databases - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• Oracle raises cost of low-end MySQL support

  Oracle has apparently raised the price of an entry-level MySQL subscription significantly.

• SAP's in-memory analytics boxes set for November release

  SAP plans to release its High-Performance Analytic Appliance (HANA) in November, roughly six months after announcing the product.

• Oracle, Microsoft ready major security updates

  Microsoft isn't the only company planning a boatload of security patches for next week. Oracle plans to fix 81 vulnerabilities in its database, middleware and operating system products on Tuesday, the same day Microsoft's fixes are due.

• Facebook outage caused by database glitch

  Facebook went offline for the second time in two days yesterday. The Thursday outage -- which lasted more than two hours for some users -- is a tale of a database control gone awry and illustrates the need for effective testing and change control procedures.

• Oracle MySQL rival PostgreSQL updated

  While Oracle trumpets its open source MySQL database management system this week at the company's OpenWorld conference, the creators behind MySQL's rival, PostgreSQL, have released a major new version of their rival database software.

• PostgreSQL 9.0 release takes on cloud-scale workloads

  The latest generation of the open source PostgreSQL database is now available with version 9.0 adding support for new replication and failover capabilities, which its developers hope will accelerate adoption in cloud environments.
  

• How Microsoft PowerPivot will disrupt BI

  Could the age of self-service BI (business intelligence) finally be near? And, if so, are organizations ready?

• Hurd's Oracle hiring could prove a problem for Teradata

  If Mark Hurd can keep his new post as co-president of Oracle Corp. , analysts say his role at the database vendor is likely to be watched closely by executives at high-end data warehouse appliance vendor Teradata Corp.

• Mark Hurd may take job at Oracle, report says

  When Mark Hurd resigned unexpectedly from Hewlett-Packard last month he found an outspoken supporter in the form of Oracle CEO Larry Ellison. It appears now that Hurd may end up working for Ellison, according to a report Saturday in the Wall Street Journal.

• ActiveState prepares Python for databases

  ActiveState has updated its distributions of the Python programming language so that they provide developers easier access to databases, as well as new ways of creating GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces), the company announced Wednesday.

• SAP execs outline plans for Sybase

  SAP executives today outlined the company's strategy for the recently acquired Sybase, which includes the creation of a mobile platform that can run on-premises or in the cloud, connects to every application and is compatible with "all major" mobile operating systems and devices.

• SAP, Sybase lay out tech road maps

  SAP and Sybase officials gathered in Boston on Thursday to reveal how they plan to bring together their respective technologies in the areas of mobility, analytics and enterprise information management.

• Amazon allows companies to reserve databases in its cloud

  Amazon Web Services has introduced Reserved Database Instances, a new way to pay for its cloud-based Relational Database Service (RDS), the company said on Monday.

• Ingres CEO unfazed by Oracle's MySQL play

  When Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems it also bought MySQL AB, the company behind the open source MySQL database, which Ingres CEO Roger Burkhardt says was hardly intentional but resulted in the company staving off a "future competitor".
  

• Teradata quietly scoops up Kickfire

  Data warehousing vendor Teradata has quietly scooped up Kickfire, a startup analytic appliance vendor known for its use of the open-source MySQL database and a SQL processing chip to boost query performance.