Jon Galloway

A comment on my post about the SQL/e announcement said it sounds a lot like SQLite. The subject warrents a separate post. SQLite is a great embedded database. It's free, open source, small, fast, ACID  compliant, and frequently updated. 

Last year I wrote about how we need an Embedded Database for .NET applications. Microsoft's current .NET database lineup runs as data servers, which is completely inappropriate when you need a simple data format for a desktop application . My post was based on the problems I faced while working on an RSS aggregator built for speed and scalability - I spent all my time troubleshooting problems with open source embedded database engines (SQLite, SharpHSQL, Firebird), and eventually just gave up on the project for the time being.

Most of us have at least two systems scanning our hard drives. In my case, one is checking them for viruses, the other is updating indexes for desktop file search. It seems like a lot of duplicated effort, since they both do very similar things:

Phil sent me a link to a Motorola / Skype Bluetooth Headset that automatically stops your music when calls come in. We both use Skype a lot - I hardly touch the phone anymore - and it sure sounded convenient to be able to switch from music or podcasts to a phone call, then automatically switch back when the call ended. That got me looking for Skype toys that let you do that with my existing headphones; here's what I turned up.

Dialup Access (noun, circa web 1.0): "Dial-up access is an inexpensive but relatively slow form of internet access in which the client uses a modem to dial the internet service provider's node, a dialup server type such as the PPP and TCP/IP protocols to establish a modem-to-modem link, which is then routed to the internet. It is now legacy technology in the advent of widely available broadband internet access in the Western World." [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialup_access]

We recently gave up on trying to use SCC bindings in VS.NET 2003. We're using SourceGear Vault in CVS style checkout mode, which means you merge on checkin instead of lock on checkout. Yep, we're optimists, and optimistic locks are more our speed. Unfortunately, VS.NET's source code control doesn't play well with that at all.