Re: The penny hasn't dropped yet...

> Amazing! Now, not only do we have to pay through our noses for ANY
> support, if we don't install a viral tool that sends unknown information
> to Oracle, we get low-speed solutions as well?

They're really pushing it hard! They want to be able to charge for licenses automatically. The results are really beginning to show, on the OUG meetings first. The NYOUG in the last October was a disaster, pure marketing pitch, mostly by Oracle and a few satellites. None of my colleagues was there, it was a loss of time. I will not attend the spring meeting. I don't know of any DBA (v1.0, of course) who is not disillusioned and disappointed by the policies of the Oracle Corp. Oracle should really look carefully at what has happened to DEC, Microsoft and IBM. DEC fell when it begun doing things not unlike Oracle Corp. is doing these days, IBM saw its empire shrink and Microsoft saw the emergence of Linux, which has sprung up from nowhere and is now cutting deeply into the MS bottom line. IBM was the only company able to reinvent itself and adjust to the emergence of the mini-computer. Oracle has reinvented itself and became closed, secretive corporate giant without any scruples. The quality of their products is very questionable, their licensing practices too. Selling the product and then charging for the ability to tune it is morally dubious, to say the least. That is the primary reason why I am not suggesting to my boss to buy diagnostics & tuning pack license. Instead of a nice company that I was proud to recommend to my management, Oracle became a corporate bully that I am trying to avoid at all costs, whenever I can. Sic transit gloria mundi.

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