One of the traits that has separated PostgresSQL and MySQL from the proprietary databases is price. However, according to this article it looks as though MySQL will be moving to a subscription-based tech support system allowing companies to get anything from basic email tech support to getting help from a MySQL specialist.

My question now is how does this separate MySQL from say Oracle when Oracle’s prices drop. Now you might only have a price difference of $1,000 (cost to purchase an Oracle license for example…yes the number was made up, work with me), while the tech support costs the same?

And no not every company likes to use Open Source because it gives them the freedom to dive into the code so let’s ignore that argument for now.