As a Silicon Valley entrepreneur with a fondness for the ocean, one can spend $250m on a floating palace so unwieldy that it can't be docked at most yacht harbors. Larry Ellison, that's you. Way cooler: the Proteus, a giant catamaran unveiled yesterday in San Francisco Bay. Among the boat's Silicon Valley backers: Network Appliances' Dave Hitz, Brocade Communications' Ezio Valdevit, and Logitech's Pierluigi Zappacosta. The two inflatable hulls sit only a foot deep in the water, giving access to shores that can only be viewed, from Larry Ellison's Rising Sun, with binoculars.

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