Why doesn’t SQL Server come with a built-in method for generating SQL dump files so you can easily port your data to another database? Microsoft in its own little walled garden I suppose; while the facilities in Enterprise Manager for exporting to Excel, Access, ODBC, CSV etc. can be very useful, sometimes you just need a bunch of SQL statements <whisper>so you can export your data to Oracle</whisper>.
SQLDumper to the rescue; a handy little free utility that does just that, with a neat user interface that lets you select which database/tables you want to dump. Windows only, but hey, it’s a SQL server tool after all! Downside: you have to download and install the .NET framework if you don’t already have it, but the setup program handles that itself — just something to be aware of if you have a slow connection.
Since 1999 I’ve been teaching online for the Open University. It may not pay brilliantly, but it’s regular income and I really enjoy doing it; OU students often overcome major barriers to achieve a qualification they missed out on earlier in life, for whatever reason, so they can be very rewarding to teach. And the fact that it’s online means I can conveniently fit it around other work. Currently I teach three courses in the Certificate in Web Application Development.
I can now announce that I’m also going to start teaching an online course with eClasses.org, the online learning branch of IWA/HWG. The course uses PHP and MySQL to build a shopping cart, and is aimed at intermediate PHP developers (you don’t have to know anything about MySQL, but it certainly helps if you do). I’m really lookng forward to this; you can see the full course description here, and registration is now open.
On a trip to the UK just after Christmas I succumbed to temptation and paid a visit to Toys R Us. Minutes later I walked out with this:
Then I headed straight for my hotel, and once in my room I could barely wait to unpack it. I’d heard it was small, but I was still staggered at just how small and light it is. I switched it on, and it booted in 15 seconds, as advertised. I ran the “First run wizard” and once that was done I clicked on “Wireless networks” and without further ado it picked up the hotel’s WiFi hotspot. Unbelievably simple; I hot-footed it to reception for a card, and within minutes was checking my email.
This is a tiny, cheap sub-notebook that runs Linux and does everything I’m likely to want to do on the move: web, email, word-processing, seamless networking. The interface is a bit Playschool, but that is clearly a deliberate choice; the machine is aimed at the educational market as a cheap, easy-to-use laptop that children can carry around with them. In any case, a browse around one of the burgeoning eee fansites quickly revealed a simple fix to enable “Advanced desktop” mode, which turns out to be exactly the same as my Xandros desktop, so no complaints there. Having said that, 90% of the time I use it in “Easy” mode.
In practice of course, many buyers seem to be geeks delighted to find a cool device that runs Linux and can be hacked to do all sorts of useful things. The result is an increasing number of sites dedicated to the eee and detailing various hacks and improvements. Always a good sign when a community builds up round something like this.
Edit: interestingly, the Xandros website states:
The Eee PC is an ASUS product and is solely supported by them, including Operating system issues. The Operating System on the Eee PC is not a Xandros Product. While Xandros may have aided in the development of the Eee PC OS, it is owned and supported by ASUS.
… but the Advanced Destop mode looks indistinguishable from Xandros.
This device really suggests that the operating system is becoming an irrelevance as long as you have network connectivity. Many users of the eee PC will not know or care what the operating system is; they’ll just use it to accomplish tasks. Microsoft must be a wee bit worried, because the eee has just launched in Japan with Windows XP pre-installed (the original model comes with instructions for installing XP, but you need a valid installation disk and another PC with a CD drive to do so). I don’t really understand why anyone would want to; as delivered the machine only has 512Mb of RAM, and runs very nicely with Linux, whereas if you want anything like acceptable performance with XP you are going to have to void the warranty by installing more memory.
But some people seem to think they should be able to do everything they could do on a heavy, bulky, 15″ notebook PC on this. It’s only got a 7″ screen for heaven’s sake; what on earth is the point of trying to run Photoshop on it? For me its role is definitely that of a supplementary PC, not a desktop replacement. It’s a huge improvement on the slow, clunky Dell laptop we lug around whenever we travel. The 15-second boot time is particularly appreciated; it means you can quickly switch it on to check something, then switch it off again to conserve the battery (battery life without wifi switched on is about three hours; slightly disappointing but over twice as long as the Dell manages). Resuming from sleep mode is even faster. Plenty of thought has been put into keeping the weight down; it also has a relatively small power adapter, similar to a mobile phone one, not the “brick” you usually get with laptops. And it’s surprisingly robust; you’d expect something as cheap as this to feel flimsy, but it doesn’t.
The one thing I don’t like about it is the small trackpad and very stiff mouse button. I don’t like trackpads much anyway, and even increasing the sensitivity doesn’t seem to help. It feels as if it’s going to be the first thing to break. Using a mouse or trackball that weighs half as much as the PC doesn’t seem to make sense, so I’ve ordered a dinky little Targus mouse for it.