The Top 3 Open Source Stories to Follow

1. EU seen likely to OK Oracle-Sun deal: Oracle, an international company with more than $50 billion put in an offer to purchase Sun Microsystems, the creator of such open-source products as Java and MySQL. The purchase, which has been under investigation by the European Union based on anti-trust concerns, is now likely to go through because Oracle has claimed that it will maintain MySQL.

MySQL, which is currently Oracle's main competitor when it comes to relational database management, is likely to see a significant drop in usage, however. According to a study conducted by the 451 group, MySQL usage will see a 10% drop over the next four years if Oracle-Sun merger goes through. How will this drop in usage affect Oracle's decision to maintain the popular open-source technology? Only time will tell....

2. Google Public DNS: Recently, Google expanded another technological branch and opened its own public DNS service, a service they are offering free of charge. Basically, DNS acts like the internet's Yellow Pages, matching up IP addresses (location of websites based on numbers) to their domain names (like http://www.pinyadda.com, for example). The major beef with the project thus far is performance. With the slow uptake of Google Wave, one wonders if Google's product hot streak is coming to an end.

3. China to nuture open-source software development: Just as the title states. In appears that the Chinese yet again are making the correct technological decisions from the top-down.