Sun's business model was to take a free to cheap product (unix based systems) tweak it and charge a premium for it. It was always an unsustainable grift; and now the only reason they still survive is habit and association with other products. Oracle users are probably the main reason Sun still is an independent entity; though it is unlikely that Mr. Ellison will ever pick them up. (If Oracle were supplying an integrated solution to customers, then they would have no one to blame for their software.) Sun's new model looks like a desperate attempt to continue to charge for what is being given away by others. In that light, picking up MySQL, legitimising it in many peoples eyes as an alternative to Oracle, makes a certain sense short term. As there is likely no long term for Sun, what really counts is fluffing for immediate returns.