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Jan 19 2008   1:06PM GMT

Overheard: Sun and MySQL — was Oracle behind it?



Posted by: Margaret Rouse
Oracle, Sun, conspiracy theories
john_dvorak.jpg I’m close to being convinced that Oracle wanted to buy MySQL to kill the product, but knew it couldn’t pull off the stunt itself. So it sent in a stooge to do the job.

John C. Dvorak, The Sun-MySQL deal stinks

Let’s begin by putting MySQL in perspective: It’s the most competitive and biggest threat to Oracle Corp., if for no other reason than it’s cheaper, and in many applications, more practical.

It’s used extensively by the open-source community and is the engine that runs almost all the blogging software — including the successful WordPress, which is used as the blogging-content back end for the New York Times, among other large commercial enterprises.

I love a good conspiracy theory. The drama, the suspense, the twisted plot lines — and when Larry Ellison is a main character, it’s even better.

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Rm sharkey  |   Jan 21 2008   12:04PM GMT

Okay, first of all, if you take the “track record” of Sun acquisitions quoted by Mr. Dvorak (http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/investor/sun_facts/merger_history.jsp). Look at that list closely. Do you see any potential winners? I don’t. Are they going no place because of the Sun acquisition? No, they are going no place because they are losers to begin with, with or without Sun Microsystems.

Now let’s take a look at Sun Microsystem’s recent track record with respect to Open Source Software: http://www.sun.com/software/opensource/index.jsp - pretty respectable in my view. I think this deal will end up being one of the crown jewels of the Sun Open Source effort, and is currently gaining a lot of praise from the Open Source community. Also see: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/141439/sun_mysql_merger_open_source_synergy.html

R. Michael Sharkey


 

MargaretRouse  |   Jan 22 2008   2:52AM GMT

Thanks for being the voice of reason! I do agree that Sun has an excellent track record with open source — and I like your turn of phrase “The MySQL deal will be one of the crown jewels in the Sun Open Source effort.” I just wish I didn’t picture Larry Ellison wanting the crown for himself.