IT Pro
For those of you using Gmail and the integrated Gmail chat client you could be affected by this bug if access to the Google talk server is blocked by a firewall or another method. The past 2 weeks I noticed that Gmail is using 100% of one of my processors when I am at the office. Access to the Google talk servers is blocked at our firewall so my Gmail integrated chat client is disabled when in Gmail, at least that is what Gmail tells me. See the attached picture on the right. However, when the integrated...
There is some confusion in how-to setup a BlackBerry in tether mode to share internet with your laptop or PC so I would like to share my setup process. Overview: Since you are already paying for a data plan why not take advantage of this data connection when you are away from home? Hotels and other facilities can charge you $15+ per day for Internet access. BlackBerry and other hardware providers allow you to tether your smart phone as a modem to your laptop or computer. Keep in mind that your tethered...
Last year Microsoft pre-released SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 as build 6002.16497 under KB948465. One of the most annoying features of using this build is that it would apply an evaluation watermark to the bottom right hand corner of each of your desktops (if you have 2+ monitors it will appear on both screens). Honestly, for months I thought the watermark meant my license was detected as a evaluation license but I know I am using an OEM license. Afterwards I found some guides to...
Taking a GreenIT approach does not mean that you have to scrap entire projects. As IT professionals it is native for us to look for the most efficient way to complete tasks; why not take this skill to the next level? Everyone in the IT community can participate in GreenIT. Here are some roles and how they can contribute Architect : Green design, integration Developer : Reduce the "energy footprint" of your applications, CPU cycles, bandwidth/traffic SQL Professional : Performance tuning, indexes,...
Regina.NET is participating in the INETA SQL PASS sponsored SQL 2008 launch. We have 2 sessions at this years event on January 22nd at the University of Regina. What is a community launch? Microsoft and others provide registered speakers with Web Casts, PowerPoint, code sample and / or hands on labs for a number of areas in the promoted product. The beauty of this type of event is that ANYONE can qualify to be a speaker. As a registered speaker, you are provided guidance in the launch topic. Speakers...
SQL server high availability comes in 2 basic categories. 1) Clustering using a SAN drive and multiple physical servers attached to the disk storage 2) Stand alone equipment acting in parallel A SAN configuration is an expensive solution; typically a disk storage array needs to be purchased with high speed communication channels (typically fibre). Therefore #2 is often the recommended configuration for smaller shops and less critical databases. Awareness of this topic is important for developers...
I would like to take a moment and talk about my 2008 Christmas experience. My wife and I have all of our basic needs (and more) and we currently have no children. Our nieces and nephews are also well taken care of so we wanted to do something different this Christmas. We have been lucky as the poor market conditions have not hit us personally but we know there are likely many families that have been. We decided this year for Christmas we were going to find some children that would not be receiving...
WoW, it took a couple weeks to get everything in order; but we are excited to be hosting Heroes Happen {Regina} April 30th in Regina, Sask, Canada. I worked with the local IT Pro user group to create this night of community run technology sessions. What is interesting, is that we are holding 3 sessions concurrently, then we are running the same session again so attendees can participate in 2 of our 3 sessions. They layout will look like this Windows Server 2008; Room X SQL Server 2008; Room Y Visual...
I spent a couple hours today installing Windows Server 2008 on my home server. I have to admit, this was the easiest and fastest Windows OS software install I *EVER* completed. My goal was to build a Windows 2008 Server as a VPC host using Hyper-V; I literally spent more time installing the Hyper-V Role than installing the Win2k8 OS (I suppose this is the benefit of Role based installations). Do yourself a favor and download this utility (http://www.grc.com/securab... to verify your BIOS is configured...
As D'Arcy shared on his blog last night, Will Craddock and Rodney Buike hosted a Community Connection event sponsored by CIPS and Microsoft in Regina, Sask, Canada. We had a great turn out, expected 175 people, I would assume 100+ attended although I did not get the final numbers. This event type was certainly new to our market; it followed the idea of Open Spaces that has been all the rage in the community. What I was most impressed with, is the fact that Microsoft made an effort to enforce community...
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