Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer V1.2.1
The Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer has been updated to work with Windows XP SP2. If you use this tool be sure that you get the update to work with new patches and vulnerabilities.
Sending SQL Notifications with CDOSYS
SQL Server has a nice alert system, but SQLMail leaves something to be desired. New author Desiree Harris, from hosting provider Orcsweb, looks at an alternative method for sending alerts using an SMTP server and without requiring Outlook to be installed.
Changing Domains for a SQL Server 2000 Failover Cluster
This step-by-step article describes the steps you must use to change domains for an existing SQL Server 2000 Failover Cluster.
Give Us Your Nightmare Vote
All the submissions for the Nightmare Contest are in, now take a moment and vote for your favorite.
Exotic use of User Defined Function
User defined functions were added in SQL Server 7 and enhanced in SQL Server 2000, but they are still a relatively little used feature. Here's a look at a unique way that Leo Peysakhovich solved a problem using a UDF.
Pie Charts in Reporting Services
Reporting Services is one of the hottest new tools that adds on to SQL Server. William Pearson continues his series on this new product with a look at how to add pie charts to your report.
Review: SQL Auditor
How solid is your SQL Server database design? Will it perform well in practice? SSW has a product, SQL Auditor, that compares your design against a number of well known design rules and gives you reports based on how well your design does. Read Mike Pearson's review of this product.
Schemas in ADO.NET 2.0
When you decide on a connection string and add a Data Connection, each Data Connection also displays a tree of information about the database objects (like tables, views, and stored procedures) visible directly through the connection. But where does this information come from? Read this article from MSDN on the new features of ADO.NET.
Review of IIS Admin Tool (No, its not a SQL article)
Win XP Pro limits users to one web site, but developers often need to be able to switch between sites when coding locally. This free tool let's you easily do just that. Why an article on an IIS tool on a SQL site? We think it might be useful to you or someone on your team, and lots of SQL developers use IIS as well.
The State Of IT
In 2004 is the IT industry expanding or contracting? Is your job secure? Steve Jones recently completed a survey and just got the results. Read this short summary of the results.
Blogs
The Book of Redgate: Spread across the world
By Steve Jones
This was Redgate in 2010, spread across the globe. First the EU/US Here’s Asia...
Merry Christmas
By John
Today is Christmas and while I do not expect anybody to actual be reading...
Self-Hosting a Photo Server the Whole Family Can Use
By Bert Wagner
Until recently, my family's 90,000+ photos have been hidden away in the depths of...
Forums
Happy Holidays, Let's Do Nerdy Stuff
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Happy Holidays, Let's Do Nerdy...
UNISTR Escape
Comments posted to this topic are about the item UNISTR Escape
Celebrating Tomorrow
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Celebrating Tomorrow
Question of the Day
UNISTR Escape
In SQL Server 2025, I run this command:
SELECT UNISTR('*3041*308A*304C\3068 and good night', '*') as "A Classic";
What is returned? (assume the database has an appropriate collation)
A: 
B: 
C: 
See possible answers