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April 03, 2008 | Comments: (0)

Despite impressive growth, large companies still aren't biting on open source databases in much more than a "wide but mighty shallow" capacity.

"A recent joint survey by the 451 Group and ChangeWave Research shows a good deal of resistance by executives responsible for database procurement. It found that just 8 percent of all respondents are planning a moderate or significant increase in open source database adoption," Bill Snyder reports in Open source databases: the 97-pound weakling.

That's largely because the tools have yet to catch up, Snyder adds. And the fact that Express versions from IBM and Oracle threaten open source as well.

"Before anyone relegates open source databases to technology's dustbin, it's worth remembering that despite all of the Silicon Valley nonsense about "The Art of War," a successful business does not have to annihilate the enemy. What it has to do is make money."

Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 3, 2008 06:20 AM

March 21, 2008 | Comments: (0)

The real difference between SQL Server and Oracle, in 2 parts

Sean McCown seems to struck a nerve among readers by pointing out that Oracle’s documentation is not so easy to find.

Taking the discussion to a new level, McCwon writes that, "I will say to those of you who said Oracle is easier to admin that SQL, you're just crazy. You've clearly never had to manage tablespaces in Oracle before."

Hard-to-find documentation won't help much either.

"Well, going from my comment stats I'd say that there are plenty of people out there who say I'm wrong and who are very certain that Oracle's community is really on the ball. And there are those who don't," McCown writes in Oracle's community, part 2.

"So what I can gather from this is that maybe Oracle hasn't done enough to get the word out on all of their resources. Because while I don't know the research skills of everyone who wrote me, I do know my own. I research things for a living basically. And if I've had problems finding some of these resources, then I know others have too."

Part 1: The real difference between SQL Server and Oracle.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 21, 2008 05:15 AM

February 26, 2008 | Comments: (0)

Inside Sun's integration of MySQL

Now that Sun has officially closed its acquisition of MySQL, Zack Urlocker shares some observations on the process.

Urlocker, you'll recall, serves as MySQL's executive vice president of products.

"The approach that the Sun execs and managers have taken has been professional and respectful every step of the way," Urlocker writes in Integrating MySQL with Sun. "To Sun's credit, they have demonstrated tremendous flexibility and agility with this acquisition."

Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz said this morning that the open source database is not only a perfect fit in terms of culture, business and technology, but also the most important purchase in Sun's history.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on February 26, 2008 11:30 AM

February 26, 2008 | Comments: (0)

Katmai's cool DBA feature

As promised in this previous post, Sean McCown has uncovered a DBA-specific feature within Microsoft's forthcoming database, code-named Katmai, and to be officially known as SQL Server 2008.

"Katmai has this cool feature where you can run code against a group of servers," he explains in this Database underground entry. "This is a fabulous feature and it looks like MS got a couple things right here.”

Naturally, there are aspects to this function that McCown points out "didn’t get done as well as I'd like." Not complaints, per se, just touches that would have made it perfect, such as the ability to do the same thing at the database level on an individual box.

McCown's piece includes a Camtasia demonstration of how it all works.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on February 26, 2008 04:28 AM

February 22, 2008 | Comments: (0)

Microsoft doesn't give DBAs much consideration with Katmai

"I just got a chance to poke around in the Katmai SSMS and I really hope it's not feature complete," Database underground author Sean McCown writes.

That's because a few of the little things, details that make or break a product release, some of those have been overlooked.

The job monitor, for starters, fails to remember refresh settings. Another, and one of several McCown has personally asked the Redmond tools guys for, is sharable snippets with nicknames. A third: undockable Windows. And the list goes on ...

"It just goes to show once again that MS really doesn't give DBAs much consideration," McCown writes in Talking to myself. "Anyway, I'm going to keep looking for DBA enhancements in the GUI and I'll report if I find anything that's actually easier than it was 10 yrs ago."

Posted by Tom Sullivan on February 22, 2008 04:53 AM

December 19, 2007 | Comments: (0)

In DRM world, customers have no rights

Gripe Line: Ed Foster kicks off his latest installment with a warning: this product contains DRM. "Shouldn't a vendor be required to inform customers that a product they're about to buy contains technology designed to disable it?" he asks. Thing is, the only U.S. laws relating to DRM are to prevent tampering with it. So Foster takes up the cause: "Instead of vendors and the politicians who serve them telling us not to touch the DRM, we need to send them a warning of our own -- those companies that use DRM do so at their peril."

Notes from the field: The fat lady may not be singing just yet, but Robert X. Cringely sure is belting out the saga of SCO vs. The World. Cringe's lil' diddy: SCO long, it's been bad to know ya. The latest in this open source wrinkle comes by way of reports indicating that the trial to determine damages -- as in what SCO has to pay Novell -- will come in January. "With any luck, the SCO farce will be just a bad memory by mid February."

Columnist's corner: Even though it seemed that IT's indirect sales was withering for a while there in lieu of e-commerce, Ephraim Schwartz espouses that the channel is making a comeback. "There is an obvious reversal of fortune," he writes, referring to Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and SAP, all announcing channel-related moves. One industry analyst says that everyone is waking up to the enormous opportunity. "At the same time there is an interesting change taking place among channel partners," Schwartz adds. Ultimately, even while products get simpler, the buying experience gets more complex.

Careers: Often when applying for a job prospective employers essentially demand salary history. But that doesn't mean you, as an applicant, have to provide it. Instead, professional headhunter Nick Corcodilos advises, Just say no to the salary question. Revealing your salary with intent to then negotiate, in fact, is akin to showing your poker cards, then playing out the round. "The game is already over because the other players have decided how much they're going to bet, based on your hand." You have more negotiating power when the company doesn't know salary history.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on December 19, 2007 04:44 AM

September 28, 2007 | Comments: (0)

A password nightmare

Data management: One oft-overlooked password best practice is, "never use your personal account for services or processes," reports Sean McCown. "Now with Yukon, you've got even more reasons not to do that since you can setup proxies under your account." The password nightmare. "If you don't care about this because your environment is safe and you're not in much danger of your account being used for evil, then at least consider this point and set yourself for success the next time you change your password."

Columnist's corner: When a no-name company, such as aQuantive, gets bought by Microsoft for $6 billion and becomes worth more overnight than big-time brands (think Blockbuster and Wendy's size), the financial aspects of the deal can get pretty confusing. Now, as IT pros you might not see the need to understand it all. "Bad mistake," writes David Margulius in Cut through financial BS. "I guarantee that at some point as you rise through the ranks, you'll run into some big-numbers decision that just doesn't smell right." Then what? "A skeptical, just-the-facts-ma'am, commonsense method of clearing the FUD so that you don't get snookered by some VSIP (Very Self-Important Person)," otherwise known as fundamental analysis. In other words: when you do the simple math, the picture becomes a lot clearer.

Video: DEMOfall '07 is in full swing this week. The latest is Fusion-io pitching live. The CEO and CTO open with, of all things, a joke about disk-drives -- but I'll not spoil that. "Performance is what Fusion-io is all about. Performance-based storage," says CEO Rick White. "Twenty years ago it took one hard drive to keep a server fed. Ten years ago it took 25-30 disk drives to keep a server fed. Today, 600 disk drives. This is why we're seeing this huge explosion in SAN-based technologies and companies that are aggregating these disks." Watch it here. Related: DEMOfall '07: Collaboration, Web 2.0 startups take stage.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on September 28, 2007 04:54 AM

August 24, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Following Jobs, now there's a fake Larry Ellison

Best of the blogs: Now that the Fake Steve Jobs has been outed, who steps into the blazed path but a blogger posing as Larry Ellison. "I don't know who is writing this one, but I think it's even funnier than the FSJ blog," opines Zack Urlocker in this Open Sources post. After a glance, I'll second that. The cast of characters includes Jonathan Schwartz, Marten Mickos and, of course, Paris Hilton, Ellison's not-so-trusty sidekick.

Notes from the field: Robert X. Cringely, as he does every Friday, offers the geek week in review. This time it's the especially odd items that roused his curiosity. Like the bullets that sparked an Internet slowdown, spies using Web 2.0 technologies, Femtocells, and the most risque robbery weapon to be used in some time.

The news beat: IBM hints that it might open source parts of Jazz, its framework for collaborative development. Spam fighters strike at criminals' weak spots in attempts to eradicate the Web sites that serve unsolicited e-mail. Via announces a 1-watt processor for mobile devices, which is called Eden ULV and is intended for mobile devices, though it can run Windows or Linux. And, following Cringe's tale of gunshot Internet outages above, Cogent says that cable was attacked by thieves with saws -- and that technicians actually swapped in replacement cable that already had those pesky bullet holes.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on August 24, 2007 09:49 AM

August 13, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Die Access! Long live Access!

Best of the blogs: The response to Sean McCown's post about how Microsoft should just give up on access has been more than he expected. "A lot of you came out against my post, and ended up proving my point for me," he explains in More on Access. The problem, McCown explains, is that "people have been given a pistol without a safety and they insist on looking down the barrel."

The news beat: Toshiba recalls more defective laptop batteries because they pose a fire hazard. XenSource takes on VMware with the new XenEnterprise v4 virtualization software. SCO says it is down but not out in the Linux cases against IBM and Novell, after a judge ruled that Novell holds the patent to Unix and UnixWare. And Oracle debuts Coherence 3.3, its in-memory data grid software, with improved clustering and tighter links to Fusion middleware.

Notes from the field: Robert X. Cringely reports that some readers are singing the TeleBlend and VoIP blues. Some days VoIP has even Cringe pining for the rotary dial and Ma Bell. And he's not alone. "After SunRocket crashed to earth last month, Cringe fan M. K. switched over to TeleBlend. But when TeleBlend's voice service went AWOL for several days last week, he was furious." The plot thickens, and gets nastier, though our author thanks his lucky stars not to have been the recipient of a $218 trillion phone bill, "like that poor sap in Malaysia."

Podcasts: AppStream enhances two flavors of its application deployment and management software, enterprise and SaaS versions. "What impressed me was the number of features added into the product for a dot release," says David Marshall. "They've also added an SDK for both client and server customizations." Tune into Virtualization Report here.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on August 13, 2007 10:16 AM

August 09, 2007 | Comments: (0)

When will MS just kill Access?

Data management: After taking a look at Office 2007 and the accompanying version of Access, Sean McCown thinks the same thing he always does every time a new Access comes along. "When is MS finally going to just get rid of this thing?" he poses in Die Access die! A large part of the problem is that in SQL Server Express Microsoft offers a better product -- and it's free. "Making the decision to stay away from Access is a good business decision."

Columnist's corner: Having just been turned on to the PsTools suite, a freebie on Microsoft's site aimed at helping you manage your Windowed wires, Oliver Rist explains that "the authors of PsTools specifically chose functionality for which they couldn't find appropriate utilities under Microsoft's own banner." Microsoft PsTools bolster Windows admins' utility belts. There are most exciting happenings this week in the world at large, indeed, but "into every life must a little commonplace creep. PsTools makes that fact a mite easier to take."

Careers: One reader writes in asking Bob Lewis how to handle a bad CEO. The type who plays games, bullies, and just outright annoys workers until they leave the company. "How can I stop the harassing and let the board know what is actually going on?" But Lewis explains in Advice Line that such a move is highly unlikely. "You can't effectively let the board know, because the board doesn't care. You can't have a heart-to-heart with the CEO because this sort of behavior works for the CEO. It's how he got to be CEO, in fact." So our reader is left with three choices, one of which involves playing the CEO's ego.

Video: Spock's CEO and co-founder Jaideep Singh shows off his people-finding search engine. The inspiration emerged from Singh's frustration with trying to find, you guessed it, people. "We index about 100 million people on the Web...I can take people that I know and build up favorites very fast," Singh explains. "We crawl the Web, analyze the documents and try to organize the information around a person." And, no, this Spock is not exactly named after the Star Trek character. Watch it here.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on August 9, 2007 04:50 AM

February 13, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Battling over SQL Server backup

Data management: Since DBA's already have native SQL backup as a way to restore data, Sean McCown poses, "why is everyone like Quest and Red-Gate fighting over the SQL Server backup arena?" In short: those "network-level backups (Microsoft DPM, BackupExec and ArcServe) don't allow DBAs to do what they need to do how they need to do it." What's wrong with my wheel? Related: Oracle debuts its first TimesTen release since acquiring the in-memory relational database.

Best of the blogs: Think you've got those vendor lock-in blues? Then consider the U.S. Air Force. That unit got grounded, and brutally, by Powerware in a bold move that ultimately cost you, Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer, a cool $20 million. What's worse, the Air Force is not the only victim, as Ed Foster reports in Gripe Line. "The sad irony is that this reader's company, and certainly the U.S. Air Force, paid very good money for their Powerware UPS equipment in order to make operations more secure. But by arbitrarily, and even with what appears to be malice aforethought, depriving its customers of a tool needed to keep the power systems running as designed, Eaton makes its UPS systems less reliable."

Columnist's corner: Forced to make up development time the only way he could, by cutting testing, our Off the Record author had to meet the demands of brass that thought it best to sprout a homegrown call center. A consistent 10-second delay in making connections ensued, but "management didn't seem to think it was that important. My boss placed this issue so far to the bottom of my priorities list that I could never get to it." Our writer may seem cursed, but it was four-letter-words that saved the day.

The news beat: T-Mobile CEO Hamid Akhavan says that mobile VoIP services won't become nearly as prevalent as those on PCs. A Belgian court rules against Google News. And Chinese police arrest eight people associated with the release of a computer virus, Panda Burning Incense.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on February 13, 2007 11:41 AM

February 09, 2007 | Comments: (0)

All those silly Microsoft CTPs

Best of the blogs: Having installed the Visual Studio Team Edition for DBAs community technical preview and now trying to move to the RTM version has left Sean McCown in something of a no-mans-land. And, no surprise here, Microsoft's only suggestion is to uninstall Visual Studio entirely, along with the .Net framework and WinFX. "VSTE for DBAs is just a plug-in to VS. It requires VS Pro. So, you should be able to keep the host application in tact and just deal with the plug-in," McCown writes in Microsoft's ridiculous CTP upgrades. "MS, here's a hint: whenever you provide someone with beta code, you need to also give them a way to get it off."

Wireless: Sumner Lemon of the IDG News Service takes this first look at Windows Mobile 6.0 ahead of the launch planned for next week. "Microsoft's attempt to make Mobile 6 look more like Vista has resulted in a better-looking piece of software," Lemon begins. "But the most important improvements aren't cosmetic."

The news beat: Cisco buys Five Across for its social networking software, with which Cisco claims it will help enterprises more effectively connect to customers. A new pretexting bill is introduced in the U.S. Congress; the bipartisan proposal would give the FTC authority to investigate and prosecute those who gain access to other people's phone records. According to a Forrester Research survey, SMBs will increase IT spending this year, just not as much as they did in 2006. And Vista Premium PCs sold well in the new OS's first week.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on February 9, 2007 04:55 AM

January 11, 2007 | Comments: (0)

A DBA in full

Data management: DBAs need not be passive and, as Sean McCown instructs, being proactive can improve your company -- and your career. "One thing I like to do is pretend everyone in the company is an external customer, and I'm a contractor. As a contractor, my income depends on how much business I can bring in. So, while I'm talking to users, I see what I can do to drum up their business," he writes.

Careers: For IT pros who struggle to hold onto jobs, or even those who might be on the cusp, Bob Lewis has some advice. "If you've lost more than one job by 'speaking your mind,' you might want to ask yourself whether the problem was with the organization, or with your message, or with how you delivered it." It's about doing what you're paid to, Lewis insists in Disagreement on a style of management, or a disagreeable style of management?

The news beat: Here's one pretty much anyone who saw Cisco's iPhone announcement could tell was imminent: Cisco sues Apple over iPhone name, a registered trademark of Linksys. Two U.S. senators say that the U.S. government data mining needs some oversight, particularly to ensure that the administration follows the law. And Microsoft partners are working to extend digital connectivity into automobiles.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on January 11, 2007 04:40 AM

December 14, 2006 | Comments: (0)

The DBA tools balancing act

Best of the blogs: Sean McCown reports that he has never really seen any company care all that much about their DBA tools. And it's not just the sprawling Fortune 500 ones, either. "The amount of time your DBAs spend on the every day management part of their jobs is less time they have to actually be productive. It's an incredible balancing act that the tools have to manage. They have to be extremely useful and save time while at the same time not making the DBA too dumb," he writes in Database management to kill for.

Columnists' corner: Jon Udell is hunting down pieces of the data analysis puzzle, including the CAPStat, Dabble DB, and the latest he has come across is Swivel, the idea of which is inviting people to publish, annotate and share datasets. Despite his cheerleading, though, "the hoped-for citizen-led mashups haven't yet materialized in a big way." But that could change soon -- and social context is the key.

The news beat: Hewlett-Packard's pact with Microsoft to create 30 new products and services is seen as a blow to IBM. Hackers post proof-of-concept attack code that exploits a third worm in Microsoft Word which, like its two recent predecessors, could be used in extremely targeted scenarios. And open source database vendor Ingres teams with Infor to certify the latter's ERP software to run on the Ingres database and middleware.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on December 14, 2006 04:42 AM

December 13, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Maybe Microsoft really does care about DBAs? Well, we'll see...

Best of the blogs: There's no better way to grab the attention of Microsoft, or any other company for that matter, than to point to a shortcoming. That's exactly what Sean McCown has done in a few posts claiming that Microsoft treats DBAs as second-class citizens. Now, he reports, Microsoft has some different views on the matter. Waking the sleeping giant. "What I'm expecting from the conversation is some detail on where we've been with DBA tools, where we are now, and where they plan to take us," McCown writes. See what other readers think about this.

Columnists' corner: Missing that apartment swap in France is one thing. Losing your job is another. But there are bigger tragedies, such as when our Off the Record's European client never even got its computer-based QC and tracking system. And, in this case, it was because the IT guys who had no clue how to complete the project arranged decided to get consultants fired anyway. "In IT, as with most human endeavor, fear of job loss can destroy a lot more than jobs."

The news beat: Skype releases a beta of its software for Windows Mobile-based smart phones that enables such devices to hook into its VoIP service. IBM and Yahoo align to release a free enterprise search tool, called IBM OmniFind Yahoo Edition. And Hewlett-Packard teams up with Microsoft on enterprise software, though the details are due later today.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on December 13, 2006 04:55 AM

November 29, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Why doesn't Microsoft care about DBAs?

Best of the blogs: A sibling rivalry of sorts, perhaps, but at PASS Sean McCown came to realize that even though "developers are the bee's knees," Microsoft "really doesn't hold DBAs in much regard," he explains in this Database Underground post. In some ways, McCown notes, they are even rendered out of the equation.

Columnist's corner: Tom Yager kicks off this week's installment of Ahead of the Curve by pointing out that, through its pact with Novell, Microsoft has effectively made the use of Suse Linux the only safe means to achieve heterogeneity. "By immunizing Novell against future intellectual property actions, Microsoft tacitly notified other players in commercialized open source that Microsoft sets the rules for Windows interoperability from now on," he adds. It gets scarier than that, too. "There's no end to what Microvell can do within the law. If you let them." Microvell's big chill.

The news beat: Intel says it will put 802.11n into Centrino prior to the standard being ratified. Novell expands Zenworks to manage virtualization. And Apple patches a wireless bug in AirPort that could be used by attackers to run software on a victim's PC.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on November 29, 2006 04:44 AM

October 25, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Quote of the day: Skills that make a good DBA

There are so many skills that make up a good DBA it's hard to know where to start. I think a good place is outside the typical DBA skillset. Every DBA should have web programming skills. This is without a doubt one of the more useful outside skills because almost anything you do as a DBA would be done better if you posted it to the web. We also seem to be called on to do all kinds of things that have nothing to do with DBs. You should not only know basic HTML, but you should also know ASP in either VBScript or JavaScript (both is better). You'll find these skills so incredibly useful in your daily work and you'll wonder how you ever go by without it. -- Sean McCown. Essential skills for DBAs.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 25, 2006 04:09 AM

October 06, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Quote of the day: Benchmarking ROI

So how do you go about quantifying your benchmarking process? Well, you have to do something that even the anti-virus and OS guys don't have to do. You have to actually build a cost analysis for how much time you spend tracking down production problems that are due to poor design, bad indexing, inefficient queries, and the like. This takes a lot of time so don't expect to have an answer overnight, but eventually, you can go to your bosses with quantifiable ROI that they can't deny. -- Sean McCown. The ROI of benchmarking.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 6, 2006 04:07 AM

September 28, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Dawn of the open source database

Best of the blogs: "It's still funny to me that MySQL isn't considered mission-critical," writes Matt Asay. Yes, that's funny to me, too, and anyone else who has seen them spread. In open source databases are taking over, Asay points out that Google, Yahoo, even Oracle all run MySQL. "Don't you think that MySQL is well-positioned to do the same [as Oracle and use the database as the hub for all ERP, CRM, etc.], except with open source applications?"

Screencasts: Jon Udell speaks with Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos about his company's S3, EC2, and MTurk services, as well as whether or not Amazon hates Udell.

The news beat: Hewlett-Packard's general counsel Ann Baskins resigns and plans to invoke the Fifth Amendment, rather than testifying in front of a U.S. House committee. Gateway picks Intel's Woodcrest chips to put into three new midrange servers. And Alfresco previews an open source Web content management product, the final piece of its ECM suite.

Podcasts: Although storage software is not typically open source, that may be about to change. At least if projects such as Aperi and startup Zmanda have any say. Zmanda, you see, is now selling support services in a fashion similar to Red Hat, only for the open source backup application AMANDA. Tune into Storage Sprawl.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on September 28, 2006 10:58 AM

September 12, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Quote of the day: Technologies that enable, empower and liberate

I thought about this while editing last Friday's podcast with Phil Windley, part of which explored the failure of technologists to explain and evangelize ideas -- like translucency and selective disclosure -- in ways that resonate with the public and meaningfully influence the political process. If we want to invent technologies that enable, empower, and liberate, part of the challenge is to promote ideas and raise expectations about what's possible. -- Jon Udell. The politics of data control.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on September 12, 2006 04:04 AM

August 17, 2006 | Comments: (0)

The changing face of database storage

Test center review: In addition to expected performance, scalability and security boosts, IBM's DB2 9.1, better known as Viper, sheds many limitations of its predecessor -- and the innovations are tempting. "One feature in particular, the hybrid XML/relational engine, gives this Big Blue serpent its distinctive shape," writes Sean McCown. Big Blue bests competitors Oracle and Microsoft by preserving the native format of XML data. "Maybe over the next couple releases, as IBM and its customers start to build on these technologies and do things nobody else can do, the true payoff of the DB2 vision will emerge." Read the full review.

Best of the blogs: Never one to shy away from lofty goals, Microsoft is at again. This time it's in the virutalization realm. Microsoft's System Center Virtual Machine Manager "has one goal - to make Windows the best platform for virtualization," explains David Marshall. "A lofty goal, especially with VMware having already released VMware Infrastructure 3 into the wild as well as having years of run-time on its own virtualization management software - VMware VirtualCenter."

The news beat: JBoss is preparing upgrades to its Java Business Process Management software by adding support for BPEL, and releasing a beta version of its ESB this week while parent company Red Hat also works on an upgrade to its Linux. Sun sells its mainframe re-hosting business to Clerity Solutions. And Lenovo snags more Dell executives.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on August 17, 2006 04:39 AM

July 27, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Quiz: Are your DBAs honest?

Databases: Twisting just a bit his kick about how companies ought to look out for their people, recognize the talent they have and keep it, Sean McCown posts one for managers. Setting: Your main production system goes down, and it's now time for your DBAs to spring into action. After assessing the problem, they decide the database is completely shot and needs to be restored from backup. Here's your quiz: Are they telling the truth, or do they just not really know what they're doing? Are your DBAs working for you?

Podcasts: In The SOA Report, Dave Linthicum brings listeners Step 1 of his 12 steps to SOA, as well as a look at SOA adoption. Service-oriented architecture "requires a systemic change in the way we think about architecture ... to think that the uptake of SOA is going to be anything but slow and gradual is really silly ... we're seeing a lot of growth, but we're definitely not seeing the growth that has been predicted in the marketplace, which I think is good." Tune in here.

Columnists' corner: Looking ahead to Apple's worldwide developer conference, Tom Yager is honing his agenda -- and a good bit of the knowledge on his quest isn't specific to OS X or the Mac, he writes in Mac is back in the big league. "This year I'll learn Apple's new approach to running a mix of 32- and 64-bit applications. I hope to discover how the Mac's Core Microarchitecture CPU, Extensible Firmware Interface, and Trusted Platform Module are exposed to developers. And although this will certify that I'm certifiable, I am salivating at the prospect of seeing hands-on sessions with x86 assembly language."

Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 27, 2006 05:54 AM

July 26, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Quote of the day: How companies treat IT staff

You know, one of the things that has really surprised me is how many people are tired of the same things I am. Since I started the series on how companies treat their IT staff, my mailbox has been full of people urging me on and telling me their horror stories. A lot of you are right ... I do seem to be the only one sometimes who fights these kinds of fights. I don't mind being the one to champion these causes because I really believe in them. -- Sean McCown. A glimpse into my inbox.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 26, 2006 04:04 AM

June 27, 2006 | Comments: (0)

WinFS to land in SQL Server

Databases: Microsoft's elusive file system, WinFS, the one that was most recently supposed to be the feature in Vista, is now going to be included with the next version of SQL Server, code-named Katmai. Of course, this runs counter to what Microsoft said two weeks ago at TechEd, that it would be in a beta 2 release come year's end.

Hardware: Intel rolls out its Dual-core Xeon 5100 processor, code-named Woodcrest, which the company claims consumes less power while boosting performance. And Gartner says that because notebooks are prone to hardware failure, 15 percent will break within a year, and 22 percent within four years.

Columnists' corner: The end of the Gates era at Microsoft cannot come fast enough, writes Neil McAllister in Open Enterprise. Why? "A Microsoft that can learn to play fair, be more transparent, and embrace the radical changes taking place in the way enterprises procure, develop, and deploy software could be a powerful boon for the industry," he explains. "But I'm not holding my breath."

Best of the blogs: Jon Udell fesses up to being indicted. For the crime of businessspeak, that is. "The dope slap continues and it's worth reading if, like me, you aspire to do more than speak to hardcore geeks about esoteric technologies. I care about ends not means, and the ends that matter to me also matter to everyone: finding information, using it effectively, working together to solve problems," Udell adds.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on June 27, 2006 04:40 AM

June 08, 2006 | Comments: (0)

IBM to charm Viper in late July

Databases: Big Blue says its forthcoming DB2, code-named Viper, will be released on July 28th. One analyst believes that the hybrid relational and XML database gives IBM a temporary advantage over rivals Microsoft and Oracle, which rely on an older, slower approach of reformatting XML or putting it into a large object before storing it as relational data.

Security: Whoever said that hacking, cracking and other malicious computer tactics are just for the young and nimble had better think again. An ostensibly disgruntled UBS employee stands trial for detonating a so-called computer bomb that cost the company approximately $3 million to assess and repair. Name: Roger Duronio. Age: 63.

VoIP: Avaya releases modular VoIP phones, aimed at the enterprise. And a Washington State man is charged with stealing more than 10 million minutes of VoIP services, then reselling them.

The news beat: Google whips up a browser tool that lets user synchronize Firefox settings -- bookmarks, Web site visits log, saved passwords and persistent cookies -- across multiple PCs and copies of the browser. EDS takes a majority stake MphasiS, an oddly-spelled outsourcer, to gain access to 11,000 staff in India. Outsourcers in India, meanwhile, will begin grading job applicants to weed out those lacking in requisite skills.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on June 8, 2006 11:15 AM

May 24, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Cuervo, Oracle and the SMB

Best of the blogs: Oliver Rist downs a few shots of tequila and starts talking...to Oralce about its master SMB plan. Actually, I might have the order mixed. Perhaps he started conversing with Oracle, then felt the need for some Cuervo. I'm not even sure if it's the liquor or the marketing juice that's talking, but an exec at the database giant says it has been focusing on the SMB space product-wise, just not so much on the marketing. Clear it all up here.

Security: With a new Trojan on the prowl, Microsoft advises 'safe mode' for Word -- at least until June 13th, when a patch is due.

Test Center review: Oversize monochrome printers from HP, Lexmark and Xerox are speedy, versatile and practical -- but for a hefty ticket. "What you see in monochrome laser printers depends on what you look for, though from any perspective, printing monochrome documents is an essential part of the office workday," explains Dan Littman. Each of these models has its own virtues: One company charges less for toner cartridges, another is the best choice for overall performance, while the third spits out a higher text quality.

The news beat: A senior executive says that AMD is on its way to grabbing 20 percent of the server market this year. AT&T, along with partners BEA, Intel and Symbol, claims it will make RFID easier for customers via a managed service. Hewlett-Packard today details the new IT Shared Services Portfolio. And a new survey finds that data security is becoming a political issue. (Wait, did we really need a survey to confirm that?)

Posted by Tom Sullivan on May 24, 2006 11:06 AM

May 09, 2006 | Comments: (0)

The DBA passion problem

Quoteworthy: Maybe nobody grows up saying, "I want to be a DBA." There's no passion for databases like there is for cooking. I mean, you can't smell SQL code (even though a lot of it stinks), and you can't make nice flowers out of a DR strategy. I think I'm one of the very few who actually gets excited about databases. -- Sean McCown. Database Apprenticeship.

Columnists' corner: The long-standing Army versus Navy rivalry has moved beyond mere warfare and football, even taking root in software. Well, kind of. In this round of Off the Record, Army takes an early lead, but then gets rattled and eventually squashed by Navy. Doing IT the Army way.

Podcasts: A new episode of Storage Sprawl was posted this morning. Within you'll learn about how virtualization can keep those disaster recovery costs down, as in duplicating 60 existing servers with just three. And SOA Expert Podcast Show 37 is now live, under the moniker AJAX and SOA Carcast.

The news beat: Consultancy Yankee Group warns that new security features in Windows Vista could disrupt the user experience so much that users might want to steer clear of the OS for the time being. (That is, once the OS is actually released, which Microsoft is saying will be next year.) EMC says it will acquire Kashya, a data-replication and protection software company, for about $153 million in cash. And botmaster Jeanson James Ancheta got a sentence of almost five years in federal prison for using zombie computers to rake in tens of thousands of dollars.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on May 9, 2006 11:05 AM

May 08, 2006 | Comments: (0)

SP1 hotfix for SQL Server 2005 coming this week

Security: It's no secret that Service Pack 1 for SQL Server has caused some problems, and this week Microsoft will correct the timeout errors received when trying to connect to SSIS, and other minor issues. "Microsoft is doing some testing and hopes to have the hotfix released by the end of the week, but if testing goes really well, it could be sooner," writes Database Underground author Sean McCown. Read more about the fix and the problems associated with SP1 in McCown's blog post.

Open source: JBoss signs on with a trio of standards bodies -- OASIS, the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) and WS-I (Web Services Interoperability Organization). The company also announces an update to its portal framework that now supports WSRP (Web Services for Remote Portlets).

SOA: Big Blue details tools for linking big-iron boxes into service-oriented architectures in an effort to help users prepare for what it estimates will be a doubling of mainframe transactions before 2010. And in the fourth SOA-related acquisition in seven months, SOA Software buys Blue Titan and its Network Director, but still doesn't plan to challenge BEA, IBM or Oracle directly.

VoIP: The FCC is considering taxing voice over IP services and, in turn, providers will pass those fees along to customers, while other regulations, such as CALEA (Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act), also are driving up VoIP prices.

N.B. Ed Foster explains some very positive changes to his column and weblog. "Together again as it were," ...but I'll not spoil the surprise. The Gripe Line, the GripeLog, InfoWorld and me.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on May 8, 2006 04:47 AM

May 03, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Big Blue claims to shame Microsoft, Oracle

Databases: IBM's forthcoming DB2, code-named Viper, when it is released this summer will bring a cast of features sure to please hardcore developers. "Topping the list is a newly integrated XML storage engine that Big Blue says will put Microsoft and Oracle to shame," writes Sean McCown. A bold claim on Big Blue's part to be sure. But McCown adds that Viper is a release current DB2 users will welcome, and describes Viper's XML capabilities as "a boon to customers and a feather in IBM's cap."

Quoteworthy: Perception is reality. Perception: Solaris is old, in Wall Street's minds. Ergo, bye buy, Solaris. -- Matt Asay. Solaris stemming the Linux tide?

Best of the blogs: Where's the big, bold bet? Google is betting on its talent pool, and backing it with generous time to innovate. Question is, when will Microsoft stop chasing Google and start innovating? Mike Barton asks those and more in Ballmer the betting man. Jon Udell, meanwhile, explains how not to inspire customer confidence. The catalyst: a note that has been on his bank's login page for a week.

Podcasts: Find out about virtual appliances, and Parallels steamrolling along and releasing Compressor, in today's Virtualization Report.

The news beat: Skype begins piloting a conference service that supports up to 100 callers, and releases into beta testing Skype 2.5, with tighter ties into Microsoft Outlook. Opera says it intends to make mobile commerce easier with the Opera Mini 2.0 browser. And Symbol Technologies reveals plans to build a pan-wireless infrastructure.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on May 3, 2006 10:49 AM

April 12, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Free as in data, and a new Storage Sprawl podcast

Columnists' corner: Tired of dealing with companies that can't -- or simply won't -- provide data in the form that he needs, Jon Udell figures out ways to make it his own. "I can't leap tall buildings or crush lumps of coal into diamonds, but when I look at the barriers that divide one data format from another, they seem hardly to exist. For me, data transformation is almost an autonomic reflex, like breathing."

Podcasts: In the new episode of Storage Sprawl we look at why the database backup wars are still thriving and what you should know before negotiating with those vendors, plus the week's storage news.

Security: Microsoft issued five patches to plug a number of vulnerabilities, namely the IE hole that hackers have been exploiting for several weeks.

Best of the blogs: Apple has released Remote Desktop 3, and Tom Yager takes a first taste. "It's a lot more than a Universal (Intel/PowerPC) edition of Remote Desktop. Apple took advantage of the new release to make the tool more self-contained and closer...to Tiger itself."

Open source: "I'm not the only one who thinks Vista presents a huge opportunity for Linux on the desktop," insists Dave Rosenberg in Desktop Linux -- the new source of Microsoft angst? After stumbling upon one of Redmond's 'Get the facts' pdfs, Rosenberg was left wondering "if Microsoft will drop a big anti-desktop Linux campaign with Vista comes out, similar to the anti-server campaign when Windows Server 2003 dropped."

Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 12, 2006 05:18 AM

January 10, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Why knowledge workers are expensive

Columnists' Corner: What with consultants being much better at moving equipment than data, and the high-priced folks who actually understand that data getting laid-off amid an acquisition, our IT Off the Record author found himself in the belly of a Great White Shark, so to speak. But they weren't paying him enough to stick around rather than start his own business, so he fought his way out, only to learn that with no knowledge workers left the project was still lingering 18 months later.

The news beat: Publishing titan Rupert Murdoch predicts a decline in portals and says that News Corp. is bullish on building social networking sites. An IBM official cautions customers that burned CD's have a shorter lifespan than pressed CDs. In another story, Big Blue is leading an effort to improve the quality of patents and speed up the patent approval process.

Open source: MySQL gets the U.S. government's stamp of approval in the form of a five-year contract that will make it easier for government customers to buy the open source database. Novell kicks off AppArmor, a Linux application security program, and will donate the AppArmor technology it acquired last year from Immunix to the project.

Hot review: The ShoreTel 6 IP PBX had Wayne Rash scratching his head and wondering if perhaps it was too easy to be true. "Surely, I thought, there must be a point at which the ShoreTel PBX becomes a pain in the neck," Rash writes in his review. "I thought wrong."

Posted by Tom Sullivan on January 10, 2006 10:49 AM

December 28, 2005 | Comments: (0)

A look at MySQL 5.0, and key backer of open source resigns

Hot review: MySQL 5.0 has arrived and, while it adds enterprise-class features that make upgrading mandatory, the open source database's management and development tools fall short. "MySQL 5.0 may not be on the same competitive enterprise playing field as the established big four databases yet, but MySQL admins would be foolish not to implement version 5.0," writes Sean McGown, in Long-awaited MySQL 5.0 makes its debut.

Open source: The Massachusetts CIO who championed the use of OpenOffice resigns, raising the question of whether the commonwealth will still move away from Microsoft.

Best of the blogs: Ed Foster posts several reader comments concerning fair product return policies, including one who found he couldn't take back a defective KVM 14 days after purchase.

The news beat: Looking ahead to early next year, the latest and greatest gadgets head for CES, namely high-definition, portable video and home networking technologies. Toshiba, Hitachi and Renesas consider a joint chip foundry that would serve all three companies. And the Virkel Virus strikes MSN Messenger users under the guise of a sneak peek at the latest beta of Messenger.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on December 28, 2005 05:57 AM

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