Oracle == garbage
Ooh! Ooh! Pick me! Oracle is a frickin' steaming turd. Larry Ellison, the installer, tnsnames.ora, SQL+, Booleans, underhanded sales practices, absurd pricing, empty strings, crappy UI, ridiculous resource requirements. Need I go on? Oracle apologists claim that it performs better than the competition (after being tuned by an army of consultants, I guess). Even if this is the case, how many Oracle clients have the load to justify the attendant pain? Last I recall, hardware is cheaper than wetware. God, I hate clueless managers who get suckered into this crap because it sounds 'hard core'. I swear, to make such a user unfriendly product seems like it would require a concerted effort. Does Larry hate his users or just like keeping consultants in business? Even the most adament Microsoft basher has got to be happy that Mr. Ellison ain't #1.
I think that the appeal of Oracle shares much with that of Linux, C, Perl, Emacs, etc. What better way for an ass to establish his alpha male status? Find some complex piece of software and lord your skillz over the losers who lack the ability, time or inclination to become experts. With some tools (like the aforementioned), the steep learning curve is merely a necessary side effect of an effort to build something powerful. With Oracle, it's more like a sick joke. And they've had decades to put some lipstick on this pig but have made zero effort to make the product more usable. WTF?
PS One good thing about Oracle -- the cafeteria. I encourage anyone who works in the area to sneak in (it's easy). Since meals are subsidized, you'd be doing your small part to sink that crappy company.