Anyone who has read (and paid attention) to my blog knows that I use MySQL. Personally I love the free database, so far I haven't met any project it couldn't handle. Where I think it has been let down is by its GUI tools. Though they have been there by either MySQL themselves or a 3rd party they always seem flaky, or never quite logical. This is especially true for MySQL recent re-incarnations of their GUI tools package. Saying that they have just released version r5 of the GUI tools so I'm in the middle of trying them out and seeing if they still crash unpredictably. Plus one gripe is the huge difference between Mac and Windows versions (Windows version is better(and more stable)).Whats even better is that, and thanks to Dave Shuck and in turn Matt Woodward, I've found Aqua Data Studio. Not only is it platform independent, but it can connect to all of the following DB's;

• Oracle
• DB2 UDB
• SQL Server
• Sybase ASE
• Sybase Anywhere
• Informix
• PostgreSQL
• MySQL

So far it's be a breath of fresh air. With tabbed SQL panels, code insight it's defiantly worth the money. Which brings me to the cost part. The license is FREE for educational institutions and personal home use but $149USD (£80) for commercial use which is good considering the functionality!