Database Technology Trends

This might be the best kept secret ever. I can’t believe that this is not more known to the public. That’s why I want to share this with you.

Sybase released Sybase ASE 15 Express. Free to use on Linux. The restrictions to use it for free are well in the limits of most MySQL databases running millions of websites.

Here’s the download.

http://www.sybase.com/linuxpromo

PHP has a very nice integration into Sybase ASE. Combine the popularity of Linux and Apache with the free Sybase ASE, you get a powerful combination. How many times did you hear the MySQL problems when the database all a sudden grows beyond what MySQL can handle. These are costly migration projects or you’re force to buy SUN’s support package.

When using the free Sybase ASE 15 for Linux there is nothing more to do than to buy an inexpensive small business license if you grow beyond the free license restrictions and you will never miss a beat.

So, dump your MySQL for a way more powerful Sybase ASE 15.

On another note, I am following a discussion on a LinkedIn group called Sybase DBA Network. There’s a lot of talk about how Sybase should increase their market shares. I am following this discussion for a while now and I read a lot about how little resources are available on the internet. I must agree that the results for a Sybase search term are not as plentiful as when searching for Oracle or SQL server. But to be fair, most Oracle results on a search term are redundant entries on a many websites. The only way to change this is for Sybase DBA experts to be more outgoing and share their knowledge on blogs and forums.

Actually in this economy, being more visible to the public and demonstrating your skills could make the difference when searching for your next job.

This is a call for action to all Sybase DBA to contribute the global tribal knowledge of Sybase on the internet. If you don’t know where to post your knowledge, contact me.

- Peter

If you are an avid social network user, you have heard about LinkedIn and/or Plaxo. These are the leading social network sites, especially for IT profesionals. So, what can you expect from these sites and which one is the better choice.

First up LinkedIn:

LinkedIn was founded by Reid Hoffman. He started LinkedIn with the distinct knowledge he collected during his stay at PayPal. When eBay bought PayPal, it was not because PayPal was a superior money transfer program, but because of its member base. Armed with this knowledge, LinkedIn quickly approached 9 million members shortly after its first release. Now it has over 25 million members and it is growing at a rapid pace.

LinkedIn offers a free and a paid membership. The free membership is preferred for the casual user of the site. If you want to manage your connections more effective and possibily build new business via LinkedIn, the paid membership id recommended.

If you’re an Outlook user, LinkedIn offers a nice plugin that helps to keep your Outlook contacts up-to-date with changes in the LinkedIn information. This is especially useful if you have a large connection net and use LinkedIn as your personal address book. I really like the “Grab” function of the plugin. It allows to mark address information in an email and then automatically create an Outlook contact. It is very accurate and reduces manual typing.

My personal profile on LinkedIn looks like this:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/peterdobler

Next up Plaxo:

Plaxo was founded by Todd Masonis and Camron Ring. They realized quickly that the success of a social network site is messured by its free tools and integration into as many email clients as possible. 40 million members are living proof that integration and superior tools are key success factors.

Like LinkedIn, Plaxo offers a free and a paid membership. Instead of more communication possibilities, Plaxo offers more tools to colaborate in the paid membership. You can upload your Outlook calendar as a free member, but you need to be a paid member to synchornize your online Plaxo calendar with your Outlook calendar. This is very useful if you want to combine your private calendar with your work calendar.

Personally I like the Plaxo Outlook plugin better than the LinkedIn plugin. It is better integrated and I like the feature that downloads the Plaxo pictures into your Outlook contacts. When you read an email from a contact that has a picture it shows in your inbox. Very nice.

Here’s how my Plaxo profile looks like:
http://peterdobler.myplaxo.com/

Summary

Both sites are very reputable social networks with millions of members. I use both. LinkedIn as the primary network for all my contacts. Plaxo as the added information resource with a nice Outlook integration.

One of the advantages in combining both systems. Plaxo keeps track on its member’s birthdays. LinkedIn does not. But if you have a connection in Plaxo it downloads the birthdate and the LinkedIn dashboard will remind you to send a card.

I recommend both sites equaly and a membership in both is a good investment.