Smarter Geek

After some speculation last week that the Quad Core slate I posted about from TechEd NZ Microsoft has now posted a blog about the Samsung slate with a photos that exactly matches the one I snapped.

The image below is the one I took at TechEd NZ which does not have a SIM card slot and the vent placement is more on the side than below.

And the image below shows the device in the Microsoft blog post that has the same vent slots and missing the SIM card slot.

(Above image source http://windowsteamblog.com/cfs-filesystemfile.ashx/__key/CommunityServer-Blogs-Components-WeblogFiles/00-00-00-53-48-metablogapi/1588.DSC00988_5F00_55BE70E7.jpg )

This photos as far as I can tell looks to be exactly the same device as the one I saw TechEd NZ.

As you can see the image from the This is my Next that shows the device that has a SIM card slot and slightly different vents. I can only speculate that the device comes with and without a 3G option.

( Above image source: http://thisismynext.com/2011/08/31/samsung-series-7-slate-specs-release-date-hands-on/ )

Intel and Dell have just shown off the new Atom based dual core (N550) networks with a horizontal swivelling screen that converts the laptop into a slate form factor.

The new Dual core Atom processor means that the device has much better performance and can handle play back of HD video without the battery drain.

This new design looks really great and make me wounder why no one thought of this before. Personally I think windows running on a device of this form factor is going to be fantastic and ideally suited for Windows based devices…. I can definitely see this replacing my iPad.

Check out the videos below:

Source Dell’s Atom-powered Inspiron Duo: 10-inch netbook / tablet hybrid with a crazy swivel and Dell Sparta Atom N550 convertible tablet at IDF 2010

During one of the final session of TechEd New Zealand 2010 Nigel Parker from Microsoft compared the performance difference of the latest build of IE9 to Chrome. This demonstration shows that the hardware acceleration in IE9 is still much faster than Chrome even when hardware acceleration was enabled in the latest Chrome Canary build.

For some time Mozilla and Google would tout that performance of their browsers JavaScript engines as compared to IE but now that the performance difference is almost negligible Microsoft has taken a huge lead in what the next big performance benchmark for browsers, HTML performance.

Here is a funny video from Microsoft Australia evangelist Andrew Coates… Quite a funny take on the evolution of cloud computing.

Source: The Platform Story–now available as an animated Feature – Andrew Coates ::: MSFT – Site Home – MSDN Blogs

Friend of mine recently had issues with installing SQL Server 2008 so I have decided to do a walk though install of SQL Server 2008 on a standard vanilla install of Windows Server 2008 R2.

Before starting remember that Windows Server 2008 R2 is 64bit only so you will need to install the SQL Server 2008 x64 bit version of the database.

Step 1. Go to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/968382 and download the latest service pack for SQL 2008. Also remember to download the 64bit version of the service pack.

Note: This is required as SQL 2008 was released a full 2 years before Windows Server 2008 R2. As such it was not originally written to work for the newer operating system. The support for the newer server OS was later added in Service Pack 1.

Step 2. Run Setup.exe from the SQL Server 2008 install CD and click Run Program on the Program Compatibility Assistant

Info: Windows Server 2008 is giving you a clear warning that the version of SQL is not compatible with Server 2008 R2 and give you a link to the service pack for downloading.

Step 3. Click on Installation on the left hand column

Step 4. Click on New SQL Server stand-alone or add features to an existing installation

Step 5. Again you are warned about compatibility issues. Click Run Program

Step 6. Click on Show Details and make sure that all the setup support rules have passed and then click OK

Step 7. Type your key in the field and click Next

Step 8. Tick I accept the license terms and click Next

Step 9. Click Install

Step 10. Click Next

Step 11. Select the components you want to install and click Next

Step 12. Configure the Instance name and details and click Next

Step 13. Review the disk space requirements and click Next

Step 14. Configured the Service accounts that you want to use and click Next

Step 15. Add a SQL Server Administrator and Click Next

Step 16. Click Next

Step 17. Click on Show Details and review the install rules and then click Next

Step 18. Do a final review of the install and click Install

Wait…

Step 19. Click Next

Click 20. Click Close

Now you MUST MUST MUST install Service Pack 1….

Step 20. Now run the Service Pack you just downloaded…

Step 21. Click Next

Step 22. Tick I accept the license terms and then click Next

Step 23. Review the features that are going to be upgraded and click Next

Step 24. Click Next

Step 25. Click Update

Step 26. Click Next

Step 27. Click Close

Your done…