September 2011 - Posts
I’m looking for SQL people all rounders and BI specialists for the data team at the UKs top tech company Wonga.com.
On Sunday they were given top spot in the tech 100 list in the Sunday Times http://www.fasttrack.co.uk/fasttrack/leagues/dbDetails.asp?siteID=3&compID=3164&yr=2011
The reason is that tech is the heart of Wonga. Everything they do is tech orientated, highlighted by their in house decision engine that can gives loan decisions online in seconds.
If you are interested in being a part of this great company then drop me a line http://sqlblogcasts.com/blogs/simons/contact.aspx
We are also looking for application and front end (Drupal) developers. If you know of anyone that would be interested let me know.
I’m going through my precon for PASS and there is some great stuff in here that addresses many of the failings of reporting services.
Ever wanted to have a report remember the last parameter values you specified for a report.
What about being able to indicate to a procedure the user selected ALL in the parameter and not pass 200 items to the procedure
How about providing friendly groupings for parameter values, like New products this month, or Your top 10 products last year.
Well I’m covering these topics and a whole load more. During my precon at PASS next month.
http://www.sqlpass.org/summit/2011/Speakers/CallForSpeakers/SessionDetail.aspx?sid=1659
The standard pricing for SQLBits ends at midnight on Friday. After that the price rises by £50/day. So make sure you get your registration in before the end of the week.
If you haven’t quite decided yet then maybe the great networking opportunities will convince you.
We know many people that extend their network of SQL people at SQLBits which provides invaluable when back at work trying to solve problems. Often as a SQL person you are the only person in the company, so having a network of people to call upon to help you out when you are stuck is essential. Not only can you connect to fellow professionals but you can also connect to people from the SQL Server product team, MVPs, MCMs and other SQL Server Experts.
This time around we are holding two networking events on the Thursday and Friday evening. The Thursday is going to be a relaxed event with some live music and the Friday is a James Bond themed casino (black tie is optional but prizes and drinks are available for those coming along as a 007, villain or bond girl). The James bond casino will also have three simulators an Aston Martin simulator, a power boat simulator and a laser shooting range.
As well as a supportive network, many people also find there next job through a contact they make at SQLBits so if you are considering moving on then have a think about coming along.
So make sure you get registered
http://sqlbits.com/information/Registration.aspx
I promised to have my presentation available online. Here is the presentation and and the projects. I will be provided details of how to deploy the assembly and do the drag and drop slicer functionality over the weekend.
You can download the presentation here http://sqlblogcasts.com/files/folders/reporting_services_presentations_and_demos/entry15872.aspx and the Demo and code here http://sqlblogcasts.com/files/folders/reporting_services_presentations_and_demos/entry15871.aspx
For screen shots of what the slicers looks like go to http://sqlblogcasts.com/blogs/simons/archive/2011/09/07/advanced-reporting-services-slicers-slides-and-demos-from-24hrs-of-pass-session.aspx
Here are the files from my Advanced Reporting Services 24 Hours of PASS session on how to put slicers in reporting services.
Here is a screen shot of what is possible. One filters the data (Excel style) and the other greys unselected data out (Crescent style)
ps the files will be posted after the session on Thursday night. If you want to watch the session register here https://www323.livemeeting.com/lrs/8000181573/Registration.aspx?pageName=lj6378f4fhf5hpdm
There have been a few blog posts about SQL Azure version numbers and not to rely on the number to figure out if you are connected to azure or not. This is in part due to SQL Server going to one code base for Azure and on premise SQL.
Well SQL Azure is now version 11. Yep thats the version number of Denali but is it really Denali?
Some features will always be turned off in azure as they don’t make sense, like BACKUP and FileTable (in their current guise) but is anything else turned off.
Bob has done a great little piece on this http://www.sqlskills.com/BLOGS/BOBB/post/SQL-Azure-version-11-arrives-on-my-server.aspx
I’m hoping they can get Full Text in Azure soon.
Looking at our stats for SQLBits and SQLBlogcasts its looks like IE6 is almost dead. a 98% drop over the same period last year.
Whats more the share is less than 2% of total site visits.
