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September 28, 2005

Open Source Tool for Flash Presentations

This isn't really Oracle specific, but it's a tool I think a lot of technology folks out there could make use of. It is called Wink.


Wink allows you to take screenshots, and then generate explanation boxes and arrows which combine to create a powerful presentation in Flash. This is perfect for web-based tutorials. It works on Windows, Linux, and has multilingual support too.

Posted by admin at 10:59 PM | Comments (0)

Security Oracle with Open Standards

Pete Finnigan hosts an excellent weblog on Oracle and security. He's got a piece discussing a Meet The Experts in which an open standard for securing Oracle is discussed.

Posted by admin at 10:48 PM | Comments (0)

Peru Requiring Open Source Consideration

Peru has passed legislation requiring public institutions to consider Open Source alternatives to traditional commercial solutions. Thus they join a growing list of governments bucking the trend of procurement practices that unfairly deny Open Source software solutions. Peru attempts to exclude the proprietary solutions! Linux Journal has an excellent in depth discussion of Linux and Government procurement hurdles.


In related news, Portland Oregon is hosting the first Government Open Source Convention. That site is also an excellent place to keep up with government Open Source developments and adoption.

Posted by admin at 10:28 PM | Comments (0)

MySQL through an Oracle DBA Lens

Jeff Hunter writes about automating the role of Oracle DBA in his blog So What?.


I read his blog fairly often as it is insightful, and full of interesting information. This week we're in for a real treat as he has written a four part series about MySQL.


Many Oracle DBAs are starting to be taxed with a MySQL database or two, and don't know where to start. Here's where, MySQL to an Oracle DBA, Part I, Part II, Part III and finally Part IV. Enjoy!

Posted by admin at 02:24 AM | Comments (0)

September 19, 2005

Restoring an Open World

Oracle's Openworld conference this week got started with a big keynote by Charles Phillips. Oracle's push is to reemphasize open standards and Open Source in a big way. The upcoming release of the application server will support IBM's Websphere as well as Open Source Apache, Spring, and Hibernate, underlining their commitment to Open platforms and standards with a hotswappable architecture. Good stuff.


UPDATE: Just got out of Larry's talk this afternoon, and he reiterated the commitment to opening up the middle tier. Compatability with JBoss or Websphere is a dramatic shift, and welcome. But what about the database tier, one attendee asked during Q&A? In all of the aquired products, Peoplesoft, and JD Edwards, for instance, multiple backend databases will continue to be supported. Whether or not various databases will be supported with the eBiz suite is still up in the air. That it's being considered though, again, underlies a generally open stance on these questions. He also maintained that going forward, in five years, SAP as well as the Salesforce.com's of the world will continue to be serious competition.

Posted by admin at 09:35 PM | Comments (0)

September 14, 2005

Called an Open Challenge?

Dana Blankenhorn has posted an interesting twist on the new Siebel deal. He mentioned the Open source connection, specifically in connection with Oracle's recent hire of Omar Tazi as Open Source Evangelist. He also mentions the threat from Salesforce.com, and application service providers like it.

I think a threat in that regard is arguable, as such application service providers inevitably rely on a big database vendor, and Oracle is the perfect fit. However, the connection to industry consolidation is clear. In addition there are other such service providers that offer a one-stop-shop solution for companies that need SAP or Oracle e-Business Suite, and these are often the darlings of the Openworld event. In a related point, I found out about Salesforce.com's AppExchange program which borrows a bit from the Open Source model.

Posted by admin at 03:18 AM | Comments (0)