Mike West

What is becoming known in open source software circles as "The Oracle Event" is likely to be a watershed event for the open source movement for several reasons. Due to the terms of its open source license, Red Hat cannot effectively prevent Oracle from licensing, reselling, and supporting its version of Linux. In effect, Red Hat - and almost any other open source software developer or distributor - provides well-positioned competitors, especially large IT "Master Brands" such as Oracle, with the ability to compete directly, and possibly to put them out of business. The Oracle move is strategically brilliant. Oracle gains an almost-instant, solid foothold in open source, which is one of the fastest-growing software market segments in the world, and which has extremely br... (more)

i-Technology Viewpoint: Will "The Oracle Event" Kill Red Hat?

What is becoming known in open source software circles as “The Oracle Event” is likely to be a watershed event for the open source movement for several reasons. Due to the terms of its open source license, Red Hat cannot effectively prevent Oracle from licensing, reselling, and supporting its version of Linux. In effect, Red Hat – and almost any other open source software... (more)