March 2, 2006 3:57 PM PST
Larry Ellison's logowear lapse
PALO ALTO, Calif.--Hewlett-Packard and Intel were pleased when Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison made a video appearance to help tout Itanium servers before mutual customers.
But there was much whispering and hubbub when the audience noticed the Compaq logo on his chest. The logo was retired for all but a few PC products after HP acquired its rival in 2002. Even HP and Intel CEOs Mark Hurd and Paul Otellini suppressed a chuckle as they watched from the stage at HP headquarters here.
It's likely Ellison can't plead ignorance for his branding faux pas. In a January meeting with Ellison and Sun Chief Executive Scott McNealy, the Oracle CEO wore the same outfit--but with some black tape concealing the logo.
Stephen Shankland writes about a wide range of technology and products, but has a particular focus on browsers and digital photography. He joined CNET News in 1998 and since then also has covered Google, Yahoo, servers, supercomputing, Linux and open-source software, and science. E-mail Stephen, or follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/stshank. 
