Oracle FAQ Your Portal to the Oracle Knowledge Grid
HOME | ASK QUESTION | ADD INFO | SEARCH | E-MAIL US
 

Home -> Community -> Usenet -> c.d.o.server -> Re: SQL server Vs Oracle

Re: SQL server Vs Oracle

From: Arvin Meyer <a_at_m.com>
Date: Sat, 8 May 1999 01:20:03 -0400
Message-ID: <7h0hih$gh5$1@esinet2.esinet.net>


Steve,

Only God doesn't make mistakes, and I'm not always sure I agree with that. I don't know how long you've been in this business, but bugs have been around as long as software has, some much more serious than any that have been foisted by Microsoft. It reminds me of the quality talk of recent years in the construction industry. "They don't build 'em as good as they used to" was a standard phrase. They fact is, they build them better now, because the materials and technology have improved so much. The reason we don't see the bad examples any more is that they no longer exist.

The phrase: "It's not a bug, it's a feature" was originally attributed not to Microsoft, but to IBM, over 30 years ago.



Arvin Meyer
onsite_at_esinet.net

Steve wrote in message <3733b086_at_news1.us.ibm.net>...
>Without Microsoft, I would not have a consulting firm, earning a living as
>my own boss. Microsoft clearly help expand the use of computers.
>
>But, IMHO, the quality and reliability of Microsoft's product, even though
>they do eventually fix the major bugs via patches, has impeded productivity
>and set a "low-level" of quality in software. They have been a prime
>defendant in feature bloat, with too many bugs.
>
>I am not aware of any other business productivity tool that would survive
if
>they had the same number of problems as my computers running under
Microsoft
>operating systems using Microsoft Office applications. Our telephone
>systems, security systems, financial calculators (HPs), etc fail a lot less
>than my Win 95/98/NT boxes.
>
>Products are rushed to the market too soon, with the guaranteed service
>fixes on the heels of the initial release. Too many frivolous features are
>added, with the guarantee new software bugs. Releases which only optimize
>the code and fix the bugs with no additional features are very rare.
>
>More attention needs to be focused on quality and reliability. Microsoft
>could have been a leader in this focus.
>
>Steven
>
>
>
>Daniel Bush wrote in message <37335d5f.32106857_at_news.uswest.net>...
>>On Fri, 7 May 1999 17:08:08 -0400, "Arvin Meyer" <a_at_m.com> wrote:
>>
>>>I disagree with your assessment of Bill Gates and Microsoft. To say that
>>>they are not avaricious, would be a joke. They assess the market and buy
>or
>>>build if they see profit. Don't we all?
>>>
>>>In fact, for me at least, they have created opportunity, which I take
>>>advantage of. I make more money now than I ever have, not in spite of
>>>Microsoft, but because of them. (And I'll bet you do to.)
>>>
>>>Yesterday, Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board stated
in
>a
>>>speech, that for the past 7 years, the US economy has grown through
>>>increases in productivity to a degree that's never been seen before in
its
>>>history. Is it merely coincidence that also 7 years ago, this month,
>Windows
>>>3.1 became available? I think not.
>>>
>>>I am competitive too, and as long as I have the tools, DOJ be damned, I
>will
>>>remain that way. Go ahead and copy my work, (it's been done before) it
>>>doesn't matter, because the time you spend reverse engineering what I am
>>>doing, I will be spending building something even better. I will always
be
>a
>>>jump ahead, and you will be supporting old technology. Or is it that you
>>>think that technology won't keep driving onward? BTW, if I ever build
>>>something so great that the market looks that good to Microsoft, I'd bet
>>>they would buy it rather than copy it, for the same reasons (i.e. it's
>>>cheaper to buy a good idea than to build one)
>>>-----
>>>Arvin Meyer
>>>onsite_at_esinet.net
>>
>>Bravo, Mr. Meyer - what a breath of fresh air it is to see something
>>sensible written about this.
>>
>>I include myself in the group who is making a very good living doing
>>something I enjoy, due in part to Microsoft. This anti-Bill stuff is
>>reminiscent of the Socialist baloney we heard in the '60s.
>>
>>Dan Bush
>>Battle Ground.wa.us
>>Dan dot Bush at Earthling dot net
Received on Sat May 08 1999 - 00:20:03 CDT

Original text of this message

HOME | ASK QUESTION | ADD INFO | SEARCH | E-MAIL US