I woke up this morning to lots and lots of error messages from our credit card processing system (over at LearnItFirst, our training video company) due to the fact that Authorize.net, our credit card processor, was offline. Since it was 4:00AM CST, I figured that they were doing maintenance and...
I’m trying to understand what SQL Server 2008 is up to… So here’s what’s happening: I create a stored proc (or a view – both have this problem) and, when executing the proc/view, the cost is 10-20x more expensive than directly executing the query that the proc/view is built upon....
So here’s where we are: In Part 1, I explained the initial error. In Part 2, I began the main troubleshooting process. In this entry, I continue troubleshooting based off of what I learned in Parts 1 & 2. After I found out there were potential disk errors, I realized...
In Part 1, I explained the “start” of the problem. I put “start” in quotes because what I described was/is just the beginning… Here’s where I was: I have a job that has hung and it is preventing me from taking any backups on the server. Let’s walk through a...
Today while reviewing jobs on the LearnItFirst SQL Server 2008 database server (I record/release my SQL Server training classes on video through LearnItFirst.com), I noticed some odd behaviors and error log entries. Now, a full six hours later, my server isn't in a better place. In fact, I think it's...
I want to use Adobe Bridge to manage the images on my PC. If you aren’t aware of what Adobe Bridge is, it’s a media manager for all of your Photoshop, Illustrator and other graphics files (among other things – read more here). But the thing is that Adobe Bridge...
In case you didn’t catch the recent announcement, Microsoft is releasing “SQL Server 2008 R2” soon. SQL Server 2008 R2 is basically a way to: Release new features without having to release “add-on” packs (a.k.a. “feature packs”) Give users that warm, fuzzy feeling that they aren’t using “Beta software released...
Because computers software tends to have a shorter shelf life than milk, it is essential that there is a method of training that makes it easy to stay current with software updates as soon as they are released. Keeping up with current technology takes a lot of research and active...
I’m a big fan of aspNetEmail – I’ve used six or seven products from AdvancedIntellect through the years and never once have I been unhappy or wished it did more than it does. Great stuff – check it out here: http://www.aspnetemail.com/. I had to figure out today how to post...
Recently, we decided to collapse the entire LearnItFirst.com Video Training Network into a single site – LearnItFirst.com. For nearly 4.5 years, we’ve operated the LearnItFirst Video Training Network – a series of related sites for IT training videos. We had more than 20 sites that focused on training videos –...
