If anyone is planning on attending the PDC, be sure to come a day early and check out the great pre-conferences. I'll be presenting a full day on Team System development, Sunday the 11th.
See you in LA!
I just read this article in the Idaho Statesman.
Extended Systems is a Boise-based company that makes, among other
things, the Advantage Database Server product. They employee 180 people
and as many as 20 would get cut if the acquisition were to take place.
Congratulations to my friends John Alexander (Microsoft RD from Kansas City) and Jeff Julian on their forthcoming book. I just saw it advertised on Amazon.
This new division will unify the Distributed Systems Group (DSG) and the Business Process/Integration Division (BPID), bringing these technologies together:
- Windows Communication Foundation ("Indigo")
- Web Services Enhancements (WSE)
- InfoCard
- MSMQ
- Active Directory
- Microsoft Identity Integration Server (MIIS)
- BizTalk Server
- Host Integration Server
- Commerce Server
- RFID
- Industry Standard Accelerators
- Windows Workflow Services ("Windows OE").
Read the announcement here.
I want to wish my long-time business partner and friend Steven Borg a long and happy marriage to Lori Larsen, er. Lori Borg!
This tool analyzes your SQL 2000 applications for potential upgrade issues when migrating to SQL Server 2005. This new version is based on the June CTP and contains additional rules, support for scanning batch files, command line support and usability improvements.
The Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Upgrade Advisor is a tool used by Database developers and administrators to analyze SQL Server 7.0 and SQL Server 2000 database servers in preparation for upgrading to SQL Server 2005. The Upgrade Advisor will allow users to analyze the configuration of their existing database services and database applications. As a result of this analysis, Upgrade Advisor will provide reports that identify deprecated features and necessary configuration changes that will impact their Database upgrade process. Upgrade Advisor will also provide links to documentation that describe these changes and necessary steps to complete the process.
Download it here.
You've no doubt heard about earth.google.com by now. Well, it was only a matter of time before we got moon.google.com as well.
"In honor of the first manned Moon landing, which took place on July 20, 1969, we’ve added some NASA imagery to the Google Maps interface to help you pay your own visit to our celestial neighbor. Happy lunar surfing."
Tip: Be sure to zoom all the way in on the moon!
Yes, Microsoft and a certain MVP have gone to great lengths to provide you with this simple how-to.
Thanks for attending Steve and/or my talks (if you did). Here are links to the presentations on SQL Server 2005 and Team System.
Yep, my session in Austin was canceled today, because someone left some suspicious backpacks downstairs at the Hyatt Regency in Austin, and they cleared the building for 3.5 hours. Methinks Oracle was behind it! 
Read the article from News 8 Austin
(Update) Here's the letter from the hotel.
Microsoft announced the new, official name of the next version of Windows today. Beta 1 will launch on 3 August, too.
I decided to let Google Fight make the final decision in this age-old beer debate ...
Seems Microsoft MapPoint thinks the shortest route between two Norwegian cities requires a flying car!
Thanks Ken, this made me laugh.
Many of you are already aware of this, but July 23 and 24 will be the first "Code Camp" in the Pacific Northwest. These are very popular events back east, but are only now showing up out west. It's totally free, over the weekend, and it's all about developers connecting with developers.
Read more about it here and I hope to see you there!
BELLEVUE, Wash., June 29, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Timeline Inc. (OTCBB:TMLN) announced it has filed a patent infringement action against ProClarity Corporation, a private company headquartered in Boise, Idaho. This action, filed in the Federal District Court for Western Washington, seeks substantial damages and to enjoin ProClarity from any further licensing of certain ProClarity software modules in the United States. ProClarity is a provider of reporting and data visualization products with an emphasis on analytic solutions based on Microsoft's Analysis Services module; a part of Microsoft's SQL Server data base management system.
Read the whole article here, and some analysis from last year here.
Looks like some changes are coming to the certification program, especially for SQL Server and Visual Studio. Read this article for all the details, but essentially they are planning three tiers:
- Tier 1: Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist will require simply passing one to three exams based on a Microsoft technology. As products meet the end of the support lifecycle, its related exam will be retired.
- Tier 2: Microsoft Certified IT Professional or Professional Developer require a Technology Specialist certification, plus one to three more exams, based on the requirement for a particular path. This tier is tied to job role at an organization, such as Database Developer or Business Intelligence. Recertification will be required to maintain status at this level.
- Tier 3: Microsoft Certified Architect is a rigorous, board-level certification that requires recertification. Achieving Technology Specialist or IT Professional or Professional Developer certification not a prerequisite to attaining this level of certification.
Sent from a friend of mine, this Java applet starts with a view of the Milky Way at 10 million light years from the Earth and then moves through space towards the Earth in successive orders of magnitude until you reach a tall oak tree just outside the buildings of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee, Florida. After that, you begin to move from the actual size of a leaf into a microscopic world that reveals leaf cell walls, the cell nucleus, chromatin, DNA and finally, into the subatomic universe of electrons and protons.
I guess they have a Windows screen saver available as well.
This was a short, 10-minute presentation that I recorded while at Tech-Ed in Orlando. Many of the Regional Directors gave a GrokTalk.
The registry really is an undiscovered country. I learned from Dave Herron that there is a specific registry entry that you can set that determines the delay between the appearance of a password-protected screen saver and the enforcement of the password requirement.
Learn more here.
Well, the auction actually ended a few days ago, but I wanted to include a couple of screenshots, to show you how successful it was. I had 20 bidders and over 14,700 views. The final price was $ 4.78. Now I just have to ship it!
Be sure to check out my live event on July 19 for SQL Server magazine. Here's where to register and here's an abstract:
SQL Server 2005 offers great features for every role: DBAs, Business Intelligence (BI) analysts, and developers. For developers, there are numerous features and productivity enhancements over SQL Server 2000. In this Web seminar, we will take a wide look at many of these interesting features. We will begin at the SQL Server engine, focusing on the new data types (XML and MAX keyword), PIVOT and UNPIVOT commands, Common Table Expressions (CTEs), ranking and partitioning options, exception handling, automatic output, and DDL triggers. Next, we'll drill down into the XML data type, and look at the new XML support, FOR XML improvements, and some XQUERY examples. Since developers should always be concerned with security, I’ll show a few options for encrypting and decrypting data, using T-SQL commands. Saving the best for last, we’ll finish up with SQL Server 2005’s hosting of .NET components. After a brief discussion of the architecture and process of building, deploying, securing, and executing SQLCLR components, we will look at the sample code for a user defined function, stored procedure, and user defined type – all built using Visual Studio 2005.
Thank you for attending my talks in Amsterdam this week. As promised, here are the presentation materials and sample code from my talks:
I hope you enjoyed the talks. I know I did. Please email me with any questions!
-Rich
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