NQ Logic recommends reading the story behind Oracle acquisition of Sun, and the impact on the Open Source Movement at www.nqlogic.com

The EU is throwing its weight around - its done this with GE, Microsoft and now Oracle - probably others not sure. Apparently the author of this silly article thinks its appropriate. Obviously people in the US are less enamored of the potential economic power the EU seems willing to wield to show that its still relevant. The US Senators are now also voicing their frustration with outside meddling of US corporations - and this article implies withoutoffering a shred of proof that the US approved it because they are corrupt.

My guess is a) the deal will get done and Oracle will hold onto mysql... some assurances may have to be given however there is really no-anti-trust issues here ...
b) There will have to be a come to jesus meeting between the US and EU to knock this crap off ...

Sure lets create another giant corporation, that when the chips are down, Were going to hear " Their to big to let fall, we need to bail them out with tax payers money". They will get the money, because these giants control the paper work that keeps the companies running.

... after the dot com implosion. They're steadily losing market and employees since then. BTW: Sun Spain has been devastated and emptied, before the EU decision and after being one of the most successful branches of Sun (related to the size of this market). Oracle has bought an expiring body and the EU will not be responsible for the final demise of Sun, even if the deal is not approved. BUT... MySQl should never having the stopper. That's a fact. The Oracle v EU drama has evolved so bad for Oracle because of the approach of Oracle towards Brussels. These things happen when you don't show the "due defference" to the regulators. They have all the power and nothing to lose and --on top of that-- they receive your arrogance like a gift from heaven... Waving the Open Source flag must have been a reinforcing experience for these guys in Brussels.
[I don't know if you can feel my deep sarcasm here]

Larry Ellison could have found many ways to appease Neelie Kroes and avoid this situation. First and foremost, he should have gone to Brussels long before August. And he could have entirely spared all those angry remarks and badly dissimulated threats after September 3... I can imagine the laughs in Brussels!!

Instead of being a reasonable businessman, he choosed the old ellisonian way: "My Way Or The Highway".... Geez! ... Being a billionaire must be a very blinding experience...

Politicians love the rifts. The louder the noise the better for them. More hits, more headlines. They live on stage... I don't know if this massive letter will be useful or hurtful for Oracle... I have a lot of doubts about the wisdom of the idea.. In my opinion it is going in the wrong direction... again

59 senators joined US DOJ urging EU comission to approve this merger.

Regardless of official statements, it is very possible that by pressuring Oracle to divest MySQL, EU is trying to protect two European competitors: SAP and MariaDB (MySQL clone). Using a tiny portion of database market to object this deal is unprecedented. All mergers by this logic are anti-competitive for one reason or another. However, mergers are important part of business since they allow companies to acquire competitive advantages instead of growing them internally. EU regulators need to compromise on this issue and be consistent with the past decisions.

Oracle has a right to walk away from this deal, since there are not a lot of remedies that are realistic. The delay also caused damage to Sun's competitve ability. It is not likely that anyone wants to buy MySQL for 1 billion dollars (this is how much Sun paid for it). If Oracle walks away then Sun goes out of business. If Sun goes out of business there will be no benefit to the consumers and awful a lot of jobs lost (including many european jobs). All of this for 17 million euro in MySQL revenues? Europeans companies do a lot of business in the US, and there may be new laws and enforcement actions that protect american companies as retaliation to EU anticompetitive bias.

I am a US citizen. US Politicians seem to struggle between what is right, what will get them reelected and what will put money in their pockets. If you think their is one politician that is only doing what is best for the people, then you are either deluded, or perhaps a miracle has happened. But I'm betting on deluded. For me I'll settle for a politician that at tries at least some of the time to do what is best for the people.

Personally I hope the EU is able to force Oracle to sell off the Open Source MySQL back to the original owner. I saw somewhere that he was interested in buying it back.

Etienne66

To be fair you have not won a war ever with out European help... oh other than that action in Grenada where the enemy were two fat seagulls and a cuban puppy called Wags

You Europeans can say what you like about us American, however there is one fact that remains unchallenged through the test of time. you haven't won a war without our help since we left...

If judged by the overall society America is rated at about center of the list for corrupt countries which isn't too bad. If one considers corruption at only the top echelons the the United States is rated near the top of the list.

American citizens can trust their government as much as Nigerian Citizens can trust theirs.

Ah, the American gets all defensive because the poor old corporation is being treated poorly by us dirty old Europeans.

As an American citizen, I heartily applaud your snarky, sarcastic characterization of American government bureaucrats:

"After all US regulators are always right, are not open to bribes, don't make mistakes and are full of enlightened geniuses who other countries can hope to emulate."

Such an enlightened opinion makes me wonder if perhaps not all Euro-peons are congenitally useless parasites (CUPs), just those in government "service".

Remember though, our government CUPs learned everything they know from your government CUPs.