Collecting the latest research results from the leading researchers in the field of fuzzy object-oriented databases, Advances in Fuzzy Object-Oriented Databases: Modeling and Applications provide a single source for current research and practical applications in fuzzy object-oriented databases.

Times of change are upon the database market. The major established database companies are being challenged by open source upstarts like MySQL and PostgreSQL. For years, Open Source Databases (OSDBs) have been quietly increasing their penetration, but until recently they have lacked the capabilities to seriously threaten proprietary databases like Oracle, IBM's DB2, and Microsoft's SQL Server.

How many open source relational databases can you name? If you’re like most technical people, you probably don’t know any — just as I didn’t until recently. I can already imagine many of you saying... what about MySQL and PostgreSQL?”, but those are just databases, not relational databases.

"The PostgreSQL Global Development Group today announced the release of version 8.3 of the high-performance object-relational database management system. This release includes a record number of new and improved features which will greatly enhance PostgreSQL for application designers, database administrators, and users, with more than 280 patches by dozens of PostgreSQL contributors from 18 countries..."

Python 3000 (a.k.a. "Py3k", and released as Python 3.0) is a new version of the language that is incompatible with the 2.x line of releases. The language is mostly the same, but many details, especially how built-in objects like dictionaries and strings work, have changed considerably, and a lot of deprecated features have finally been removed.

Mozilla Firefox project (formerly Firebird, which was formerly Phoenix) is a redesign of Mozilla's browser component, written using the XUL user interface language and designed to be cross-platform. It includes a popup blocker, tabbed browsing, a smarter search, hassle free downloading, and improved privacy and security.

SqlSync lets you compare two databases to see which tuples have been added, removed, and changed. You can also use SqlSync to make one database a clone of another and maintain its contents to be that way. One benefit of using SqlSync to perform synchronization is that you can perform heterogeneous syncs -- for example, from MySQL to PostgreSQL.

AbiWord, my long-time favorite open source word processor, is out with a new version 2.6, including many useful new features. If you haven't used this application before, give it a try, and if you already do, the upgrade is worthwhile. You can browse through the release notes to see how many new additions there are.

Of all four OpenOffice.org applications, Base is probably the most complicated one. It is a powerful tool that allows you to build complex databases, but this power comes at a price: if you've never worked with database applications, you might find Base a bit overwhelming.