But to me, Oracle is the canonical example of getting nerds while they're young. In university, I had access to Oracle databases, Oracle manuals, Oracle Linux,

But to me, Oracle is the canonical example of getting nerds while they're young. In university, I had access to Oracle databases, Oracle manuals, Oracle Linux, etc. Not through some special university approved lab set up - I could just go and download them. Even their acquired software like PeopleSoft etc. I had NONE of that for DB2 or AIX, for example. And their respective market share, I believe based on no evidence but strong belief, belies that strategy. (disclaimer, I guess - I work for IBM, but ironically as an Oracle consultant... the early access really did work :-)