======================================================================== ROBERT X. CRINGELY http://www.infoworld.com ======================================================================== Monday, November 1, 2004
ORACLE GIVES NO RAISE, GATES GETS NO PRAISE By Robert X. Cringely(R) Posted October 29, 2004 3:00 PM Pacific Time The election madness will finally end on Tuesday (or get much worse, depending on the need for recounts). Me, I'm casting my ballot and setting up a lawn chair outside the polling place to watch the fistfights. Whether you're Left, Right, or somewhere in the Muddle, I urge you to vote early and often. ADVERTISEMENT -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- The Mid-Atlantic Technology Conference and Exhibition December 1 & 2, 2004 The Baltimore Convention Center For readiness...For Growth...For the Region. The MTCE is currently accepting exhibitors. Its focus this year will be on homeland security. Homeland security requires cooperation and planning at every level to maximize preparedness, prevention, readiness, response and recovery. For more information, log on to: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=9ADD72:2B910B2 or contact Diana Edelman, 301-493-5500, or [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Footing the Bill: Piles of mail poured in deriding my efforts to cut the world's richest man some slack. Some readers correctly pointed out that both I and my source (Forbes) had our numbers slightly askew: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has an endowment of $27 billion; so far they've only given away a paltry $7.2 billion. Several Cringesters argued Sir Gates' largesse was tainted because a) he made his Bill-ions selling shoddy software using Machiavellian marketing strategies (true) and b) he uses his foundation to foist Microsoft products onto its beneficiaries (not true). Other readers opined that "Bill &" should be lopped off the foundation's name, given that his Billness discovered philanthropy only after he got hitched. I'm sure he's not the only guy who got married and started giving (and giving, and giving). Flush With Embarrassment: While we're in a corrective mood, an anonymous reader pointed out that a recent InfoWorld headline (since corrected) mentioned "e-voting sceptics" instead of "skeptics." Given the ugly turn this election has taken, "septic" might have been more apt. Consulting the Oracle: According to my spies, Oracle declared 2004 the Year of the Consultant and, to celebrate, allegedly delayed annual raises and promotions for consultants. Welcome to the Oracle family, PeopleSoft employees! Please check your wallets at the door. The Incontinent Continent: My recent item on RestroomsOnline.com inspired reader Shelly U. to submit a real potty portal -- Australia's National Public Toilet Map (toiletmap.gov.au). The site lets you plan vacations around any of the 13,899 public facilities Down Under. Gotta hand it to those Aussies -- they don't take the important stuff sitting down. Got hot tips or favorite bathroom graffiti? Send 'em to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you may snag a nifty bag. Send tips to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ======================================================================== Because you can't have too much decision support You choose the platforms, the languages, the developers. And everything -- the whole IT infrastructure, the success of the enterprise - flows from there. With that much on the line, you can't have too much of the good advice you'll get in the Strategic Developer newsletter, by InfoWorld Test Center lead analyst Jon Udell. Delivered every Thursday. Subscribe at http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=9AD3F5:2B910B2 ADVERTISE ======================================================================== For information on advertising, contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] UNSUBSCRIBE/MANAGE NEWSLETTERS ======================================================================== To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your e-mail address for any of InfoWorld's e-mail newsletters, go to: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=9AD3F7:2B910B2 To subscribe to InfoWorld.com, or InfoWorld Print, or both, or to renew or correct a problem with any InfoWorld subscription, go to http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=9AD3FA:2B910B2 To view InfoWorld's privacy policy, visit: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=9AD3F8:2B910B2 Copyright (C) 2004 InfoWorld Media Group, 501 Second St., San Francisco, CA 94107 This message was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
