iPad and SQL Server

In the last few months we noticed a jump in the number of downloads for RSS Reporter and were not sure what to attribute it to. So we started probing the users who were downloading the product and found that the increased interest in our RSS Reporter for SQL Server was directly related to an ever increasing number of SQL Server Database Administrators carrying an iPad around.

What's so great about RSS Reporter? A couple of things:

• You don't need a client, just install the RSS Reporter on a machine with IIS that has access to the  SQL Server instances you are interested on and then access it from anywhere with an internet browser, iPad, iPhone, tablet – anything that can read a standard rss feed;
• Your executives need live data on their iPads, no problem, you add an ad-hoc query on RSS Reporter and simply send them the url;
• You need to see what happened with your SQL Server Jobs last night, no problem. You can get an aggregate report from all your SQL Servers right on your iPad, and you can drill down and see exactly what happened.

If you haven't tried RSS Reporter check it out – it is completely free for a single SQL Server Instance and very reasonably priced if you want to monitor multiple SQL Server instances in one place.

After you try make sure to send us your comments and suggestions as on how we might make RSS Reporter even more useful to you.

iApple an unbelievable iBuzz TM machine

I have never seen another company that is able to come close to apple in terms of iBuzz TM or “buzz ratio” TM (defined as amount of buzz generated / value of the product being launched) – I don’t know how they do it but they do. Their approach to product launching is nothing short of “magical and revolutionary” even when their products are not.

Take the iPad for example – there is not a soul that hasn’t heard of it today, it’s unveiling easily eclipsed some “not so important” stories like the State of the Union, the Davos Forum or the Feds meeting to name a few. So, what’s so “magical and revolutionary” about the iPad? Well, it’s thin the “master” said, you can customize the background to your liking and you can turn the thing sideways… really!
So, how can Jobs get away with telling us that we will be able to change the background on this “ground breaking revolutionary” computer? Would he be able to generate this kind of buzz the next time around when he takes the iPad and makes it iPadXL? The reason says no, but, he has proven time and again that he is able to defy reason, he has the magic and can make us drool in anticipation every time!