McNealy: Sun is his life's work

Scott McNealy will have no other career besides working at the server and software company he cofounded, Sun Microsystems' chief executive and chairman said Wednesday.

"I'm going to retire from Sun," McNealy said in response to a question about his commitment at Sun's annual meeting with analysts in San Francisco. "I'm here for the duration. I'll do whatever I can in whatever capacity I can."

His entrepreneurial days are past, he added. "I couldn't do another start-up. I'm done." But his passion for the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company isn't. "I love this company. We're making a difference. We have a cause, as corny as you all think it is."

He didn't directly mention Sun's current aspiration to eliminate the digital divide that separates the world's rich from poorer people without computers or network access, but he did declare victory to the open standards and open interfaces Sun has embraced for its history. "We have changed the industry from one built around proprietary huge barrier-to-entry stacks, to one talking about open source," he said.

But McNealy bristled when asked what consequences there are for executives involved in Sun's lukewarm financial performance in recent years.

"There are consequences for the management team. There are clear financial and career implications, (for) myself included," McNealy said. "I'm not going to kill anybody. What would you like me to do? Tear the hair off their arms real slow with a piece of tape?"