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According to CNet, Oracle is about to launch a free version of its flagship 10g RDBMS called "Express Edition." It seems more than coincidental that the name includes the word "Express" given that Microsoft already announced plans for a free version of SQL Server next year with the same "Express" product label.

Not to confuse, Oracle is not releasing any source code here. But I think it would be naive to believe this isn't an attempt to take the pressure off enterprise IT decision-makers who have been facing tough questions on why they shouldn't use open source products like MySQL and PostgreSQL where those products more than meet requirements and where the free upfront licensing cost is quite attractive to business leaders.

Unfortunately, I think this may serve to confuse people on the matter that the zero dollar price tag of free software -- "free as in beer" to quote Stallman -- is the primary value of open source software. Let no one be confused, it's the quality of the code that makes open source software useful, plus the freedom to modify and change to meet your personal needs. I like to think of the zero dollar initial cost as a nice extra.

Another interesting bit in this article is the reference to "low-end databases." Going back several years, Oracle's tongue in cheek remarks about open source databases were that they might suffice for low-end uses, a snobbish way of saying that grown-ups eventually all turn to Oracle, and that they were a net gain for Oracle. This is a change in that positioning. I would guess that they've seen enough customers use MySQL when they were small and then figured out ways of scaling it so that they did not need Oracle as they grew. In that light, this repositioning makes good sense if you're looking out for Oracle's market share and you believe MySQL challenges it.

Posted by chris at 12:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

ZDNet has a critical article on software-as-a-service business models and takes particular pride in poking at Microsoft's attempts at changing from the traditional perpetual software license model. Their comment on salesforce.com not being a software-as-a-service model because it does not actually deliver software, but rather just functionality, is also an interesting nuance I've not seen before. Under that definition, no ASP could be considered providing software as a service.

Posted by chris at 08:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

The past two weeks I've read a flurry of blog posts engaging in debate on the best definition of today's favorite buzz phrase: Web 2.0. A lot of people are now linking to Joel Spolsky's contrarian viewpoint, which seems to have put a nice capstone on the conversation. At the risk of sounding as if I'm simply echoing his mixture of bafflement and contempt, I, too, have been confused by the mixture of conversations on pure technologies, applications of technology, and human behavior/social ill solutions I've come across with the phrase "Web 2.0" in their context.

Nicholas Carr, most reknowned for his collection of essays titled "Does IT Matter?," had one of the more intellectual contributions here: http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2005/10/the_amorality_o.php.

Posted by chris at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

More specifically, this InfoWorld article says the five things VCs should look for are:

1. it must be targeting a large area of the market with its product,
2. ensure there's both a community to help with development of the software and a large pool of potential users likely to want to download the products,
3. be sure its software will require support it can charge for,
4. have expertise in the area of the market it's aiming at,
5. and finally, be patient.

Here is the link:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/10/28/HNopensource2_1.html

Posted by chris at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Haven't posted in a while, but in that time I've had a few projects underway. I discovered a plugin for MythTV called MythStream, and one of the things I've been up to is getting that integrated with my Myth box. After a fair amount of tweaking, mostly on the UI side to get it to look like my Myth theme and fit on the TV screen nicely, it's now running and, boy, is it sweet. It has a rudimentary podcast client built into it, which means all those podcasts I miss in the car or that I want Stephanie to hear can now be easily accessible here at home. I say "rudimentary" not to slam the author in any way -- I'm extremely grateful -- but simply because it doesn't have a lot of the features that iPodder or iTunes have. I'm talking about things like expiring content, automatically checking feeds on a timed basis, that sort of stuff. The parsers MythStream depends on are just Perl scripts, so I could hack those up and/or set up some cron jobs to get those features, but I'll just wait until it becomes a major inconvenience not to have them. I'm also loving the raison d'existance for the plugin, streaming audio and video feeds. Someone on the Myth list posted a SQL script that dumps all of the BBC streams into the database so that I can easily navigate and choose from them with my remote. My exposure to streamed content is going to increase dramatically, I think. Before, Shoutcast and C-SPAN Radio constituted the bulk of my streaming use.

Anyway, if you have a MythTV box, get MythStream. It's worth the hassle of setting up. If you do not have MythTV, why are you reading this?

Posted by chris at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's pretty well established that no longer does one have to sign a contract with real estate agent at 3% commission in order to get listed in the MLS, the primary database most real estate professionals use to find homes. In my search for such an agent to get our FSBO on the MLS, I came across http://www.100dollarmls.com. The FAQ on the site is really interesting and revealed to me some insider tips I never would have known.

So we signed up with this agent, got a sign with his name on it, and a lockbox for on the door. We'll see how this goes, but I now feel like we're getting serious about moving the house.

Posted by chris at 09:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)