OStatic

It looks like fretting over the future of MySQL has reached a fever pitch. As we've reported before, MySQL has been losing customers to competitors such as IBM as the European Commission stalls the proposed acquisition of Sun Microsystems by Oracle. MySQL founder Michael 'Monty' Widenius and founder of the MySQL business, has suggested that Oracle should resolve antitrust concerns over its proposed $7.4 billion acquisition of Sun by committing to sell MySQL to a suitable third party. Widenius' missive on the recommendation is online here. In it, he says EU's antitrust regulator is absolutely right to be concerned about the acquisition but adds that Sun [shouldn't] suffer much longer.

The European Commission's months-long deliberation over Oracle's proposed acquisition of Sun Microsystems is still ongoing, causing many observers to conclude that Europe's pokey investigation is hurting Sun. There are signs, for example, that MySQL customers are jumping ship for Sun competitors, such as IBM. Former MySQL CEO M?rten Mickos has written Neelie Kroes, Europe's Competition Commissioner, a letter saying as much. While Oracle itself has been relatively quiet about the delay, Sunday night at the Oracle OpenWorld conference in San Francisco, both Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and Sun Microsystems Chairman Scott McNealy addressed an audience and vowed together that Sun's technologies will continue and improve under Oracle.