> 1) Security
> There really needs to be a way to provide security on the
> database file level rather than the server level.

If you think you are getting any better security from other
products, think again. Firebird may make the file level
security issues more obvious than others but that is all.

See my recent article:
http://www.firebirdsql.org/index.php?op=doc&sub=contrib&id=fb_meta_security

> 2) Publicity / Marketing / Support

I have no doubt that some of what you say is true. However
there are obviously restrictions on exactly how Firebird can
be distributed. That aside some efforts are being made to
try and improve the situation. See:
http://www.firebirdsql.org/index.php?op=ffoundation&sub=connect

Plus there are commercial entities supporting Firebird. eg:
http://www.ibphoenix.com/

Open source is more than developers contributing to code. It
is also about product users contributing to the marketing and
awareness of the product.

--
Geoff Worboys
Telesis Computing