Katt Skates His Way Around San Jose

Spencer got a warm, fuzzy feeling as he watched Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, the Canadian figure skating duo, receive their well-deserved gold medals a week ago, following a week of turmoil in the skating world. But it was just another example, he mused, of why “judged” competition has no place in the Olympics.

“The only way to prevent this problem from happening again is to have the skaters complete the required elements without falling before a buzzer goes off,” the Sporty Spencer cackled. “The one who finishes earliest wins!”

The figure skating judges and the International Skating Union werent the only ones meeting last week. After a morning conference call with HPs Carly Fiorina and Compaqs Michael Capellas (yes, they are doing them together already), Compaq execs were chipper about the prospects for the deal. Especially about the future of some of Compaqs outbound locations, such as the sprawling wooded campus near Boston.

One source close to the services unit housed in the facility said HPs decentralized nature bodes well for the survival of the New England site. As for the folks who work there, however, all bets are off on who stays. “The Mill hasnt been the same since old Ken left the building,” lamented the Nostalgic One.

The RSA Conference had its share of intrigue as well. Touted as one of the premier security conferences of the year, the Katt found it more than interesting that some key industry players took a pass. Notably, Network Associates and Entrust decided against exhibiting at the San Jose confab.

According to an e-mail Entrust sent to analysts and some customers, the company was upset with the lousy booth location rival RSA gave it last year. Furthermore, tipsters noted, Entrust was not too pleased with the only time slot available for its speaker—Friday afternoon.

“Thats just cruel,” noted the Whiskered One.

Also, according to Network Associates insiders, the show would have cost the company roughly $1.2 million, a figure thats very close to the its entire PR budget for the year. Nevertheless, no ill feelings exist between Network Associates folks in town for the show and RSA. In fact, the mere mention of the issue sparked a spontaneous group hug between workers from both companies around a downtown San Jose pool table.

“First the Canadian skaters, now this,” mused a teary-eyed Mouser as he raised his hand to order another round.

Spencer F. Katt can be reached at spencer_katt@ziffdavis.com.