There are two essays by MySQL CEO Marten Mickos this week, both in the form of a question.  Marten has a curious way of provoking people which is to ask the hard questions and let people draw their own conclusions.  You may agree or disagree, but you'll end up thinking about the issues.  Anyways, not to sound like I'm sucking up, but I thought these were both interesting. 

• Always-On: Will they all go open source?
• European Business Forum: Is europe losing its edge?

MySQL has a datatype for the storage of sets in one simple column. It provides a FIND_IN_SET() function to deal with this in SELECT queries. However it still lacks an ADD_TO_SET() and REMOVE_FROM_SET() to use in UPDATEs. The usual workarounds you find on the web generate warnings or even wrong results with some special cases. So with MySQL 5.0 it's definitely the time to build a clean emulation for these two functions using stored routines. Or is it not (yet)?

Some thoughts on the SET type first: I find it to be very convenient in certain situations (see the Reference Manual or Mike Hillyer's article The MySQL SET Datatype for more on this MySQL specific feature). Of course using it means …

Just where is Oracle planning on targeting the new Oracle 10g Express Edition?
The obvious answer would be to counter the arch nemesis Microsoft, and the low end product offerings, like the MS SQL Server and the low end free engine MSDE. I didn’t realise to recently, that Microsoft have finally released the next version of MS SQL Server, being 2005, and at the same time provide a free cut down offering, strangely enough called “Express Edition”. It’s taken Microsoft 5 years. Makes you wonder if Database Technology is a high priority!

Is Oracle also now threatened in anyway by MySQL? I think not, however the continued growth of MySQL, it’s availability on any Linux server and in many distros, and now …

The first Boston MySQL meetup is just a few days away. There are 50 who have RVSPd "Yes", and another 21 who have RSVPd "Maybe". I guess it's good Sheeri (group organizer) found a larger space. We originally debated whether a room for 10-15 would be large enough. Apparently not.

If you aren't sure whether you should come, consider these points:

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• pizza and soda is being provided by the MySQL AB folks
  
• Apress sent me a selection of books (including ProMySQL) and a handful of t-shirts to give away
  
• …

may have already noticed this. But I changed the CAPTCHA in my blog from the rather obnoxious and very hard to read image generated by the code I picked up from the PEAR::Text_CAPTCHA sample to a fairly simple math problem. It seems to hold off spam well for now. Expect the math problem to increase in difficulty once I get spam (or stupid comments) but for now all is well. Now even Wez should be able to solve it on first try :-)

I have also added a FSFE fellow button. I have actually been a FSFE fellow since LinuxTag this summer and I cannot stress enough how important the work of the FSFE is to ensure that open source can stand up to …

Sometimes the simple things amaze me (or amuse me) most. Here are a few I've come across on this trip:

• My Yahoo employee badge works in Taiwan. Yes, I can go half way around the world and my badge still unlocks the door so that I can work. Nice!
• I was having breakfast this morning at the hotel and ended up sitting next to a guy who grew up in Toledo, Ohio (so did I). He's been working at his current job for 8 years and lives less than 10 minutes from my parents. Apparently the farther I go from home, the greater the odds of running into someone "from home" seem to be.
• Bubble Tea. The guys in Taiwan got me some Bubble Tea at lunch today. Yum.
• MySQL 5.0 has a "blackhole" storage engine. It's basically an idea I suggested to them 2-3 years ago. I'm glad to see they've implemented it even though I …

By nat

It's like oatmeal but tastes better and isn't good for you! It's the link round-up ...

• Linux backers form patent-sharing firm--another step along the path to finding a sane solution to the problem of software patents. A lot of people are building these patent communes. I wonder when we'll find the TCP/IP of patent indemnity offerings, something that everyone can use, join, and benefit from.
• eBid launches in UK--I've been wondering about eBay lately. In the beginning you could get great bargains, but as the volume went up the market found consistent price points. It's harder to find bargains now. Is the solution to have more online marketplaces? If so, what's the incentive for listers to use them? …

Michael Goulde is Forrester's go-to guy on open source. I like his reports - definitely worth buying.

In a report he did in June - Open Source Usage Is Up, But Concerns Linger - Michael surveys a range of large enterprises (95+), and comes up with some interesting data (below). I've included some of it here, but highly recommend that you buy and read his full report to get the full story. (Btw, you can find some of Forrester's data from last year's report here in this eWeek article.

First, Goulde's research clearly shows that open source is rising.

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In Dave's last harangue (no, the one that came after spanking Shai @ SAP), he asks:I think SugarCRM is proving that replacing proprietary apps is really not that big of a deal, but does the world need 5 more open source CRM companies?My answer? Absolutely.

SugarCRM is helping to level-set expectations of what is really needed in a CRM system, and what it should cost [Note: I'm on SugarCRM's advisory board.]. Same with Alfresco in Enterprise Content Management [Note: I work for Alfresco], JBoss in application servers, …

In Dave's last harangue (no, the one that came after spanking Shai @ SAP), he asks:

I think SugarCRM is proving that replacing proprietary apps is really not that big of a deal, but does the world need 5 more open source CRM companies?My answer? Absolutely.

SugarCRM is helping to level-set expectations of what is really needed in a CRM system, and what it should cost [Note: I'm on SugarCRM's advisory board.]. Same with Alfresco in Enterprise Content Management [Note: I work for Alfresco], JBoss in application servers, MySQL in databases, etc. Some might call it commodification, or lowering the bar. I …