Dan English's BI Blog: News and politics

Microsoft's WorldWide Telescope video

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 04:25:42 GMT

Just received a posting from a colleague and had to check it out. Microsoft unveiled a new technology they have been working based on the work of the late Jim Grey and it is amazing technology. Sometimes we get caught up in our everyday lives and don't realize just how small we really are in respect to the entire universe. It is amazing technology and the images are breathtaking and I can't wait to download this in the Spring. Way to go Microsoft! Watch the video for yourself and read more about it and download it from the site.

CompUSA going out of business?

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 13:08:07 GMT

I couldn't believe it when they closed up shop in MN, but now it looks like they are going to be done for good in the next couple of months. Just read this posting on Engadget this morning:

So we've heard enough banter about CompUSA being on its last legs and possibly shuttering completely after closing more than half the chain's stores earlier this year. Well, chalk this up to rumor (in fact, rumor with prejudice if you must), but we're privy to a high-level internal email competitor Best Buy recently circulated which claims to have it on authority (but not "verified") that CompUSA's holiday revenue is half what it was last year (which, as commenter Hans points out, might have to do with those store closures), store-restocking shipments are not being scheduled past February, and additional liquidators are being called in to help manage closure of the 103 remaining stores. Sure, it could be a sneaky misinformation campaign -- or it could be the truth. We gave CompUSA a ring, and their PR team has yet to respond to the claim; but for what it's worth, if we weren't already hearing this kind of thing elsewhere (or didn't believe it plausible) we wouldn't waste your time.

http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/195794598/

2008 Releases and Launches

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 13:23:25 GMT

At the last MPLS SQL Server User Group they said that Windows Server 2008 will be available in January and SQL Server 2008 will be mid June. The national launch for all of the 2008 products is February 27 in Los Angeles and the MPLS local launch will be in April. They stated that the Nov CTP5 of SQL Server is around 80% complete and the next CTP will have all of the functionality in it. Visual Studio 2008 was release on November 19. Learn more about the new version of VS 2008:

The Wait for Visual Studio 2008 is Over!

On Monday, Nov. 19, Microsoft announced that Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework 3.5 were released to manufacturing (RTM). With more than 250 new features,Visual Studio 2008 includes significant enhancements in every edition, including Visual Studio Express and Visual Studio Team System. Developers of all levels – from hobbyists to enterprise development teams – now have a consistent, secure and reliable solution for developing applications for the latest platforms: the Web, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, the 2007 Office system, and beyond. Learn more about Visual Studio 2008.

For help with uninstalling prerelease versions of Visual Studio 2008, see Uninstalling Previous Versions of Visual Studio 2008.