The Ashdar Partners Blog

Here is a Run As Radio chat with Jeffery Snover . Jeffery Snover is the person most responsible for PowerShell, which revolutionized my approach to database administration. He has a background in scripting going back to VMS (IIRC), which is how he came to create PowerShell. His Twitter bio lists "Microsoft Technical Fellow/ Lead Architect for Enterprise Cloud Group/ Azure Stack Architect/ PowerShell Architect / Science fan". From my point of view, he directs strategy for Windows administration. I listen to him because the things he talks about are likely to influence my work life and they give insight into how the PowerShell team expect people to use their product. The podcast covers a variety of things in a light way. The thing that grabbed my attention the most was that Snover seems to be saying that Windows will be implementing things similar to what linux does with root and sudo. (My linux experience is limited but my two takeaways are: You never log in ...

I spent some time troubleshooting problems in my home office tonight.  Firstly, I managed to realize that the Windows 10 CTP that I've been running on   Brix since the fall was somehow using the  " Performance" power profile. I'm not sure if Windows did that to "help me" or if I did it when I was fiddling with things. Brix is a desktop (sort of -- it actually sits on my sub-woofer), so saving power isn't a big deal but this setting would have led to higher processor operating frequencies, more heat output and a louder fan. I do care about louder fans. One of the reasons that I bought Brix was to get away from my noisy old Core 2 Duo. When I set the power plan to "Balanced", Brix quieted down immediately.  This will probably be more impressive once the temperatures start to climb as we head towards summer. Secondly, I got down to business and finally looked at the time/clock problem I've been seeing around my home office. I had ...

I had someone ask me about DACPACs recently. DACPAC technology had fallen off of my radar after I had seen demos of the feature at a SQL Saturday many years ago. In short, a DACPAC is a file that contains definitions for the objects of a database. This file can be used to create new databases or update old databases to a new version. For the most part, existing data in the updated database should be preserved. DACPAC technology is intended to replace the bundles of .SQL scripts and the giant "Hail, Mary" scripts that are often used to update databases. At the time of that SQL Saturday demo, which was probably in the SQL Server 2008 timeframe, DACPAC technology was new and there were a lot of gotchas. IIRC, it was presented as a way to create databases in SQ:L Azure. A few weeks ago, I noticed that SSDT was creating DACPAC files. I've long been a user of the database comparison tool provided by SSDT and other "Data Dude" descendants, but I didn't giv...

Over the last few years, I've spent more time following business issues in the IT industry than I had when I was younger. Perhaps it's just another mark of getting older. Over the holidays, a news item caught my eye: SugarSync has stopped giving away free storage . It's the hallmark of any new technology or developing area of business: Someone comes up with something new.  Many other players pile into the new space. Some time passes Players that can't make money (or generate the growth numbers they want) leave the new field and the space consolidates. The consolidation can go down to just a few companies. Those companies do not always include the one that created the space. We have seen this with cars (in the first part of the 20th century, there were hundreds of small manufacturers in the US alone. now there are only two behemoths that are headquartered here and a few dozen firms based overseas). Other technologies (radio, television, ISPs, RDBMs, hard d...

It's been a long time since I've done anything interesting with the blog, and it seems a little stale. With some prompting from Blogger's "Buzz" blog , I'm hooking this blog up to a Google+ account. This is a bit of a brave new world for me, since I've confined myself to LinkedIn, Twitter and a few other sites.  At the least, I hope that this will help comments on the blog be more dynamic and that a few more people might find these posts. Perhaps we can get a few more conversations going as well.

I recently found an IBM Model M keyboard at my local Goodwill store. There is rarely any computer hardware in there worth having, so this was quite a surprise. As far as I can tell, this Model M has never been used even though it was made in 1993. It came in what appears to be the original box, with a styrofoam insert. The coiled, un-stretched cable still has plastic wrap on it. There is no visible wear on the keys. There are no finger grease stains. It is a virgin, IBM-branded, Lexmark-manufactured beige beauty. Even the box doesn't look 20 years old. The model M was built before USB was a thing, so it has a PS/2 port. My main rig has a "legacy free" motherboard, so it doesn't have PS/2 ports. It only has USB ports. The keyboard I have been using lately is from long-gone Micron computer. I bought a computer from Micron in the 1990s and the only remaining evidence of that is that keyboard. (Micron was a popular computer vendor at that time, though there isn't muc...

So, at about 1 am this morning, I found out that Google is shutting down it's widely-used Reader application. I read four different takes on it (I think I saw it on BGR first) and only then headed off to Reddit. (It's all over the Internet now. Apparently, other writers recovered from the shock more quickly than I did.)   Ironically, I found out that Google was smothering Reader while using Reader.    This is particularly frustrating to me. I use Reader more than any other single thing. Reader channels probably 95% of my Internet interaction. I use it for a few hours every day. I use it at my desk. I use it during commercial breaks on TV. I use it when my wife falls asleep on the TV couch and when I can't sleep. I use it while waiting on line at McDonald's. I use it on commuter trains and on long car trips. It's a constant companion, I've spent more time with it than any pet and nearly any human. If my phone is charged and I'm not doing someth...