The field of commercial relational database vendors is a lot less crowded than it used to be, and it's no surprise, considering the players have to contend with a massive software juggernaut like Oracle. According to the latest numbers from research firm IDC, Oracle still ruled the roost in databases in 2007, capturing in excess of 44 percent of the overall market.

Not even Oracle can afford to rest on its laurels, however; not when the database market remains this competitive. In addition to pressure from the other two top proprietary vendors -- IBM and Microsoft -- Oracle must contend with increasing competition from open source software. For example, last week Sun Microsystems, which acquired MySQL in January, announced an aggressive new pricing structure that allows customers to install as many instances of the open source database as they want, including enterprise-class service and support, for a single, flat rate.

Is that spin I smell? Despite earlier rumors to the contrary, Microsoft seems now to be standing firm behind a 2010 release date for the next-generation version of Windows, currently known as Windows 7. Nobody is being too specific just yet, but a letter sent by Microsoft senior vice president Bill Veghte reiterated that the new OS would ship "approximately three years after the January 2007 general availability launch date of Windows Vista."

The really amazing part, however, is Veghte's explanation for the date. "You have told us you want a more regular, predictable Windows release schedule," he writes. Ask and ye shall receive -- but I wonder, exactly how does Microsoft plan to pull that one off?

The Mozilla developers are still racking up downloads since Firefox 3.0 was released on June 17, but the early adopters are already putting it to good use. For starters, Tipping Point has already spotted a vulnerability in the software.

One of the more interesting third-party efforts, however, is the "portable version" of Firefox 3.0 from PortableApps.com, which shipped the same day as the main branch. Portable, in this context, doesn't mean that the code runs on multiple operating systems -- the Firefox developers have taken care of that already. Instead, it literally means that you can take this version of Firefox anywhere. All you need is a CD-R, a digital memory card, or a USB keychain drive to store it on.