Larry versus Larry: Oracle's Ellison says Google's Page acted 'evil'

08/13/2013 Larry versus Larry: Oracle's Ellison says Google's Page acted 'evil'

Co-founder and Chief Executive of Oracle Corporation, Ellison introduces the company's latest SPARC servers at Oracle Conference Center in Redwood ShoresBy Jennifer Saba (Reuters) - Larry Ellison, Oracle Corp's outspoken chief executive officer, said Google Inc CEO Larry Page acted "absolutely evil" and accused the Internet company of using Oracle's products without permission. "We just think they took our stuff, and that was wrong," Ellison said in an interview with Charlie Rose on "CBS This Morning" that was aired on Tuesday. When asked if he thought Page was evil, Ellison replied: "I think what they did was absolutely evil." Google, whose motto is "don't be evil," declined to comment. ...

Microsoft and Oracle work together in Cloud Computing

SAN FRANCISCO/SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said on Monday it would support Oracle Corp software on its cloud-based platforms, a tie-up aimed at improving the rivals' chances against nimbler Web-based computing companies chipping away at their traditional businesses.

The two industry leaders have competed for decades to sell technology to the world's largest companies. But they face growing pressure from new rivals selling often-cheaper services based in remote data centers, and they are rushing to adapt.

The two companies have long collaborated out of the public eye to meet customers' needs, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said on a conference call. "In the world of cloud computing, I think behind-the-scenes collaboration is not enough."

The tie-up does not resolve major competitive challenges the two tech pioneers face in the cloud market, but their cooperation was seen as a symbolically important step.

"Is it a game changer today? Not at all. It shows both companies are serious about their cloud endeavors. The fact that historical competitors are now friends speaks to how big the cloud opportunity is. And it opens up potential avenues of growth down the road," said Daniel Ives, an analyst at investment bank FBR.

Under the agreement, customers will be able to run Oracle software on Microsoft's Server Hyper-V and on Windows Azure platforms, the companies said.

Microsoft will offer Oracle's Java, Database and WebLogic Server to Windows Azure customers, while Oracle will also make Linux available to Windows Azure customers, the companies said in a news release.

Ironically, the pact means Microsoft is effectively promoting Linux and Java-based software, longtime rivals to its own Windows platform. But the software maker stands to benefit from getting any customer to pay for its datacenter services, regardless of the underlying software being used.

No. 3 software maker Oracle last week missed expectations for software sales for the fourth quarter, sending its shares plunging. Investors worried that the company may have trouble competing with software providers like Salesforce.com and Workday, as well as Amazon.com, which has also become a major player in cloud computing infrastructure.

Top software maker Microsoft's large-scale cloud computing initiative, called Azure, has failed to catch up with Amazon's cloud offering, called AWS (Amazon Web Services), which blazed the trail in elastic online computing services in the cloud.

The rivalry between Oracle and Microsoft dates back several decades and has been marked by a personal rivalry between the companies' best-known cofounders: Larry Ellison and Bill Gates.

In 1995, as the Windows franchise was taking off, Ellison began a high-profile but unsuccessful effort to promote a less expensive competitor to the personal computer known as the Network Computer. Gates began aggressively attacking Oracle's core database business in the late 1990s, infuriating Ellison as Microsoft's less-expensive SQL Server gained market share.

In recent years, both have come under attack from a wave of younger companies, like Workday and Salesforce, which charge a single subscription fee for software and support, at far lower margins than for Oracle's traditional products.

Ellison told analysts on last Thursday's quarterly conference call that Oracle had forged alliances with Microsoft and Salesforce.com, which uses Oracle's technology, and said he would announce details this week.

Over the past five years, shares of Amazon.com, which rents remote computing and storage to other companies, have surged 237 percent. Salesforce.com, founded by former Oracle executive Marc Benioff, has risen 105 percent.

During the same half decade, Oracle's stock has risen 38 percent and Microsoft's shares are up 21 percent.

Larry Ellison in Haiwaii

HONOLULU (Reuters) - Billionaire Oracle CEO Larry Ellison may be interested in acquiring a second Hawaii airline after he bought most of the tropical island of Lanai last year.

Island Air, a Honolulu-based carrier with a handful of island-hopping planes that Ellison bought in February, confirmed discussions between Island and Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group, the parent company of Hawaii's interisland go! Airlines.

"We are committed to building a strong regional airline and part of that process is exploring all options including discussions with Mesa Air," Island Air Chief Executive Officer Paul Casey said in a one-sentence statement.

Honolulu's Star-Advertiser newspaper reported on Thursday that Ellison was arranging to take control of go! Airlines, citing an unnamed source familiar with the deal.

Mesa CEO Jonathan Ornstein was not immediately available for comment. A spokeswoman said the airline flies 40 flights a day in Hawaii using a fleet of five 50-seat CRJ-200 jets.

Oracle declined to comment.

Hawaii aviation historian Peter Forman said a deal for Island Air to purchase go! would not only secure more flights for Ellison's island of Lanai, but also could indicate that Ellison intends to become a player in the Hawaiian airline market.

Many industry observers have expected another airline to enter Hawaii to compete with Hawaiian Airlines for the tourist- rich interisland market. Combining go! and Island Air would give Ellison critical mass and a platform from which to compete.

"He's gaining the recognition that he is serious about becoming the second interisland airline in Hawaii. There has been a vacuum for serious competition to Hawaiian (Airlines)," Forman said.

In March 2013, Forbes Magazine listed Ellison, 68, as the world's fifth richest man, and the third richest American, with a net worth of $43 billion.

Ellison bought 98 percent of the 141-square-mile (365-square-km) island of Lanai, Hawaii's sixth-largest island, from billionaire David Murdock in June for an undisclosed price. He said he intended to turn the island into a "laboratory" for green living.

Ellison's Lanai holdings include two resorts and golf courses, a variety of commercial and residential structures, as well as vast acres of undeveloped former pineapple land. The island has roughly 3,000 residents.

Oracle Corp said it is preparing an update to address a flaw in its widely used Java software after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security urged computer users to disable the program in web browsers because criminal hackers are exploiting a security bug to attack PCs.

BOSTON (Reuters) - Oracle Corp said it is preparing an update to address a flaw in its widely used Java software after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security urged computer users to disable the program in web browsers because criminal hackers are exploiting a security bug to attack PCs.

"A fix will be available shortly," the company said in a statement released late on Friday.

Company officials could not be reached on Saturday to say how quickly the update would be available for the hundreds of millions of PCs that have Java installed.

The Department of Homeland Security and computer security experts said on Thursday that hackers figured out how to exploit the bug in a version of Java used with Internet browsers to install malicious software on PCs. That has enabled them to commit crimes from identity theft to making an infected computer part of an ad-hoc computer network that can be used to attack websites.

Java is a computer language that enables programmers to write software utilizing just one set of codes that will run on virtually any type of computer, including ones that use Microsoft Corp's Windows, Apple Inc's OS X and Linux, an operating system widely employed by corporations. It is installed in Internet browsers to access web content and also directly on PCs, server computers and other devices that use it to run a wide variety of computer programs.

Oracle said in its statement that the recently discovered flaw only affects Java 7, the program's most-recent version, and Java software designed to run on browsers.

Java is so widely used that the software has become a prime target for hackers. Last year, Java surpassed Adobe Systems Inc's Reader software as the most frequently attacked piece of software, according to security software maker Kaspersky Lab.

Java was responsible for 50 percent of all cyber attacks last year in which hackers broke into computers by exploiting software bugs, according to Kaspersky. That was followed by Adobe Reader, which was involved in 28 percent of all incidents. Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer were involved in about 3 percent of incidents, according to the survey.

The Department of Homeland Security said attackers could trick targets into visiting malicious websites that would infect their PCs with software capable of exploiting the bug in Java.

It said an attacker could also infect a legitimate website by uploading malicious software that would infect machines of computer users who trust that site because they have previously visited it without experiencing any problems.

They said developers of several popular tools, known as exploit kits, used by criminal hackers to attack PCs, have added software that allows hackers to exploit the newly discovered bug in Java.

Security experts have been scrutinizing the safety of Java since a similar security scare in August, which prompted some of them to advise using the software only on an as-needed basis.

At the time, they advised businesses to allow their workers to use Java browser plug-ins only when prompted for permission by trusted programs such as GoToMeeting, a Web-based collaboration tool from Citrix Systems Inc.

Java suffered another setback in October when Apple began removing old versions of the software from Internet browsers of Mac computers after its customers installed new versions of its OS X operating system. Apple did not provide a reason for the change and both companies declined to comment at the time.

Oracle sailing boat can reach 30 mph or 13 meter per sec

Oracle pay for CEO Ellison jumps to $96 million

Larry Ellison, the founder and CEO of Oracle Corp. and one of the wealthiest people in the world, saw his pay jump to $96.2 million last year.

The pay, disclosed in a corporate filing, was up 24 percent from the previous year's total of $77.6 million. Most of Ellison's pay came from stock options that were valued at $90.7 million when they were granted in June 2011.

Those options, to buy 7 million shares at $32.43 a share, have value only if the stock is trading above that price. The options have been under water for most of the time since they were granted. But on Friday, Oracle stock rose 21 cents to close at $32.47.

The company cut Ellison's performance-based bonus to $3.9 million, down from $13.3 million a year earlier. Other senior executives endured similar cuts. That was because Oracle's profit growth for the year came in below its goals, according to the yearly filing it made Friday.

Oracle's net income rose 17 percent to $9.98 billion for the year that ended May 31. Revenue rose 4 percent to $37.12 billion.

The company said compensation was $51.7 million for both Safra A. Catz, its president and chief financial officer, and Mark Hurd, its president. Nearly all their pay was also in stock options that had little value as of Friday.

Oracle said its compensation committee recognizes that Ellison, 68, already "has a significant equity interest in Oracle, but believes he should still be eligible for an annual compensation package because of his active and vital role in our operations, strategy and growth."

Ellison's salary was only $1 for the year that ended May 31, 2012, unchanged from the previous year.

Forbes this week estimated Ellison's net worth at $41 billion. That ranked him as the sixth-richest person in the world and the third-richest in the United States, behind Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett, head of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

The Associated Press' calculation isolates the value the company's board placed on the executive's total compensation package in the last fiscal year. It includes salary, bonus, performance-related bonuses, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted.

The calculation doesn't include changes in the present value of pension benefits. And they sometimes differ from the totals that companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The statements to the SEC reflect accounting charges taken for the executive's compensation in the previous fiscal year. C