Further digestion
The media remains abuzz this week with speculation about Oracle’s Linux intentions.
CNet brought together the opinions of various Oracle watchers who suggested that CEO Ellison’s comments should be viewed as part of the company’s strategy, and could be read variously as a threat or flirtation with the likes of Red Hat and Novell.
Channel Insider and Computer World reported positive noises from the company’s partners and potential customers respectively.
“An Oracle-hatched version of Linux would undoubtedly be the most optimal when running Oracle [databases],” said Tony Jedlinski, vice president, administration and warehouse operations of Roman, a wholesale gift-ware distributor. “I don’t know if there’s a need yet. I’d have no hesitation adopting it if the Oracle brand name was on it.” An Oracle Linux would give more credibility to the open-source operating system and lessen any doubts users might have in adopting the software, he added.
There were detractors, however; the opinion at Sys-con was that Oracle should avoid getting itself directly involved in the operating system game, and should instead look at expanding its relationship with those currently involved, such as Red Hat.
Sean Michael Kerner at Internet News delved into the financial numbers from Oracle’s current Linux business to try and gauge the current size of their interest.