"It's totally crazy for him to be making a comment like that. I'm sure he's going to get his hand slapped by the [Sun] board for this."

The Schwartz blog was very IBM-centric, to be sure:

"But if IBM preemptively acquires Novell/SUSE, the world changes: Linux enters the product portfolio of a patent litigator not known for being a social-movement company. But where else will IBM go? With its current market cap, Red Hat seems unacquirable - but absent action, IBM's core customers will be eroded by Red Hat's leverage. And Sun's ability to leverage our open Solaris platform (on industry standard AMD, Intel or SPARC), or Java Enterprise System, even on IBM's hardware, gives us a significant - and sustainable - competitive advantage. With the demise of AIX, IBM is once again vulnerable." 

"I'd keep a close eye on the Novell/SUSE conversation," Schwartz concluded. "If IBM acquires them, the community outrage and customer disaffection is going to be epic... but where else does IBM go?"  

What lodged in most people's minds though his accompanying remarks to the Wall Street Journal that Sun itself might possibly be contemplating using its substantial cash reserves to buy Novell. 

"With our balance sheet," Schwartz said, "we're considering all our options."

"What would owning the operating system on which IBM is dependent be worth?" he continued, going on to add a comment that has to have been chosen for its incendiary nature: "History would suggest we look to Microsoft for comparisons." 

It remains to be seen if Anne Thomas Manes is right, and if Scott McNealy is going to seek to rein in his feisty new lieutenant and heir apparent.

But don't hold your breath. Sun's chief executive may on the contrary be delighted to find that Schwartz seems able to "out-McNealy McNealy" when it comes to attracting media attention to the Santa Clara, CA-based software/hardware giant.