[Info-vax] Oracle and HP end Exadata partnership

[John Wallace]

On Sep 19, 2:48 pm, "P. Sture" <paul.nos... at sture.ch> wrote:
> In article <KebNGhHd5... at eisner.encompasserve.org>,
>  koeh... at eisner.nospam.encompasserve.org (Bob Koehler) wrote:
>
>
>
> > In article <7hhr0gF2u15q... at mid.individual.net>, billg... at cs.uofs.edu (Bill
> > Gunshannon) writes:
>
> > > And then think of the economic impact on the EU when all of Oracle's
> > > current EU customers have to make an overnight change to another DB.
>
> >    There's no reason that the EU would have to respond by making that
> >    requirement.  Existing systems would keep running for a bit without
> >    Oracle making a single additional penny.
>
> > > But then, that's why government should keep it's nose out of business
> > > beyond when actual illegal activity is taking place.
>
> >    You didn't happen to notice the trouble the US economy got into last
> >    year because the government failed to provide adaquate regulation?
>
> >    Mysteriously similar to what happend in the late 1920's leading to
> >    regulation in the first place.
>
> The US introduced antitrust laws long before the EU existed :-)
>
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_antitrust_law#History_of_anti
> -trust>
>
> o - Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890
> o - Clayton Antitrust Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914
> o - Robinson-Patman Act of 1936
> o - Celler-Kefauver Act of 1959
>
> It wasn't until 1973 that the UK introduced the Monopolies and Mergers
> Commission:
>
> <http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0021873.htm
> l>
>
> If memory serves correctly, UK supermarkets weren't even allowed to
> offer discount prices until the late 50s or early 60s (which meant that
> there weren't really many of them). That's within living memory. :-)
>
> --
> Paul Sture

That'll be Resale Price Maintenance you're thinking of, which a quick
but unverified search says was abolished in the UK in 1964. Books were
exempted from the rule for reasons which escape me (see also Net Book
Agreement, not to be confused with netbook agreement). So not within
living memory of your average Windows/Linux devotee, but maybe OK for
dinosaurs like me.