* Posts by richardgsmith

7 publicly visible posts • joined 6 Aug 2009

Can a user really do BI from the desktop?

richardgsmith

Using scripting languages for BI

Ok, I am a programmer so it's slightly easier for me but almost all the BI work I do which can be anything from a simple tot up of e-comm sales to complex analysis from multiple data sources and web services I use Ruby as a script and put the data into MySQL.

I used to use Excel a lot and have made some nice financial analysis packages in the past but it's not suited now with so many different types and formats of data source, in my view.

A BI person, with a few days of Ruby/SQL training could, in my opinion, be extremely productive, and with a bit more training could automate those scripts to do lots of fancy things.

A sysadmin's top ten tales of woe

richardgsmith
Unhappy

Reminded me

It's been a while now but the incident of the cleaner and the plug socket is certainly no urban legend. Whilst I was contracting at a bank of Scottish origin in the late 90's we spent days trying to work out why the overnight stored procedures failed every time, yep it was the 'woman who does'.

Which leads me to suggest an entry for a similar article (which I'd like to see) for db admin disasters, which goes along the lines of 'Figuring out sql performance issues at the end of the project doesn't always work out'.

Google delays Chrome OS, punts brandless beta netbook

richardgsmith
Linux

Damn

Only shipping preview boxes in the US, shame.

This is going to be pretty big, the average home-user and small business owner on a budget is going to eat these up in a big way, especially when some clever manufacturer comes out with a model for the same price a a night in the pub, which is likely.

MoD labels Facebook Places a 'targeting pack' for terrorists

richardgsmith

Eye Security

Does the document also advise 'users' to wear a bag on their head when in public in case they are spotted by eye. They may need to look at securing eyes too.

The long and the short-term of it: Apple's future

richardgsmith
WTF?

Long way around the point

It may be my lack of education but this article, whilst correct, takes the long way around to get to a mediocre conclusion.

Apples (and Googles) share/stock value is high because it's delivering profitable products that the consumers, developers and retailers love. MS on the other hand is still pushing out the same old thing and their innovations and products are behind the trend, which will only get worse. The funnt thing though is that they have, in my opinion only just started to get their product ethos right and the quality of Win7 and Server2008 are superb.

MS really only have a couple of years to have a huge board change, bring in new blood, focus on their market segments and give them innovation, security and inevitably partial but progressive open source. Unless this happens it will be a slow IBM 80's like decline this decade by which time their cash reserves will be short for innovation.

It's fustrating really, having been an MS supporter for 15 years of my career I can see their demise playing out every day, however as the article points out they have a good set of books and high profitibility, it's not going to last though.

Richard

www.creativetechnologist.co.uk

The Reg guide to Linux, part 1: Picking a distro

richardgsmith
Go

Good Article

Guys, excellent article, very useful indeed. A nice break from the continuous Apple/Google/MS news, I think that a few more in depth articles and a little less IT-tabloid stuff is what we all need now.

Perhaps you could go further!? A comprehensive article on how an SME could move from MS systems to Open Source would be a good one too.

Richard.

www.creativetechnologist.co.uk

Microsoft under threat from Linux - it's official

richardgsmith

When will they wake up

Until MS takes the huge leap and makes Windows free and open source, leaving them to make good money on their other software and services their problems are going to get worse and worse.