SQL & BI : Cool Stuff

The Cloud

EmmaB — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 19:43:01 GMT

There has been a lot of talk recently about Microsoft's "cloud". Its not just discussions on the lack of UK summer this year ... its much much more. Its Microsoft's new approach to the delivery of Internet services.

I saw this article that gives a good summary

The most powerful women of the channel

EmmaB — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 11:27:45 GMT

So who are these women?

Although they come from all different corners of the channel community -- from vendors to distributors to resellers and systems integrators -- the 2007 50 Most Powerful Women of the Channel have one thing in common: They're all leading innovators driving growth in the channel.

Great to see our very own Allison Watson in there...

Interesting read here

SQL Server 2008 launch gadget

EmmaB — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 20:44:48 GMT

Count down the days!!!!

A gadget for SQL Server 2008 is available to countdown to launch http://www.wedsg.com/winclient/vistasidebargadget/download.htm

Have you met the Partner Bot?

EmmaB — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 19:54:32 GMT

Partner Bot is an Instant Messenger 'data digger', which quickly retrieves partner-related information and shows you where you can find the answers you need. Simply type in your question and Bot will bring back an instant response. Add Bot as a buddy in your Windows Live Messenger contacts and it will always be available whenever you're logged in. Whether you're looking for support options, searching for competitive information or want to learn more about products, you can ask Partner Bot and it will point you in the right direction.

(Please be aware that Bot may guide you to areas of the Partner Portal which can only be accessed by Registered, Certified or Gold Partners, so you may need to sign-in to view this information.)

How Do I Add Partner Bot to My Contacts?

· Log-in to Windows Live Messenger

· Click on 'Add a Contact' icon

· Add partnerbot@hotmail.com into Instant Messaging Address

If a tree falls...

EmmaB — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 20:13:44 GMT

So many blogs to read.... now there is bLaugh to add to the list.

In their words.... "We love to laugh - so now we’re preparing the world to bLaugh! This is the (un)Official comic of the blogosphere - colorful, satirical, and comical. Expect parodies of “A-List” bloggers all the way down to the meme of the day - no holds barred."

Good fun stuff.

Happy Valentines Day and all that stuff..

EmmaB — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 21:46:32 GMT

Tip before you head home from work...

Stormhoek now have cartoons on their wine labels by Gapingvoid

The first cartoon "Big Love" has hit the shelves of Tesco and you can vote for future labels here

Tip of the day.... if you've forgotten that all important card.. why not combine wine & red hearts with a bottle of this?! :-)

You really can change the world with your ideas

EmmaB — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 19:17:45 GMT

Do you know that you could change the world?

Big names in America's engineering, as well as millions of Internet users around the world, are being asked to nominate what they believe to be the greatest technological challenges of the next century.

This is a nine-month process that could give birth to new research initiatives.

The project, called the "Grand Challenges for Engineering" program, is aimed at gathering up all those ideas and distilling them into a list of 20 puzzles for engineers to solve — in fields ranging from energy to communications to aerospace to advanced materials.

The first stage of the project is to gather suggestions on future challenges from the engineering community as well as the general public. Comments are being gathered through the academy's Web site as well as MSNBC.com's message boards.

The academy will unveil the 20 top challenges in September.

Want to know more?

My nomination?

To invent a travel machine - press a button & I'm there in an instant! No more sitting on the M25... no longer stuck behind slow drivers... avoid those wet miserable weekends.....

Microsoft Blue Monster

EmmaB — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 04:01:28 GMT

Many of you might have seen this drawing on a number of emails/blogs/posters from Microsoft. So what is this all about? Find out more here: blue monster video

Professor MacLeod has a fab blog that never fails to raise a smile.

Hugh gives a few explanations for which are:

Microsoft telling its potential customers to change the world or go home.
Microsoft telling its employees to change the world or go home.
Microsoft employees telling their colleagues to change the world or go home.
Everybody else telling Microsoft to change the world or go home.
Everyone else telling their colleagues to change the world or go home.
And so forth.

and then paraphrases with

Basically, Microsoft is in the world-changing business. If they ever lose that, they might as well all go home

All cool corporate stuff ...but also great insights into our lives that make me laugh. I like this one...

Evo Supremo game - a bit of fun!

EmmaB — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 03:12:17 GMT

I challenge you to try and beat my score in our new game for Partners: EVO Supremo, either with your knowledge of our latest software or your speed at searching.

http://www.microsoft.co.uk/evosupremo/

Partner Prizes:

· 1st Prize: Alienware Aurora M9700 notebook with 2007 Microsoft Office system and Windows Vista, i-mate JasJam, Xbox 360 + games and a Microsoft Zune

· 2nd Prize: i-mate JasJam, Xbox 360 + games and a Microsoft Zune

· 3rd Prize: Xbox 360 + games and a Microsoft Zune

PS – for more information on Partner resources for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office system, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/uk/partner/evo/.

Partner TV - on screen on Business Intelligence

EmmaB — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 02:57:37 GMT

A certain member of my team is working his way round the company asking us to discuss our jobs - grabbing us with no warning to ask us questions! Take a look at the results! Oh dear!

But Partner TV is a great way to find your way around Microsoft, put faces to names and understand peoples roles. Take a look here

Great recognition at the UK CRN Channel Awards for Microsoft

EmmaB — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 16:20:08 GMT

Microsoft picked up two awards at the recent CRN awards. These awards are a highly sought after accreditation for IT vendors, resellers and distributors. Firstly we beat stiff competition to win Software Vendor of the Year. Our entry into the award highlighted the great work we do for partners within the Partner Programme, supported with very strong evidence from our partners.

Microsoft also won the Editors Choice award. The recipient of this award is solely chosen by the editor of CRN Sara Driscoll and recognises the most significant contribution by a UK company, be that vendor, reseller or distributor during 2006. The winner is the company that the editor feels has made a highly significant difference to the channel this year.

All good recognition of how we work with our partners and begs the question - if you are not a Microsoft partner at present .... what might you be missing out on?

Web Developers take a look at what Microsoft now has!

EmmaB — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 15:53:21 GMT

Yesterday Microsoft announced Expression Studio - a new suite of tools for web developers. I will be working on this new offering to develop a channel for Microsoft. So expect to see more info as it emerges.

The Microsoft Expression Studio consists of Expression Web (formerly known by the code name Quartz); Expression Blend, the new name for Microsoft Interactive Designer (formerly known by the code name Sparkle); Expression Design, the new name for Expression Graphic Designer (formerly known by the code name Acrylic); and a new tool, Expression Media.

This new technology will offer a tool for developers that currently use products such as Adobe Macromedia & Dreamweaver.

Expression Web, the Web design tool that had been in beta up to now, is available immediately. Expression Studio and all of the individual products will ship in the second quarter of 2007.

Microsoft Unveils Expression Studio, Preview of WPF/E

eWeek - December 04, 2006

Microsoft on Monday introduced Expression Studio, an integrated suite of tools for designers, and released a new preview of technology that it's developing to challenge Adobe Systems' Flash.

All the names are taken!

EmmaB — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 14:21:00 GMT

I came across this fascinating article online by Dennis Forbes about domain names. It has loads of interesting stats including:

All two- and three-letter .com domain names have been taken.
80 per cent of four-letter names have gone
The most popular domain name length is 11 characters
The most common letter to start with is S
All the popular male and female first names and popular surnames have been taken

Its written in an amusing way - take a look - http://www.yafla.com/dforbes/2006/03/29.html#a302

Ok so this isn't initially connected to SQL or BI ...but wait....check out the last paragraph....

Conclusion

"Hopefully this was a bit entertaining, and maybe even informative. I'm doing a much more intriguing, large-scale analysis (again, it's a nice opportunity to demonstrate some of the new SQL Server 2005 functionality) that I'll publish soon, but these were the low-hanging fruit."

Cheers Dennis! :-)