You know what they say: when the stars are aligned, it is a beautiful thing to behold, indeed.
Today started out crappy for me, with my Tablet PC failing, while I was awaiting a flight to SLC, and my having to abort the trip.
It got much better, as I got to chillax' with my kids, just hangin’ out at Six Flags in Denver.
Now, as I was about to hit the rack, I chanced upon the news that the EU office of Competition has opened not one, but two antitrust investigation into IBM’s mainframe business.
This is amazingly good news.
In July of 2005, during the heyday of the stupid investigation by that contemptible EU Office of Competition into Microsoft’s business practices instigated by that group of companies calling themselves the NOISE (Novell, Oracle, IBM, Sun, & Everyone else) coalition, I predicted that these companies would spend so much energy fighting Microsoft that they would find themselves irrelevant before a decade ran out.
Was I wrong?
Where are they now?
- Novell: between Novell & SCO, I don’t know which is the worst company. Novell might still be around, but they are on a DNR (do not resuscitate) footing with investors.
- Oracle: This is the only company of the group still with increasing sales, margins. However, the forthcoming indigestion from the JAVA acquisition and the transition from a pure-play software company to a hardware and software OEM makes then a hold. At least for me.
- IBM: the grandpappy here. $100 billion plus in sales, and this behemoth does not move me.
- Sun: subsumed into Oracle.It was painful to see that buffoonish, blustery Scott McNealy swear fealty to Larry Ellison publicly at Oracle OpenWorld (what a disingenuous mane, eh?). This, after riding what was once one of the greatest American firms into the ground. Mitigating factor for McNealy was that he didn’t appoint Zander as his successor. What a trainwreck that would have been. Just ask MOTO holders! (At least J Schwartz tried harder. Over his head, but trying harder!)
- Everyone Else: to this crowd, add Apple and Google. Former friends, these guys are so in conflict, that it brings to mind that Michael Douglas/Glenn close adultery flick.
BTW, I also predicted that these companies were united only in their hatred of Microsoft. At that time.
It is good to see them at each other’s throats.
Karma!
But, I digress…
I sincerely hope that this antitrust inquiries into IBM transitions into the EU bringing several actions into IBM.
With the pending scrutiny into Google and Apple, I cannot but think that the announcement of actions into the three companies would ensure the safety of chairs in the CEO boardroom in Redmond.
For me, formal actions would bring a certain German word to mind: schadenfreude.
Yes baby, schadenfreude.
Schadenfreude!!!
