Here are some take homes after I attended the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 launch. This is obviously for only those readers who are technology-inclined.

- SQL Server 2005 has 40% performance improvement over SQL Server 2000
- SQL Server 2005 has built-in data mining and business intelligence at no extra cost.
- SQL Server can scale better. Largest install for SQL Server 2000- 26,000 users. Largest install test so far for SQL Server 2005 - 93,000 Concurrent users in SAP
- SQL Server 2005 has a 50% off for licenses for competitive database upgrade for a limited time.
- SQL Server 2005 will not charge for licenses for the passive cluster in a high availability active-passive cluster.
- SQL Server 2005 charges by CPU, not by core. So if you use Dual or Multicore CPUs, you only need to pay for 1 server license.
- SQL Server Express 2005 is available for free.

In business, there is that often quoted phrase that a lie repeated often enough gains the semblance of truth.

For the last few years, we have heard numerous stories of the great success of Google, or Amazon, or Ebay, and of the decline of Microsoft. Paul Allen ( a different one than the founder of Microsoft) provides a perspective when he says that the combined market capitalization of Google, Ebay, Yahoo and Amazon still is lower than Microsoft.

Google: $124.9 billion
eBay: $66 billion
Yahoo: $61.2 billion
Amazon: $20 billion
Total: $272.1 billion

Microsoft: $297.7 billion