Voice of the DBA

Category: Editorial

  • Better Than Batman

    I’ve always been a fan of Bill Gates. He changed the way we look at personal computing and provided an environment in which software development was widely encouraged. He didn’t create a perfect environment, and Microsoft has made a few mis-steps at times, but they certainly changed the world. Mr. Gates is also a great speaker, and I had the chance to see him live twice, where he delivered a fascinating keynote that entertained and inspired me.

    He left Microsoft as a full time employee in 2008, and has moved on to working with the Gates Foundation. His missions there, along with his wife, Melinda, is to improve people’s lives. The foundation has primarily focused on ending disease and hunger in developing countries, and to date has done some very good work for millions around the globe. I ran across an infographic recently that talks about philanthropy and have reprinted a portion here:

    The Gates Foundation has made an impact on the world.

    The title of the graphic is “Bill Gates is Better Than Batman” and it shows a impact of the charitable donations that Bill Gates, and many other billionaires, are making or pledging. It’s mind-boggling to look at the sums involved, and at the amounts that will be available in the future. There are a number of wealthy individuals that are trying to make a difference in the world, and it’s inspiring. Especially after fiascos like Enron, Worldcom, and other scandals where it seems greed has been the goal.

    As I get older, I view the world differently. I find myself with more understanding, more compassion, and more of a desire to help others. I suspect as many of these billionaires start to understand their own mortality, they feel the same way. It should be easy to give away money when you have more than you’ll ever spend, but it doesn’t always seem to be something people do. I am proud that so many rich tech people are looking beyond themselves, trying to make the world a better place.

    One more person I applaud is Alexis Ohanian, founder of Reddit, fellow UVA alum, and founder of Breadpig. He’s not a billionaire, but he’s trying to make a difference. He gave a great talk at the 2011 Business of Software conference, asking for more of us to do the same, even if we’re not billionaires

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

    .

     

  • BYOD

    Would you want to provide your own device, like this one?

    As laptop prices have plummeted over the last few years to the point where most technical people can afford to purchase their own machine for around $500. Unless you want an Apple machine, then you’ll be looking at something over $1000. There are quite a few people working with SQL Server on OSX, however, so if you want one for work, you can make the switch, and here are a few blogs for you (Aaron Bertrand, Brent Ozar, Joe Webb)

    As computers become a commodity, and we use them more and more to live our lives as well as work, does it make sense for workers to purchase their own machines and use them in a corporate setting? I know some companies give workers a computer allowance and the workers can take the machine with them if they quit, presumably if they work at the company for longer than a few months. Other companies give their employees money for technology, which can be exciting for technical people that might want to upgrade their monitors or other accessories regularly.

    There are definite security and data concerns, but with cheap memory, disks, and hypervisors, it’s possible to get around those issues, and allow employees to work with the tools they are familiar with. I ran across this blog that talks about workers owning their own devices in the future, even being required to provide them. Just like many other professions where the workers must own their own set of tools.

    On one hand this seems crazy. Employers should provide computers, and as a young worker in this business, I would have struggled to purchase a $1500-2000 laptop. Or maybe I wouldn’t have. Maybe I would have seen it as an investment in my career, just like college was. These days, we have even more devices, and while IT departments struggle to secure them, that doesn’t stop people from using them, or wanting them. I think I’d like to provide my own smartphone and laptop, and get some sort of allowance from my employer each year to offset the cost.

    I don’t know how we’d handle the data/security pieces of this scenario, but I’m there would be no shortage of ideas from the various software vendors.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

  • The Virtual Lab

    Over a decade ago, when the startup company that I worked for went bankrupt, I received a few servers and some other hardware as a partial severance. At the time it seemed like a good idea, and it was nice to have a few spare servers on hand. I would later use some of that hardware to work on SQLServerCentral. My wife, however, wasn’t thrilled since spare hardware, even powerful hardware, doesn’t buy groceries.

    These days the pace of technology change is high. SQL Server is a stable platform that many companies might install and use for a decade, but it seems we have new features to learn every 18-24 months as new versions are released. I think more and more of us have to understand a wider variety of features and platforms all the time, even if we use them sparingly. For many of us, that means some sort of lab if we want to gain any sort of skill with the products.

    One of the best things about virtualization, in my mind, is that it enables the average professional working with technology to build a huge lab for a fraction of the cost that it would have cost a decade ago. A relatively modestly priced laptop, something in the $600-800 range, will run most any technology you need, including Windows 2008 R2 Data Center in a VM. If you wonder how you can do this on a budget, check out Denny Cherry’s article on building a lab with VMWare or the Virtual Server series on SSC. You could do the same thing with Hyper-V or Virtual Box, and a subscription to MSDN or TechNet, something many of us get from our employers. If you don’t have access to those programs, there are evaluation editions of almost all software you can use.

    With an external hard drive, you could even have a portable lab that you can take with you anywhere.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

  • WWBOD

    What Would Brent Ozar Do?

    I’ve titled this for Brent Ozar (web |@brento), What Would Brent Ozar Do, since he was the one that turned me on to this post about calculating your FU money. A polite way of describing FU money would be the money that allows you to live your life on your terms, without having to work again and without having to kowtow to anyone else, including your employer.

    When I was younger, I was very money driven, looking for new jobs or ways that would allow me to earn more money. I have been in and out of consulting, always looking to move up in the world. As I grew older, had a family, and (hopefully) grew wiser, I realized that most of the time I hadn’t be happier by making more money. Finding more money became a game, but the things that really helped me enjoy life were the challenges, the people, and the experiences I had in different places. It’s not my advice, and it’s not often followed, but it’s advice I think it well worth following: do something with your life that you enjoy.

    Most of us are not likely to get FU money early in our careers, but hopefully many of us will get close enough to live life on our terms when we retire. However this Friday, let’s have fun for a minute and think about what it would mean if you had the winning lottery ticket next week and received a check equal to your FU money.

    What would you do if you had the choice?

    If you didn’t have to work at your job anymore, would you go crazy like so many athletes. Would you keep your life relatively sane and embark on some other pursuit? Maybe you’re follow your musical dreams, like Allan Hirt. Maybe you’d go back to school and study something that interests you, maybe you’d move to Hawaii and surf every day. Drop a note in the discussion that lets us know how you’d change your life.

    I had this question put to me on vacation with some friends, and the first thing that popped into my mind is that I’d go work for Habitat for Humanity. I enjoy building things, working outside, and their mission is one that speaks to me. I hope that someday I’ll retire from technology and go work with them, and I feel confident it will happen. Someday.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcasts