Maybe MYSQL was getting too much functionality. Oracle's charging model - massive upfront cost and then only renting the licence - will never compete with the outright purchase model of SQL Server. Their model makes the TCO for SMB's prohibitive, so as long as MS keeps improving SQL Server they will not have anything to fear from Oracle. MYSQL could give Oracle a vehicle for a low-cost solution, or as a previous post suggested, a cut-down starter version of oracle.

DaveT