Re: Ellison bash at Informix

Seth Grimes writes: > It is my personal opinion that Informix will be owned by Microsoft > by the end of the year. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and mine is that the above flies in the face of good sense. Why would Microsoft want to buy Informix? - In spite of forays into the Windows market with versions of OnLine for NT, Informix is, to date, primarily a Unix-oriented company. What would Microsoft want with a Unix database? They'd like nothing better than for Unix to go away. - For those of you who would answer that MS wants the NT version of Online, I answer: why? They already have a very good selling (other considerations aside) rdbms for NT, SQLServer, not to mention Access. What would they do with another dbms? - What else could they get from Informix? NewEra? If Informix were smart, they'd sell NewEra to the highest bidder. But it's hardly worth buying the company for. Now, if you think that Informix will be owned by *someone* down the road (by the end of the year is pretty fast - such purchases typically take up to a year to iron out the details), I would not be inclined to disagree. The sad fact is that they are in a downward spiral that will be tricky to turn around (more than anything, they need sales, and right now a lot of folks will be wary about buying), though it is by no means impossible. Bob F. will be more than earning his bonuses if he can pull it off. But finding someone to come in and buy the company may be the fastest and easiest way to turn things around, and as CEO, Bob is answerable first to the shareholders who want a fast turnaround. Dave "But that's just my opinion - I could be wrong." - Dennis Miller