Oracle is updating its widely used open source MySQL database, and a range of associated products, in order to meet the increasing demands of Web users. In the past decade, "The Web has transitioned from just serving Web pages to actually providing critical services," said Tomas Ulin, Oracle vice president of MySQL engineering. "You expect your e-mail to always be available, for your Facebook account to always be available. Ten years ago, it was acceptable to hit reload on your browser. Now you expect your page to come up immediately."