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One of the great things about open source software is you can make changes to the code if you need to tweak it or if you feel you can make it work better. You're not even obliged to share those changes, as long as you aren't publishing the new improved software.

That's what Google did with MySQL, according to Google Releases Improved MySQL Code.

Rather than hoard those changes for some elusive competitive advantage (they don't impact on Google's core search technologies), Google is making their code public, not just so others can benefit, but also to get the benefit of having their code reviewed by the global MySQL community.

And that's another great thing: you get the benefits of improvements made by the original software project developers--as well as any improvements and fixes made by anyone else who uses the software.

So if you want a world-class database, with fixes provided by another world class software company, check MySQL.

When a big proprietary software publisher releases a major upgrade, there's usually a terrific fuss kicked up in the trade press; when an open source project revs, there's less fuss because there's less budget for fancy PR campaigns. So you may not have heard that the Apache HTTP Server Project just announced availability of Apache 2.2.0 (new feature overview).

Apache last revved with a general availability release, 2.0.35, in 2002, so this upgrade has been a long time in the making. Don't look for any budget-busting paradigm shifting here, though, since most of the changes are relatively modest.

One very important new feature, though, is support for SQL connection pooling in threaded Multi-Processing Modules (MPMs). This should make SQL database access both easier and more efficient through Apache-based websites.

Other new features include improvements to authentication and authorization modules, caching, configuration; load balancing for proxy modules; support for large (>2GB) files; smart filtering; and more.

Open source developers are very conservative when it comes to numbering and naming releases, so when a GA release like this one comes out you can bet it's rock solid. Just how does Microsoft's IIS compare?