Tuesday 31 March 2009

Clips

Here are some clips of my published work, including both technical and non-technical subjects. These articles averaged 1200 words each.





















Five More Things to Unlearn About Oracle
(TechRepublic.com, 4/19/04)


Here’s an example using the sample data in the SCOTT schema. An employee record is deleted, and the change committed:


DELETE FROM emp WHERE empno = 7934;
COMMIT;


The row is missing from further SELECT statements, and even a ROLLBACK command cannot bring the row back. However, a Flashback Query can display the contents of the table as it was 10 minutes ago, when the deleted row still existed:


SELECT * FROM emp
AS OF TIMESTAMP (SYSTIMESTAMP – INTERVAL '10' MINUTE)
WHERE empno = 7934;


This SELECT statement can be used as the subquery of an INSERT statement to reload the deleted data. Be aware, however, that INSERT will be subject to any constraints on the table, and that any INSERT triggers on the table will be executed.


Full article





Oracle Collaboration Suite Database Middleware
(TechRepublic.com, 2/13/03)


Oracle Corporation is hoping that the third time will be the charm for its latest try at an office communications platform with the Oracle Collaboration Suite (OCS). Two earlier products - Oracle InterOffice and Oracle Office Server - weren’t widely adopted. This time, however, both the underlying Oracle database and the Application Server middleware are more mature, and its main competitor's customers are facing expensive version upgrades.

Sara Radicati, president and CEO of The Radicati Group, spoke to press and analysts at the November 2002 OracleWorld Conference in San Francisco. She identified three key pressures that IT departments are feeling right now...


Full article





The Benefits from Using Wireless in Database Administration
(TechRepublic.com, 1/28/03)


It's 2:30 P.M. and you're working on-site for one of your customers. Your pager bleats out an urgent call from a second client across town whose server is down. You can try to help the second client on the phone—a slow, tedious process that may create political issues with the current customer. Or you can leave the one client to drive to the other. Either way, the second client’s server is down, and the clock is ticking.


The rapid expansion of wireless Internet access is making this scenario easier to handle. Now you can take out your Palm or Pocket PC and quickly correct the issue regardless of your location. You've become the wireless database administrator.


Full article





Microsoft's IT Lifecycle Frameworks
(TechRepublic.com, 10/24/01)


IT consultants at large firms use a company-defined project methodology to ensure that each project covers all the right steps. The methodology specifies actual forms and reports to be used at various stages of the project and specific rules for how the project will be conducted.


But what if you’re an independent or work for a smaller firm? You could imitate the larger firms and develop your own project methodology at great expense. But why reinvent the wheel?


For the past six years, Microsoft has been developing and refining its own set of project management tools. Originally developed within Microsoft Consulting Services (MCS), the IT Lifecycle Frameworks are available for free on Microsoft’s Web site.


Full article





No pain, no gain: Seeing opportunity as a free agent
(TechRepublic.com, 9/19/01)


A salesperson I know starts each conversation about a client by asking: “Where is their 'pain'?” He knows that unless they are motivated to change, he is unlikely to make a sale.


The same holds true for you as a free-agent consultant; unless your client sees a need to change something, they won’t hire you. Therefore, understanding what motivates people to change is the key to spotting opportunities.


An opportunity is a problem you can help with—at a profit. Learning to see opportunity means looking for all three parts of that definition...


Full article



No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.