Heard - and overheard - at last week's Interop conference in Las Vegas:

John Chambers is no Bono, notwithstanding his being introduced as the network industry's answer to the U2 frontman. (For one thing, it's impossible to imagine Cisco's CEO dropping an F-bomb on national TV.) But Chambers does possess a compelling stage presence, which was on full display as he preached the gospel according to Cisco during the show's kickoff address.

"Everyone here wants to talk about technology," Chambers said on one of his numerous forays out into the audience, which even included a rather risky leap off the stage. "But what will cause people to spend money is improving their entertainment, their healthcare or their business productivity."

And golly-gosh if it isn't Cisco technology that will, in his estimation, bring about those improvements.

Like many practiced public speakers, Chambers leans a bit too heavily on favored rhetorical devices. For example, he used this phrase on at least six occasions after laying out a premise: "You know where I'm headed with this."

You did know, too, although Chambers is apparently convinced that such is not always the case with Cisco customers. As a result, his company is about to become more of an open book, he promised.

"We're going to start sharing with you more and more of where we're headed" with product road maps. "You will see us be more open on where we are in market share."

I half expected the crowd to start singing "Beautiful Day."

No one would dare to compare Scott Kriens to a rock star, but that wasn't going stop the Juniper CEO from beating a drum for his company during a keynote address that opened Day Two of the conference.

Kriens as a keynoter might best be described as articulate and earnest, which is a polite way of saying he's no ball of fire.

"What is the industry doing? Is it consolidating?" he asked rhetorically. "My answer is yes and no."

What he meant was that the answer is really yes, but that doesn't mean you should buy all your stuff from Cisco.

Blaring U2 music at the close of his address was a nice dig at Chambers, though.

Equivocation was not an issue during an educational session about spam.

"Users are stupid," said Mirapoint product manager John Veizades. His proof - not that anyone in the audience was demanding any - is a recent study showing that 10% of e-mail users actually have bought goods or services offered through spam. In other words, we all know people who've done it, and that's sad.