The rise of open source databases

AMR Research says database systems built from open source code are gaining in capabilities and enjoying rapid adoption by early users of new technology on IT staffs.

A report by Yahoo news quotes AMR saying open source databases will move into widespread mainstream use by 2006, being used for routing use in mission-critical systems.

The report says the main candidates for such use include MySQL, PostgreSQL and Firebird. AMR says developers have been using open source databases for several years, because they are free and do not add to the expense of experimental projects.

An advisory committee of the 15 European states is expected to endorse today a draft decision that Microsoft has broken EU competition law and must face sanctions.

A Reuters report says the European Commission draft requires Microsoft to share proprietary information with rival server makers and to provide computer manufacturers with a second version of Windows stripped of built-in audiovisual software.

The report says EU regulators have found that Microsoft has refused to halt its practices despite settlement talks and today`s ruling is aimed at setting out detailed plans to impose changes later this month.

The Virgin Group is to become the first traditional music vendor to move into the virtual marketplace following the announcement of a digital online store with MusicNet.

Yahoo news says the digital download store will use the Windows Media format and is scheduled to go online in the US in August, followed by Europe in November. The Virgin Digital store is expected to have an initial offering of 700 000 tracks.

The report says MusicNet will handle back-room functions and Virgin will take care of customer relations and billing.