This week we broadcast live with theCUBE from Oracle OpenWorld in San Francisco, California, streaming exclusive interviews with the industry’s leaders including Cloudera Chairman of the board and Chief Strategy Officer Mike Olson, Dorian Naveh, Senior Director Technology Alliances with EMC and Patrick Rogers, NetApp VP of Product Marketing and Alliances, to name a few.  Given Oracle’s rocky transition into the new era of cloud computing, all eyes have been on CEO Larry Ellison, particularly anxious to see how Oracle’s earlier acquisition of Sun Microsystems would play out in this new software-led world.

What we’ve heard from many of our guests on theCUBE is that the products and messaging are quite different at Oracle OpenWorld this year, and that’s shifted the attitude for attendees.  Despite Ellison blowing off his final keynote appearance to watch the Americas Cup sailing race, things seem to be moving in a positive direction for Oracle, from its stock prices to its product line-up.

Perhaps the most notable of Oracle’s new products is the in-memory solution, based on technology that’s been employed by others in the industry for several years now.  While late, Oracle’s entry into this market validates a great deal for its partners, many of which shared their thoughts on in-memory technology as well as Oracle’s implementation, on theCUBE.

Sharing the limelight with Oracle this week is another company in the midst of transitioning to the new era of cloud computing, though faring far worse than Ellison’s organization.  BlackBerry announced a buyer, Fairfax Equity Holdings, selling to an existing shareholder for $4.7 billion.  The news set off a bevy of questions regarding the ultimate fate of BlackBerry’s assets, and Wikibon Analyst Scott Lowe thinks BlackBerry is better off with Microsoft, which could use the phone maker’s portfolio to enhance its own mobile enterprise suite, rather than starting a patent war, as he believes Fairfax is apt to do.  Read more here.

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