Who's Really Who

Computerworld - Don't get me wrong. I love doing interviews with hot-shot vendor executives as much as the next guy. In fact, having been around a while, I suppose I've done more of them than the next guy and the guy next to him combined. But it's always galled me that these people have somehow been elevated to celebrity status. One of them will take the stage at some trade show, and you'd think Tom Cruise just walked out. And thank goodness they have hordes of handlers protecting them from the great unwashed like you and me.
I'm here to tell you that these "celebrities" are just regular guys. Well, most of them are, anyway. Larry Ellison's a little over the top. I remember interviewing him in the presidential suite at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Hong Kong. It was an opulent setting, with chandeliers and a grand piano. To their credit, his handlers didn't put plastic on the chair before I sat down. But it was still a bit much.
So Ellison aside, here are some firsthand observations to explain what I'm talking about:
Bill Gates: A very unassuming guy with a dry wit. I hooked up with him once when he was visiting China. When I expressed surprise at his comment that he didn't check his e-mail or even call into the office during his 17 days in China, his response was pretty funny: "Nobody calls me up and says, 'Hey, we wrote some code today,' and I say, 'Write more tomorrow.' So I know if I called in, I'm not even sure what I would say." You have to love that.
Scott McNealy: A down-to-earth sort who doesn't mind it when you mess with him. I interviewed him once in the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing, where the Chinese government accommodates foreign VIPs. When I walked into his suite, I looked around and said, "This is where I interviewed Gates last week. Looks like you slept in the same bed." McNealy did this dramatic shiver that made me wish it was a TV interview. It was hilarious.
Marc Andreessen: Just like you or me, but even goofier. The time I interviewed him, one of his handlers was present. When the interview was over, the cherubic Andreessen turned to her and asked if it would be a good time for him to go to the bathroom. The mortified look on her face was priceless. You could tell she was thinking, "Good grief, Marc! Just go!"
That's why I just