2004 Top Ten: Memorable Quotes

Sometimes people talk to Byte and Switch, and what they're saying makes perfect sense. We often quote these folks and (figuratively) bow to their wisdom.

Other times, however, people talk to us and we double over laughing.

As 2004 closes, we've decided to recall a few of the wackiest things weve heard (written down, and printed) in the world of storage this year. Not all the quotes that stand out in this list are laughable. Some are statements that make perfectly good sense from unexpected people. We’ll let you decide which is which. Here are the quotes:

No. 10: "We could not be in a stronger position on the NAS front than we are now. The other guys have missed so many times – there’s only so many times you come back to the same movie expecting a different ending." – Network Appliance Inc. (Nasdaq: NTAP) President Tom Mendoza.

And, by the way, why do they keep showing It’s a Wonderful Life every year at this time? We've seen it a hundred times, and we're still not convinced.See: NetApp Nets a Bundle

No. 9: “Silence is not golden when it comes to data protection. If you’re not hearing bad news, you’re at risk.” – Arsenal Digital Solutions Worldwide Inc. CEO Frank Brick, on the importance of reporting tools for data backups.

And if you're hearing bad news, everything's fine. Except the bad news. We think.

See: Veritas Pummeled by Panel

No. 8: "You know how many people asked, ‘Are you crazy buying two companies at once? How are you going to integrate them?’ Well, we have. Now we get to the upside where the stuff gets out into the market." – McData Corp. (Nasdaq: MCDTA) CEO John Kelley.Or to the downside, where the stuff stays in the warehouse.

See: McData Goes on Offensive

No. 7: “I’m already sticking pins in the [Veritas CEO] Gary Bloom doll. I’m sick and tired of seeing their ‘No hardware agenda’ ad. We have a software organization now!” – EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) EVP Dave DeWalt when EMC formed its new software group.

For Christmas, he got a Symantec CEO John Thompson bobblehead doll.

See: New EMC Group Jabs VeritasNo. 6: “Valuations have gotten high again. Too high. There seems to be a lot of crap getting funded." – Crescendo Ventures Partner Jeff Hinck.

So, these startups are flush with cash?

See: It's Raining VC Money

No. 5: “We regularly get pitched by VCs, but they don’t offer us anything except money, and we don’t need it.” – Eran Farujan, EVP of self-funded backup software company Asigra Inc.

What about that warm, fuzzy feeling you get from hanging out with VCs?See: Asigra's Path Forks

No. 4: “Clearly, when two CFOs leave you have to stand up and take notice. So I know there’s probably conjecture and innuendo. I will stand behind these financials 100 percent.” – Maxtor Corp. (NYSE: MXO) CEO Paul Tufano.

He stood behind them for 26 days. Then he quit.

See: Maxtor's Stuck in the Mud

No. 3: “Our competitive position is not where we would like it to be right now.” – Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) CEO Carly Fiorina.Finally, she says something her investors agree with.

See: HP Storage Slammed

No. 2: “Remember that song, ‘My boyfriend’s back and you’re gonna be sorry?’ We’re back and we’re bad.” – Chris Wood, Sun Microsystems Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) Director of Technical Sales for Network Storage.

We hope Sun’s storage gear works better than Wood’s radio.

See: Sun Sings New Storage SongNo. 1: “We fix a major bleeding-from-the-neck problem. Let’s face it: All of us in the business are looking for the bleeding-from-the-neck problem.” – Chuck Foley, President of wide-area file services (WAFS) startup Tacit Networks Inc.

Someone needs to lay off the Anne Rice novels.

See: Tacit Ready to 'Spar With Gorilla'

— The Editors, Byte and Switch