begin oe_protect.scr
Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
> __/ [ Mark Kent ] on Tuesday 27 June 2006 12:37 \__
>
>> begin oe_protect.scr
>> Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
>>> Oracle vs. Microsoft: The open source factor
>>>
>>> ,----[ Quote ]
>>>| "The biggest threat to Microsoft is Linux and open source software."
>>>| Myles Halsband, consultant, Monument Data Solutions
>>> `----
>>>
>>>
> http://searchoracle.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid41_gci1195863,00.html
>>
>> This kind of things serves to put me off oracle. I'm not interested in
>> yet another lock-in model, or who the next Microsoft wannabe is.
>> Deliberately disrupting the development of mysql serves to convince me
>> yet further that we should be backing open offerings by preference.
>
> Ellison tries to but MySQL. Mind you, he bought many Open Source companies
> and he now takes pride in being an "Open Source"(-friendly) vendor (misuse
> of the buzzword). The Oracle guys recently released BerkeleyDB, which is
> Open Source, but all the same, they snub OSDL while claiming they contribute
> a lot to the kernel.
That's not smart. I think the power of the community behind free
software is it's real engine. Snubbing parts of it is not good
thinking. They're still thinking 100% as a proprietary company.
>
> The same with regards to contributions cannot be said about their proprietary
> databases, which usually ride atop Linux and are locking in the customers
> (free introductory offers can be tempting).
As per a previous posting of mine, this is how the exit barrier is
created - the initial offerings are free, but once product X is
established, the price will begin to rise. Before you know it, the cost
of exit is /just/ below the cost of total replacement of everything.
This is one major reason why the desktop threat to MS has had to be free
- MS have got the supply chain for PCs and software so vertically locked
that it's been virtually impossible for anyone to compete with them by
attempting to enter via the chain. The ubuntu live CD ends all that
from where I'm sitting - it's good enough to run on anything with a
0.5GHz processor upwards, even with relatively small memory
footprints.
>
> All in all, I think that Oracle could put an ugly and greedy face on the
> Linux trademark. I am not fond of the thought of Linux becoming evil when
> put in the wrong hands. Many people already loathe Google, whom they
> consider vain and unfair.
>
Google are suffering at the moment, for sure, but I think in part that
/their/ focus is on MS, not on the linux landscape, so their behaviour
is affected by that.
--
| Mark Kent -- mark at ellandroad dot demon dot co dot uk |
Good day to avoid cops. Crawl to work.
|
|
