The Oracle didn't see that coming?

stuhayes2010: The Oracle didn't see that coming?

She's still sniffing fumes..

MySQL wasn't a competitive threat before. Rebrand it, continue to offer it for free, and charge for support. Done.

I work know someone who works for Oracle, so I am getting a kick...

I dont see the European's problem with this. One of their suggestions might be to spin off mysql. Ummm....its open source, if Oracle behaves badly some one will fork it and spin it off anyway. Problem pre-solved via licensing.

Technically MySQL still isn't really a competitive threat to Oracle. Noone who is looking for a free/cheap database would consider Oracle, few looking for an Oracle type database would consider MySQL. They really serve totally different markets. MS-SQL sits in the middle between these markets, a viable competitor to MySQL, while also reasonable alternative for a web host back-end.

The problem comes is that Oracle won't have motivation to expand MySQLs capabilities as they won't want it to cross that line.

mysql's already been forked. Part of the whole "open source" thing. Oracle buying Sun definitely brings up some competitive concerns - the biggest for me is limiting support for their software running on non-Sun iron - but mysql is not one of them.

As a former MySQL employee I'm getting a kick... etc.

The fork article, while interesting, actually covers storage engines more than actual forks. And many of those forks are as much a fork as CentOS is a fork of RHEL.

Thing is, think of Coke: even if the formula was out there, only the stuff with the Coke brand is the real thing in most people's minds (no pun intended). It's similar with MySQL and the current forks. Most people don't use them, they go to the source. You kill it and a sizable percentage will not head to the forks, especially the beginners with a copy of something like PHP and MySQL Web Development, they will seek out the officially named tools because they won't even know about the forks.

I'm a physicist by trade, and not overly computer nerdy. Could someone tell me what Oracle does? I've visited the website and am still not sure.

Squeebee: Thing is, think of Coke: even if the formula was out there, only the stuff with the Coke brand is the real thing in most people's minds (no pun intended). It's similar with MySQL and the current forks. Most people don't use them, they go to the source. You kill it and a sizable percentage will not head to the forks, especially the beginners with a copy of something like PHP and MySQL Web Development, they will seek out the officially named tools because they won't even know about the forks.

Meh... They will eventually. Firefox was born from the leftover open-source scraps of a much more popular product. I'm sure there are other examples.

Plus, who cares. PostgreSQL is still out there to compete.

I say this as someone who uses MySQL for a living. If there was a clean upgrade path to a fork, in the event that MySQL dies, my company would take it.

I see that MySQL 6 is dead. That makes me a bit nervous.

stuhayes2010: I'm a physicist by trade, and not overly computer nerdy. Could someone tell me what Oracle does? I've visited the website and am still not sure.

They accept large sums of money from corporate entities in exchange for providing software to manage large amounts of data. They accept more money from same to make the software actually work for said entities...

stuhayes2010: I'm a physicist by trade, and not overly computer nerdy. Could someone tell me what Oracle does? I've visited the website and am still not sure.

The core business started out with the Oracle database. Today (Sun acquisition notwithstanding), the company has two primary lines of business: Applications and IT technology.

The applications side provides "off the shelf" (haha) solutions that server a variety of needs - Financial Services, Manufacturing, Inventory Management, Medical Clinical Trials, etc. etc. etc.

The IT tech side provides the raw technology to develop your own solutions, including the database, application server, and development tools.

/i'm one of larry's evil minions on development tools

gimpel: I work know someone who works for Oracle, so I am getting a kick...

I can see Oracle offices from my window so I'm also getting a kick...

RatOmeter: stuhayes2010: I'm a physicist by trade, and not overly computer nerdy. Could someone tell me what Oracle does? I've visited the website and am still not sure.

They accept large sums of money from corporate entities in exchange for providing software to manage large amounts of data. They accept more money from same to make the software actually work for said entities...

This is just about what I would say about them too. The only people I would say that is worse for this is SAP who I personally have worked for 3 companies who had really difficult issues when trying to swap to SAP.

sotua: gimpel: I work know someone who works for Oracle, so I am getting a kick...

I can see Oracle offices from my window so I'm also getting a kick...

Ever bump into Larry at the Sofitel while he's hitting on co-eds?

European commissioners are struggling to reconcile of the words "Larry Ellison" and "free" in the same sentence

Hmmm . . . would "free on bail" sound better?

MySQL a competitor to Oracle? Sorry, I just don't buy it. MySQL's great, but the sort of people who buy Oracle look at DB2 and SQL Server.

farkeruk: MySQL a competitor to Oracle? Sorry, I just don't buy it. MySQL's great, but the sort of people who buy Oracle look at DB2 and SQL Server.

And Sybase.

MySQL a direct competitor for Oracle?

Diogenes: sotua: gimpel: I work know someone who works for Oracle, so I am getting a kick...

I can see Oracle offices from my window so I'm also getting a kick...

Ever bump into Larry at the Sofitel while he's hitting on co-eds?

Nopes, not those Oracle offices. The other ones. No, the other other ones...

sotua: gimpel: I work know someone who works for Oracle, so I am getting a kick...

I can see Oracle offices from my window so I'm also getting a kick...

We've had a pile of Oracle developers on site for over a year. I feel like I've been kicked repeatedly from trying to balance my full time job with essentially another full time job working on this implementation project.

Teddy Hopper: We've had a pile of Oracle developers on site for over a year. I feel like I've been kicked repeatedly from trying to balance my full time job with essentially another full time job working on this implementation project.

This is why I steer clear of the Apps side of the house.

There is no way in hell that Larry Ellison wouldn't figure out how to squeeze some serious cash out of a product that runs 40% of the world's web sites.

rekoil: mysql's already been forked. Part of the whole "open source" thing. Oracle buying Sun definitely brings up some competitive concerns - the biggest for me is limiting support for their software running on non-Sun iron - but mysql is not one of them.

They would be incredibly stupid to do that.

Teddy Hopper: sotua: gimpel: I work know someone who works for Oracle, so I am getting a kick...

I can see Oracle offices from my window so I'm also getting a kick...

We've had a pile of Oracle developers on site for over a year. I feel like I've been kicked repeatedly from trying to balance my full time job with essentially another full time job working on this implementation project.

Welcome to Oracle's business model. It's very similar to Larry's methodology for hitting on co-eds at the Sofitel. It's insistent and persuasive at first and once you accept its presence, you're getting screwed.

Trey Le Parc:
Welcome to Oracle's business model. It's very similar to Larry's methodology for hitting on co-eds at the Sofitel. It's insistent and persuasive at first and once you accept its presence, you're getting screwed.

/mildly aroused

sotua: farkeruk: MySQL a competitor to Oracle? Sorry, I just don't buy it. MySQL's great, but the sort of people who buy Oracle look at DB2 and SQL Server.

And Sybase.

MySQL a direct competitor for Oracle?

Well try telling that to that idiot Neelie Kroes and the rest of the EC. These people are clueless and ignorant of the open source world and they are going to screw up the deal. Sun is imploding right now and morale there is in shreds (I know people there) and now the merger is being held up because of THIS.

I'm convinced this is a bunch of Euro-socialists getting their rocks off picking on an American company. Kroes is a moran.

MindStalker: Technically MySQL still isn't really a competitive threat to Oracle. Noone who is looking for a free/cheap database would consider Oracle, few looking for an Oracle type database would consider MySQL. They really serve totally different markets. MS-SQL sits in the middle between these markets, a viable competitor to MySQL, while also reasonable alternative for a web host back-end.

I disagree.

My company just migrated our web back end and development environments
from Oracle to MySQL, so they are most assuredly able to compete head to
head.

Given that, and the fact that Larry Ellison is pure unadulterated evil,
the EU is well right to investigate further him having the power to stamp
out a FOSS alternative to his closed-source product.