This was rude and unprofessional. I wonder where dos he think the $300,000,000+ came if not from the people who buy and promote Oracle's products and who paid to listen o his keynote. He owes them, at least, a sincere apology.
I have been to OpenWorld once. I did attend the keynote, but I did not imagine that my employer paid my way specifically for that, and I would not have imagined that I was shirking my duty by attending it.
The race was "scheduled" to end on the 21st or so. Weather and some technical considerations in the best of alot type racing is to blame. US will need 11 victories of 19 races. The cup was supposed to be best of 17.
I see all of the "I would too" comments, but really it's a slap in the face for his customers. He owns Oracle, and he's obviously a fan of the America's Cup competition, perhaps he could have scheduled OpenWorld a bit later?
No one expected the America's Cup to continue this long. It was scheduled to end this past Saturday at the latest, but between the 2 points Oracle was penalized (meaning they have to win 11 instead of 9) and weather delays it's extended a lot longer than anyone thought it would.
Today the TV announcers were talking about how their realtors are trying to kick them out of their temporary apartments.
Heck the moment Postgres supports SPARQL I might ;) also the moment I no longer need to vacuum would be a requirement. Actually postgres is the first choice, we chose Oracle when we need specific features not because we like spending money ;)
Perhaps he could have scheduled OpenWorld later, but he's far more than a simple fan. Oracle has had a boat in the race since 2003 and Larry Ellison personally has been heavily involved in Oracle Racing in that time, pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the team. It's far more than a hobby for him.
I doubt it. People who go to JavaOne/OpenWorld are going for the BoF or technical sessions, not to hear some CEO speak about their strategy. Usually when I go, I skip those keynotes because they're mostly devoid of any useful information.
I'm no fan of Ellison or Oracle but IMHO he's done so much for that company, I have a hard time chiding him for taking a little time off. Very poor timing I'll admit, but I wouldn't be holding my breath at an Oracle event just to hear Ellison speak on a product.
If you're into sailing it's a seriously exciting event. I can't really blame him.