Open Source: MySQL
What can you say about a product that, more than anything, was cause for a holdup by European regulators into Oracle's multibillion-dollar takeover of Sun Microsystems? MySQL is a solid database acquired after Sun's purchase of open-source MySQL AB. Sun kept the product as an open-source option, only charging for some enterprise-level features. (European officials have voiced concerns that giving Oracle control over MySQL will hinder competitive choices in the marketplace, a concern Oracle says is misguided.) MySQL is good and as much of the industry begins to take advantage of a burgeoning "app store" model for software delivery, it certainly has a bright future.
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