Author: way0utwest

The Ultimate Tool List

I’ve seen Scott Hanselman’s Ultimate Tool List a few times and adopted some of the tools in the past. He updated it for 2014 and has added quite a few new tools. I downloaded F.lux the other day and am giving it a test run right now. I’m not sure how well it works, but I like the idea of this little utility. I also used Chocolatey for my new machine after Troy Hunt blogged about the utility and thought it was amazing. AutoHotKey is the new items I’m testing.

We are in the business of technology and using computers to work more efficiently. We manage, build, and deploy software that allows our organizations to get more work done with less resources than ever in the past. We have, or should have, utilities that automatically check our math, our spelling, that communicate quicker than in the past.

Those of us working with computers should be using utilities, tools, and helpful software all the time. We should test it, share our thoughts and results, and help others to learn to let computers improve their lives. While there are places computers aren’t needed or aren’t appropriate, there are many more ways in which computers can help us save time and effort by tackling tasks, even simple ones, with automation.

I’d encourage you to look at some of the tools on Scott’s list and see if they might help you work more efficiently in the new year. With the slower times that usually occur during the holidays, this is a good time to experiment with some utilities that might help you in the new year. There’s also a SQL Performance Tool collection from MSDN in this week’s newsletter.

December 30, 2013
Mining for Quitters
This editorial was originally published on Jun 10, 2009. It is being re-published as Steve is on vacation.

I thought this was pretty interesting, a story about a story about Google trying to figure out which people are likely to quit. Apparently Google is worried about losing talented workers, like those they’ve taken from Microsoft, Yahoo, and other places. Actually they haven’t taken anyone. They built a company that excited people and anyone that wants to get a job there (and can), should be allowed to go work there.

Some people have decided they don’t want to stay, and quite a few executives, and Google wants to try and see if they can keep them. So they are looking for signs that a person might think about leaving, and then hopefully doing something about it. And in typical Google fashion, they’ve built an application that crunches data to identify those people likely to leave.

I think it’s great, especially in an age where it seems so many companies don’t care if you stay or go. While there’s no guarantee that they’ll be able to convince people to stay, at least they can make an attempt to convince them. Sometimes that’s all takes. Show someone that you care, and that you want to keep them around, and many times they might decide to stay. And perhaps it’s in response to this note that the Justice Department in the US considers any agreement among tech firms illegal. Even if it’s an understanding not to poach each others’ executives.

With any technology, there’s a flip side as well. Who knows if employees at Google will try to “game” the system, fake the data that shows the might leave, and then see if they can get a raise or some other benefit from the company. It might not work for all employees, but it might work for some.

It will be a flawed system, but it’s a good idea. It’s a good use of business intelligence computing to try and protect the company’s most valuable assets: its people.

Steve Jones

The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

The podcast feeds are available at sqlservercentral.mevio.com. Comments are definitely appreciated and wanted, and you can get feeds from there.

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Today’s podcast features music by Everyday Jones. No relation, but I stumbled on to them and really like the music. Support this great duo at www.everydayjones.com.

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December 30, 2013
The Effective Cell Phone
I’ve written a bit about phones recently as I’ve experienced the switch back to iOS from Android. There are a few other posts in this series:
- Back to iOS from Android
- Android Annoyances
- Android is Better than iOS
I wanted to stop and take a moment and think about design of cell phones for a minute. I think that Android, iOS, Windows Phone 8, and other systems have their own strengths and weaknesses. Even though I prefer iOS, I wouldn’t want that to be the only choice for everyone.

However why should the choice stop there? I think Apple has done a great job with their App Store, and while I don’t like their censorship of applications, I do appreciate their certifying and curating apps. I just wish they’re allow more applications, and more importantly, more defaults.

What does a smartphone do?

If I think about what a smartphone, I am looking for it to have these functions:
- Make and receive phone calls
- Manage voice mails
- Manage contacts
- Handle text messages
- Browse the web
- Get email
- Work with my calendars
- handle navigation
- provide keyboard for input
- provide voice to text services
I’m sure there are other things. For example, being able to connect with various other platforms (twitter/facebook, etc) from within any application. Maybe I am concerned about text to speech capabilities, or more. When I look back at Android, I appreciated the variety of keyboards that were available. Like most people, I quickly settled on one (Swype), but I did try out the Swiftkey and KeyPal keyboards.

Why doesn’t that make sense for all of the functions above? Perhaps I want a different dialer that somehow presents data differently, or makes phone calls in a different way. I’m imaging that I might want to route some calls through a service like Skype or Google Voice and some through cellular. I would love the ability to replace the default dialer with some other dialer, just as I could replace keyboards on Swype.

Many of us have a favorite browser, but it’s not the default on your platform, you may find some links opening in another browser. I should be able to set the core default programs for functions on my platform, as I choose them. I don’t expect that any dialer, or calendar, or other service is allowed. There are core functions that need to be met, and I’d accept that the platform provider, or maybe store, would certify applications as working on the OS, but after that, I ought to be able to replace the default programs that can be run.

Android is much more open about this than iOS or WP8 in many ways, and I’m not sure if everything above can be replaced. I know I could replace the dialer with Skype instead of cellular, but I’m not sure if all these functions can be replaced. If they can, then kudos to Android.

I also know that some applications are available for all of these functions, or most of them, but I thought there were places I couldn’t set something as the default. I’m not ready to go back to Android and experiment now, but for sure I wish I had the ability to get automatic, default functionality from the phone in the way I want it.

Ultimately Apple isn’t making money, or loyalty, on their dialer, or calendar. They make money on the platform, so build the amazing platform, but let other people provide more customizations, as you do now in app stores. Just allow consumers to make those defaults if they choose to.
December 27, 2013

Memories of 2013

the holiday season and are not too busy at work. I hope most of you had a great year in 2013, and with that in mind, I wanted to ask you a simple question:

What’s your best SQL Server memory of 2013?

Maybe it was when you solved a problem or completed a project successfully. Maybe it was an event that you enjoyed, like a SQL Saturday or conference? Maybe it was a talk or a conversation you had with another SQL Server professional. Perhaps it was some social event involving SQL Server.

It could be something you laughed at, a situation that taught you something, or an inspirational moment. Share it with us today, and remember what you enjoy about working in this field.

I hope you had multiple great memories in 2013 and will make more in 2014. Happy Holidays.

Steve Jones

Video and Audio versions

Today’s podcast features music by Everyday Jones. No relation, but I stumbled on to them and really like the music. Support this great duo at www.everydayjones.com.