My plan is to start with Linux Mint in springtime on my home machine because my Windows 10 machine will not be supported after autumn.

On the topic of SQL Server...

And much of our data could be shrunken down in size if the smallest datatypes were used.

I see databases whose datatypes are the defaults given to them from the Code...

This is the basic concept of being tethered to the Internet and I pay attention to it for all Internet-related things that I am interested in.

I have old Macs, ranging...

There is a difference between 'secure' & 'insecure' and while I strive for former, I am often obliged to settle for the latter.

A case in point: SQL Server Reporting Services.

I...

• This reply was modified 8 months, 1 week ago by  sean redmond.

As a proud Irishman, I am happy that ye all love Rounders. I had fun playing it as a child.

Having been a fan of 'Calvin & Hobbes' for many a...

Thankfully developers have Entity Framework to model their databases. INTs for every number, DATETIME2(7) for every date and NVARCHAR(MAX) for any string column that might look like it may hold...

Studying for certifications used to be a great way to fill in gaps in your knowledge. I started with XML & temporal tables this way. I do think that it...

Agreed....

• This reply was modified 10 months, 4 weeks ago by  sean redmond.

What about the appliance argument? Namely, there's an application running on SQL Server 2008 & Windows Server 2003 that runs purely in-house and is not connected to the Internet. If...

The company I work for has about 120 employees but desks for only 80 or so. We moved to a hot-desk office model during the pandemic and kept it ever...

... monitor the bank moneys going out...

This is a very good point. I used to be superb at it. Now I've let this good practice lapse.

Auto-renewal is one of the reasons I avoid subscriptions. With auto-renewal, the onus is on you to remember, not them to remind you. I look for once-off payments or fixed-subscriptions...

• This reply was modified 12 months ago by  sean redmond.

As parodied by Mitchell & Webb with Numberwang: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r6NY4Kl8Ms

I am now in my early fifties and I see the failures of taking university courses when one has no practical experience and the importance of practical experience. Not just...

Isn't the insistence on degrees merely a proxy for keeping people not like us away?