Application Usability and the JFDI Button
by Tony Davis | 02 September 2008
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28 comments 
It is strange how we, as software developers, get caught up in using conventions in applications that seem to be designed merely to irritate the users. Why do we do it?
Close Encounters: The Making of ANTS Profiler 4
by Bart Read | 02 September 2008
| 2 comments 
Bart gives the unofficial history of the development of ANTS 4 Profiler.
Spiderlings and Kiting in a Hurricane
by Rodney | 02 September 2008
| 3 comments 
After the stress of a hard shutdown in the middle of the night when UPSs and generators failed, and the relief of seeing all of his servers came back online with only 1 suspect DB out of 1400, Rodney starts worrying about whether his landlord will kill his spider with a blowtorch.
Creating Technical Presentations
by Joe Webb | 01 September 2008
| 9 comments | 
Making a technical presentation is like being interviewed. It is not a skill that you are likely to need often, but when you do, advice culled from experience can make all the difference to the outcome; and like successful interviews, successful technical presentations can really help your career!
How to Get the Most Out of Attending a Presentation
by bradmcgehee | 02 September 2008
Brad describes how to get the most benefit from attending a presentation
Policy-Based Management
by Brad McGehee | 26 August 2008
| 1 comment | 
Every DBA knows the frustration of trying to manage tens of servers, each of which has a subtly different configuration. Policy-based management, now introduced in SQL Server 2008, could ease a lot of this pain. Brad McGehee explains....
9 Top tips for ISVs to get me to (maybe) buy your software
by Bart Read | 27 August 2008
| 3 comments Once more, Bart scours the internet searching for some software that he needs to assist the development process. He's horrified to find out what a frustrating business it is to find some software that will do the trick he wants. ISVs will tremble at reading the resulting 9 top tips for ISVs, culled from his futile experiences.
SQL Server 2008: Table-valued parameters
by András | 27 August 2008
| 1 comment 
Andras explains why Table-valued types and parameters, that allow you to pass table data to stored procedures and functions, are amongst the most exciting new features of SQL Server 2008.
Bunnikins!
by Phil Factor | 24 August 2008
| 4 comments | 
When an IT manager is selected as a victim of office politics of a large corporate, it is time for him to engage in intelligence-gathering. Phil Factor exposes a ruthless streak when called to account over an Engineering Workflow system.
Passing Variables to and from an SSIS task
by Patrick Index | 20 August 2008
| 5 comments | 
In which Patrick Index casts a jaundiced eye on SSIS, and decides that, for all its faults, it has a number of uses as an ETL tool. In the first of a series of articles 'from the trenches', Patrick describes how to pass variables to, and from, an SSIS task.