[LUNI] Sun to Begin Close Sourcing MySQL

[Martin Maney]

On Fri, Apr 18, 2008 at 10:00:02AM -0500, Trev Peterson wrote:
> Does it take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you buy one of the
> most widely deployed FLOSS Databases and THEN close part of it you will
> lose face and standing with the FLOSS community.  Couldn't you have
> MySQL AB close parts just BEFORE acquisition?  Couldn't you start to

Last I heard, the parts-to-be-closed was in fact something Mysql had
been planning before the acquisition.

> open Java BEFORE you make OpenOffice heavily dependent on it.  Why not

The way I recall it - and here, as with Mysql, I have to confess to not
being/having been deeply interested, so perhaps I have it wrong - but
the way I recall it the "java rewrite" came back before there was an
OpenOffice.

> 4. Sun was a late adopter of FLOSS.

In many respects.  There were much earlier releases, such as NFS, but
the purity of their motive there isn't too clear, what with the large
dollop of obvious self-interest (make it easy for everyone else to talk
to the NFS servers you hope to sell?  releasing a little code is small
beer compared to that upside.)

Of course it's also true that IBM's interest in Linux has been driven
by an anticipation of bottom-line benefits (and they're always been
pretty clear about that).  So perhaps the difference is more in
perception than fact... but it's a pretty widespread perception.

-- 
And in the end, reality always tends to hit theory hard
in the face when you least expect it.  - Linus