February 28th, 2007
Microsoft with out much fan far released service pack 2 for SQL Server 2005. There is a whole laundry list of new features and bug fixes listed on MSDN. However one of the biggest features at least for early adopters is the support for Windows Vista both x86 and x64 versions of the operating system. This release brings with it a great new tools for Windows Vista that are not available for previous operating systems.
Download SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2
In order to prove Microsoft is really serious about security and that UAC (User Account Control) is here to stay. They don’t automatically grant all Administrators of the machine access to SysAdmin privileges in SQL 2005. The SysAdmin privileges have to be granted on the basis of who needs them, which is common practice in any role based security. The new tool can be found at C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Shared\SqlProv.exe and is pictured below. I personally welcome this added level of security and control I have over who has SysAdmin access to SQL Server. Not that I worry about my wife going in and screwing with my data, it is just nice to have control over your computer. Thank you Microsoft for you continued focus on security.
Tags: Microsoft, Security, SQL Server, Windows Vista
Posted in Programming, SQL | 
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February 28th, 2007
This question comes up a lot when my friends and co-workers are arguing over the merits of Windows Vista. They say, “My {insert some Linux distro here} only uses {insert another useless amount of RAM here} RAM, why is Vista such a hog?” I usually go on to explain to them about SuperFetch and ReadyBoost, and all the advances and better memory management that went in to these two technologies. All information that is freely available from Part 1 and Part 2 of the Inside the Windows Vista Kernel articles.
However, I believe, Jeff Atwood from Coding Horror does a much better job.
Tags: Microsoft, Performance, Windows Vista
Posted in Programming | 
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February 28th, 2007
Well it has been a little over a three month since their original Podcast server bit the dust. But I am happy to welcome back the Sound Bytes Podcast, and now I have two months of shows to catch up on. Thanks guys!
For anybody not familure with the Sound Byte Guys here is a quick biography of the program.
Since 1989, Sound Bytes has been a call-in radio show on public radio. That airs every Sunday from 11 AM to 1 PM, on 1180 WHAM out of Rochester, NY bringing you news, views, and stuff you can use, as the guys talk about hardware, software, nifty toys, industry trends, silly stuff, and just about anything that flits through our brains.
You can listen to their show every week via streaming audio out of Rochester, NY or visiting their website.
Tags: Apple
Posted in Programming, Rant | 
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February 25th, 2007
When Windows Vista first came out nearly 3 months ago, I had a difficult time getting my XV-6700 PDA Phone from Verizon to connect to my laptop as a CDMA Modem. After much searching and reading of Microsoft KB articles I realized this driver had been floating around the Smartphone world since 2002. However Microsoft had changed the way they wanted winmodem drivers written around the time of Windows XP SP1, however Windows XP was still backwards compatible. However when Windows Vista was released they made the new driver format the rule, and thus the reason the 7 year old driver will not work.
So after I understood the problem I set out to change the driver based on this KB837637 article from Microsoft. And the follow picture shows how easy in the changes were to make the driver fully Windows Vista complaint.
So after the work I have done, which you can imagine it was mostly reading and understanding of the problem, I am giving this driver way free to my readers and anybody else who would like it. I provide no warranty or support for the above driver.
Download Smartphone USB Modem Driver
If you need help getting this driver to work with your Cell Phone, please check out the great articles from Engadget. They are Verizon and Sprint (CDMA) specific but should easily translate to Cingular and other GSM providers.
Update: This driver was originally made by HTC, however there should be nothing preventing your from using it with other PDA devices that use the Pocket PC winmodem program.
Tags: Microsoft, Verizon, Windows Vista
Posted in How To, Programming, Rant | 
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