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By Brian Proffitt
Managing Editor

"There's always a bigger fish." --Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn

I would be remiss if I missed an opportunity to expound on the shenanigans raised by Oracle CEO Larry Ellison's commentary regarding Oracle and it's relationship with Red Hat, Novell, and Linux in general.

But honestly, after reading the interview he conducted with the Financial Times, I find myself not caring very much. Because, like so many others before him, Ellison has gotten Linux all wrong--again.

It would be very easy for me to join the chorus and correct Ellison on his perception: yes, Oracle is free to use any free and open source software they like (as long as it's in the confines of the license for that software). But no, you can't buy a Linux company just to wipe it off the face of the Earth. In the open source community, buying a software company doesn't get you much in the way of technology. Except for some of the custom APIs and other intellectual property that Red Hat has built for big software vendors like oh, say Oracle, most of Red Hat's software offerings are under the GPL. Which means if you buy Red Hat, what you're really getting for your money is Red Hat's talent and their customers.

One of those two things can disappear instantly. Don't believe me? Take a look at the German offices of Novell, and watch all of the SUSE execs and staffers cash out their vested holdings and walk out into other ventures. It's happening, not in a flood, but in a steady stream nonetheless. And, if the talent is gone, I can make a safe bet that as soon as their contracts expire, quite a few customers will be voting with their feet.

I could point these things out, but it honestly doesn't interest me right now what Oracle does in this space, not on the high level. Oracle, to me, is a symptom of a larger problem. The problem of proprietary vs. open source companies. Beyond what we have come to expect from Redmond, it seems like the volume of vitriol from the proprietary software vendors towards that which is open source has gone way up in recent months. First we had SAP lobbing insults at "immature" open source companies during the Open Source Business Conference. Now Oracle has decided to take care of open source. In between, we get the background noise of Sun and Microsoft jeering.

Is it a critical problem? No, not really, Linux still has enough technical strength to stand on it's own. But I think the focus of our relationships with proprietary vendors needs to change a bit. When Oracle partnered with Red Hat, it was widely regarded a powerful validation of Linux in the enterprise. Big, powerful companies were getting together and laying the foundation for a world where open and close software would be able to work in peaceful harmony.

Let's not kid ourselves, Oracle saw Red Hat as a tool and a means to an end. And vice versa. The instant one company becomes a detriment to another, they'll be dropped. Call me a hopeless idealist, because I wish that weren't the case, but self-interest will always dominate in the capitalist business world. An open-source mentality will temper that urge, but it will never make it completely go away. And if the company never had an open source background to begin with, then the self-interest instinct will be that much stronger.

I am not sitting here advocating that the open source community stop doing business altogether with proprietary companies. That would be a ridiculous idea, and completely unworkable. But business relationships with proprietary firms should be approached wide open. We're dealing with companies that have the kind of CEO who will make outrageous statements just to punish a former partner and drive their stock price down.

And they call the open source community a bunch of loudmouths.

If anything this week, Red Hat got a valuable lesson: there are bigger fish out there, ready to shelter you or eat you whole. I have little worry that Red Hat will be seriously hurt by all of this hullaballoo. But it is a lesson open source companies would do well to learn.

Proprietary companies have always treated open source vendors like proprietary vendors, because that's the only way they know how to behave. Companies, to them, are commodities to be bought and sold. But Linux is far beyond the confines of one company. Eventually, the bigger fish will learn that the more they try to swallow the smaller fish, the more empty water their jaws will close upon.

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