Changes, Happiness, and a Few Tears
Change is unavoidable and always affects us. We can be both happy and sad about it as we move forward. A tribute today to Annabel, who retired from Redgate Software this week.
You Probably Don't Need a Vector Database
Introduction Conversations about RAG almost always start with a vector database. This article suggests you dig deeper before implementing one.
The LLM layer you’re probably missing (LLM gateway pattern explained)
The LLM gateway pattern is a thin service layer that sits between your app and large language model (LLM) providers, centralizing every AI call through a single entry point. It gives you immediate control over routing, logging, retries, fallbacks, and cost tracking – preventing the chaos of scattered integrations, unclear billing, and provider lock-in as your system scales. Learn all you need to know about the LLM gateway pattern in this article.
Follow Your Hunch
One of the positives of AI is that you can try things on which you might not otherwise have time to experiment.
What Happens When You Ask a Local AI to Query Your Database?
Learn how you can run a simple LLM on your own machine with Python.
Your Database Just Hit One Terabyte: Now What?
You were minding your own business, and all of a sudden it happened.
Calculating the Harmonic Mean in Power BI
Learn how you can add a harmonic mean calculation in Power BI.
The Slow Growing Problems
Not every problem is going to fire off an alert, but it still might be something that you want to track.
Display Active Slicers in Power BI using Dynamic DAX
Learn how to enhance visibility using slicers in Power BI for better report filtering and user experience.
Liability for AI Errors
Who is liable for mistakes made when listening to AI tooling? In at least one case, Steve isn't sure.
Blogs
Power BI Performance in 2026: A Practical Guide to Faster Semantic Models and Reports
By James Serra
Originally published April 2022; substantially updated July 2026. This post is a complete replacement...
Getting Started with Azure SQL Developer on Macbook
The idea behind Azure SQL Developer is for anyone to build, iterate, and test...
AI Experiments: Claude Solved a DAB Issue
By Steve Jones
I’m sure many of you are using AI regularly, perhaps chatting, perhaps using some...
Forums
Another Model, More Data Loss
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Can You Really Downgrade from Enterprise to Standard and Save Thousands? Here's What Happened
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Can You Really Downgrade from...
What is CPU Usage?
Comments posted to this topic are about the item What is CPU Usage?
Question of the Day
Finding a Database Master Key
Where do I check for the existence of a Database Master Key (DMK) in SQL Server 2025?
See possible answers