[eternalban]

Databases are the best all around scratch every cs geek itch domain there is, with possible exception of operating systems.

The critical importance of extensibility as a primary concern of successful DB products needs to be highlighted. Realities of the domain dictate that product X matures a few years after inception, at which point the application patterns may have shifted. (Remember map-reduce?) If you pay attention, for example, you'll note that the du jour darlings are scrambling to claim fitness for ML (a subset of big-data), and the new comers are claiming to be "designed for ML".

Smart VC money should be on extensible players ..