December 2004 Archives

December 24, 2004 • Vol.26 Issue 52
Page(s) 22 in print issue

I spent the middle part of November traveling and speaking, first in Las Vegas at the SQL Server Magazine-sponsored Connections conference and then at the VBUG conference held in Reading, United Kingdom. Peter Blackburn and his wife were kind enough to host me for a few days, and they treated me to a trip to the Lake District. Except for a few (dozen) scary moments on some (very) narrow icy roads at night (at breakneck speeds), the trip was fun, and we were able to catch up on a number of issues regarding our new book.

December 10, 2004 • Vol.26 Issue 50
Page(s) 21 in print issue

Peter Blackburn and I gave a seminar recently on Reporting Services to an oil company in Louisiana. No, we didn't have to fly down to the bayou country; we simply set up a VPN and hosted a NetMeeting session. It was a lot cheaper than spending two or three days standing in lines, sitting in cramped seats, and sleeping in strange beds to give a two-hour talk. The company in question was very pleased but shocked as we pointed out some of the security gaps in Reporting Services. Apparently, most people who train them try to sell them something. Peter and I weren't really trying to sell a product (other than a few copies of our book). We were trying to make their experience with Reporting Services successful and, most of all, safe.