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"Enabled by Oracle high-performance cloud computing, ..." Anyone know why that phrase is in there? It sounds very much like product marketing, but I can't see

"Enabled by Oracle high-performance cloud computing, ..." Anyone know why that phrase is in there? It sounds very much like product marketing, but I can't see why the researchers or this story's author would be motivated to promote Oracle.

peeters 6y ago
> Funding: ... This work received generous support from the Oracle Higher Education and Research program to enable cryo-EM data processing using Oracle’s high-performance public cloud infrastructure (https://cloud.oracle.com/en_US/cloud-infrastructure https://cloud.oracle.com/en_US/cloud-infrastructure) ... https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/09/18/science.abd3255 https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/09/18/scie... Why this summary of the work includes it prominantly, rather than in the footnotes like in the original paper, I'm not sure. Perhaps it was a condition the authors had for contributing to the article. Or perhaps it was Oracle's PR that got them the article in the first place. There is a comment from Oracle later in the article.
- DoofusOfDeath 6y ago
  Thanks. I didn't think to look in the original sciencemag.org article.
- leptons 6y ago
  Also possible Oracle donated the resources with the stipulation that they get mentioned in any articles about the research.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
tyingq 6y ago
"Should I acknowledge Oracle support for my research project work, for example, in publications or on websites? Please acknowledge the “Oracle for Research” program in any publications or on websites." https://www.oracle.com/oracle-for-research/faq.html https://www.oracle.com/oracle-for-research/faq.html Apparently pushed as a requirement for the "free" Oracle cloud resources researchers can apply for.
- microcolonel 6y ago
  The law firm known as Oracle didn't charge you one red cent or ask you to sell out, they just asked you to acknowledge that their product exists and was involved in your research. Seems free to me. Thank you, Oracle, for providing your Oracle high-performance cloud computing™ for public research under the Oracle for Research™ program. You didn't have to do that.
  - bzb5 6y ago
    I don’t understand the sarcasm. Those resources cost Oracle money, and they give them for free to researchers. A mention in return is very reasonable.
    - loori81 6y ago
      but logically its not really free then if you have to shill for oracle to get it, other people get money for the shilling you just get the compute. There isn't really much of a difference. Nobody would shill for oracle without getting payed, its a horrible company.
    - microcolonel 6y ago
      Not sure how it came out as totally sarcastic. I genuinely believe that they didn't have to do that, and that it is laudable. The sarcasm was more for the corporate greasiness of the carefully-considered branded phrases, not for the act itself.
shellac 6y ago
I think the medicalxpress article might have been pushed by Oracle PR? The article itself includes Oracle in the acknowledgements, together with the various University of Bristol HPC systems used, and Archer.
- gojomo 6y ago
  Indeed, 'Medicalexpress' appears to be nothing more than reprints of press-releases about medical research. The PR teams of Bristol & Oracle probably coordinated on the authorship. This is nearly pure promotion, with a thin veneer of reporting-like language.

peeters 6y ago

> Funding: ... This work received generous support from the Oracle Higher Education and Research program to enable cryo-EM data processing using Oracle’s high-performance public cloud infrastructure (https://cloud.oracle.com/en_US/cloud-infrastructure https://cloud.oracle.com/en_US/cloud-infrastructure) ... https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/09/18/science.abd3255 https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/09/18/scie... Why this summary of the work includes it prominantly, rather than in the footnotes like in the original paper, I'm not sure. Perhaps it was a condition the authors had for contributing to the article. Or perhaps it was Oracle's PR that got them the article in the first place. There is a comment from Oracle later in the article.

DoofusOfDeath 6y ago
Thanks. I didn't think to look in the original sciencemag.org article.
leptons 6y ago
Also possible Oracle donated the resources with the stipulation that they get mentioned in any articles about the research.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

tyingq 6y ago

"Should I acknowledge Oracle support for my research project work, for example, in publications or on websites? Please acknowledge the “Oracle for Research” program in any publications or on websites." https://www.oracle.com/oracle-for-research/faq.html https://www.oracle.com/oracle-for-research/faq.html Apparently pushed as a requirement for the "free" Oracle cloud resources researchers can apply for.

microcolonel 6y ago
The law firm known as Oracle didn't charge you one red cent or ask you to sell out, they just asked you to acknowledge that their product exists and was involved in your research. Seems free to me. Thank you, Oracle, for providing your Oracle high-performance cloud computing™ for public research under the Oracle for Research™ program. You didn't have to do that.
- bzb5 6y ago
  I don’t understand the sarcasm. Those resources cost Oracle money, and they give them for free to researchers. A mention in return is very reasonable.
  - loori81 6y ago
    but logically its not really free then if you have to shill for oracle to get it, other people get money for the shilling you just get the compute. There isn't really much of a difference. Nobody would shill for oracle without getting payed, its a horrible company.
  - microcolonel 6y ago
    Not sure how it came out as totally sarcastic. I genuinely believe that they didn't have to do that, and that it is laudable. The sarcasm was more for the corporate greasiness of the carefully-considered branded phrases, not for the act itself.

shellac 6y ago

I think the medicalxpress article might have been pushed by Oracle PR? The article itself includes Oracle in the acknowledgements, together with the various University of Bristol HPC systems used, and Archer.

gojomo 6y ago
Indeed, 'Medicalexpress' appears to be nothing more than reprints of press-releases about medical research. The PR teams of Bristol & Oracle probably coordinated on the authorship. This is nearly pure promotion, with a thin veneer of reporting-like language.