When they're getting laid.

Oh, crap, I see your point.

I'd say that an equity stake should only be considered for such a long-term commitment if you'll also have some kind of control of the strategic direction of the company. 10% of a sinking ship is just a lot of water with debris in it.

When will Microsoft be coming out with the miniClassic?

When your revenues scale with the services rendered, it *does* make business sense to auto-scale. Auto-scaling is a technical solution, not a business one. Being Slashdotted isn't typically associated with more commercial activity, it's associated with "hit-and-run" visitors. The same with social networks. Does Twitter even have a business model? But wherever there's a business model where margins are relatively stable but activity rises and falls, auto-scaling makes you money rather than costing you severely. Like many things, it's a tool which should be used wisely, where not paying attention can leave you missing fingers.