Oracle's fiduciary duty to stop the open-source movement

TalkBack 1 of 30:

Next »

• Thread View
• Flat View

Sounds too good to be true

An acquisition of MySQL, for example, would provide Oracle with an incredible return on its investment in just a matter of months because it would stop the loss of tens of millions of dollars in lost new business.

I wonder why Microsoft didn't think of that?

As the saying goes, "WHen something sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't."

Your assumption is that buying MySQL, the company, would allow Oracle to shut down MySQL, the software libre. Alas, that's not how it works. Since the MySQL code is out and licensed beyond the ability of Oracle to recall, there's nothing that they can do to prevent others from continuing to use it.

At most, Oracle could refuse to contribute new work to the open project. Unfortunately, MySQL-the-company isn't making all of those and any withdrawal would just result in a code fork -- with the new code not being dual-licensable.

Posted by: Yagotta B. Kidding   Posted on: 02/17/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• Five Steps to Determine When to Virtualize YourServers VMware Server virtualization isn't just for big companies. Entry-level ... Download Now
• The Impact of Virtualization Software on Operating Environments VMware Today's use of virtualization technology allows IT professionals to ... Download Now
• Three Steps You Need to Know to Stop Data Loss Varonis Sensitive data exposed to misuse or loss... it is the stuff of nightmares ... Download Now