On January 17th, 2003 Microsoft released SQL Server SP3. SP3 includes improvements to serviceability, security and performance and also addresses the Slammer virus (too bad Microsoft did not heed their own words). To download, click here.

On 12/26/2002 CRN announced that Microsoft's SharePoint Portal Server one of their products of the year? The article claimed that "...Engineers examined each product's features" (there were three other products in the running) and they picked SPS? I think maybe these engineers looked at the features on a piece of paper and then chose. I seriously doubt that they tested SPS in a real world situation or even talked to customers that have used it!

Now don't get me wrong, for small applications, SPS will work okay. But it came out a while ago with no new major versions or improvements. It has a long way to go before it of any use to anyone with a large number of documents for collaboration and/or document management. Lets not even get into its issues with speed! It?s hard to program with and it comes with a hefty price tag. Just my opinion.

Anniversary Called 'Major Milestone' For Computer Users

So, did you at least send a card? According to some of the folks who keep track of such things, Wednesday was the 20th anniversary of the Internet.

It was on Jan. 1, 1983, that the first 400 or so computers hooked up to what was then called ARPANET had to switch to a communications protocol called TCP/IP. It was that means of transferring data that allowed the World Wide Web to expand and thrive -- basically making the Internet what it is today.

Vint Cerf, the co-inventor of the protocol, says the anniversary is "a major milestone" for computer users to observe. However, there are others who insist that the Internet is even older than that.

They say when two computers at the UCLA swapped data across a 15-foot cable, it marked the start of the basic concept behind the Internet.