I was reading my Information Week magazine and ran across an article regarding Large Databases “Big Honkin’ Databases” was in the Sept 19th magazine (article here). It is a quick glimpse into some of the largest databases. I have seen a 1.2 Terabyte database in action and seen the amount of work necessary to keep that database functioning. I cannot imagine the amount of work that would go into a 100.4 terabyte database like the one Yahoo uses. I thought it was interesting that they mention the platform the DB’s are on but not the actual DB Software. Of the ten in the list they show UNIX for 7, Linux for 2, and Windows for 1. I would have to guess that anything on the UNIX platform is really running DB2. However I could be wrong. I would love more stats on these huge databases. For example, they mention that the Yahoo DB gets 1 billion SQL statements per hour. I would even like to see the hardware and staff necessary to keep these things alive.
After looking at the article a bit more I found that more statistical data can be found by the company that did the survey (wintercorp). You can find the DB vendor and hardware vendor by reading the full survey (Full Survey). It also included if the db is federated or centeralized.

Some friends that I know and work with have launched a new blog (www.spoutblog.com)
Their site is dedicated to films and film making. These guys are dedicated to sharing information about films and building a community around films. Take some time and check out the site.

I have finally realized how much I use Instant Messaging. It is not a matter that I did not consider IM a viable means of communication, but rather the fact of how often I use it as a means of communication. Since switching jobs recently I have been able to consolidate my email, contact list, and useful files. The one thing that was left was IM. I use AIM, MSN, Yahoo, and Google Talk. It was when google talk was released that I realized how many programs I had to just do IM. I have all these IM accounts because of the diverse people I communicate with. Most of my friends are on MSN, and most a lot of business associates are on AIM and Yahoo.

To make all this easier for me and to consolidate and simplify (I seem to be doing this a lot lately) I moved to using Trillian Pro 3.1. I have used trillian before but that was the basic version. The pro version (cost me 25 bucks) and so far seems to be worth it. One of the major things I did not like about Trillian in the past was the interface. The pro version allows you to try different skins. I am using a minimal skin to let me get the most screen real estate. The reason I chose Trillian was that it was compatible with almost any IM protocol. One nice feature is the ability to use it as an RSS reader. I am still playing with all the settings but it is nice to get a full view of all IM people online and also a quick look at your Email for each IM account.

So in closing, I give it 4 our of 5 stars.

If you do a lot of file migration or exchange with Microsoft SQL server you have probably had to grab a file via ftp. In most cases if you have automated this task you may have done this by either a vbs file or a bat file, or a DTS package that calls an FTP client. Well, Dan Woolsoton (A new Co-worker) has found a great tool to replace the default DTS FTP calls. It is called SQLDTS, it has many features and settings you can dynamically replace. You can read Dans full article HERE

((REVISED - TOO MANY SPELLING ERRORS))) - it may have been too late to post

Ok I have switched jobs and currently I am using a Dell Latitude D800. People who know me, know that I do not have much respect for the Dell laptops. There are a few reasons for this. 1. They don’t make them. 2. Why call them laptops when they are the size of my Commodore 64. 3. If you can’t make a mobile computer mobile, then don’t (just don’t)

Number 3 is where the Computer Input discussion comes in. If you have read my earlier post (Track Back) You know my feelings on people who have a mobile computer and carry a mouse to use with it. Why can’t they just use the input devices on the computer to work. Well this logic I have carried for years, is now making sense to me. The reason people carry a mouse to use with their Notebooks is because notebook vendors make a crappy (that is a nice word for what I would call the pointing device’s on this Dell) touchpad or trackpoint.

The Dell I have is equipped with both the pointing stick (track point) and a touch pad. They both suck. Lets start with the pointing stick. First of all, it does not move very fluid at all. You have to push very hard to move the pointer (And yes I have adjusted every setting for the thing) Second, the location of the buttons when you use the trackpoint are horrible. They are not only in a bad spot (too close to the space key) but they are crappy to push. You see they are flush with the keys so if you happen to choose the touchpad they would not get in your way. From years of working on a ThinkPad I can see why people use a mouse when using this dell. The track point is not even worth trying to use. My hands are already telling me that Carpal tunnel is on the way. Not to mention that the button normally takes 2 tries to single click (it feels like you have to press with all your might to make it click)

Now let’s move to the touch pad. So with the pointing stick sucking as much as it does on the Dell (I still have an IBM thinkpad and it is heaven to the fingers and clicking thumb), I decided to give that a try. And the results are still the same. Why bother. You have to move your fingers from the keys, you have to move both hands to either click or drag something.

Why does this have to be so hard. Are laptop vendors in bed with the mouse vendors? Why do we settle for this? I am finally that guy. I go to work and connect a mouse to my laptop. Shame on Dell for doing this to me. Shame on me for putting up with a computer that claims to be a portable and yet ties me to a desk and a cord……

Today Nadia Christine Becher was born.

This morning at 5:00 AM my wife informed me her water had broke. We then traveled to the hospital. At 5:15AM we arrived at the Hospital. Rachel was ready to go. Our doctor arrived at 6:00 AM and Nadia was born at 6:13AM. It was a fast delivery.

Nadia Weighed 9lbs. 13oz. She is 22 inches long and is happy as can be. Mom is doing great and is a bit tired.

You can see pictures at nadia’s flickr site you can always email rachel at becher123@comcast.net

More info at http://www.jimiz.net/nadia