[geeks] IBM in talks to buy Sun

[Brian Dunbar]

On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 2:28 PM, Shannon Hendrix <shannon at widomaker.com>wrote:

> On Mar 18, 2009, at 14:09 , Sridhar Ayengar wrote:
>
>  Shannon Hendrix wrote:
>>
>>> IBM screws too many good things up.
>>> Sun is nowhere near perfect, and their stupidity boggles the mind at
>>> times, but I would worry about IBM taking over.
>>> We need more companies, not fewer large ones.
>>>
>>
>> I think it boils down to a question.  Do you want a Sun that is stomped on
>> by HP and Dell, or do you want an HP and Dell that are stomped on by IBM?
>>
>
> I don't want either, personally.  I don't like picking between the lesser
> of evils.  In the end, bad shit still happens.
>
> I'm also not fully convinced that is what will happen.  If IBM buys Sun but
> leaves them alone, it might.  If they muck with it, Sun will just disappear
> and become a horrid mess like most IBM systems.


How often does 'leave them along'  happen?

I've worked at three companies now that were acquired.  Two of them (Compaq
and Sprint) were not able to leave the magic sauce alone that made the
acquired company 'work'.

"You're special and we love that and that's why we bought your company.  You
guys rock.  Now let's change everything about what you do!"

My current employer was the best of them all, actually.  They integrated
what they had to, and left us alone, mostly.  Sadly, we had to shut down for
economic reasons in 2002.

 CEOs take note: If you want to be acquired by a larger competitor and
personally make out like a bandit-king, hire me!  I'm just a grunt in the
trenches but that kind of thing seems to follow me around.  Get in touch and
let's make a deal!

-- 
Brian Dunbar
Geidus

"Display some adaptability"