No problem at all Phil - the only reason I even responded is that I respect this site's writing so much, and I think others do as well.

I agree with the PowerShell comments, up to a point. I'm no fan-boy, but I do think it has made my job easier. I've posted my admin scripts on my blog, and the scripting guys ran a four-part article series on working with PowerShell and SQL Server that we kept as "batch-file" as possible.

My only issue was with any idea that Microsoft dictates a particular method of working to anyone. In fact, we're often criticised for the opposite - too many ways to do the same thing! Sometimes you can't win, right? In any case, I like the variety. If PowerShell is too "programmy" for someone (I'm not a dev either) then use SQLCMD, or IronRuby (I hate that thing) or whatever. It's all T-SQL in the end, right?

And as far as SSMS goes, of course things could be better. You have no idea how hard we fight to make it better, but sometimes you're the bug, sometimes you're the windshield. You can, however, rest assured that we take all the comments we get seriously, even if we can't act on them right away. It pained me every time I had to take a good suggestion and say "we can't do that right now" because of lots of other restrictions. I have friends that work at Oracle and Apple, and I can tell you they feel no such pressure. Users (especially at Apple) are told what they like, not the other way around.

So keep those cards and letters coming - especially you, Phil. We need you all to keep us on our toes. But do know that we are listening, and we do care.