When looking for books I often find myself at Amazon online or Borders where my family hangs out for coffee, smoothies or a mocha. Borders is my favorite brick and mortar books store.
While doing research for this article, I quickly discovered that my favorite brick and mortar store had given up there website fight to Amazon. Now Amazon handles all of Borders Books online book purchases. I was completely shocked! So I am comparing Amazon with Barnes & Noble.
While doing the price comparison there was a sharp difference in pricing that I could not believe. I really do not do price shopping as I have a borders business card and get huge discounts at the store.
I found Barnes & Nobel to have their pricing as list price and you must become a member to get a discount that was not always disclosed. I was very sadness by the great difference in price. Also Amazon offers used books and both hardback and paper back pricing on the same page.
Here is the price comparison of some of the books I own and some that I do not own. I see that I could have saved a lot of money buying directly from Amazon.
1. Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Unleashed by Rand Morimoto
Amazon: $41.99 Barnes & Nobel: $59.99
2. Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Unleashed by Rand Morimoto
Amazon: $41.99 Barnes & Nobel: $59.99
3. Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Insider Solutions by Rand Morimoto
Amazon: $27.99 Barnes & Nobel: $39.99
4. Biztalk Unleashed by Susie Adams
Amazon: $35.50 Barnes & Nobel: $49.99
5. Microsoft Exchange 2000, Conferencing Server, and SharePoint Portal Server 2001 by Rand Morimoto
Amazon: $33.99 Barnes & Nobel: $49.99
6. Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Administrator's Companion by Bill English, Walter J. Glenn
Amazon: $37.79 Barnes & Nobel: $49.99
7. Windows 2000 Design & Migration by Rand H Morimoto
Amazon: $29.69 Barnes & Nobel: $49.99
8. Maximum Windows 2000 Security by Anonymous
Amazon: $33.99 Barnes & Nobel: $49.99
9. Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Administrator's Companion by Sharon Crawford, Charlie Russel, Jason Gerend
Amazon: $47.59 Barnes & Nobel: $69.99
10. Microsoft Windows Server 2003 TCP/IP Protocols and Services Technical Reference by Joseph Davies, Thomas Lee
Amazon: $32.99 Barnes & Nobel: $49.99
I do not patron Barnes & Nobel and now I see why with the price robbery. Barnes & Nobel also charges for shipping. Amazon does not charge for shipping.
Amazon was for the most part the first book store online. Barnes & Nobel has copied the look and feel of Amazon to even include the color schema. Both sites were easy to navigate.
Amazon offered more about the book to include sample chapters, index and table of contents. Amazon offers reader reviews both good and bad. Amazon offers the ability to search inside the book.
Amazon also offers the ability for recommending other books that users purchased along with the one you are looking at. They offer editorial reviews, what other books the book cites, other books that cite this book, recommendations of similar books, other books customers viewed while looking at this book, auctions that contain this book, other books by the author, similar categories, similar subjects, recently viewed history, easy shopping cart, easy buying experience, the ability to rate the product, and an inside look at the front and back covers.
Barnes & Noble had little to offer as a comparison.
Jeff Bezos, one of the founders of Amazon, doesn’t consider Amazon as a front runner for selling popular books. I found this surprising, as they beat Barnes & Noble in most all categories hands down in my opinion. He states that they cater to the hard to find books. While that may be true, I found Amazon's website extremely appealing for popular books in the mainstream.
By offering an inside look and searching inside the book, it gives you a pretty good idea of what the book is about. I find this very important as when you are at the book store you can quickly scan through a bunch of books at one time and determine if that is the book that you are looking for and desire. You can not do that at Barnes & Nobel.
In conclusion I found that Barnes & Nobel offered the same titles at a much higher price on average about $10.00 to $25.00 higher, no old book, a knock off Amazon website, with none of the extra features or ability to look inside a book. So why even bother shopping at Barnes and Nobel online.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Software Success
How important is management commitment to system success? How important is user acceptance to system success? Why do users not accept an installation? Why do users accept an installation?
How important is management commitment to system success?
If management does not believe in the project it can actually doom the success of the system. Throughout the history of application development the key visionary for the project is the one who was instrumental in making things happen and happen successfully.
Four key players that are industry captain used leadership to help shape the way we do computer today. Those are Bill Gates of Microsoft, Steve Jobs of Apple, Michael Dell of Dell and Steve Case of AOL. There are many software companies that have fallen by the way side because where leadership left or sold out. Atari sold out to Sears. Compaq sold out to HP. WordPerfect has changed owners more than I change my socks. Once leadership is lost the project can be lost too.
How important is user acceptance to system success?
If the people that will be using the system daily can not accept the system (no matter how good it is), it is damned. Two good examples are Backweb and Octopus. Two web companies with excellent ideas, but are no longer heard from again. Backweb collected news from many sources and would popup alerts on the desktop. Users revolted again the system because it used up too many system resources and crashed the computers. It was an awesome idea, but it never got off the ground. In 2004 a better method of getting your news was developed using XML for news sites called RSS (Really Simple Syndication).
Now I get my new like I did with Backweb. However it took 5 years later for that to happen. Octopus was another really cool web based application that allowed you to take certain sections from any website and create your own webpage with bits and pieces of different web pages on a single page. No coding, you just highlight and snatch. They were sued out of existence by the very websites that they were helping to promote. I am baffled by this and I have not seen any technology that is even close to what they did. That was 6 years ago.
Why do users not accept an installation?
User will not accept a system that creates more work than it resolves. They will not accept it if it is crashing all the time. They will not accept it if it is slow. They will not accept it if there is a perceived problem, even where none exist. Some users will not accept the system not matter how great it is. Some users are highly resistant to change.
Why do users accept an installation?
Users accept systems for the opposite reasons the do not. If it saved them a ton of time they will love it. If it does really cool things, they will love it. If it is fast and stable, they will love it. If it is quick and easy to learn and use, they will love it.
How important is management commitment to system success?
If management does not believe in the project it can actually doom the success of the system. Throughout the history of application development the key visionary for the project is the one who was instrumental in making things happen and happen successfully.
Four key players that are industry captain used leadership to help shape the way we do computer today. Those are Bill Gates of Microsoft, Steve Jobs of Apple, Michael Dell of Dell and Steve Case of AOL. There are many software companies that have fallen by the way side because where leadership left or sold out. Atari sold out to Sears. Compaq sold out to HP. WordPerfect has changed owners more than I change my socks. Once leadership is lost the project can be lost too.
How important is user acceptance to system success?
If the people that will be using the system daily can not accept the system (no matter how good it is), it is damned. Two good examples are Backweb and Octopus. Two web companies with excellent ideas, but are no longer heard from again. Backweb collected news from many sources and would popup alerts on the desktop. Users revolted again the system because it used up too many system resources and crashed the computers. It was an awesome idea, but it never got off the ground. In 2004 a better method of getting your news was developed using XML for news sites called RSS (Really Simple Syndication).
Now I get my new like I did with Backweb. However it took 5 years later for that to happen. Octopus was another really cool web based application that allowed you to take certain sections from any website and create your own webpage with bits and pieces of different web pages on a single page. No coding, you just highlight and snatch. They were sued out of existence by the very websites that they were helping to promote. I am baffled by this and I have not seen any technology that is even close to what they did. That was 6 years ago.
Why do users not accept an installation?
User will not accept a system that creates more work than it resolves. They will not accept it if it is crashing all the time. They will not accept it if it is slow. They will not accept it if there is a perceived problem, even where none exist. Some users will not accept the system not matter how great it is. Some users are highly resistant to change.
Why do users accept an installation?
Users accept systems for the opposite reasons the do not. If it saved them a ton of time they will love it. If it does really cool things, they will love it. If it is fast and stable, they will love it. If it is quick and easy to learn and use, they will love it.
Monday, January 10, 2005
Understanding Databases
Design Specifications for Databases
When you are first wanting to use a database, the developer or user has to determine what the database will be used for such as an inventory database, accounting database, a work order database, a recipe, a maintenance tracking database, or a web blog or other web based database driven application.
Once the usage has been determined; then the need to know the number of users that will be accessing the data and the number of transactions or records that the database will require is next.
These are the basic bits of information that are needed in order to begin establishing and defining the database design specifications. If a user is only going to need to track recipes then a low cost database solution would be an Access Database. If millions of records are needed to be stored, queried and processed then a work horse database like Oracle would be needed. For a business web based solution a Microsoft SQL database would be best suited for cost and the size of the database being queried.
Then the developer needs to determine the number of tables that would be required to meet the needs of the usage. For a contact database that could be just a single table. For a work order database it might contain many tables such as a contact table, company table, work order table, project management table, and a document management table.
Database Organization
A database contains tables, tables contains records like a rows, and records contain fields, and fields are of a certain data type like text or string, integer, Boolean, currency, date, etc.
To eliminate redundant data, like contact information the tables can be linked together and enforced referential integrity with one to many connections called relationships. These relationships are formed by connecting fields called keys. These keys are called primary and foreign keys.
Table relationships can also be established by quires to created views of the data, but have no underling effect on controlling the data in a relationship. This query action allows for powerful ways to exam and review data.
Some database applications make it very easy to integrate multiple databases together to share and exchange information, provide enhanced security and are highly scalable to meet the needs of tomorrow demands.
File Processing verses Database Management
File processing is an old method in which data is contained in separate files. A table for contact information would be in one file and inventory information contained in another file. There are two common methods of file access sequential and random. These determine how the records are organized within the file. Examples of this method are dBase III, Clipper, and DAT files. These are older database file formats. The biggest disadvantage of these types of files are with multi-user and high record transaction rates. They do not perform well and record locking events often occurs, thus preventing the update of data.
A database management system can better manage these types of issues. It consolidates all the tables that would normally be multiple files into a single file or database. It assists in the record transaction process and ensures better data integrity. It is the preferred method. Microsoft SQL has an excellent database management system (DBMS). Access has a decent DBMS and is great for less than 5 users for simultaneous access.
Database Security
Database security is extremely important. It is even more important when commerce is involved. Not everyone needs access to the same information and not everyone needs to modify that information. Security can be very strict or very relaxed. A web blog is built upon a database. It is commonly open for everyone to query, but no one has the ability to modify it. The University of Phoenix has student logon accounts. These accounts only allow the individual student access to his or her data. That data is contained in many different databases such as student records, grades, class information and accounting. However the single security logon allows the students to seamlessly traverse many database systems in a single interface or presentation.
Database Management in My Work Place
In my work place we use a variety of database systems. Our old work order database system was in Access. Now it is in ASP.NET for the web interface language running Microsoft SQL server for its database on Microsoft Windows 2003 servers. My security website is running PHP for the web interface language and mySQL on Linux servers. The University of Phoenix is running ASP Classic and .NET with several SQL servers.
Proposed Improvements
The different databases are used for a specific need. For example you would not want to use a Simi-truck to deliver a post card. Using the database that fits the need is wise economical decision. To improve this better inter database data exchange could occur. This is currently in the works with Microsoft and other database developers with XML. This is a standard language to aid in the exchange of data in an agreed format from one classical system to another with little effort. For example exchange data with and Oracle database and a MS SQL database with the drag of a mouse in a web page. Once we have reached that level new business to business uses with be taken advantage of for the ease of sharing information.
When you are first wanting to use a database, the developer or user has to determine what the database will be used for such as an inventory database, accounting database, a work order database, a recipe, a maintenance tracking database, or a web blog or other web based database driven application.
Once the usage has been determined; then the need to know the number of users that will be accessing the data and the number of transactions or records that the database will require is next.
These are the basic bits of information that are needed in order to begin establishing and defining the database design specifications. If a user is only going to need to track recipes then a low cost database solution would be an Access Database. If millions of records are needed to be stored, queried and processed then a work horse database like Oracle would be needed. For a business web based solution a Microsoft SQL database would be best suited for cost and the size of the database being queried.
Then the developer needs to determine the number of tables that would be required to meet the needs of the usage. For a contact database that could be just a single table. For a work order database it might contain many tables such as a contact table, company table, work order table, project management table, and a document management table.
Database Organization
A database contains tables, tables contains records like a rows, and records contain fields, and fields are of a certain data type like text or string, integer, Boolean, currency, date, etc.
To eliminate redundant data, like contact information the tables can be linked together and enforced referential integrity with one to many connections called relationships. These relationships are formed by connecting fields called keys. These keys are called primary and foreign keys.
Table relationships can also be established by quires to created views of the data, but have no underling effect on controlling the data in a relationship. This query action allows for powerful ways to exam and review data.
Some database applications make it very easy to integrate multiple databases together to share and exchange information, provide enhanced security and are highly scalable to meet the needs of tomorrow demands.
File Processing verses Database Management
File processing is an old method in which data is contained in separate files. A table for contact information would be in one file and inventory information contained in another file. There are two common methods of file access sequential and random. These determine how the records are organized within the file. Examples of this method are dBase III, Clipper, and DAT files. These are older database file formats. The biggest disadvantage of these types of files are with multi-user and high record transaction rates. They do not perform well and record locking events often occurs, thus preventing the update of data.
A database management system can better manage these types of issues. It consolidates all the tables that would normally be multiple files into a single file or database. It assists in the record transaction process and ensures better data integrity. It is the preferred method. Microsoft SQL has an excellent database management system (DBMS). Access has a decent DBMS and is great for less than 5 users for simultaneous access.
Database Security
Database security is extremely important. It is even more important when commerce is involved. Not everyone needs access to the same information and not everyone needs to modify that information. Security can be very strict or very relaxed. A web blog is built upon a database. It is commonly open for everyone to query, but no one has the ability to modify it. The University of Phoenix has student logon accounts. These accounts only allow the individual student access to his or her data. That data is contained in many different databases such as student records, grades, class information and accounting. However the single security logon allows the students to seamlessly traverse many database systems in a single interface or presentation.
Database Management in My Work Place
In my work place we use a variety of database systems. Our old work order database system was in Access. Now it is in ASP.NET for the web interface language running Microsoft SQL server for its database on Microsoft Windows 2003 servers. My security website is running PHP for the web interface language and mySQL on Linux servers. The University of Phoenix is running ASP Classic and .NET with several SQL servers.
Proposed Improvements
The different databases are used for a specific need. For example you would not want to use a Simi-truck to deliver a post card. Using the database that fits the need is wise economical decision. To improve this better inter database data exchange could occur. This is currently in the works with Microsoft and other database developers with XML. This is a standard language to aid in the exchange of data in an agreed format from one classical system to another with little effort. For example exchange data with and Oracle database and a MS SQL database with the drag of a mouse in a web page. Once we have reached that level new business to business uses with be taken advantage of for the ease of sharing information.
Sunday, January 09, 2005
Beyond the PC Life Cycle
In both big and small business the life cycle of a computer is 3 to 5 years. We redeploy older systems to other usage as new systems are purchased to squeeze a little more life out of them.
Some systems get used beyond there life cycle. I wrote a program to process remote data access 800 calls for a really big drug company to collect user ID and total minutes online in order for that call to be billed back to the department that the user belong. It was a stop gap program that took me a couple of weeks to write, test and deploy.
It was to be temporary till we could get the bigger more expensive system in place to handle the processing as it processes over $500,000 in charge backs per month to departments. Well that was in 1994 and it is still in place because it worked and I left to go onto other things. I was called back in 1999 to make a couple of minor Y2K adjustments. Today I look back at that code and go, wow I could have written that in 100 lines of code instead of the several 1,000 lines I did. However I didn’t put that effort into it because I thought there was something better to replace it, so why spend the extra time to tweak it.
Another cool story: At a big drug company I installed two IBM XT 8086 PC’s in 1988 each with two fax cards. They faxed about 800 faxes per day per card orders and shipping info. The PC’s were directly connected via a DOS 3270 terminal connection via COAX to the mainframe. I finally turned them off in Oct of 1997 as they were retired and we had a newer system in place in which we migrated to. I was a proud father of those to ole PC’s as they never gave us any trouble at all for 9 years.
So the moral here is even though there is a better system, some companies do not change things.
Some systems get used beyond there life cycle. I wrote a program to process remote data access 800 calls for a really big drug company to collect user ID and total minutes online in order for that call to be billed back to the department that the user belong. It was a stop gap program that took me a couple of weeks to write, test and deploy.
It was to be temporary till we could get the bigger more expensive system in place to handle the processing as it processes over $500,000 in charge backs per month to departments. Well that was in 1994 and it is still in place because it worked and I left to go onto other things. I was called back in 1999 to make a couple of minor Y2K adjustments. Today I look back at that code and go, wow I could have written that in 100 lines of code instead of the several 1,000 lines I did. However I didn’t put that effort into it because I thought there was something better to replace it, so why spend the extra time to tweak it.
Another cool story: At a big drug company I installed two IBM XT 8086 PC’s in 1988 each with two fax cards. They faxed about 800 faxes per day per card orders and shipping info. The PC’s were directly connected via a DOS 3270 terminal connection via COAX to the mainframe. I finally turned them off in Oct of 1997 as they were retired and we had a newer system in place in which we migrated to. I was a proud father of those to ole PC’s as they never gave us any trouble at all for 9 years.
So the moral here is even though there is a better system, some companies do not change things.
Anti-Virus Software
I recommend Symantec Anti-Virus Corporate Edition for business users. I am not a fan of the Symantec 2003, 2004 software. I think McAfee is better. For those that can not afford the cost of the software you can get a free home anti-virus software from AVG. I run all these on my different systems for testing, knowing and comparing.
Installing Software on Different Scales
There are many different scales of deployment and installation.
- There are large scale SAP or Peoplesoft Installs.
- There are medium scale installs such as critical updates to the server and/or desktops.
- There are small scale desktop application installs.
All of which have various degrees of trip points in which failure can occur.
The bigger the project, the more people, the harder it is to manage and the more points of failure are exposed.
That is why SAP type deployments take years to roll out and it only takes a few minutes for me to update my web page. These are the same concepts but way different scales.
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