Bonum Certa Men Certa

Michael Widenius Lobby Against Oracle a Matter of Self Interest

Michael Widenius in Prague
Photo from Kolbe



Summary: How the emergence of SkySQL weakens Monty's case against the company which bought (and continues to maintain) MySQL

"SugarCRM jumps the Open Source shark claiming closed is open and it's the rest of us who are mistaken," wrote Simon Phipps in Twitter. Phipps used to be the Open Source symbol of Sun Microsystems (now he is in OSI), whose employees that moved to Oracle might as well attempt to pass 'open' core as "Open Source" (hot subject at the moment [1, 2, 3]). Roberto Galoppini has published an opinion on 'open' core from Giuseppe Maxia (Oracle/MySQL), who calls it the "pragmatic freedom". As Pamela Jones (Groklaw) put it earlier this month, "I don't share his views, but I thought you'd like to hear from an open core defender, who also happens to work at Oracle on MySQL, as he presents what's been jokingly called the Yuppie Nuremberg Defense ("I had to pay my mortgage, etc.")."



“SugarCRM jumps the Open Source shark claiming closed is open and it's the rest of us who are mistaken”
      --Simon Phipps
Jones also points out that Michael "Monty" Widenius from MySQL (and from Microsoft's CodePlex Foundation) had personal financial interests while lobbying against Oracle's takeover of MySQL (he helped create SkySQL). "Another happy coincidence?"

That is what she asks anyway. "Consider the timing of the appeal of the Oracle-Sun deal by Monty before you answer," she adds. This is an especially hard subject for us to address because Techrights uses a MySQL database. So does Groklaw for that matter. As for Phipps, his Web site uses MySQL and he refuses to talk about MySQL under Oracle (at least in FLOSS Weekly). We are grateful to Widenius for MySQL, but this project is no longer his. He sold it and made millions.

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Saudi Arabia: GNU/Linux Rose From 0.1% to 2.9% (Not Counting Chromebooks)
Notice how steep an increase
"It's recommended to disable Secure Boot for a smoother experience."
Published a few days ago
GNU/Linux Now Measured at Almost 10% in Iraq, Even Higher Than Apple
So says/sees statCounter this month
Microsoft is Political Interference
a subject that very seldom comes up in political debates
'Stochastic Parrots' is a Good Description of a Passing Fad
We did several series explaining what they are and why they won't (or can't) work as advertised
An Important Goal Has Been Accomplished Already
Stubborn activists need to insist on a future where computer users actually control the computers they own
GNU/Linux up to 5% in Ireland, Not Counting Chromebooks
statCounter is an Irish
The War on Free Software Reporters - Part III - Doxing and LARPing
LARPing is an issue I've had to deal with for nearly 20 years
 
[Meme] "Make It Seem Like a Social Justice Issue"
Among Us Meeting meme
Janus Atienza (UNIX Men) Seems to Have Resorted to Garbage From LLMs, Disguised as 'Linux' 'Articles'...
Two examples from the past 24 hours (that's all of them)
[Meme] Steve Ballmer Explains WSL
"I have 3 words for you."
Help of Cover Issues of Interest
To be eagle-eyed and on top of issues we depend on input, including pointers
Free Software Foundation Has a New Recruit, Anouk Rozestraten
We only recently learned why the FSF no longer mentions public talks of its founder
[Meme] Microsoft Politicians
Microsoft gets to decide who can and cannot speak to representatives (politicians)
Windows Has Fallen to Just 11.9% in India (on Desktops/Laptops GNU/Linux Rose to 15%, on All Device Types Android Rose to All-Time High of Over 78%)
So only about 1 in 9 Web requests in India comes from Windows
Birds Don't Understand They're Free (Until Someone Cages Them)
In order to advocate and advance Software Freedom we'll need to illuminate the underlying problem/s
GNU/Linux is Hungry in Hungary
"GIVE DE MONEY BACK TO THE HUNGARY PEOPLE"
[Meme] Daniel Pocock Against GAFAM Interference in Irish Politics (for Tax Evasion and More)
Ireland rugby: Out of my way, I'm richer than you are
They're Trying to Kill the Internet Archive (and Wayback Machine). The Internet Archive Needs Your Help.
donate to the Internet Archive
A Record Week and Another Historic Day Next Monday
7 days from now the sister site turns 20
What GAFAM-Funded Organisations Tell You About Mr. Pocock is Untrue
Pocock, like Julian Assange, isn't the bad guy here. But some powerful people want you to think that he is.
Mr Pocock for Midlands-North-West (Ireland)
Mr Pocock has been vilified by those whom he exposed
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 02, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, June 02, 2024
Egypt: GNU/Linux Exceeds 6%, Windows Down to All-Time Low of 5%
Not counting ChromeOS
Gemini Links 03/06/2024: Maturity and Tenstorrent
Links for the day
In the Month of May 2024 the OSI's Blog Was Almost 100% Microsoft Lobbying, Microsoft Staff, Microsoft Proprietary Software, and Microsoft Events
Entryism complete. RIP, OSI.
Gemini Links 02/06/2024: Delayed Disappointment
Links for the day
statCounter: GNU/Linux on More Than 1 in 5 Desktops/Laptops
Desktop Operating System Market Share Norway
Reminder: The First CEO of IBM (Owner of Red Hat) Was "Convicted on Extortion" (According to Edwin Black, Author of "IBM and the Holocaust")
Red Hat is not a liberal company
GNU/Linux Market Share in Turkey Now Exceeds 10%, According to StatCounter
StatCounter (or statCounter) shows considerable increases
GNU/Linux in Germany: The Seven Percent
The historical data shows that it wasn't always like this
Slovenia: Windows Becomes Minority Market Share This Month
It finally happened. Android is now measured as bigger than Windows.
statCounter: Bing Has Lost Market Share Since the Chatbot Hype, in Europe Yandex Nearly Exceeds Bing Now
Bing also had many layoffs (not that the media bothered covering that); we must debunk Microsoft's baseless claims and deliberate lies/hype
Microsoft Windows Falls Below 10% in Africa, Down to About 20% in Asia
The future isn't Windows
Taiwan Can Defend Its Autonomy Better by Avoiding Microsoft (Back Doors)
Maybe it's just a coincidence that GNU/Linux "took off" when Hong Kong lost its perceived independence from China
The War on Free Software Reporters - Part IV - Impersonation and Menacing Behaviour, Defamation Under One's Own Name
Such serial defamation (that went on for a very long time) is coordinated and relentless
Links 02/06/2024: Workers' Strikes and a Warming World
Links for the day
Microsoft Falls to All-Time Low of 25% in Operating Systems
If Android is counted, Windows is in trouble as it's down to all-time low of 25%
Steam Survey: GNU/Linux Up, But Canonical's Ubuntu Declining
big increases for GNU/Linux, Arch Linux gaining at Ubuntu's expense
Guardian Digital, Inc (linuxsecurity.com) Leveraging Microsoft Chatbots to SPAM for Microsoft (Googlebombing "Linux")?
Welcome to the Web in 2024. Search for "Linux" news, get Windows garbage.
Smallest Number of New Debian Developers in More Than 2 Years
Maybe Debian should recognise there's a problem instead of trying to censor - at humongous expense - those who speak about the problem
Slashdot's "Linux" Section is Reposting Press Releases for Red Hat
Is this being paid for?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, June 01, 2024
IRC logs for Saturday, June 01, 2024
Links 01/06/2024: Microsoft Chaffbot Broken Out of Control
Links for the day
The Media Finally Admits (on a Regular Basis) That LLMs Suck
They could not replace medical doctors, teachers, lawyers etc.
Why We're Taking Things Up a Notch
Expect about 20 articles a day this year
Sites That Cover WSL Are Helping Microsoft's Attack on GNU/Linux
Calling out the typical culprits
Plans for June
We'll try to publish Daily Links every time we have enough of these
Links 01/06/2024: Ukraine Updates, MongoDB Collapses
Links for the day
Gemini Links 01/06/2024: MNT Pocket Reform, Gemini and Content Length
Links for the day
Links 01/06/2024: WeblogPoMo2024, Pentagon’s Increasing Reliance on (i.e. Bailouts to) Microsoft
Links for the day
Twitter is (in Many Ways) Already Dead
Put an 'X' on it
Posts About Free Software, BSD, and GNU/Linux
Focus shifts have occasionally been discussed here over the years
After Softpedia Pushed Out Its Linux News Editor - and Effectively Killed the Linux Section - it Killed the Whole News Section (Altogether)
So they've killed Linux coverage, then their whole "news" section died
Their Goal is Control, Not Security (and Their Staff Advocates Fake Security or Pricey Gimmicks That Disempower the Users)
Those companies just want control, or simply domination over users (and their computers)
[Meme] The Lowest Standards of Security
No need for any qualifications
IRC Proceedings: Friday, May 31, 2024
IRC logs for Friday, May 31, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
Cybersecurity is a structural not behavioural problem.
Reprinted with permission from Cyber|Show
Free Software is the Future, Open Source is Just Openwashing (Proprietary With a False Marketing Twist)
Also see postopen.org
Society Has Been Destabilised by Social Control Networks
Is it time to get rid of them, if not by sanctions/bans then simply by popular boycotts?
Gemini Turns 5 This Month
As long as Geminispace exists and is accessed by enough people, Gemini Protocol will continue to matter
Links 01/06/2024: More Crackdowns in Hong Kong, Street Named After Navalny
Links for the day