IBM Introduces a Free (as in Beer) Version of DB2

This week IBM became the latest proprietary database vendor to add a free offering to their lineup, according to ZDNet:
Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-6032676.html

It would be difficult to estimate the balance between appealing to developers and the influence of Open Source databases such as MySQL, but I would tend to believe that competetion from Postgres, Firebird, MySQL, et al. to be a significant factor in the decision to release free versions of proprietary databases.

Source for this news/blog of the day
http://www.openwin.org/mike/index.php/archives/2006/01/ibm-introduces-a-free-as-in-beer-version-of-db2/