I tend to be fairly techagnostic. So, even though I tend to prefer a Unixy/OSS environment for web apps. I researched MS offerings for a startup idea last summer. I'd say that if you're going with a .NET stack, you're probably better off going with MSFT if you can afford it.
Have you considered an Action Pack subscription? If not, you might want to check in to it: https://partner.microsoft.com/Indonesia/program/managemember... You get a +lot+ of MSFT software for around $300 bucks. Granted, the license is only for two years, but that should be enough to get a startup off the ground. If you don't have enough money to buy MSFT licenses after 2 years, you have bigger problems than licensing costs.
And, as long as you're willing to keep going the MSFT way, there's ways to get cheap bulk subscriptions to MSFT licenses. You just have to keep up with MSFT certification process. They actually make it pretty easy to start your own software company based on the MSFT stack.
I really can't speak to speed of SQL server vs MySQL, however. It sounds like most of the data in your DB is going to be text based. I'd be a bit more concerned about speed if you were going to be serving video or a lot of graphics out of your DB.
One option that you might consider before investing a year or two an a DB, is downloading a trial version of each RMDB and do some tests.
Your schema sounds pretty simple. So, design your schema, and run some tests. Find out how quick your server will run with each DB. I bet if you spent a week or two running tests like that, the time spent would more than pay for itself in the long term. Platform and DB choices tend to lock you in for a long time, and if you hate your platform, those are headaches you'll have for quite a while.
Have you considered an Action Pack subscription? If not, you might want to check in to it: https://partner.microsoft.com/Indonesia/program/managemember... You get a +lot+ of MSFT software for around $300 bucks. Granted, the license is only for two years, but that should be enough to get a startup off the ground. If you don't have enough money to buy MSFT licenses after 2 years, you have bigger problems than licensing costs.
And, as long as you're willing to keep going the MSFT way, there's ways to get cheap bulk subscriptions to MSFT licenses. You just have to keep up with MSFT certification process. They actually make it pretty easy to start your own software company based on the MSFT stack.
I really can't speak to speed of SQL server vs MySQL, however. It sounds like most of the data in your DB is going to be text based. I'd be a bit more concerned about speed if you were going to be serving video or a lot of graphics out of your DB.
One option that you might consider before investing a year or two an a DB, is downloading a trial version of each RMDB and do some tests.
MSSQL Server 2005 download: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/bb498185.aspx
MySQL 5 download: http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/5.0.html#downloads
Your schema sounds pretty simple. So, design your schema, and run some tests. Find out how quick your server will run with each DB. I bet if you spent a week or two running tests like that, the time spent would more than pay for itself in the long term. Platform and DB choices tend to lock you in for a long time, and if you hate your platform, those are headaches you'll have for quite a while.