Exchange 2000/2003 Database Files 101

Exchange data is stored in a database system known as Extensible Storage Engine (ESE) which is a variant of Microsoft Joint Engine Technology (JET). Some of you may be asking why Microsoft doesn’t use SQL Server as the database engine for Exchange. Microsoft have looked into this and ............

Do "real" techies use help?

At home I have books everywhere.  Shelves full of manuals for the various products I have used over the years. This Christmas I bought my wife a new camera. There was a very small leaflet to get you started but no longer a big fat book.  The manual came on a CD.   This is great for the trees and much cheaper for the companies that need to send out the manuals.  Even better, often you don't even get the CD - you can just download the manual from the Internet!

Having got the manual from wherever it might be, one of the questions I ask people, especially techies, is ‘Do you use help’? Although you'd think the standard response would be a sharp "No", strangely a small number say that they do.  And good on them, because within the windows operating systems there are a lot of hidden gems tucked away in help and support.  The belligerent and misguided refusal to rely on the help crutch means that you might miss them.......

Learning to Learn

So..... it's still snowy and my eldest daughter's school is still closed. She's at home and really would like to spend all day watching Buffy The Vampire Slayer but I (and the school) don't think this is a suitable addition to the National Curriculum!

I'm really impressed with the use of technology at her school. They have constantly updated their web site to let us know what's happening snow wise and, to make sure that the children keep up with their work, each year has a section on the site with their own special homework assignments.

What has been really interesting today though is watching how my daughter approaches this work......

So who did invent the Wibbly Wobbly World?

Before joining Computeach I used to work with a very clever chap called Lawrence O'Connor who always called the World Wide Web the Wibbly Wobbly World. Now that's got no bearing on anything really but everytime I write WWW it makes me think of him.

I'm an avid Radio 4 listener and over the last few days I've heard the trails for some of the "Moments of Genius" that they've been featuring.

Today, as I went in to the kitchen to make a cup of tea because my internet connection had just gone down (probably something to do with the"wrong" type of snow) I just happened to hear Martha Lane Fox giving us her chosen Moment of Genius (if you don't know who Martha Lane Fox is and you want to then you can click here).

She was thanking Tim Berners-Lee for inventing the Internet. You can hear the broadcast at the BBC website...........

IT Staff most sought-after in December

So it seems that IT may be riding out the recession and still remains one of the areas where employers are seeking new talent.

In this article from computing.co.uk Nicola Britton references research sponsored by the major consulting firm KPMG that shows that in December IT was ranked second and third most sought after for permanent and temporary staff respectively.

Good news for all of you studying towards your IT qualifications with a view to getting in to the world of IT.

Happy studying
Lucy

It's nice to hear from our students.....

See this article for a review of the Computeach experience by one of our former students.

Thanks Mike.

Lucy