By now you will have heard about ICOs and blockchain, and these buzzwords are making you wish you'd invested early in Bitcoin. I'm here to remind you that this post was written specifically to attract traffic through the use of the word "blockchain", with a few more words thrown in, like Bitcoin and Ethereum. If … Continue reading Blockchain and you
Recently I started seeing the above annoying error message every time I opened up Outlook 2016 on my MacBook, but only after being prompted for my passwords for every single email account I had. This is tedious with two connected accounts. I have five. A quick search led me to a thread on Microsoft Answers, with … Continue reading Office 2016: You’re connected to too many services
I am a person with many interests. In one conversation, I'll introduce myself as a new filmmaker. In another, I'm a seasoned theatre actor. Sometimes I give talks on Microsoft's data platform products, SQL Server and Azure SQL Database. There's another strong field of interest I have, which I don't speak much about, and that's information … Continue reading Air gaps and secure networks
I hate the term "Internet of Things". I say "Internet of Things" and "IoT" because everyone else does, but I don't like it. Not everything needs to be online. There's a Twitter account called @InternetOfShit which posts regularly on this topic. The first and most important reason why this is a bad idea is security. … Continue reading On the Internet of Things
As of 1 December 2016, Microsoft's BizSpark programme is now only for one year, down from the original three years. Given how useful the free Visual Studio tools are, and what is possible with Azure, I'm not surprised, but this is going to affect a lot of people. From the BizSpark page: A one year … Continue reading Microsoft BizSpark is now a one-year programme
My friend Janie Clayton linked to this article by Don Denoncourt, which has some interesting thoughts and observations. Something with which I agree: I’ve seen too many people lock themselves into technologies (like Lotus Notes and Domino) and find themselves unmarketable after spending 10 years in that industry. Even if you have a high-paying salary, … Continue reading Link: On Getting Old(er) in Tech
(Originally posted on my SQL Server blog.) Next week, while blog posts are scheduled as expected, I will be attending my third PASS Summit. Summit 2014 In my first year, I attended every single event I could. The Monday night started with Steve Jones' regular Networking Dinner. When I arrived, there were already over a hundred people there, … Continue reading What to do at PASS Summit 2016
I wrote previously about an expensive experience with In-App Purchases (IAP) running rampant, to the tune of almost four hundred dollars. This follow-up contains some good news. As part of the conflict resolution protocol, Apple's customer service representative, known only as Az, was very quick to offer assistance. My mother-in-law didn't respond to his original … Continue reading The real value of 70 percent
This is not a judgment on Apple (or other platforms). This is not a judgment on this particular app, either, even though I think it's scummy. Let's get this out of the way right off the top. Earlier this week I received an email from Apple, as usual, notifying me of an in-app purchase (IAP) made … Continue reading In-App Shenanigans, an iOS Story
Being professional means treating your customers and colleagues with the respect you think you deserve in return.
