Speaking honestly on stage
Yakov Fain: Yes, but first of all, I'm not afraid of announcing my opinion on anything. If we're talking about Oracle, and before that Sun Microsystems, I was awarded the title "Java Champion" in 2005. This basically means that you have to promote Java, no matter what.
Despite that, I've never had a problem saying that I don't like something about Java or a particular area in Java. The fact that I was given the title is great, but I don't think twice about speaking up if I don't like something.
Having said that, I've never been an employee of Oracle and I didn't work for Sun Microsystems. If an employer was to ask me to avoid showing negative parts of its software, I would listen. The company would be paying my salary, so I would have to play fair.
In terms of hiding bugs, back in 2009, I cofounded another company that automates the work of insurance agents who sell life insurance to people. When we started the company...