Ce-Oh no he didn't!: Larry Ellison likens HP board to 'idiots' at Apple
By Vlad Savov 
posted Aug 10th 2010 4:45AM
posted Aug 10th 2010 4:45AM
The communique, also obtained by the Mercury News, included other tasty tidbits such as Ellison describing HP's disclosure of the apparently unfounded sexual harassment claim against Hurd as "cowardly corporate political correctness," and dismissing the financial irregularities that forced the former CEO's resignation as "petty expenses report errors." So, in short, the world according to Larry is populated by messianic CEOs who shouldn't be held up to the same petty standards as the rest of us."The H.P. board just made the worst personnel decision since the idiots on the Apple board fired Steve Jobs many years ago. That decision nearly destroyed Apple and would have if Steve hadn't come back and saved them."
Ooops
@koolerz1569 oh yes he did!
@koolerz1569 I don't see what the problem is, as someone richer than us he is entitled to a different moral code. At least, that's what I've been told from those richer than me.
...wait a minute.
@koolerz1569 If he's the Oracle Ceo shouldn't he have seen this coming in the future and tell HP's CEO he was going to get fired?
Steve Jobs sure did save Apple some years ago but now i think its opposite...
@2her0ck how could you come off with such an idiotic statement when Apple are one of the biggest tech companies around and continuing to grow exponentially??? this based on the iphone4's antenna problem? the same problem that doesnt seem to be hampering the sales of said phone one bit...
@2her0ck
Apple shareholders think you are wrong.
@2her0ck FAIL
@2her0ck
Wow, seems Larry Ellison isn't the only idiot spouting crap on this page...
@2her0ck
Look around you, people who don't even understand the nitty gritty stuff about technology, know how to use mac os x, or ios, can you even try to understand that slide that steve put up about being at the center of technology and liberal arts??? You don't have to be a tech geek to use their products, that is why they are so successful, the appeal to the whole crowd.
@2her0ck
insightful, you should start a blog.
@2her0ck
hi. this is not about apple. please stop talking about apple...
@2her0ck wow ok so since six people decided to tell this guy how much of an idiot he is, I guess someone should help him. Obviously he was talking about the whole antenna-gate issue and how Steve has made Apple somewhat authoritarian in their handling of their products (flash, app store, etc.). Maybe it wasn't the best analysis, but he doesn't deserve that much ridicule. A simple "maybe recent events will cause people to lose some confidence in Jobs' handling of situations, but I think he still has the ability to take Apple further than where it currently is" would have sufficed.
@notbuttershift1
No, he told a lie. On the internet. The internet can never lie and so he must be punished and his lies rectified.
Now, bite my shiny metal ass!
Well, I have to agree with him, whoever fired Steve Jobs was a complete idiot who trusted the opinion of a pre suger-water-selling company CEO while dropping off one of real minds behind the technology Apple served in those days. The world would have been different.
Whether you hate or love Jobs, he did a revolution and his name will be alongside all the great names of the human history.
Human history?
Lol.
@Saad
"..be alongside all the great names of the human history."
..no comment..
@Saad "the great names of the human history."
Oh yeah? What did Steve do for me?
@Steven Uhm. Pretty much started the whole consumer computer stuff thingy.
@Saad well, he has a point zere. genghis khan has a great name in human history. so does ze fuhrer.
Oh snap.
A foot in mouth moment for sure.
@SolidSnake Larry doesn't have foot-in-mouth moments.
Loves the drama.
I love my boss. (Larry, that is)
@tim0th
Try saying that again when you don't have his balls in your mouth...
I think Ellison makes a good point.
Apparently there was no sexual relationship nor harassment.
Expenses where relative small and could easily be seen as a silly mistake that needed a HR internal memo with a "Don't do this again".
Against that, Hurd's track record was/is indeed impressive.
He destroyed Dell, doubled HPs market share and stock price.
The main argument here was apparently that Hurd did not want HP board to disclose that sexual harassment issue, as he felt that there was none and he was going to "pay her off".
But the board insisted. These are the same people who spied on each other.
let the war begin
Something really smells bad about this whole situation. Contractor makes a sexual harassment claim, investigation follows but nothing that would violate the company's harassment policy is found. Meanwhile Hurd and contractor settle privately. Already this is getting fishy. Meanwhile the board takes this opportunity to get rid of Hurd for who knows what motives. After all this the contractor claims "I never meant for this to happen". Joke of the century. Think twice before you make allegations like this. Congrats, now you've ruined the guy's career, reputation, life, and possibly family.
@ChuChu
Don't pity him too much, he walked away with $40 million minimum.
Luckily we've got brave journalists like you, Vlad, to defend us from the scourge of filthy rich CEOs flying their mistresses around the country on company expense. Does it matter that he doubled the HP's stock price? Hardly.
@Pies
Last time I looked, HP were not in the business of selling morals.
He is not a public representative, a politician etc.
Therefore, he has no obligation to act more or less "morally" than you or I.
Whatever he did or didn't do, that was for HP internally.
They did not need to rinse the details in public, and from the wording by Cathie Lesjak on her email "all the best". This was almost deemed "tittle tattle" and she was reveling in it. (Perhaps he turned her down). HP board comes off as a very childish lot. I think his tenure and performance record should have been weighed against the allegations. From what HP have proffered so far, it does seem like a bunch of power grabbing idiots have made a mistake for their own gain.
@HughWanger I was being ironic both about the scourge, and about the brave journalists.
He's so right.
So... "cowardly corporate political correctness," and "petty expenses report errors." really stand for...he also taps those milfs like there is no tomorrow on the corporate buck. Congrats deuchebags, congrats!
This still doesn't answer the question of why my new HP printer sucks.
@Meekermoloko
Or why my sister's HP desktop's hard drive failed after a year.
@Meekermoloko
HP doesn't make hard drives.... blame Seagate, Western Digital, Hitachi, etc...
@Michael Scrip
But HP put them in there.
HP quality has sunk in the past five years ...
like Dell before them...
They fired him over 10,000 in expenses, when this man made this company what it is today. I would warn him the first time around and let it go. There zero policy is bullshit. Somebody wanted him out. Don't sound like he was kissing nobody's azz in the company. They could not wait to find a excuse to fire him.
His buddy got a cool $40 million and need never even pretend to do honest work again and he's complaining?
I don't get it.
Way to go again! This time writing about something taking the whole article out of context and making a big deal and controversy bc Apple is mentioned. Engadget = Apple Fanboys. For the record, ur an idiot if u think it wasn't idiotic to get rid of Steve Jobs.
Larry:Hp is like idiots at apple.
Apple Employee: Lord Steve ,we have found lary guilty of blasphemy .
Steve jobs :What a fool! Does he want to die?
Employee: What do we do sir?
Steve: No worries ,he blew it.