Relational Databases ripe for the picking...

1) Minimize the number of joins you make
2) Denormalize your database to increase performance
3) OO and Rel have an impedence mismatch
4) Oracle/MSSQL require special expertise to make it perform on even a moderate project
5) Oracle is impossible to install
6) Oracle is even harder to uninstall
7) SQL feels like programming in assembly language these days
8) Uncountable runtime parameters to peak
9) I believe there is an Oracle cult evolving...

Much of this is due to the fact that databases cater to the "enterprise" market. Performance for large data sets demands the most of the machines. You must be able to microscopically control the behaviour of the database when you have enormously large databases.

How come I need to run the Oracle Analyzer on my SQL (which then fixes it) and tells me the indexes to build? That really seems like the role of a compiler. This technology existed forever ago.

Why is a bit bucket so hard to configure, install, and understand on a smaller project?

I think, someone will come along with a better metaphor than a relational database, (not OO) that will allow rapid integration into a data warehouse, meshes nicely with objects and is easy to report on.

I wonder if Oracle will buy them and bury them or just outright crush them.