We’re having some fun over at InfoWorld today. The end of the year typically sees a proliferation of stories predicting what lies ahead for the tech industry. Instead, with the New Year well underway, we’re taking a look back. Presented for your enjoyment are 25 of tech’s biggest blunders, slip-ups, disappointments, and missed opportunities — the moments that, if anyone could have seen the future, would probably have been done differently.

There’s an element of schadenfreude in this, to be sure. But it’s not just about kicking the players when they’re down. I think of it as a moment to chuckle at our own irrational exuberance and, if we’re lucky, an opportunity to learn from past mistakes.

You guys might have some other doozies that didn’t make my list. Feel free to send them my way, or post them over at InfoWorld.com. And smile, everybody! After all, what’s a few million in venture capital funding down the drain?

There have been rumors about an initial public offering for MySQL AB, the company that makes the open source database MySQL, for some time now. Estimates placed the initial valuation as high as $1 billion. But it looks like Mårten Mickos and company won’t need to bother anymore — they got bought by Sun Microsystems instead! And at their top asking price, to boot.

My full analysis of Sun’s $1 billion acquisition of MySQL is up now for your reading pleasure at InfoWorld.com. The piece has already gotten its fair share of attention — it was the top story on Google Sci/Tech News today — but unfortunately, the curse of InfoWorld is that popular news sources tend to link to the stories when they’re syndicated by InfoWorld’s larger sister publications at IDG. This time, most of the hits seem to be going to PCWorld. But just remember, it was InfoWorld that made this story happen and this type of enterprise tech industry coverage is what InfoWorld does best. So look there first!