[thelist] closed source securtiy was: DB Security

[Luther, Ron]

Better put this first, 

<tip type="database reporting">
Sometime two queries ARE better than one!

I had a reaaaally big file containing data with different dates and needed
to pull out the records for the most recent date.

I first tried using a subquery to pick off the max(datefield) from the big
table.  Very slow!

Then I realized I had access to a small "administrative update" table that
gave me the dates the big table was updated through.  So I tried a subquery
picking off max(admin_table.datefield).  Even slower!  Why?  Maybe I goofed
up the SQL - but it looked like I was scanning the small admin table for the
max date 'for each' record in the really big table!  Yuck.

I broke this into two queries.  One on the small table to pull off the max
date and then stuffing that date into the 'where' clause in a second query
that ran against the big table.  A good deal faster!  [My guess --
Apparantly the processing delta was greater than the connection string /
authentication setup time!]

[unhappy postscript] Unfortunately, while this worked fine in the "live"
mode of my enterprise reporting package, it wouldn't run at all in "batch"
mode ... and I had to go back to the first "max(datefield) from the big
table subquery" to get it to work. Rats! But an interesting exercise anyway.
</tip>


Hi Martin,


Our quibble may lie in semantics.  I tend to draw a sharp distinction
between sales and marketing and perhaps having worked so long in 'marketing
research' means that being "market driven" has a different connotation for
me.

[Oddly enough, a quick google search failed to turn up a "definitive"
definition for "market driven".]

I think MS has a truely remarkable track-record in sales.  I think they have
done an absolutely outstanding job in advertising, in branding, and in
managing their image/general public perception. They are very very good at
Marketing.  I don't think there is any question that they have been VERY
successful in those endeavors.

But does that make them 'market driven'?  I don't think so.

As an example of "market driven" behavior I might be more inclined to point
to Chrysler (who, FWIW, I do not perceive of as a "market driven" company
either) when they responded to consumer complaints that "real jeeps don't
have square headlights" by putting round headlights on their newer models.
It may be arguable whether they were listening to end consumer whining or
instead - to dealer complaints about unsold inventory or even to WallStreet
complaints about flat earnings -- but on the surface the behavior appears to
be characterizable as "market driven".

I'm not an MS watcher or MS analyst -- and I'm not going to become one
today. I'm not intimately familiar with all of their products, product
histories, or product strategies.  However, If I recall correctly their
recent "ME" offering was panned in pretty much all quarters as a unneeded
upgrade, a blatant attempt to bolster earnings without satisfying any
overwhelmingly unmet "market" desires -- or to put it another way .... "not
market driven".

You made a good point about thinking about what customers they care about. I
probably wasn't.  I don't know how MS deals with chip makers and machine
manufacturers one-on-one or in standards bodies - do they ask "how big a
'footprint' can our OS have?  What pins will we interface to the hardware
with?" - or do they dictate "your chip will need to read our instructions
through pin x ... Your new machine will have xxx ram to fit our next
generation OS"?  I see the behaviors as different - even though either one
can lead to (or result from) big sales.

My impression from the small snippets I have read during the court battle is
that they have a fairly "ruthless" reputation in dealing with channel
management issues at the reseller/pc builder level -- again, that might well
be a good short term sales/earnings strategy - but it's not something I
would characterize as "market driven".

Sorry to rant - it just ruffled my fur more than it should have ... couldja
tell?

;-)


RonL.


<CYA note>
Obviously my personal opinions on this matter bear absolutely no resemblance
to my employer's opinions toward any of their wonderful corporate alliance
partners like AOL, Microsoft, Oracle, etc......
</CYA>

-----Original Message-----

Evidence, Ron?

You'll need to think carefully about which customers they truely care
about.

MS have grown to a dominant position *by* marketing (not all of it
legitimate). It sure as hell isn't by product alone.