Tonight I got a chance to attend a meeting of the Toronto SharePoint Users Group (TSPUG) and it was great!! Calvin McLennan, a Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) MVP , presented on Small Business Server and Windows SharePoint Services providing those...

If you're wondering what the names of all the system views in SQL Server 2005 are and what part of SQL Server they deal with, and how they relate to other system views, download the SQL Server 2005 System Views Map from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads...

When I was in Halifax during the SQL Server 2005 Lauch Tour I got an opportunity to meet with members of the Information Technology Industry Alliance of Nova Scotia (ITANS) and find out about the exciting work they are doing to assist IT organizations...

Val Matison, one of our SQL Server MVPs with a wealth of experience in the business intelligence space will be presenting a session on SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services at the Toronto .NET User Group on January 5, 2006. Details on event location and time...

If you live in the greater Toronto area and are not sure which Microsoft product-oriented user groups exist or how to get a hold of them, your life just got a little bit easier. The Toronto user group community (9 groups) created a single, event specific...

Check out this promotion for validating that your copy of Windows is genuine!! Everything about your business is genuine: Your approach to your customers. Your integrity. That's why when it comes to your technology, being genuine always makes good...

I know a number of you that attended the Victorial SQL Server 2005 Launch event emailed me wondering when you would be getting your kits with the software and other goodies (yes, there are other goodies beside the software). I have been told that your...

A question that arose at one of the stops on the SQL Server 2005 Launch Tour was How do I export database diagrams I create in SQL Server Management Studio to another application? The answer to this question depends on what you want to do with the diagram...

Today, in Winnipeg, we wrapped up the SQL Server 2005 Launch Tour. It has been an amazing five weeks from where we started at the single biggest launch event in Microsoft Canada's history to perhaps the launch event with the coldest weather. I just wanted...

If you want to start testing database mirroring in SQL Server 2005, you will need to enable a trace flag on your SQL Server 2005 instance. To do so, you will need to modify the start-up flags for the SQL Server executable and add the following option...

I'm writing this from Ottawa, the second stop on the ten city cross-Canada SQL Server 2005 Launch Tour. I love being in the Nation's Capital having grown up here. It was good to be back on home turf again. We rocked Ottawa and hopefully were able to deliver...

My colleague, Mark Relph, beat me to the punch and blogged about a very exciting development - we will be giving each attendee that attends the Launch Event in their city a copy of SQL Server 2005 and Visual Studio 2005. Read Mark's blog post on this...

Microsoft Learning announced the creation of two new certifications today geared towards individuals with proficiences in SQL Server 2005 or BizTalk Server 2006. The Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist (MCTS) designation for either SQL Server 2005...

WOW !! The response has been amazing!! We have just extended the capacity for the Toronto SQL Server 2005/Visual Studio 2005/ BizTalk Server 2006 Ready Launch Event on November 8. The number of folks that have registered has been outstanding with over...

Today I spent the morning with a few key individuals reviewing the content we will be presenting at the SQL Server 2005 Launch Event starting in Toronto on November 8. It is always great to get input on how what we will be presenting will resonate with...

SQL Server 2005 launches worldwide on November 7. That's less than 4 weeks away!! In Canada we start the country-wide tour on November 8 with our first stop in Toronto. We will then take the launch on the road with stops in Ottawa, Edmonton, Victoria...

The last 8 days have been a whirlwind of activity. I have had the priviliege of being involved in four different events, both for Microsoft and our partners, and presented on four different topics in the process. This presented a bit of a challenge time...

Just wanted to give you a quick update on the early registration status for the SQL Server 2005 Launch Tour - Friday is the day. Instead of going back and trying the link to register, hold off until Friday, September 23 and then be one of the first to...

A little bird has sung to me that early registration for the SQL Server 2005 Launch Tour will open up in the next day or so. This means that you can register and hold yourself a spot to learn about the latest version of SQL Server, as well as BizTalk...

For those of you in the GTA, you will get a chance to see me on stage before the SQL Server 2005 Launch. Rick Claus and I will be presenting at the Toronto stop of the TechNet Innovations Tour crossing the country in the next few weeks. Come to the event...

The Microsoft machine beat me to the punch, but I wanted to let those of you not yet aware of it that the September 2005 Community Technology Preview (CTP) of SQL Server 2005 is available for download. To get your hands on the latest and greatest incarnation...

Second update for the night: SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA) v2.0 Beta is now available for download from the following URL: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=E35CEE88-C919-463F-B020-81468CD231DA&displaylang=en . You can...

Just a quick follow-up to my previous post regarding the SQL Server 2005 launch event for Canada. The web site to register for the event ( http://www.microsoft.ca/launch2005 ) is up and running. Registration will be up soon so for now you can reserve...

Well, if you have been waiting to see me back on stage you won't have long to wait. Along with my colleague Barnaby Jeans ( http://blogs.technet.com/barnaby_jeans ) I will be travelling across the country this November and December for the SQL Server...

I know that sometimes downloading a large file across your ISP connectiion may not be the easiest thing in the world. If you did not yet get a chance to play with the June 2005 Community Technology Preview (CTP) - a fancy way of saying a beta build -...