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12.09.09 Negative Reactions To Oracle's Acquisition Of MySQL  By John VinsonIt's a given fact of human nature that people despise change. We're creatures of habit, and we like things to remain the way they have been. There's of course some exceptions to the rule, but that isn't the case with Oracle's attempted acquisition of Sun Microsystems. If you haven't been keeping up, Oracle has been attempting to purchase Sun Microsystems since April, but has been stymied by the Europe's antitrust laws. The reason European authorities have questioned the buyout is due to the fate of MySQL. The argument being that Oracle would have possession of its once direct competition. Oracle has of course countered this argument, stating MySQL was never a direct competitor of Oracle. Hence we've been left with nothing but a stalemate for most of 2009. While the technicalities of the deal are being argued over, the open source community has spoken up about the acquisition. The 451 Group has released results from a recent poll, which involved 347 open source software users stating 82.1 percent of them are currently using MySQL. The figures from the study showed the number could drop to around 72.3 percent by 2014. Another interesting figure is fifteen percent of the respondents would be less likely to use MySQL if Oracle buys them out. On the flip side, only 6.3 percent would be more inclined to use MySQL under Oracle ownership. 451 Group analyst Matthew Aslett provided some interesting thoughts concerning the study, "We do not believe that Oracle would see any of the alternatives to divesting MySQL as any less of a last resort and we do not expect Oracle to offer any concessions" he continues, "However, we believe that Oracle might be more inclined to open up the development of the MySQL database under its own terms in order to encourage more widespread adoption." The latest news suggests Oracle might be reaching a deal with the EU, and has developed a compromise to please both parties. They've suggested a plan which would create a separate entity within Oracle that would completely house MySQL on it's own. Thus, keeping Oracle's direct control of MySQL out of the deal. Unfortunately, there's no more to report on at this time, as Oracle hasn't made an official statement regarding the compromise. It's been a trying year for MySQL users. There are many in the community who've seen Oracle's acquisition of Sun as simply a means to profit from MySQL, which up until now, has been completely open source and free to users. While their concerns aren't unjustified, I do wonder how much of it really is overblown. Hopefully Oracle's compromise will finally bring a resolution to this deal. I'm not saying I'm glad to see Oracle in ownership of MySQL, but having an ending is better than being left in suspense. About the Author: John is a staff writer for WebProNews. |
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