Tag: misc

I used to think that touch screens were useful for some applications, like cash registers, but not necessarily  something you’d want to use regularly. However the more I use an iPhone and iPad, the more I see a lot of value in having a gesture based system that I can manipulate. It isn’t perfect for every situation and it’s not wonderful for typing, but it works very well in most of the places where I use it.

I ran across this link about research from Microsoft that’s using more of the human body for input. It’s crude, and it looks a little funny watching someone try to dial a phone projected onto their arm, but it does raise the possibility that we might actually want to do this at times. There could be value in using the body or some larger surface, especially for those of us getting older and struggling to read anything on a small display.

As we look to capture more data, about more events, more often, having input devices that are better suited to the situation makes a lot of sense. Often when we are away from a set location, there isn’t always a good place to put a laptop or keyboard, and other input devices might allow data capture or annotation in harsh environments, like outside or even underwater.

I love my keyboard, and can’t imagine getting as much work done as I do without it, but I am open to examining new ways to input data if they work well for the situation.

Steve Jones

FYI: That’s me using a tablet at the ranch, watching the SSC servers on SQL Monitor.

(published at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Editorial/72414/)

The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

• Windows Media Podcast – 19.4MB WMV
• iPod Video Podcast – 14MB MP4
• MP3 Audio Podcast – 3.2MB MP3

Usually at the end of each year I try to look back at the previous year in the database world.  This past year seems to have been an amazing year for the SQL Community and for me it has been the opportunity to meet new people, and also reconnect with so many of the amazing professionals that work with SQL Server.

The year started early with the decision for PASS to take over the management of the SQL Saturday franchise. Andy Warren and I symbolically passed a key (thanks to Peter Shire of SQL Sentry) to PASS at SQL Saturday #33 in Charlotte, and from there the number of events exploded. When Andy talked with me about this idea almost 4 years ago, we wondered if we would ever get to 50 events, or even if we’d have more than 20 in a year. Right now SQL Saturday #71 is scheduled for Boston in April 2011, and there were 32 events last year. It looks like 2011 might be an even better year, with 14 events scheduled so far. If you are even thinking of having one in your area, contact PASS, or even me for a little help.

We also had quite a bit of change in the SQL Server world. SQL Server 2008 R2, the Parallel Data Warehouse edition,  and a few service packs, including SP4 for SQL Server 2005, were released. The growth, and support, of the platform from Microsoft continues to give us data professionals more tools, and opportunities, to build amazing applications for our companies. When I look back at where I started, with SQL Server 4.2, the platform is almost unrecognizable. Next year we may get another new version, with some nicely matured subsystems like PBM and Extended Events, that will greatly help DBAs better manage their systems.

Beyond the laptop was a change that amazed me. After having an iPhone, and seeing Surface, I was truly stunned at the success of the iPad, and the rush to build other tablets, like the Galaxy Tab. It’s amazing how versatile and useful these devices can be for consuming information. I expect some amazing new applications, especially in the BI area to be coming in the future. Even my employer has found them useful, giving away dozen’s of iPads in our SQL Monitor launch, which can be used to watch the SQLServerCentral servers in real time.

There were many more events, from the release of Windows Phone 7 and 4G networks to the growth of the Cloud and NoSQL databases. We had Arnie Rowland’s Project Phoenix, which looks to help unemployed tech professionals, another Exceptional DBA in Tracy Hamlin, and perhaps the beginning of a recovery in the global economy. It seems more people are taking an interest in their career, and poised to take advantage of the hiring that is starting to pick up.

From my perspective, 2010 was a great year for the SQL community. I don’t know if this community is closer, stronger, or more helpful that those of other technologies, but I do know that it’s an amazing group, and I am better for being a part of it.

Happy New Year.

Steve Jones

This community is amazing. Across two decades in my career I have seen it grow, and grow, and now explode. It’s been exciting to me, and it continues to be exciting every day.

The community is you. Each of you out there, each person that visits a site like this, or attends a user group, a SQL Saturday, posts a blog, or even asks a question. You are the greatest part of this community. It’s the involvement of people that is the most important part of this community, and I hope that more of you will continue to actively work in the community over time.

I don’t have to attend SQL Saturdays. It’s a pain to travel. It’s slightly annoying to my wife when I’m gone as it cuts into her horse time. My kids miss me on the weekends. It jams up my work schedule and results in some late nights for me. I don’t typically represent Red Gate, though I’ll likely do a bit more in the future as they are paying for my trips. I don’t even get a resume bullet out of it at this point in my life.

So why do I go? I go because of this community. I go because I get to talk to people and get excited by listening to them. I get inspired to see people giving up time out of their lives to try and learn something. And I feel I should be doing more when I hear some people tell me how far they’ve driven to a SQL Saturday. I go because the it’s least I can do to give back to a community that has helped me over the years.

The community is bigger than any site, bigger than any event, bigger than any organization. There is so much to appreciate in this community, and I look forward to finding new ways to speak to you, engage with you, interact with you, and learn from you. It is a privilege and honor to exchange emails on a regular basis with so many of you, and shake the few hands at events.

I look forward to catching up with old friends and meeting new ones in the future. Please feel free to say hi, ask me a question, give me your opinion on anything SQL Server, or just share a cup of coffee at SQL Connections this fall, or any of the SQL Saturday events we attend together.

Steve Jones