Oracle Shells Out $1B To Buy ATG 109
wiredmikey writes "Oracle announced this morning that it would pay $1.0 Billion in cash to acquire ATG, a provider of high-end e-commerce software."
Machines have less problems. I'd like to be a machine. -- Andy Warhol
Re:Firsrt question (Score:5, Interesting)
Using ATG in 1998... (Score:5, Interesting)
Back (Score:2, Interesting)
Back where, the 19th century? or better yet the 17th century?
Back to 2008 spending levels.
Huh, doesn't sound quite so insane when you put it that way. I wonder where you get your information from...
Just because there are a few wackos at some Tea Party events does not mean that most of the people are not there for the core message of fiscal prudence and smaller government - a smaller government is naturally less corrupt, having less power attracts fewer monied predators.
You'd think, posting from Moscow, you'd know something about that...
Re:Using ATG in 1998... (Score:4, Interesting)
I think that was the party that took place in New Orleans...
Ah, yes. Around 2000 or 2001, my then-employer rewarded some overtime by sending me to New Orleans for the "ATG Open"... ATG's version of Java One. ATG hired a hundred or so jazz musicians to stand around the hallways of the hotel playing music all day. They hired a few dozen more people to dress up as the company mascot (a square with a dot in the center), just to stand around the hallways for the hell of it waving to everyone. Free booze was everywhere, and at night the hotel conference rooms were turned into dance parties with half-naked women suspended from the ceilings in cages.
On the last day, they closed off Bourbon Street for a parade with all the musicians and weird "dot" mascots. That night they rented out the freaking Superdome for a jazz/rock concert, along with carnival rides and a field goal kicking contest (NOTE: Football kickers deserve respect, 25 yards is a LONG way!). On our way out, they gave each attendee hundreds of dollars worth of premium-quality swag... designer pens, football jerseys, and a weekend luggage bag that I still take to the gym today.
I miss the dot-com years.
Re:Back (Score:3, Interesting)
The solution is simple. We need a smaller government, because a big government wields too much power, and is too corrupt as a result. However, a small government can't effectively govern a country the size of the USA. Therefore, split up the country into smaller countries.
We need to make the USA look like the EU: lots of smaller countries, mostly sovereign, but having free trade and sharing a common currency, and cooperating on defense. Sort of like what the USA looked like before the Civil War. In addition, we should join with Canada on this project, as the differences between them and us are really negligible now. Then, each country (e.g., California, Texas, the southeast states, the southwest states, etc.) will have a smaller national government with less corruption and less power to bully other countries with their agenda. In addition, each country will be free to go in different directions; California, for instance, would be able to legalize marijuana without worrying about the Obama Administration sending DEA goons to raid everyone. Whatever country Montana becomes a part of could legalize fully-automatic weapons and not worry about the BATFE causing them problems. Whatever country New Jersey becomes a part of can ban all guns and see how that works out for them, without worrying about what people in Texas and Montana think about it. Whatever country Illinois becomes a part of can triple the size of their welfare programs, and pass a giant tax increase to pay for it, and see how that goes over with the productive people. Countries that want to pass true universal healthcare (not ObamaCare which is just a giveaway to big insurance companies) can do so, and ones that want to make healthcare available only to those who can pay can do so too.
The way things are now, no one can agree on anything, and as a result, there's no progress on anything, except issues that big corporations push through with their "campaign donations". We don't see this in Europe, because the countries there are still separate and mostly sovereign. There's no EU-wide healthcare program, for instance: some countries have socialized healthcare (France, UK, etc.), some don't (eastern European countries probably). Some countries have really nice highways with no speed limits in many places, some have shittier roads. Some countries have really open immigration policies, others don't. But by sharing a currency (which does have its problems, admittedly) and having free trade between member countries, economic efficiency is improved and the economies of all the countries improve.