July 2006 - Posts
I am not going to double post, but I will simply point you to Susan's comments, which echo my own feelings.
I find Sage to be a very frustrating company to deal with. For 10 years or so this issue has never improved, so I am venting here...
My initial networking background was when I worked for a couple of Sage Solutions Centres. I went through the pain of Sage Line 100 4GL crappieness on NT Networks. (Which still exists today, though MMS is finally going to move to SQL Databases).
Anyway, about 85% of my clients run Sage Line 50. It has to be said, that for the price, it really is a fantastic accounts package. But it falls down in a huge way in one area. Speed.
If you are a network administrator, and you have got to this post via google by typing "Sage Line 50 Slow", let me tell you a secret.... No matter what the Sage Support person tells you on the phone, it does not matter how much you tweak your network, Sage Line 50 is always going to be slow.
The main problem as I see it is that the .DTA data files are essentially still the same proprietary Microsoft DOS data files from the Sage Sterling for DOS days. The ODBC Driver is a huge joke and runs slower than a fat bloke with one leg.
What is really frustrating is that Sages answer to every question is to blame the speed of the network. They never admit that they have speed issues with the data access, yet it is obvious to anyone with a clue that this is the case.
We have a load of clients that produce about 50 - 100 invoices per day, and are VERY happy with Line 50 apart from the speed of reports. To get around this, we have got to the stage where we have to export all the Sage Tables, via the slow ODBC / SDO link to an Access database overnight. We then run Crystal custom reports against this database. To give you an idea, a report that takes 35 minutes if you link directly using the ODBC, takes about 10 seconds if you link to the access database.
Maybe I am oversimplifying, but maybe Sage should really consider portalling Line 50 to SQL / MSDE....
Oh, but wait... then no one would buy MMS.
So far I have taken a grand total of 1 Hour off work since my holiday started. I just found out that I am also booked for the rest of the week on sites.
I may try again in a couple of weeks.
As you have probably read already, the ACES team at Microsoft had a successful press day.
One of the early reviews that I liked was Robert Whitwell's from AVSIM. He captures well what you should expect in the new release.
The latest video for Flight Simulator X is worth a watch. Thanks to Project Magenta for the hosting.
Edit: It appears that the Project Magenta server is getting hammered, so I have uploaded here as well.
5 Years married today, about 5 reminders in my Outlook Calendar, and I *still* forgot to get a card. Doh!
I wonder if it is something to do with genetics...? I knew it was important, but still forgot.
Lucky my wife, Rachel, is understanding. I still got Pancakes and Strawberries for breakfast :)
Thanks to the SBS team for releasing this document.
This is for people like me, that like to play around with settings and break the really cool patching features of SBS R2 before I even get to use them ;) Nice document guys....!
On the subject of R2, Susan wrote some information for those that want to upgrade from SBS 2003 sp1 to SBS 2003 R2
My own opinion is this... If you are already running all the latest service packs and updates on SBS2003 SP1, along with WSUS, and you do not require the expanded CAL rights then you are perfectly fine to stick with SBS2003 SP1. Make your own choice.
Oh my.. I nearly wet myself.
You have to read the whole thread.
I was reading over our forums at Mark Minasi's joint, and I read this thread.
It is discussing the "replacement for Bill". Mark's comment made me laugh, so I thought I would share it:
"Whether you like him or not, Gates is a genius. While at Harvard, he heard about this new 8080 chip and couldn't get ahold of one. So he gets the technical manual on how it works and builds an 8080 emulator on a Digital minicomputer. Never actually tests it against a REAL 8080. Then he uses the emulator to write a BASIC interpreter. Takes the code, flies to New Mexico and shows up at the place where they've making 8080-based computers. Punches in this code debugged on the emulator never tested against the 8080 into a real 8080.
Works the first time.
Ray Ozzie? Let's see, he, uh, gave us Lotus Notes."
It is a class system this new Connexion
My friend, Eric, is on the way to Austraila (the lucky bugger) and is talking to me on IM from 30 thousand ft. He is currently over Singapore. That just rocks.
All this in cattle class!
I want this on all flights over an hour long.
I am pointing out this
blog post as I know of a good few friends and customers that run ISA Server that have connectivity issues when using Activesync 4.0.
It mentions that
4.2 fixes these issues, so I would recommend giving it a go :)
So, someone over at Amazon decided to pluck a date from thin air for the release of Flight Simulator X. Then AVSIM jumped on the news and people started speculating...
Then, I get the usual ton of IM's and emails that follows news about FS asking me to clarify. So I will.
First, I am sure that one of the FS Team will get around to giving you all more news, but right now they are very busy working on the product.
Second, in regard to the date posted on Amazon. It is certainly pulled from thin air so wait for official information on the fsinsider site.
Now, I am off to watch the Shuttle Launch.
Edit: "Thin air" can also include Marketing people :)
Today I am going to be at my friend (and employee's) wedding (congratulations Mary).
Before I go, some breaking news... Squawkbox 3.1 is finally here and fixes a lot of things.
Kudos to Joel Deyoung, who is currently setting up and working with his new company, Hothead Games and at the same time as producing updates to this free software. Impressive!
Now... I leave for an Irish wedding, so I may not be around for a couple of days. In the mean time, you can download Squawkbox 3.1 here!