The same arguments against certifications could be used against high school and college diplomas. They show you attended classes and got decent grades - good enough to pass. They don't show how you will perform in a work environment.

Certifications present a certain set of information. As I see it, the two main problems are:

1. Conflict of Interest when the certificate is issued by the software vendor for the product

2. Hiring managers assuming the certificate guarantees things which it patently does not (work ethic, troubleshooting ability, plays well with others, etc)

So yeah, I'm for certificates issued by neutral third-party organizations - and preferably for skill sets rather than knowledge of a specific product version. I do realize some software is complex enough that a certificate for knowledge of that product might be useful, and I would agree that SQL Server and Oracle likely fall into that category. I just think it's important to know what the testing is based on for any certificate when you use it in the hiring process. Then you know what it shows about the person who holds it.