RE: [xml-dev] No XML Binaries? Buy Hardware

["Len Bullard" <cbullard@hiwaay.net>]

Ok, the investor side of the house might not have the requisite technical
chops even though diligence is supposedly one of their trade skills.
Buyouts have become a sore subject for some.  I'll save the list my long
rant on private equity buyouts and summarize: locusts summoned by vampires
to feed on the grass after the cows are milked dry and the sheep are
sheared.

On the other hand, the appliance business seems to be doing pretty well and
as long as one buys a name brand, the warranty is typically reliable;
otherwise the field service food chains tend to degrade.  Sharp edges in
manufactured metals tend to be the problem there, not interchangeable parts.
The appliance industry gets interoperability to a depth the software markets
have yet to appreciate.

So the question is possibly, what exactly are they doing with these
appliances and could they have done that with the software as effectively?

len


From: Michael Kay [mailto:mike@saxonica.com] 
 
> I accept that one wants to find out what the bottlenecks are, 
> but I can't accept that companies this big spending this much 
> money haven't.

Informix bankrupted itself buying Illustra at a price that most people
thought was plain silly.

Don't assume that just because the sum of money has nine digits to the left
of the decimal point, the decision-making process is any more rational than
when you buy a dishwasher; and even when it's rational, it's still highly
risky.

Michael Kay
http://www.saxonica.com/