Karma Refill

Some commenters have noted that I am turning into something of a negative nelly. So, time to fill up the karma gas tank and accentuate the positive!

What I like about ESRI:

• Corporate environmentalism and the “big picture” corporate attitude it implies (there’s more to life than software).
• The old school AML folks, and the kind of roll up your sleeves and make things work attitude they have. Nothing empowers scientists like flexible tools, and ESRI delivered.
• ArcMap. Bar none the most powerful single bundle of editing, analytics, cartography, out there. No other single install puts so much stuff under your mouse in one go.

What I like about Oracle:

• SQL Developer. The hard core swear by TOAD, but for me, SQL developer is just right.
• OTN and the culture of free downloads for developers. Oracle knows you have to put the tools in front of the users if you want them to try them and recommend them. I recently downloaded both Oracle and DB2 to put up test servers, and the experience was day and night. I still have achy muscles from jumping over all the DB2 hurdles.
• Seven-letter executable names. TNSLSNR, I love you!
• Online documentation. Love them or hate them, you have no excuse to be ignorant of them. The docs are good, they are complete, and they are all there.
• Buying open source companies. It gives a guy hope, you know?
• Xaviar Lopez (Oracle Spatial product manager). Extremely gracious man, willing to put up with a lot of guff from open source folks (like, er, me) at FOSS4G06 and stay positive. Hope to seem him in ‘07.