Re: What so special about PostgreSQL and other RDBMS?

JEDIDIAH <jedi_at_nomad.mishnet> wrote in message news:<slrncbch90.p3c.jedi_at_nomad.mishnet>...
>
> What fixpack is the current version of Oracle on?

You got it all wrong, you see? Get some info about Oracle. There is no such thing as "fixpacks" for Oracle. That is an IBM term, and that pretty much defines where you are coming from.

> What fixpack was the last current version of Oracle on?

Who cares? Unlike IBM, "fixpacks" in Oracle are free. If the darn thing doesn't work fromthe word go, they send you the patch to make it work or tell you where to download it from. And it's got NOTHING to do with my point.

Which was: you buy a product, you use it. If it doesn't work, you don't buy it. Period. You don't go around patching what you just bought. NO ONE does that!

> > Period. If it does, you pay for the purchase. If it doesn't, you send them
> > packing and get another vendor in. What the heck do you need source code
> > for?
>
> That's as idealistic as thinking that all of the customers can
> fix their own problems with their own coders by mucking through
> the sourcecode. Even SQL engines aren't easy to swap out.

Obviosuly English is not your main language. Please re-read what I said and try to understand before commenting totally out of context.

> > 2- "Hiring someone specialised" is somehow magically cheaper than
> > getting a piece of software of the appropriate vintage. At a time
>
> It all depends on the problem. Oracle has always been rediculously
> expensive to the point of driving people to Microsoft or coding
> their own.

Oracle has NEVER driven "people" to Microsoft or writing their own. "people" != "developers". Get your terms sorted out and use the appropriate ones to the context, please!

> Given individual requirements, it is not a foregone
> conclusion that directly supporting the developent of some copylefted
> replacement will have a higher TCO than something alleged to be
> ready mae.

Obviously you have not been around in IT to follow the trend of the last 30 years...

> What did you pay for your last Oracle licenses?

US$100. That included a subscription to their developer support program and the cost of the CDs. Otherwise it would have costed 0 (zero) dollars. How's that for "costly"? Get yourf facts from reliable sources instead of parroting stupid and moronic claims from uninformed and ignorant marketeers.

> BTW, Oracle themselves are exploiting free software development to
> route around the expensive proprietary software of other 3rd parties.

Good. They are a software manufacturer. They ARE supposed to have development costs. They ARE supposed to have a development and design team. Of course they may want to minimize their costs.

END USER clients, the WHOLE subject I pointed out AT THE START and you keep deviating from, have NO development groups WHATSOEVER, do NOT make software, do NOT want source code AND couldn't care less about it.

Got the subtle difference or do I have to use smaller words in smaller sentences?

>
> Whatever you guys think of Free Software,
> the guys in the twin trashcans are already exploiting it.

Who cares? They are not the ones paying my salary. End users do. And they couldn't care less about source code.

Cheers
Nuno Souto
wizofoz2k_at_yahoo.com.au.nospam Received on Fri May 28 2004 - 02:56:11 CDT