July 2008 - Posts

• Indexing Foreign Keys - should SQL Server do that automatically?

  I've been doing another performance tuning job today and it highlighted to me once again that problem that a lack of indexes on foreign key columns can bring. By adding indexes on the foreign keys on three tables, we saw a reduction of 87% in total I/O Read More... Posted Tuesday, July 29, 2008 12:13 AM by Greg Low | 27 Comments

• Would you like a Visual Studio MSDN Premium License for a Year?

  In the latest podcasts at www.sqldownunder.com , we're giving away a Visual Studio MSDN Premium Online license for a year, courtesy of our friends at Microsoft. It's a simple: * you need to visit Quest 's site for info on Litespeed via the simple link Read More... Posted Monday, July 28, 2008 9:35 PM by Greg Low | 1 Comments

• Geek: New Phone -> Yes it's an iPhone

  I've also been looking around for a new phone. It became much more urgent last week after I dropped my iMate. After trying lots of phones, I ended up opting for an iPhone 3G. And after using it for a few days, couldn’t be happier with it. Well, not quite Read More... Posted Tuesday, July 22, 2008 3:42 PM by Greg Low | 0 Comments

• Geek: New Monitor Dell 24inch Ultrasharp

  I've been chasing around for a while for a new monitor. I find I need to work at 1900x1200 but my eyesight doesn't want to let me work well on 19inch screens. Fellow MVP Ken Schaefer suggested trying a Dell 24inch Ultrasharp ( http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Monitors/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=320-6272 Read More... Posted Tuesday, July 22, 2008 3:39 PM by Greg Low | 5 Comments

• Parallel Programming In TSQL: Is It In Our Future?

  I saw an interesting videopod from Steve Jones the other day where he noted that upcoming processors would have many more cores than now and hoping that DBAs won't have to learn to write multiprocessor-style code. What was also interesting was the way Read More... Posted Monday, July 21, 2008 4:50 PM by Greg Low | 7 Comments

• SQL Down Under show 38 - Andy Leonard

  Hi Folks, SQL Down Under show 38 with guest SQL Server MVP Andy Leonard discussing database testing is now available for download from www.sqldownunder.com . The show also includes a competition. Enjoy ! Regards, Greg Read More... Posted Saturday, July 19, 2008 1:34 PM by Greg Low | 1 Comments

• Book: Pro SQL Server Disaster Recovery - James Luetkehoelter

  I caught up with James Luetkehoelter at the PASS Summit in Germany a few months back. He sent me a copy of his new book from APress: Pro SQL Server Disaster Recovery . I managed to finish reading it while heading back from CodeCampSA in Adelaide today Read More... Posted Sunday, July 13, 2008 7:37 PM by Greg Low | 3 Comments

• Finally - A Compelling Demonstration of WPF in a Business Application

  Those that I've discussed WPF with over the years will know that I think that Microsoft really struggles to demonstrate *business* value for WPF. I've attended many sessions where I've been shown things like the ability to show a video in the taskbar Read More... Posted Thursday, July 10, 2008 12:30 PM by Greg Low | 1 Comments

• SQL Server 2008 Readiness Events for Australia

  Hi Folks, We (SolidQ Australia) are just lining up the SQL Server 2008 Readiness events for Microsoft Australia for the October - December timeframe. There are readiness events for DBA, developers, BI and PerformancePoint. We've also got Solution Days Read More... Posted Thursday, July 10, 2008 11:20 AM by Greg Low | 0 Comments

• Book: The Microsoft Data Warehouse Toolkit : Joy Mundy and Warren Thornthwaite

  There are a number of key books that I've missed reading over the years, in areas that interest me. Recently, I've been fixing that. One that is always discussed is The Microsoft Data Warehouse Toolkit by Joy Mundy and Warren Thornthwaite from the Kimball Read More... Posted Wednesday, July 09, 2008 1:59 PM by Greg Low | 1 Comments

• A SQL Server Meme

  Well I was called out by Tibor Karaszi , so here goes: How old were you when you first started programming? I'd say I was about 19 when I started. I remember in 1976 that I was at University of Queensland. I was doing an honours degree in physics and Read More... Posted Tuesday, July 08, 2008 6:32 PM by Greg Low | 0 Comments

• SQL Server 2008 Whitepapers starting to appear

  Our team at SolidQ have been working on a number of whitepapers for SQL Server 2008. On of the first of these out the door is Itzik Ben-Gan's new paper on the T-SQL enhancements. It's great reading and can be found at: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-gb/library/cc721270(SQL.100).aspx Read More... Posted Monday, July 07, 2008 4:01 PM by Greg Low | 2 Comments