That's unfair to a lot of dedicated professionals. For the most part, the right intelligence is available to the right people at the right time. But with the terabytes of data, all indexed and cross-referenced, and complex security requirements, it isn't impossible for a document to get lost in the system.
For a while last month, Lt. Sullivan wanted to get lost in the system. The heat was on over his last column, which identified an intelligence office that normally goes nameless. Now a few zealots in internal security were out to expose him. Sullivan spent a fretful night destroying any evidence linking him to the column and did his best to blend into the bureaucracy. So far, he's safe.
Eschewing e-mail for now, Sullivan switched to a physical drop to deliver this month's quota of rumors. At the top of the pile was this quote from CIA Director Gates's November 14 speech to the Association of Former Intelligence Officers: "There is no reason why we cannot describe to the American people what it is we do, what our priorities are, our process for producing intelligence, and the way in which we are organized to do that." It seems as if a few tidbits about the Agency's computer systems would be included in that discussion.
The next sheet on the stack gave Sullivan's assessment of the '486 hardware market. Some customers demand multiple sources for hardware purchases, so a choice among PC vendors is a blessing. Other customers want a single source for hardware and software, so look for NeXT to offer its own '486 box, probably a relabeled (and repainted) Epson. You'll probably pay a premium for the convenience, though.
Next was a clipping from NeXTWORLD Ð that curved-arrow road sign photo-graphed along Page Mill Road in Palo Alto. As you may remember, the cap "E" was painted over with a lower case "e" so it read: NeXT 8 Miles. Sullivan hadn't known who was responsible for that strategic adjustment until he recently exchanged e-mail with MIT Media Lab's Pascal Chesnais, who wanted to know, "What did you think of the sign?" It turns out that the last time he had flown out to the West Coast, he and an MIT undergrad had taken time out to climb that hill and paint the sign.
The next item was a list of attendees at NeXT's suite at Comdex. It was a little light on qualified customers, who may have had trouble finding the off-the-beaten-track showroom. But the list was full of former NeXT employees: Mike Slade, now the VP of special projects for Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen, and Chris MacAskill and Curtis Sasaki, now of General Magic. Next year, can we expect Donna Simonides and Todd Rulon-Miller to join the reunion? And when is the exodus of high-level NeXT executives going to end?
It's not just employees that come and go, so do customers. One of NeXT's big reference sites is especially unhappy, as its MIS chief made abundantly clear during the recent ProNeXT gathering of major customers. On the plus side, top ad agency Chiat-Day-Mojo completed its purchase of about 25 machines for a pilot project, while Kentucky Fried Chicken is close to a big buy.
Finally, Sullivan offered a couple of interesting tidbits related to NeXTSTEP developer Adamation. Mark Richards, formerly of Adamation and Pixar, has struck off on his own to start a new company, as yet unnamed. The new company will specialize in bringing vertical-market software to the real-estate industry and is funded mostly by NeXT customer Alain Pinel. Yes, he is still married to Helen Pastorino, president of Alain Pinel. Also, Adamation's chief programmer, William Adams, is collaborating with Arthur Kyle, publisher of NeXTWATCH and The Big Green CD, on a practical hands-on NeXT programming book. The book will include code from Adamation's extensive development library.
With Sullivan lying low for now, he can't go out to find the story. Help him out with your inside tip and earn your very own Lt. Sullivan coffee mug. Send him a message at sullivan@nextworld.com or leave voice-mail at 415/978-3374.