“Oracle chief Larry Ellison is taking another stab at loosening
Microsoft’s chokehold on the desktop with an ‘information
appliance’.”
“Ellison, not Oracle, is the primary backer of New Internet
Computer, which in June will introduce a $199 (without monitor)
system that runs Linux, does e-mail and surfs the Web. NIC will
target the uninitiated masses with the low-priced systems.”
“The question is why Ellison would want to get involved with
something as generic and low-margin as information appliances.
His company is already the leader in high-margin complex databases,
customer relationship management and enterprise resource planning
software, with sales approaching $10 billion.”