relationship with the story's subjects. I'm a big fan of full disclosure and believe it helps the writer, their publication, and the reader. Until very recently, , the idea of a reporter asking an analyst if a company that was a subject of a story "was a client ?" was almost unheard of.