Eddie Amos

I don't know if you had a chance to review Oracle's latest pricing announcement, but it looks like consumers are going to see a 15 to 20% increase in some database and eBusiness applications.  15 to 20% in a down economy is a tad extreme.  From a partner prospective - This could have a ripple effort on your future business.

 http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/06/19/Oracle_raises_prices_significantly_for_some_products_1.html

If you haven't had the opportunity to checkout SQL Server lately - please do so.  From advanced application development, data warehousing,  business intelligence's and OLTP - SQL Server 2008 is a great platform for the partner community to build and deploy solutions on (and we didn't raise the price).

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/default.aspx

Have you ever attended a Microsoft Professional Developers Conference? It’s an event so packed with great information and new technology, attendees claim their brains start sending back “out of memory” error messages. That’s what happens when a torrent of peer-to-peer geekology throttles your cerebral cortex.

At PDC2008, you can engage your senses and discover what’s new with Cloud Services, Live Mesh, Windows 7®, multi-core development, the Dynamic Language Runtime, and F#. There’s also much more, but we want to save a few surprises.

Oh, and here’s a little bonus for you: when you register before August 15, you’ll save $200 USD. Sweet!

Let’s break it down:

· PDC2008 is the place to hear about the future of Microsoft’s platform. You’ll hear from the actual engineers that architect and build our technologies, and they’ll blow your mind with everything they have to reveal.

· And what about the UnSessions, better known as Open Space? It’s our conference-within-a-conference for attendees…Microsoft folks need not apply. You can also spend time in our Hands-On Labs, which is like a big sandbox for geeks like us.

· Use your Jedi mind tricks to convince your boss to let you sign up for one of 10 super deep pre-con sessions, presented by industry experts and Microsoft technology leaders.

· Hear Ray Ozzie and other executives (don’t worry, they used to write code too) share their perspectives on the future of technology and computing. We call them keynotes, and you can expect some big news.

So, if you value your brain, we’d love to see you at PDC2008. Let us help you get your head above the clouds!

Register (http://www.microsoftpdc.com/Registration/) for PDC2008 by August 15 at (www.microsoftpdc.com) to save $200!

PDC2008 Dates and Location

WHEN:
October 27-30, 2008
Pre-cons October 26, 2008

WHERE:
Los Angeles Convention Center (http://www.lacclink.com/), Los Angeles, CA

REGISTER NOW (button)( http://www.microsoftpdc.com/Registration/)

Wow.  That's a lot of holes for a company that calls its database unbreakable.

 Oracle Patches 45 Security Holes in Database, App Server and More

Quote

Woman, 75, fined for hammering Comcast office - U.S. Business - MSNBC.com

Talk about bad customer service .  While her actions were a tad on the "extreme side" I have similar dealings with Comcast over the years.  When the service works they are a great provider.  The problem is that Comcast appears to have outsourced most of their installation services to third parties.  Sometimes you get great service - sometimes you don't.  With that said, they are 100 times better that Qwest.  This has to be the WORST company that I have ever dealt with.

Ouch.  I thought the Mountaineers could run the tables this year.

ESPN - Bulls repeat feat, knock off sloppy Mountaineers - NCAA College Football Recap

Outside of USC and LSU - It looks like we have finally reached parity in division one college football. Now, if we could only get a real playoff series.

Interesting story.  

Novell credits Microsoft for soaring Linux sales | CNET News.com

Microsoft, in recent months has signed deals with Novell, SUN and SAP.  They have also made announcements with Cisco, Teradata and others.  At the end of the day, these deals and discussion resolve around the needs of the end customer.   It's funny that we have failed to see a similar type of announcement around  cooperation with Oracle.  

What gives Oracle?

What a joke.  IBM owns SmartSuite - why didn't they simply give it away when Lotus 1-2-3 and cc:Mail were still great products.  IBM takes on Microsoft Office again with Lotus Symphony | Tech news blog - CNET News.com