CREATE BLOG dbo.SqlServer

Microsoft released build 9.0.3161 (a.k.a. build 3161) for SQL Server 2005 on May 22. This is one of those interim hotfixes that you must receive permission from Microsoft to receive and install. In the past, acquiring this hotfix would've required a potentially-paid phone call to Microsoft Product Support. Today though all you need to do is to submit an online request via Microsoft Online Customer Service (good luck!). I would suggest that you read the fix list (available here) before you decide that you need this version. Check out KB 935356 here.


PDC 2007 Canceled!
Yesterday, Microsoft canceled a developer conference - a big developer conference, the PDC. This is really, really odd in my opinion. If ever there was a year to have a developer conference, I would imagine this would've been it. Think about all the products released this year, last year and next year:

• Windows Vista
• Office 2007
• Exchange 2007
• SharePoint 2007/3.0
• Longhorn/Windows 2008
• Silverlight
• Ajax for ASP.NET
  
• Visual Studio Team Suite for Database Professionals (or whatever the hell that silly name is)
• SQL Server 2008 ("Katmai")
  
• Visual Studio 2008 ("Orcas")

I'm just having trouble understanding the logic of their press release announcing the "rescheduling" (read it here). Interesting tidbit in the article though:

We are currently in the process of rescheduling [emphasis mine] this fall’s Professional Developer Conference. As the PDC is the definitive developer event focused on the future of the Microsoft platform, we try to align it to be in front of major platform milestones. By this fall, however, upcoming platform technologies including Windows Server 2008, SQL Server codenamed "Katmai," Visual Studio codenamed "Orcas" and Silverlight will already be in developers' hands and approaching launch, which is where we’ll focus our developer engagement in the near term.

I don't know what to think but I sure as hell don't believe the press release. I've read a few opinions from folks and one pundit said that he felt Microsoft just wasn't going to be ready for Windows 2008 by PDC and decided to bail. I don't know... I went to TechEd 2003 - paid the $1400 - with the express purpose of getting the prelaunch info on SQL Server 2003 lol. I was mad as #$#% when they announced a few days before the conference that SQL Server v.Next wasn't going to be released until 2004 (lol). As far as I was concerned, the whole conference was a wasted $1400. Therefore, if that is the reason, then I appreciate Microsoft canceling the conference.

I don't know - I'm rambling at this point... Anyway - just wanted to pass on the news about the new hotfix really.

Labels: sql server, sql server 2005