I was at a conference yesterday, and got a chance to reiterate why I would always, always, always choose a Microsoft program over an Oracle one for a solution. You see, I don’t subscribe to the "cult of personality" theories where the figurehead of a software company equals the thousands of people who make up that company. But I do think that corporate culture is influenced by those at the top.

With that in mind, let’s see what Bill Gates said at the Digital Divide conference, and contrast it to Larry Ellison’s never having addressed these issues in public. Ever.