August 2007 - Posts

SQL Down Under Code Camp Sessions Posted - and Gourmet Coffee

Published Tue, Aug 28 2007 1:10 | GregLow

The tentative (but likely) list of sessions for SQL Down Under Code Camp on Oct 13 th /14 th have now been posted at: http://www.sqldownunder.com/CodeCamp/tabid/53/Default.aspx This year, we also have two timeslots (one per day) where new speakers can...

SQLPASS conference is coming up soon

Published Sat, Aug 25 2007 5:06 | GregLow

We have the SQL Down Under Code Camp coming up soon (October 13th/14th) but before that, the SQL PASS conference in Denver is on. I consider the SQL PASS conference one of the highlights of each year. If you have any chance to attend and you are interested...

Book: The Rational Guide To Building Technical Communities

Published Sat, Aug 25 2007 1:36 | GregLow

Well I have to say I really like this one :-) When I mentioned a while ago that my two new books were both on Amazon and must now be real, I had a lot of friends order them, only to have endless shipping delays. Finally that's over for this one. The...

Book: Beginning ASP.NET 2.0 Ajax

Published Sat, Aug 25 2007 1:28 | GregLow

Over the last few days, I finally got to read Beginning ASP.NET 2.0 AJAX by fellow Readifarian Paul Glavich and old mate Wally McClure along ith Steve Orr, Craig Shoemaker, Steven Smit and Jim Zimmerman. I have to say I always approach these books by...

Book: You Don't Have To Be Born Brilliant - How to Design a Magnificent Life

Published Sat, Aug 18 2007 12:57 | GregLow

John McGrath has written an pretty interesting book in You Don't Have To Be Born Brilliant - How to Design a Magnificent Life . I had run out of reading material while travelling lately (well ran out of any that I had with me). This looked like something...

Book: The End of Faith

Published Sat, Aug 18 2007 12:41 | GregLow

I have to say I really enjoyed reading The End of Faith by Sam Harris. When I was at the TechEd speakers dinner in Auckland this week, I mentioned it to Steve Riley and I noticed his eyes light up. He'd also read it and found it pretty fascinating...

Book: Why Software Sucks... and what you can do about it

Published Fri, Aug 17 2007 9:43 | GregLow

David Platt has written a number of books I've really enjoyed. I had pretty high expectations for Why Software Sucks... and what you can do about it but a bit like I felt after reading Blink, I was left with an overwhelming "is that it?"...

Book: Blink

Published Fri, Aug 17 2007 9:40 | GregLow

I was really looking forward to reading Malcolm Gladwell's popular Blink . After the hype that surrounded it, I must say I found that when I finished it, I was left feeling "is that it?" Malcolm makes a lot of interesting observations and...

Book: Foundations of SQL Server Business Intelligence

Published Fri, Aug 17 2007 9:35 | GregLow

I enjoyed Lynn Langit's book: Foundations of SQL Server Business Intelligence . It takes a fairly interesting tour through the current Microsoft SQL Server BI stack, covering Analysis Services, Integration Services and Reporting Services. The writing...

Announcing the Readify Developer Network

Published Mon, Aug 6 2007 6:00 | GregLow

If you live in Melbourne, Sydney or Canberra or you like to watch webcasts, we've got great news for you. We're launching the Readify Developer Network , you're invited and it's free. Our developer centre manager Darren Neimke has been...

View Sharepoint Integrated Reports from Winform Apps

Published Thu, Aug 2 2007 5:56 | GregLow

Fellow Readifarian Chris Hewitt has produced a utility that lets you view sharepoint integrated reports from within winform apps. You'll find it at his site here: http://endintiers.com/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=8

SQL Down Under Code Camp - opportunities for new speakers

Published Thu, Aug 2 2007 5:53 | GregLow

For the SQL Down Under Code Camp ( www.sqldownunder.com ) in October, we’re tossing around ideas for encouraging people that don’t normally speak at events to have a go. I’m thinking about one session each day that would be made up of 3 mini-sessions...

Do old exam transcripts matter?

Published Wed, Aug 1 2007 3:31 | GregLow

There has been an interesting discussion in the MCT ranks about the disappearance of old exams from MCP transcripts. Anthony Borton has received confirmation from Microsoft that older exams that were part of retired certifications would be removed from...

RD and SQL MVP Kim Tripp married on the weekend

Published Wed, Aug 1 2007 3:26 | GregLow

Great to see one of our friends, well-known SQL MVP and fellow RD Kimberley Tripp married on the weekend to no other than Paul Randall from the Micrsoft SQL product group. Paul's also announced he's leaving Microsoft to work with Kim. That'll...

SQL Server 2008 July CTP Available

Published Wed, Aug 1 2007 3:17 | GregLow

Great to see that the July CTP of SQL Server 2008 has hit the download sites: https://connect.microsoft.com/SQLServer/content/content.aspx?ContentID=5395 Also good to see that the rumors of the demise of Notification Services have finally been confirmed...