Dan's Blog
I am Principal Program Manager at Microsoft leading the Business Platform Division's (BPD) community team. BPD includes SQL Server, SQL Azure, BizTalk, AppFabric, and other technologies and services.
Is a Newspaper Cool?
I've posted before about my never ending dislike for the horrific MS Office dinosaur ads. One of the...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 02/13/2007
Vista Gadgets for the DBA
I've been using Vista for a while now but haven't ventured in to the land of the sidebar and...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 02/11/2007
Does CTP == Reimage?
Since we started doing CTP with the prerelease of SQL Server 2005 I've been a huge fan. It allows...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 02/09/2007
How you can help in the search for Jim Gray
Friends, For those of you living in the Bay Area, the Microsoft community, or the database community...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 02/03/2007
Zero is a Nice Number
Check out this article by Steve Jones over at SQL Server Central. Equally interesting are the...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 01/22/2007
Browser-based admin tool for SQL Server, why?
Yesterday I did a webcast for SQL Server MVPs. Boy I cannot get enough of talking to this group....
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 01/17/2007
Custom Reports in SQL Server 2005 SP2
We introduced a cool new feature in SP2 of SQL Server 2005 that lets users access their own reports...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 11/28/2006
There’s more To Measuring Security than the Number of Vulnerabilities…
Is there really more to measuring security than the number of vulnerabilities? That's what Oracle...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 11/28/2006
Oracle Security Once Again in the Spotlight
I've posted several times about Oracle and its effort to produce a more secure database product....
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 11/21/2006
Improving SQL Server Books Online
Check out Simon's blog about Books Online. SQL Server Books Online (BOL) is a treasure of...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 11/20/2006
Naming Conventions
This article on naming conventions - www.sqlservercentral.com/columnists/bknight/2687.asp -...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 11/13/2006
SQLServer 2005 SP2 CTP
SQL Server 2005 SP2 CTP is here! You can find out the details here:...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 11/07/2006
Goodbye Steve
I was a fan of the show the Crocodile Hunter and more so of Steve Irwin – if you can really separate...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 09/05/2006
Fun with Oracle
This is a fun and fast read:...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 09/01/2006
SQL Server Management Studio Startup Time
Note: This posting only applies to Management Studio 2005. We have corrected the behavior for...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 08/23/2006
Introducing Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals
Two things I’ve always admired about Microsoft products are product integration and development...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 06/01/2006
Testing from Office 2007 Beta 2
I recently installed Office 2007 Beta 2. It has a cool feature to post to blogs directly from within...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 05/24/2006
Cheers To Those Who Make A Difference
Do you work with someone who is just terrific but haven’t told them? Do you look at them as somewhat...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 05/14/2006
Software Quality
Topics seems to come in droves. I’ve recently read several articles about software quality. The...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 05/10/2006
More on the Dinos
I have posted here before about my dislike for the MS Office ads features dinosaurs. In the April...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 05/07/2006
Using SMO to change service account passwords
There are a multitude of administrative actions you can automate using SMO. You can read more about...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 04/21/2006
SQL2K5 SP1 Is Now Available
SP1 has been released! The release includes Management Studio Express, Express Edition with Advanced...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 04/19/2006
Sprint 3 Planning Complete
We continue to hum along with our Scrum process. Today we completed the planning for our next...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 04/01/2006
SANS Top 20 is Sans SQL Server
Far be it from me to poke the sleeping bear, but when I hear good news about the product I work on I...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 03/28/2006
SQL Server Express Could Earn you $100
Seems like it's a good time to start using SQL Server Express. Want a chance to show off a cool...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 03/28/2006
What Do American Idol and SQL Server Have in Common?
With the release of the CTP for SQL Server 2005 SP1 the content for SP1 is very much locked down....
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 03/27/2006
Disclosure of Security Threats/Vulnerabilities
I've been having an interesting open dialog with Steve Jones (SQL Server Central) on the issue of...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 03/22/2006
SQL Server 2005 SP1 CTP
In case you haven't seen the announcements, the CTP of SQL Server 2005 SP1 is now available for...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 03/17/2006
Bye-bye beta, bye-bye... That was all she wrote...
www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,2180,1938275,00.asp This is absolutely awesome. As someone...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 03/15/2006
Made in Express Contest
Do you use VS Express and SQL Server Express? Check out how you can win $10K... that's right $10,000...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 03/14/2006
When [more] is More
This isn’t related to SQL Server, but it’s really cool – IMHO. Out on www.live.com they removed the...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 03/08/2006
Sprint 2 Begins
Today we finished planning for our next sprint. Man, I can’t stress enough what an awesome...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 03/01/2006
Microsoft Branding 101
media.putfile.com/Microsoft-Rebrands-iPod-Packaging This really speaks for itself. Please...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 02/27/2006
Computer "Security"
I saw this this morning and found it very interesting:...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 02/27/2006
Origami Project
I love viral marketing - check out www.origamiproject.com. If you do enough web searches...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 02/25/2006
SQL Server 2005 Management Studio Tips
Here's a nice short article that touches on some pretty good Management Studio tips:...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 02/24/2006
Waterfall Rising!
This was just too funny not to pass along. www.waterfall2006.com/.
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 01/27/2006
Scrum Rocks
This week we held our first full blown scrum planning meeting. This was a 4 hour meeting with almost...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 01/27/2006
Bad Oracle Administrator
www.zdnet.com.au/news/security/soa/Oracle_no_longer_a_bastion_of_security_Gartner/0,200006174...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 01/24/2006
82 - The Magic Number
Check out this posting: blogs.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2006/01/oracle_issues_w.html...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 01/21/2006
The Power of Internal Tools
Why is it that people let limitations in internally developed tools prevent progress? Yes, that’s...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 01/16/2006
What's A Customer and How Should We Connect?
Doug Barney recently wrote in the magazine Redmond that “[Microsoft] should formally and publicly...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 12/09/2005
Where to go next...
I've been meaning to post for some time, however, I've really been struggling with where to go next....
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 12/08/2005
Management Studio & More
In SQL Server 2005 we rewrote Enterprise Studio into what is now called Management Studio. One of...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 11/16/2005
Rock the Launch!
Yeah Baby! The launch event was fantastic; so much energy; so much excitement; so much buzz. One of...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 11/09/2005
SQL Server 2005 Launch Site
The SQL Server 2005 launch site is now available:...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 11/07/2005
SQL Server 2005 Launch T -3 Days
The SQL Server 2005 Launch kick-off event is just a few days away. You can view all of the launch...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 11/04/2005
SQL2K Side-By-Side with SQL2K5
I've seen this question come up a lot in the newgroups: "I already have SQL Server 2000 installed,...
Author: Dan Jones MSFT Date: 11/01/2005