New Podcast on Technology and SQL Server - Sounds of SQL

I've been planning on doing a technology / SQL Server podcast for a while.

There are some really goods ones on tech I listen to like;  .NET Rocks , RunAs Radio , SQL DownUnder, 

and of course Scott Hanselman's podcasts HanselMinutes , This Developers Life , Azure Friday and of course the 'fancy' Ratchet and the Geek (which is my favourite right now )

These are great and I love then, but I’ve not found anything from a British point of view… 

I asked a friend to put one together with me and I went up to SQLRelay in London and did a series of 5 minute interviews with a number of speakers..

The interviews will be going up on Sounds of SQL over the next few weeks once I get the hang of the editing process, I will be putting them up on iTunes too.  [One has already gone up]

Windows Technical Preview...

I just can't resist a new version of windows, no matter how how early.

Firstly get with the program, http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/preview

Download the ISO, create a new virtual machine and bish bash bosh  - minutes later, Windows X
(using a VMWare Fusion on my macbook pro)

When you log into windows, you go straight to the desktop and well, well, well the start menu is back - and its looking good...
It feels like Windows 7.5 (!) ;-)

Task View - or multiple desktops is cool, but I do remember a Tweak UI on Windows 95/98 , this has been a feature of XWindows for years!

File History - interesting - is this the start of TimeMachine for windows? (Perhaps not) - I will play when I attach a USB drive.

Search has been updated, but its not clear how different or new this is.

Well thats it for now, it looks good, its quick, I might just switch over as my main OS. ;-)

SSMS Add-in feature request

We all use SSMS, we all love SSMS, it's really good. 

I know we use it everyday and it hardly ever breaks, but Microsoft don't add new features very often.

This can be somewhat frustrating, you can buy 3rd party Add-ins, to extend the functionality, but technically these are unsupported by Microsoft. 

A while ago, I wrote a couple of SSMS Add-ins for a few missing features that really bugged me, namely; code formatting, scripting data and schema (I know you can do it, but not from a right click on a table) and a versioning Add-in (this tracked each schema change and showed it in SSMS).

I stopped working on these a while ago, but after SQLBits, I've decided to dust off the code I uploaded into CodePlex and pick up where I left off.

So I put a request for new features on twitter, I got the following requests;

1) Cats (I assume the musical)
2) Calendar with community events in it
3) Porn
4) To produce server build documentation
5) A quick way of seeing all the extended properties on a table and all its columns. And editing them!
6) Some way of indicating the IDENTITY column if there is one?
7) Something that shows the partitioning wouldn't go amiss either and the age of the stats
8) Size of the table in Kb/Mb? Same with the indexes?
9) Is it possible to see number of table reads/scans for a particular table?
10) A feature that says "Please remove this software from your computer as you clearly have not idea what you are doing!"? I would prefer something that gives electric shocks as well but I think that Amnesty International and the unions may have object to that!!

Feel free to add more features requests to the blog comments.

Recharging my SQL Batteries

I went to SQLBits ( the biggest SQL Server Conference in Europe) last week and came back with two things, 1) a sore knee and 2) my SQL Batteries being recharged. (Its just under 10 weeks since I broke my leg)

Last year I chaired SQL Relay, we (the SQL Relay committee) put on 10 events up and down the country.  If you think it sounds like a lot of work, it was!! But we pulled it off together.  I am massively proud of everyone involved, I can’t remember the numbers, but we had over 1000 attendees - without the helpers, sponsors and attendees we would not have pulled it off.

But its was really draining…

So now, I'm feeling recharged, refreshed and ready to go...  I've got a number of things planned, so watch this space..  

Broken Leg...

Firstly,  let me answer a few questions..

Yes - it hurt (a lot).

Yes - it still hurts.

Yes- the pain killers do help.

3 months.

Judo - I was fighting and landed on my knee.  

Yes - I may go back to Judo.

Yes - Lots of clips/staples.

I've got a metal plate and some screws.

No - they won't come out, they stay in.

Yes - its a cool scar and yes, you can have a look.

I think that just about covers everything? :-)

Now for the pictures...