So,finally some good news...Concessions offered by Oracle Corp. on Monday are reportedly enough to win the approval of European regulators to OK the $7.4 billion deal for its acquisition of Sun Microsystems Inc.
Basically the tug of war is some how seems to resolve as Oracle promises to maintain the viability of the open source MySQL database and would enhance MySQL and release future versions of the software if it is allowed to acquire Sun.
Well Why there is so much buzz around the issue of MySQL...?????
It’s a valid question. Why is CEO Larry Ellison fighting so hard for full control of mySQL, if not to kill its ambition and reduce its value?
The fuss is about the fact that Oracle has stated, quite plainly, that they intend to bury mySQL, not praise it. They’re going to treat it as one would the acquisition of any competitor. So they plan to slot it into the product line as a starter database, an adjunct, certainly not anything that can compete with Oracle’s system.
Many UK-based open source advocacy groups believe that Ellison wants the power without taking that responsibility. In fact he’s demanding it.If Oracle is allowed to acquire MySQL, it will predictably limit the development of the functionality and performance of the MySQL software platform, leading to profound harm to those who use MySQL software to power applications.
This seems to be a peculiarly European view.
The American view is that there are both closed source and open source alternatives to mySQL, specifically PostgreSQL and Ingres.They plan to pump up MySQL as part of the Sun takeover. Oracle even followed up with a pledge to MySQL customers, developers and users. The European view is that open source must be allowed to grow up, and communities must be allowed to compete directly with the big boys, or competition is not real.
OPEN SOURCE.....
Hmmmm....Open source??????
Well so much we have read about open source code..but yet we need to look at its other dimensions..possibilities and business nature.Let us take this head-on.
Open source is a release of code from the shadow of its owner.
When a program is proprietary or closed source, it’s yours. You own it. You can feed it or you can kill it.
Not so with open source. When software is made open source it is with the knowledge that its fate is shared among all stakeholders. The contributions that make it valuable may well come from outside, the direction of the software is no longer completely in the hands of its owner or sponsor.
Open source companies don’t own the code bases that are in their charge. The code bases are, in fact, owned by the community, simply by virtue of being open source.so the code can be expanded, so it will draw more developers.
Open source creates enormous value, but most of this value is captured by customers, not by open source businesses, and certainly not by Wall Street. It goes from developers to consumers, and cuts out the middle man.
This is not to say you can’t make money on open source. IBM makes a ton. Google makes a ton, too. Microsoft has figured out the trick. So have thousands of service companies, maybe tens of thousands around the world.That’s how open source works. In open source, control goes to whoever invests time and money into improving the code. Value is in the code, not in its sale.Here companies are responsible for the software they control. They do not own it. It’s not “my” software. It’s “our” software.
This is the attitude you must take if you’re to make a success of an open source business.This is why many in the proprietary world confuse it with communism, or socialism, or some other foreign -ism.Ellison may or may not be thinking that way.
Open source be not proud. Open source code responds to whomever gives it the love of time. The parents aren’t those who gave it the DNA of capital, but those who gave it the love of hard work.
Well coming back to the issue,Oracle has assured the European Union that the software giant will continue investing in Sun’s MySQL open source database. That move potentially clears the way for Oracle’s pending buyout of Sun Microsystems, according to published reports. But more importantly, the move positions Oracle to potentially undercut Microsoft’s SQL Server database.
Still, there are whispers about a forthcoming Oracle move. It involves a potential Oracle plan to launch an Unbreakable MySQL push against Microsoft SQL Server.Already, Oracle has built a Linux specialization for channel partners.
If Oracle gobbles up MySQL.....should Microsoft panic???? Certainly not!!!! But more twists and turns..more fierce competition is coming...No doubt....And it's going to be too interesting to watch...
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