“Just because Sun didn’t have patent suits in our genetic code doesn’t mean we didn’t feel wronged. While I have differences with Oracle, in this case they are in the right. Google totally slimed Sun. We were all really disturbed, even [then-CEO] Jonathan [Schwartz]: he just decided to put on a happy face and tried to turn lemons into lemonade, which annoyed a lot of folks at Sun,” wrote Gosling in a blog post.

Google brought in Schwartz as a witness last week where he said that Sun thought Google’s use of Java APIs were fine as long as they did not use the Java brand or trademark. Schwartz did admit that Sun was not happy with the way that Google went around Sun’s licensing restrictions.

Other phones by Nokia, RIM, and Motorola were compatible with Java applications, but Android was not. Oracle has been arguing against Google when it comes to compatibility. Oracle said that not only did Google violate their parents and copyrights, but they also said that Google went on to build their own incompatible version of Java.

Schwartz said he hoped Google would take out a commercial license, but said Sun opted “to grit our teeth” and support it as part of the Java community. Schwartz also said that Java opted not to sue Google over the issue. Oracle presented an e-mail from Schwartz describing Google as having taken Java “without attribution or contribution.” Schwartz went on to say “this is why I love scroogle.”

“I don’t know what I’ll be working on. I expect it’ll be a bit of everything, seasoned with a large dose of grumpy curmudgeon,” stated Gosling on his blog. Gosling turned down a lot of opportunities during that one year he was not working until he was given an offer he could not refuse at Google.

[CNET]

After acquiring Sun, Oracle also gained ownership of MySQL — an online open source database technology. MySQL has been split into multiple projects that are independent of Oracle according to ComputerWorld.

Given Oracle’s lack of open source commitments, it only makes us wonder what the fate of OpenOffice.org will be. About 450,000 people have contributed to the open source office application platform. There’s a chance that one of those people may take the code and rename it, keeping it alive, just in case Oracle decides to no longer support the initiative.

“Yes, indeed, the rumors are true: I resigned from Oracle a week ago (April 2nd). I apologize to everyone in St Petersburg who came to TechDays on Thursday expecting to hear from me. I really hated not being there. As to why I left, it’s difficult to answer: Just about anything I could say that would be accurate and honest would do more harm than good. The hardest part is no longer being with all the great people I’ve had the privilege to work with over the years. I don’t know what I’m going to do next, other than take some time off before I start job hunting,” said Gosling in a blog post. [Nighthacks.com via eWeek]

“Google and I have been a plausible match for a long time. Web-centric, check. Search, check. Open-source, check. The list goes on,” stated Bray in a blog post called Now A No-Evil Zone. “We’ve talked repeatedly over the years, but the conversations all ended at the point when I said ‘…and I don’t want to move to the Bay Area.’”

Bray had an offer from Oracle, but he declined. “I’ll maybe tell the story when I can think about it without getting that weird spiking-blood-pressure sensation in my eyeballs.” [TBray.org]

“Oracle claims that it would take good care of MySQL but let’s face the facts: Unlike ten years ago, when MySQL was mostly just used for the web, it has become very functional, scalable and credible. Now it’s used in many of the world’s largest companies and they use it for an increasing number of purposes. This not only scares but actually hurts Oracle every day,” stated MySQL founder Monty Widenius. “Oracle have [sic] to lower prices all the time to compete with MySQL when companies start new projects. Some companies even migrate existing projects from Oracle to MySQL to save money. Of course Oracle has a lot more features, but MySQL can already do a lot of things for which Oracle is often used and helps people save a lot of money. Over time MySQL can do to Oracle what the originally belittled Linux did to commercial Unix (roughly speaking).”

Monty added that Oracle has not promised to keep MySQL under an open license. He also said that Oracle does not promise to update patches in a timely manner for MySQL or to improve the open source database language to compete with Oracle’s own offerings. Oracle responded to Monty in the form of a press release where they insisted the proper maintenance of MySQL. Below is the full press release:

Oracle Makes Commitments to Customers, Developers and Users of MySQL

REDWOOD SHORES, CA–(Marketwire – December 14, 2009) – Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) has engaged in constructive discussions with the European Commission regarding the concerns expressed by the Commission about the Oracle/Sun Microsystems transaction, and in particular the maintenance of MySQL as a competitive force in the database market.

In order further to reassure the Commission, Oracle hereby publicly commits to the following:

1. Continued Availability of Storage Engine APIs. Oracle shall maintain and periodically enhance MySQL’s Pluggable Storage Engine Architecture to allow users the flexibility to choose from a portfolio of native and third party supplied storage engines.

MySQL’s Pluggable Storage Engine Architecture shall mean MySQL’s current practice of using, publicly-available, documented application programming interfaces to allow storage engine vendors to “plug” into the MySQL database server. Documentation shall be consistent with the documentation currently provided by Sun.

2. Non-assertion. As copyright holder, Oracle will change Sun’s current policy and shall not assert or threaten to assert against anyone that a third party vendor’s implementations of storage engines must be released under the GPL because they have implemented the application programming interfaces available as part of MySQL’s Pluggable Storage Engine Architecture.

A commercial license will not be required by Oracle from third party storage engine vendors in order to implement the application programming interfaces available as part of MySQL’s Pluggable Storage Engine Architecture.

Oracle shall reproduce this commitment in contractual commitments to storage vendors who at present have a commercial license with Sun.

3. License commitment. Upon termination of their current MySQL OEM Agreement, Oracle shall offer storage vendors who at present have a commercial license with Sun an extension of their Agreement on the same terms and conditions for a term not exceeding December 10, 2014.

Oracle shall reproduce this commitment in contractual commitments to storage vendors who at present have a commercial license with Sun.

4. Commitment to enhance MySQL in the future under the GPL. Oracle shall continue to enhance MySQL and make subsequent versions of MySQL, including Version 6, available under the GPL. Oracle will not release any new, enhanced version of MySQL Enterprise Edition without contemporaneously releasing a new, also enhanced version of MySQL Community Edition licensed under the GPL. Oracle shall continue to make the source code of all versions of MySQL Community Edition publicly available at no charge.

5. Support not mandatory. Customers will not be required to purchase support services from Oracle as a condition to obtaining a commercial license to MySQL.

6. Increase spending on MySQL research and development. Oracle commits to make available appropriate funding for the MySQL continued development (GPL version and commercial version). During each of the next three years, Oracle will spend more on research and development (R&D) for the MySQL Global Business Unit than Sun spent in its most recent fiscal year (USD 24 million) preceding the closing of the transaction.

7. MySQL Customer Advisory Board. No later than six months after the anniversary of the closing, Oracle will create and fund a customer advisory board, including in particular end users and embedded customers, to provide guidance and feedback on MySQL development priorities and other issues of importance to MySQL customers.

8. MySQL Storage Engine Vendor Advisory Board. No later than six months after the anniversary of the closing, Oracle will create and fund a storage engine vendor advisory board, to provide guidance and feedback on MySQL development priorities and other issues of importance to MySQL storage engine vendors.

9. MySQL Reference Manual. Oracle will continue to maintain, update and make available for download at no charge a MySQL Reference Manual similar in quality to that currently made available by Sun.

10. Preserve Customer Choice for Support. Oracle will ensure that end-user and embedded customers paying for MySQL support subscriptions will be able to renew their subscriptions on an annual or multi-year basis, according to the customer’s preference.

The geographic scope of these commitments shall be worldwide and these commitments shall continue until the fifth anniversary of the closing of the transaction.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements about Oracle, Sun and MySQL, including statements that involve risks and uncertainties such as the satisfaction of conditions to closing the transaction, including clearance of the transaction by the European Commission. When used in this press release, the words “shall,” “plans,” “commits” and “will” and other similar expressions and any other statements that are not historical facts are intended to identify those assertions as forward-looking statements. Any such statement is subject to a number of potential risks and uncertainties, which may include, among others, the possibility that the transaction will not be cleared by relevant regulatory authorities, the transaction may not otherwise close or that the closing of the proposed transaction may be further delayed and the possibility that Oracle or Sun may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors. Accordingly, no assurances can be given that the European Commission will clear the transaction, that the closing will transpire or occur, or if these events occur, what impact they will have on the results of operations or financial condition of Oracle or Sun.

In addition, please refer to the documents that Oracle and Sun, respectively, file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K for additional risks. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Neither Oracle nor Sun is under any duty to update any of the information in this press release.

About Oracle
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is the world’s largest enterprise software company. For more information about Oracle, please visit our Web site at http://www.oracle.com.

Trademark
Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Altogether $1.1 billion is the largest that a venture firm has raised in the last 10 years.  This is also the first time that Khosla Ventures raised money externally.  One of the biggest partners in this round of funding is CALPERS (the California state employees retirement fund).

The previous rounds of Khosla Ventures were provided by Vinod Khosla himself.  Khosla founded the venture firm in 2004 and now the company has 8 partners.  Gideon Yu was recently hired as a General Partner at Khosla.  Before that he was the CFO of Facebook.