PASS has launched its new website.  There has been a lot of hard work behind the scenes over the past year to be ready for this.  Nothing ever goes as planned, but I believe that you will agree with me that the improvements made are huge. If you are not a member, membership is now FREE at www.sqlpass.org.  The summit will be held ...

This past Tuesday, I was finally able to attend my local user group meeting.  My travel schedule never seemed to match up with the meeting dates this year.  It was good to see old friends and meet new faces.  John Welch, SQL Server MVP, from Mariner presented on SSRS 2008.  The audience had some good questions which made for a ...

Earlier this year, I was fortunate to visit Dublin, Ireland to speak at the Irish Microsoft Technical Conference (IMTC).  Chuck Boyce from www.SQLServerDVD.com was there recording and streaming sessions.  He was unable to stream my session live, but he did get it recorded.  Chuck has just posted my session on SQL Server Express 2005 ...

PASS has structured its registrations to give the best deals to those who register the earliest.  The current rate of $1395 expires June 30th.  As Greg pointed out in his blog, community speakers have been announced.  Register for the summit at http://summit2008.sqlpass.org/ now to beat the price increase.  Come to the ...

It seems to be that time of year.  The time of year when conferences and speaking opportunities abound.  I have some events coming up.  If you are in the area, please drop in.  March 20 - 7pm - Triad SQl Server User Group - www.triadsql.com.  I will be delivering a session entitiled BI for the Relational Guy April 3-4 - ...

It's Official, today! We have a party for SQL Server 2008 in LA!  The product may not be shipping, but that won't stop us from having our party. Seriously, Today marks the beginning of a more useful Launch than the 2005 launch.  What am I saying?  The Launch Events will probably be more educational for you this time around because ...

In the latest PASS Community Connector, there is a call for Speakers for this year's summit in Seattle in November.  If you have never been to Seattle in November, it really makes you want to learn more about SQL Server in the breakout sessions. ;-)   But seriously, it is a great venue to meet other SQL Server professionals and ...

3 weeks from today, the launch party for SQl Serve 2008 will be on!  If you are in Southern California, you will be in the ''happening'' spot.  Enjoy! Why have a launch without the release of the product?  SQL Server 2008 is more of an incremental release.  There are some great new features in the product, but the bulk of the ...

On Jan. 24, there is a FREE virtual conference focused on SQL Server 2008.  This is not just a webcast that you can view online.  The sessions are scheduled at specific times with Live Q&A following the session from the speakers.  Grab one of your SQL buddies and sign-up to attend virtually on Jan. 24! Register Here: ...

  In case you have not heard yet.......   SQL Server 2008 CTP5 Beta Now Available for Free in a Secure Hosted Environment! PASS, MaximumASP, Dell and Intel have partnered to offer this advance preview... Try out real-world data online in a secure, hosted environment - you don't have to download or install a thing - and your feedback ...