advice Archives - Page 10 of 13

August 22, 2011

Recharged Batteries = Full Steam Ahead

Sometimes to be at your best you need to step away for a moment. It’s been a crazy, intense year so far and the rest of the year promises to be the same with my posted schedule and other things coming which I am not quite ready to talk about yet. While it’s all good stuff and I’m looking forward to everything, I was equally looking forward to the vacation I am now flying back from (typing and posting this from the first leg of my plane trip).

I started planning this particular vacation towards the end of last summer, and before I knew it, it was here. I spent from August 12th to the 22nd in California in the Los Angeles area. I’ve been to CA a lot, and it always is entertaining to hear people talk about LA. Places liek Anaheim or Oxnard may not be far, but I wouldn’t really classify it as LA. Downtown LA itself is pretty small. Although I’m not really here to give you a blow-by-blow of my vacation. It had some great points (real kosher Mexican food! The Go-Go’s at the Greek!) and some that I wish were better (lines, waiting, and general chaos at the D23 Expo – boy did I ding them on their survey). Overall, I did have fun, though.

So if my goal is not to regale you with vacation stories or pictures, what is the purpose of this post? Well, I’ve worked at too many jobs where you accrue vacation time and have a hard time using it for one of these reasons (there could be more, insert your own or add them in the comments):

Your project keeps slipping and your vacation time was cancelled.
You are always busy and can’t find the right time to schedule a vacatio.n
You are only allowed to take so many days at a time.
You’re made to feel guilty about taking it.
You’re worried things will go to hell with you gone.
It’s a use it or lose it policy, so you do want to use it but … (see #1 – 4)

I’ve said it before, but only you are really looking out for yourself in your career. Manage it accordingly. Sometimes there does come a point where you just need a break, and it’s up to you to make it happen. Especially in companies where you have a use it or lose it policy, remember those paid days off are part of your compensation plan. You don’t want to throw away money. Use ’em! Even if your vacation isn’t going somewhere else but spending time with friends and family or even just vegging out on the couch in front of the TV, do it!

I burn the midnight oil and both ends of the candle too often. Over the course of the 10 days I did no work. Nada. I did have my laptop with me and did check some e-mail just to see what was going on, but that was only in the early morning hours before going out and doing anything. Anything work related I’m starting to tackle now and ease back into things. It’ll take me a few days to get back into the swing of things.

You may say that even checking e-mail violated my no work rule and I wouldn’t 100% disagree, but my Outlook also has my personal e-mail account configured so it’d all come in anyway.Because I forced myself to limit computer time and really only use it to get directions or look some stuff up, I actually enjoyed my vacation. Rome didn’t burn; work and scheduled meetings are still there waiting for me tomorrow AM. I feel relaxed and my batteries are recharged and ready for another round. In fact, I’m really looking forward to what’s on my plate.

Take it from me, who will freely admit to being a workaholic: carve out some time to recharge your own batteries. Sometimes what we do can be really intense and you need the break. You’ll thank yourself (and me) later.

July 25, 2011

Un-SQL Friday #005: Bad Interviews

Jen McCown (blog | Twitter), one half of DBAs at Midnight, put out the request for bad interview stories, so I figured I’d chime in. I’ve got two stories.

As a Job Candidate

I think this happened in the late 90s, during the process which led up to me getting my job with a small corporation named Microsoft. Maybe you’ve heard of them. A little context: this was in the February/March timeframe here in Massachusetts, so it was still somewhat cold with snow still on the ground in parts. I knew it was time to look for a new job, and both of my bosses were out for about two weeks so I had a golden opportunity to make the most of it.

I was working with a recruiter or two. First of all, let me apologize to the good recruiters out there. Unfortunately for their profession, I’ve found there are very few good ones out there. I’ve likened them to car salesmen. To this day I get pings from people who got my resume years ago (haven’t submitted for a job in probably 7 years going back to Avanade) and want updated info such as what I’m doing, etc. Recruiters could be the subject of a whole post, but I won’t go there. They do serve a means to an end (better to have more eyes out there looking assuming they get what you want to do).

When it comes to working with recruiters, often times I’ll do the “gimme” interview. A “gimme” interview is one you know probably won’t wind up being a job for you, but shows you are willing to work with the recruiter. Sometimes you just have to do it, although these days I’m not sure I’d waste my time. Anyway …

This company was out I think in Concord or something like that. My interview was at 9AM, and proper interview etiquette is to get there at least 15 minutes early. I left around 8 and was there by 8:30. Anyone who has driven Route 128 (nee 95) knows depending on time of the day and weather, it can get backed up in spots. I remember one time when it started snowing while I was an intern at Sybase in Burlington, MA, it took me 3 hours to get from Burlington to Waltham back to my dorm. That’s a 20 minute or so drive not in traffic to put it in perspective.

I sat in my car for a few minutes and walked up to the door. Lights were off, everything was locked. Couldn’t get in. There wasn’t even a receptionist. This is never a good sign. I’m not a morning person (just ask anyone who knows me), but no one at a company before 9AM? Hmm. I believe the receptionist showed up around 8:50, and was surpised to see me there. I took a seat in the reception area.

Finally around 9:15 or so someone comes to get me and take me into a conference room. They give me the standard application form to start filling out (which I should have been handed earlier, but whatever). That person doesn’t come back for at least 15 minutes. It may have been longer. Needless to say, my patience is starting to wear thin and I haven’t really talked to anyone yet. <rant> Here’s a lesson out there for future employers of me or anyone else you are trying to woo: you guys are selling us on you as well. It’s not just the interview candidate trying to sell themselves. The impression I was getting was one of disorganization and not caring. When you set up an interview loop, make sure everyone is aware of it and it runs smoothly as well as relatively on time. </rant>

As if you couldn ‘t tell already, things were going downhill faster than a speeding bullet. I had already pretty much made up my mind this company wasn’t going to be for me, but I would see how things went. Worst case, I would have fun with the interview. And I did. I don’t recommend some of the behavior I am going to talk about unless you really want to sabotage an interview.

The first person comes in to interview me and it was clear they had just gotten the tap on the shoulder to come talk to me. I know that happens (I’ve been on the other end of that where I had to interview someone on short notice), but at least come somewhat prepared. So interview #1 was not awe inspiring and I played nice. I didn’t get a good feel of anything – what the job I was going to do would be, the environment, etc. I then wait at least another 30 minutes for interview #2, and I am seething at this point. I’ve spent more time waiting than anything else, so I decide to torpedo things and end the pain. I think I answered every question with “Yes”, “No”, or some really short answer that had no way of follow up. That second interviewer also rubbed me the wrong way with a bit of attitude, so I gave it back. I was very confrontational and a bit aggressive. You may think that’s rude or wrong, but I knew I wasn’t going to work there, and I definitely knew that I had been there close to 2.5 – 3 hours with not much done. News at 11: I was told shortly thereafter they would get back to me and I could go.

I can remember calling the recruiter and unloading on them about the experience and they were trying to convince me that the experience was not the norm. Forget that. I never worked with that recruiter again. It’s also why I will never do the “gimme” again. I’ve always had a good gut instinct that rarely fails. In the job hunt process sometimes you need to kiss a few frogs before finding your prince or princess (whatever your preference may be).

As an Interviewer
This is one interview I’ll never forget. I was working for a consulting firm, and the way they do interviews is bring a bunch of people around in a single day. I was asked to be part of the interview loop for SQL folks that made it through the phone screen. Whenever I do interviews, I don’t regurgitate their resume. In a consulting role, I’m trying to assess a few things:

Do they have a good skillset?
Can they interface with customers/have good people skills?
Could I work with this person onsite and trust them?

While similar to a normal 9-to-5, a consultant needs to have a few other things that you can sometimes hide or not care about if you’re in cubeland 40 hours a week.

Anyway, whether in person or on a phone screen, I also don’t ask things like “What’s a clustered index?” unless I feel they gave me some answer and they have no idea what they’re talking about. My job isn’t to figure out if you can remember the Nth clause of a WITH statement in some T-SQL command. That can be taught or looked up. Good problem solving skills and troubleshooting methodology is hard to come by.

I’m in my early 30s at the time (I’ll be 40 later this year), so I didn’t have all the experience I have now, but I knew what we needed. This guy was in his 40s, and was supposedly some seasoned veteran. I tend to ask situational type questions that will force candidates to give me a combined technical as well as non-technical answer (for example, how to deal with the problem and the people involved). His first answer troubled me as to his “expertise”, so I gave him a few more and wasn’t convinced that this guy was the expert he thought he was. I asked him a few just technical questions and I was not getting a good vibe either. So I ended the interview and gave my feedback.

The guy was not hired, and I heard that he complained to HR that he didn’t feel he got a fair interview because the people who talked to him (including myself) didn’t ask tough enough questions or something like that. Unbelievable, right? Chutzpah is the only word I can use here to describe that move. To a person, every since one of us that talked to him got the same impression. Just because you’ve been in the industry for years doesn’t mean anything. You could have 10 years of experience but done the same thing for 10 straight years with no growth. It doesn’t mean you’re bad, it means that compared to everyone else out there, even with some with less years of experience, you may still be considered junior. That’s reality. Try to do different things even if you are at the same employer. It only makes you more marketable longer term even if you have no intention on leaving your job.

So to sum up here: never oversell yourself as someone you’re not. Interviewers will figure you out. It’s one thing to be confident, it’s another thing to lie or be wrong and then have the cojones to complain about the interview later. If you don’t know, say, “I don’t know.” I respect that much more.

July 21, 2011

Do You Like Your Writing Boring? Me Neither

In a brief Twitter conversation with Wendy Pastrick (blog | Twitter), who is also another great SQL person out there (just incase you didn’t know), she had this to say:
“I do wish whitepapers were more interesting of a read at times. I’ve fallen asleep on a few.”
I couldn’t agree more, and let me expound on that. (Hey, it’s my blog so I could do it anyway!)

If you don’t know, I’ve written quite a bit over the years (check out some of the links on the main SQLHA.com site which has some of them) including the books I’ve authored or co-authored. I’m always doing some kind of content, and doubt I’ll ever stop. However, when I’ve done some writing for clients, every now and then I’ll get the comments back that the writing style is not formal enough or that I use some colloquial phrases which won’t fly (oops! there’s one …). While I see their point, and in some cases they are probably right, I’ll go back to Wendy’s quote. Most people would rather it be a bit less formal and easy to read than stiff as a board. There is a happy medium somewhere that blends readability with great technical content. They do not need to be mutually exclusive.

I’m not saying more formal writing does not have its place nor were my reviewers wrong. In some cases over the years, reviewers were absolutely, 100% correct. Sometimes things can be a little too informal … and that’s why I have reviewers actually look at not only accuracy of content, but readability. Both are very important not only to me, but you, the reader. If you have content that is well written but sucks in terms of its technical accuracy, why even bother? Same for the reverse: if it is technically right but hard to read and ultimately misses its audience, it’s a waste of time for everyone involved.

I do want to say one thing about reviewers. I always read every comment they write – good or bad. Good ones will call me out on everything, even down to a missing period or a misspelling. If I blundered something technical, absolutely flog me. I have no ego about it. Did I completely miss something I should have talked about? Let me know. Sometimes it’s possible to add, in other cases, no for various reasons that could be their own blog post (ah, politics!).

With lots of reviews come lots of opinions. I often get polar opposites (loved it/hated it). At the end of the day, I need to figure out which one to go with and stick to my decision. I try to take consensus. If there is a lone dissenter, they’re often an outlayer (outside of being technically wrong). If it’s a lot of folks, genuine issue. If it’s some but not all, I need to think about it a bit more. One of the advantages of having multiple reviewers is that it’s invaluable, but it’s also a bit of a curse because it does add a lot of work for an author.

Back to the topic at hand. If doing a whitepaper or training course for someone like Microsoft or another company (which may or may not have my name attached to it), chances are it needs to be a bit more formal. Using colloquial phrases can be problematic even in informal writing because they are not always universal around the world. For example, saying something like, “Boy, implemeting things like this is like taking a swing for the fences and striking out.” While you can get the meaning from the context, it’s a baseball reference. Baseball is far from a universally known sport, let alone its idiosyncrasies and nuances. Over the years I’ve become much better at recognizing that and most of it gets excised before final drafts, but it does not always happen. So I apologize in advance if you do not always get some of that stuff in a publication that has me associated with it.

Having said that, I do rely on editors in this entire process. While I try to catch a lot of this kind of stuff, it’s really up to them to a large degree to try to fix any wording or verbiage that is not up to snuff, or mark it so I can deal with it. Good editors excel at this and bad ones miss it entirely. Every client may even have a “house style” as to how they prefer something to sound/read, and I’m fine with that – they just need to let me know.

Bottom line: realize before you get something to read, it’s been through a lot of people’s hands. One thing with editors that I’ve found is that if they are unfamiliar with SQL Server, sometimes they’ll alter wording in a way that is wrong so I’ll have to work with them to come up with something that works for both of us. Trust me, there’s a lot of work that goes into writing a document that no one ever sees. If it was easier, I think more people would do it (if they like to write, that is; most people hate to compose documentation of any sort).

I’ve had quite a few people over the years after reading some of my stuff (especially my 2005 and 2008 books) that they can hear “my voice” in them. That’s great, because I tend to think that people who know me or have possibly seen me speak can see that. One of the hardest things to do is take concepts that could be difficult or complex, and make them either relatable or easy to understand. For me, it’s not unlike writing a fiction story. What do I mean by that?

Whenever I sit down to write something, especially a whitepaper or book, I try to figure out who my audience is and what story I want to tell. You need to start out at A and end up at Z. The thoughts need to be coherent and build on one another. For example, I’ve always maintained you can’t really talk about SQL Server failover clustering without understanding and explaining the Windows side of things. It’s why I put it in my books and cover it before I talk about the SQL part. However, when I explain the Windows side, I do it from a SQL perspective and address it that way so it ties everything together. So even though Windows is a bit of a left turn, it’s all part of the same thing. It’s up to me as the author, to tie it all together and wrap it up into a neat bow.

A big thanks to Wendy for inspiring this blog post, and all of this is quite relevant as I embark on the planning process for the Denali followup to the 2000, 2005, and 2008 books. By the time you see that book, the content will have been vetted technically by reviewers, massaged and altered (probably a few times), and had its makeup applied so it looks pretty for you. I’ll make a more formal announcement of my plans for the Denali book soon … it’s shaping up nicely.

July 8, 2011

Laptop(s) of Doom

Everyone’s computer setup is really a personal thing – much like hairstyle or choice in clothing. We also all have different needs. Me? Until recently, my needs (“must haves”) have always been at odds with my wants (“nice to have”).

Hi, My Name Is Allan … and I’m a Power User (Hi Allan!)
Feels good to say it. Unfortunately, it’s the truth. I’ve been pushing the boundaries of portable hardware for over 10 years now, going back to my days at Microsoft before the bought Connectix and had Hyper-V. I first started virtualizing cluster configurations with Vmware Workstation probably in 2001 or so on a machine that had if I remember correctly 256MB of memory. My domain controller VMs alone now are more than that. I remember lugging around these huge external hard drives not only for space but speed because in those days, 5400rpm was blazing and most drives were slower than that. 7200rpm was a revelation when it hit the portable space. I’ve rarely been processor constrained, but I always run out of memory and disk space.

If you’ve seen me present over the years, my needs to run more VMs has driven my need for more power. For example, to show the combination of clustering and log shipping/database mirroring, I need a minimum of four (4) VMs: domain controller, two nodes, and a standby. Sometimes I will have a fifth to show the effects of a witness. Since I usually give 1GB of memory to each VM, a standard 4GB laptop is out of the question because virtualization also has overhead, not to mention the needs of the underlying OS and anything else you may have running on it. Needless to say, even 8GB of memory is tight for me.

Then there’s the disk space. Realistically, a whole setup will consume anywhere from 100GB – 300GB for me depending on what I have configured and possibly how many snapshots I’m using to be able to roll the entire configuration to a certain point in time.

SSDs have really changed the game, but the cost to storage ratio is high. There are also crappy SSDs that are worse than traditional HDDs. Let me also dispel another myth: SSDs have not significantly changed my battery life on my laptops. Maybe 15 – 30 minutes, but I haven’t seen a dramatic increase because of it. I’ve had SSDs going back to about 2006 or 2007 on my Vaio G where I think I could only get 16GB (maybe 32GB). And that was like a $2000 option! I dual boot my laptops these days with both Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and Windows 7, so more drive space is always welcome in addition to what I need for normal space.

Unlike some of you (including my fellow consultants), my laptop is my main machine. I don’t use (or like) multiple monitors. So it’s all got to work in one package for me.

That’s Heavy, Man
I’ve been a consultant and on the road (with varying degrees of frequency) for over 10 years now. I’m not the tallest or biggest guy in the world. At a statuesque 5’6″ and height/weight proportinate (I’ve been lucky to have the same waist size for quite some time), I’m not looking to lift a ton of weight every day or schlep it around with me. When I first got into the consulting end of thing where laptop was standard issue and desktops you only have at home (and you bought yourself), it was a bit of an eye opener for me. These were better than the luggables of the 80s and 90s (they were usually between 5 and 7 lbs), but battery life was terrible (you always had to have a spare) and you carried a bunch of other crap (cables, drive caddy, power supply which added weight). After a few years of that added with the abuse my frame has taken over the years sclepping bass amps (some of which probably weighed more than me!), my back was not happy with me.

Before you all start having a pity party for me or make brilliant suggestions like “why not just get a rolling bag?”, don’t. I don’t need a pity party and I tried nearly everything to make it easier on me before going the route I have. Here’s a truth: that rolling bag (whether briefcase style or backpack) still needs to be lifted at times. No thanks.

Welcome to Allan’s Technology Graveyard
One day around this time in I think 2004 I had an epiphany after I started work at Avanade and struggling with the heavy, POS Dell they gave me which was often broken: lighten your loadand get what you want/need. And I’ve never looked back. It’s been a grand, expensive experiment … and one that usually involves Japan. Why Japan? Besides the home of all cool gadgets, they are different than here with different trends. Smaller is usually better, and even if, say, Sony has the same laptop here it may have better specs here. Plus, I’ll be honest: it’s sometimes nice to get something that looks kinda cool vs. say a Thinkpad (which may have what I need – but not in all cases), and the wow factor is fun. I’d be lying if I claimed otherwise.

My real love with ultraportables started with the Sony Vaio TR series. To this day I love everything about that line. The subsequent T series that Sony produced never really got me, and at times I have flirted with getting one. It’s almost odd that Sony ended the run of the T series with the TT which stuck around in Japan longer than it did here. Another series I loved for its style was Sony’s original S series (not the new derivatives of it they are calling the S now such as the SR or SA; the SZ was somewhat close and was its direct replacement).

My first ultraportable (sometimes you’ll also see UMPC which stands for ultra mobile personal computing or somthing of that ilk) was the (at the time) Japanese-only Sony VGN-U70P purchased from Dynamism. Over the years I’ve bought from both them as well as Conics. There have been a few other importers over the years, but those two have stayed around and still provide good service. I’ve learned how to navigate the Japanese websites with the options, so even if they don’t list it, I can get them to order it. Trust me when I say that ability is a blessing and a curse. When you get a laptop from them, they’ve done the conversion to an English OS and installed the basic utilities and such. Price-wise, both are somewhat eqivalent.

Another advantage of buying from an importer like Conics or Dynamism besides better/different/cooler is that you send the laptop back to them and they then send it to Sony, Panasonic, or whoever in Japan. I’ve had to send some of mine in over the years and they always come back quick. The repairs are top notch as you would probably expect in Japan.

There are two things you need to get used to when buying a Japanese laptop:

Sony Japan usually gives you a US English keyboard option often, but most manufacturers don’t. The keyboard layout is slightly different, and even more different when you have a US English OS. For example, a standard Japanese keyboard has the ‘ key over the 7, but it is the & for me. I’ve adjusted and these days I’d argue I’m more used to a Japanese keyboard. The swaps are ingrained in me.
You learn to navigate Japanese support websites for drivers and updates.

You never forget your first, and I loved the U70P. Way underpowered to be honest, but cool as hell and to this day would still get looks if I dragged it out. I lusted after the X505 (video and review), but wound up with the U70. Truth be told, I would still probably buy one just to have it but I need it like a hole in the head. And no, this is not the modern Sony X, but the old, thin one that to this day people forget was the thinnest computer made before some fruity company made thin laptops (and probably still bests the MacBook Air in thinness – sorry Brent!).

The love affair with the U70 was short lived because running VMs was painful on it. I stepped up to the JVC MP-XP741 which would still probably be more powerful than today’s netbooks (and the same form factor, ironically enough). I actually got Avanade at the time to get me one, but everything else I’ve owned I’ve purchased myself and no company has owned. The JVC was a good travel companion, but not as cool as the Sony Vaio PCG-U1 (the Sony Vaio PCG-U101 was the last in its line) another person on the project had (yes, there were two ultraportable geeks on duty). I never liked the UX variant of the U series which my U70P is part of, and is why I never bought one.

Through these, I always looked at the Panasonic Let’s Note series in Japan. They are the “consumer” versions of the Toughbooks. One in particular – the R series – has always caught my eye but Panasonic always seemed to have a limiting factor somewhere (not enough or less max memory, smaller storage capacity) vs. some of the other contenders. Everything is a tradeoff somewhere.

After the JVC, I went through a series of laptops:

Sony Vaio VGN-SZ90 (Japan) – I wrote most of the book Pro SQL Server 2005 High Availability on this laptop. It was a bit heavier than I like (just over 4lbs with the extended battery) but had the power I needed. It was also a bit larger at 13.3″ for a screen size. This one served me well except for the time someone cracked the screen while on a plane back from a customer.
Sharp PC-MW70J (Japan) – This was more of a lateral move, and basically the same as the later M4000 Sharp briefly released here in the USA. It also had 13.3″, but equivalent battery life and lighter than the SZ. Plus I could get it in blue. Whatever Sharp did, it always seemed slower than my SZ and I never loved this one. I wanted something smaller and lighter again which led me to …
Sony Vaio VGN-G1 (Japan) – Sony’s G series was their answer to Panasonic’s R in Japan. Fabulous build quality in a nice dark brown color. 12.1 4:3 aspect ratio screen, ULV (1.2GHz), not much memory (3GB), a 32GB SSD., and just around 2lbs. Yowza! Love that size and weight. This one didn’t last too long due to storage issues. It was quickly replaced with …
Sony Vaio VGN-G2 (Japan) – Same basic specs but with 4GB of memory and a 64GB SSD. This was my main laptop for quite awhile and a great road warrior. Not a bad thing to say about this. I just outgrew it and needed more power.
Sony Vaio VGN-Z90 (Japan) – Ah, welcome back a bigger machine. This was a 13.1″, 2.53GHz beast with Sony’s proprietary SSD RAID (failed me once and had it repaired). However, it clocks in at under 4lbs and was a good machine. While I did like it, I yearned for something a bit smaller. Crazy, I know. Plus, I ran out of space. Later versions of this (and the later redesigned VPC-Z series) could have up to 512GB in drive capacity with the RAID.
HP 2530p (USA) – This was a very brief but failed experiment which ended up with me sending it back. The build quality was terrible compared to what I was used to (sorry HP … I do like your company, but didn’t love the laptop). I don’t agree with the review I linked, as it didn’t feel solid to me and I would have chewed up that keyboard. I wound up getting …
Toshiba Portege R600 (USA) – This one was very cool and had a 512GB SSD. Because of the ULV processor and lower memory, it was a bit of a step down but the 512GB SSD somewhat made up for it. As expected, it didn’t totally and I was left wanting some more power. Wanderlust, why must ye haunt me?
Panasonic Let’s Note CF-S9 Premium/High Performance Edition (Japan) – Power, portable, and under 3lbs? Check – that’s the Panasonic S, a 12.1″ widescreen notebook. As I mentioned, I had flirted with Panasonic for quite awhile (I had considered the R and W series), but took the plunge here. Panasonic also makes the N series, which is the S minus the DVD drive. This one had a Core i5-540, 8GB of memory, 256GB SSD. However, it still did have a PCMCIA slot (wha?!?!). I got mine with a lovely blue color exterior. Finally – a laptop with power, good battery life, and under 3lbs. My only real issue was that Panasonic – part of the consortium supporting Blu-ray – didn’t put a B-R in. The S10 still doesn’t have one, either.As an aside, one thing that drove me to the Panny is that with all the travel I do, there’s wear and tear that happens no matter how much you pamper them. The first thing that struck me about the S9 was its build quality. Solidly built with no creaks. The best build quality I saw up until this was the G, and the S9 just blew the Sony away.
Panasonic Let’s Note CF-J9 Premium/High Performance Edition (Japan) – Like clockwork, I was tempted late last year by the smaller relative of the S9. It was about the same weight, but oh, the power vs. size – 10.1″ widescreen, Core i7-640M, 8GB of memory, 256GB SSD, no optical drive. Hello, nurse! It may look like a glorified netbook, but it isn’t. Trust me. As someone said to me a few months ago, “You can power a small company [or was it country?] with that thing!” It’s a bit chunkier than most notebooks but don’t let that deceive you – it’s still under 3lbs. I get anywhere from 6 – 10 hours of battery life depending on what I’m doing. This little thing is nothing short of amazing and the build quality – hoo boy! This thing is SOLID – even moreso in my opinion than the S9. I don’t know why I didn’t go Panasonic sooner than the S9, and I’m not sure I’d go back to a Sony or something else. Panasonic Toughbooks are road worthy machines that do balance everything.

If you’re keeping score at home, that’s 11 laptops since 2004, for an average of 7.7 months of service. And most of those are sitting in my closet. I think it’s time to sell some. Anyone need to buy a laptop? Make me reasonable offers.

What Would Be My Ultimate Laptop?
I honestly don’t know because the specs would change, but below is a stab at a core list. Most of you would not need this spec.

12.1 or smaller wide screen (love ya Sony G, but 4:3 is SO early 2000s)
3 lbs (give or take)
1366×768 resolution
Full processor (no ULV if possible)
7 – 12 hours of battery life under normal usage (less if doing things like Vmware or Hyper-V)
512GB SSD
16GB+ of memory
Easy to swap out memory or drive (Usually NEVER easy on small Japanese laptops; let’s just say I destroyed one years ago and learned my lesson the hard way. With memory, often times you only have access to one slot.)
If possible, swappble bay for extra battery/HDD or SSD/optical drive
Can survive the road
USB 3.0
Drivers compatible for Windows Server 2008/R2 and not just desktop OSes (often times most, but not all, of the drivers work)

The Moral of the Story
First, I acknowledge I’ve spent a lot of money on laptops but it is the main tool of my trade. In any profession if you don’t have the right stuff, you can’t be effective. Those needs come at a steep price (and growing graveyard), but I also realize my needs change quicker than the average user. I may outgrow a laptop in less than 2 months. The worst part is the depreciation on these things. Oy! Now keep in mind I’m a guy with a basic cel phone and don’t want a smartphone … I know, weird, huh?

Panasonic Japan has an update to my CF-S9 (CF-J10) that fixes the few “problems” I have with it.

It adds one USB 3.0 port in addition to two USB 2.0 ones (the CF-J9 has 3 x USB 2.0).
It can have a maximum of 16GB of memory
Sandy Bridge architecture, so a new Core i7-2620M
Up to 13 hours (!) of battery life (which means 8 – 10 real life in my experience)

The new S10 Premium can get up to 17 hours of battery life (probably 12 real world) and is still sub-3 lbs. Crazy!

The new Sony Z (due out at the end of July) looks intriguing since I can get up to the 512GB with RAID, but I think I’ll stick with Panasonic since I can probably change out the drive (or go external if need be) and get 16GB of memory guaranteed.

I just realized when I started looking without even thinking about it: it’s been 8 months (damn those statistics!) since I got the CF-J9 I’m writing this post with. I really am trying to hold out longer and keep this one in use but the need to demo some stuff may push me to a new laptop sooner rather than later. We’ll see, but by PASS I may have caved. Let’s find out … when you see me at PASS, you’ll most likely know.

July 6, 2011

The Economics of Content

Hello everyone! Long time no speak. I’ve been pretty heads down working with a customer and finally have a moment to breathe. Today’s blog post should hopefully spark some debate … or maybe not. We’ll see.

On a newsgroup I’m part of, the topic came up that the previous SQL MVP Deep Dives book was up on a torrent site for all the world to grab. That generated some interesting comments, especially since that book’s profits are for charity. However, what it boils down to is this: unless the author and/or publisher intended on that being out there for free, it’s illegal. I first tackled one aspect of this topic back in January with the post “IP, You P, We All Want Some Free IP”. I already pointed out how the music industry has been affected by illegal downloading there and won’t rehash that. As authors or publishers, we can’t ignore the fact that physical product is slowly harder to move, and eBooks are on the rise. You have to offer it in different formats to appeal to different audiences. This blog post, unlike the last, is not talking about copying blog content here as I did in that post. I’m talking about taking a copyrighted work and blatantly putting it out there with no regards to the fact it is a copyrighted work.

We all know about warez sites. I’m sure many of us as kids (whether we started on 300 baud modems or with the Internet) downloaded software for free. As I got older and then became part of the industry, I saw how doing that can hurt the bottom line. As a musician, I know the pain of paying $600 for a piece of software, but if it keeps me getting new versions and the company afloat, I’m for it. A company is not a charity. Sure, things like USB dongles and other software protection can get annoying, but they wouldn’t have to resort to such measures if people would stop trying to circumvent it and place it on some site for all the world to steal.

A book is no different. With eBooks being so popular these days, it’s not difficult to get one in PDF (or similar) format. However, buying it once and sending it to all your friends is not cool. Neither is posting it up to a site for everyone to grab. Digital rights management (DRM) makes things harder (and less portable), but vendors wouldn’t have to go there more often than not if people paid.

Think of this another way. What would you do if your boss came to you one day and told you that they loved your work, and they assume you do too, so they just won’t pay you because why pay for something you enjoy doing? I’m sure that would go over like a ton of lead bricks. Or what if you were a consultant, delivered 6 months of work only to be told, “Thanks, but we don’t feel like paying you.” Again, lead bricks. I’m sure many of you already face some economic hardships due to the economy and may have even been asked to take pay cuts just to keep your job. You want to be compensated, so why shouldn’t a content author?

Now put yourself in the author’s shoes. Most of us make very little to nearly no money on books as is, and you’re going to take that away from us, too? Come on. And in the case of the SQL MVP Deep Dives book, you are affecting charity recipients. The authors donated their time and writing efforts (as will be the case with the SQL MVP Deep Dives 2 book which I contributed to). That literally is stealing for all the wrong reasons.

I know I’m not going to sway many of you. I’m sure I’ll hear comments like:

I can’t afford to buy it, so isn’t it better that I have the right information than not?
In theory, yes. In reality, no. I know even $30 – $50 US for a book is a lot for some. I’m not blind to that. But why should I then spend months writing a book that I will see very little to no return investment on? As is, I can tell you I didn’t come close to getting rich on my other books (most I lost money on if you really work out the hourly wage). I want people to have the right information, but at whose expense? I’ve got plenty of other work on my plate that I don’t need to wrtie another book, but I do. I write books for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is I can get everything in one place and expand on things I can’t always expand upon in a 60 minute talk. It’s also much more satisfying to me than a blog post long term. But why should I do it when I get nothing in return – even if it is $.01?
It’s just one copy. How am I harming anyone?
I truly hope no one is that naive. ’nuff said.
If it’s out there, it’s out there.
True, but it doesn’t make it right. Just because you didn’t put it up on some torrent site doesn’t absolve you. One person commented that they saw some contractors who could clearly afford a book going up to the Internet and passing around copies of a book like it was candy.

As a fellow professional – whether you are a developer, IT admin, DBA, etc. – you should have some respect for not only the authors and their efforts, but know right from wrong. You know that downloading it for free (unless it’s intended to be free) is illegal. Period. Maybe you don’t give a rat’s behind. I can’t be your conscience. I consider people like Kalen Delaney and Brent Ozar friends, but I actually purchased their books (Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Internals and Professional SQL Server 2008 Internals and Troubleshooting) . I actually bought them more than once – I’ve got electronic and physical copies. I didn’t ask for a free copy as a friend.

This post won’t stop piracy of content, be it books, music, movies, or software. But I hope it gives some of you a pause before you steal content, especially if that content’s proceeds are for a charity.

All of this is going through my head as I embark on my Denali book … or maybe not. I really am doing the math in my head to ensure the large effort will be worth it.

A thief is a thief, as one friend so eloquently pointed out. Don’t be one.

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