Monday, August 15, 2011

How to make your PC really fast

My wife teaches microbiology online.  Recently she noticed that her PC was really slowing down.  It ended up that the PC was running two virus scanners.  It was certainly better after uninstalling one of the virus scanners.  However, it was still the slowest PC that we had, dual core, 2GB of memory with a 7200 RPM hard drive running Windows XP.

I ended up ordering a Dell Inspiron 7100XPS that was quad core and 6GB of memory with Windows 7.  The real speed came when I replaced the hard drive with a SATA III controller card (6GB/sec) with a 160GB SSD drive (Crucial).  She now has the fastest PC in the house.     

I can't say enough how incredibly fast an SSD drive makes your PC.  It is expensive but well worth the money.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

What does the Mango update mean for Ninja Database Pro?

Microsoft has recently released the Mango update for Windows Phone 7 which now includes SQL Server Compact Edition.  I have had some prospects say that they no longer need Ninja Database Pro because Microsoft is going to provide a database for Windows Phone 7.  While this is wonderful that Microsoft is providing a database, Kellerman Software is still fully committed to supporting and delivering future versions of Ninja Database Pro.  Here is why:

  • Ninja Database Pro has a consistent API across Windows Phone 7, Silverlight, and the Desktop.  The SQL Server CE does not actually use SQL.  There is no SQL Server CE for Silverlight.  On the desktop, there is LINQ to SQL but Microsoft is replacing that with the entity framework.  That means you need essentially three different databases for each platform.  That is a lot of code to maintain vs. using a single API with Ninja Database Pro.
  • Ninja Database Pro is easier to use.  With the Mango SQL Server CE, class properties are decorated with attributes to map to a table.  Ninja Database Pro does not need any mapping, database creation, or table setup.  Again, less code to maintain.
  • Ninja Database Pro has a smaller footprint on the desktop. 
  • Ninja Database Pro requires no setup, it is serverless.  On the desktop, SQL Server can be difficult to setup due to permissions issues.  SQL Server may require complex configuration in the installer, depending on the application needs.
Ninja Database Pro is here to stay.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Looking toward the future

With all the great technologies coming out from Microsoft, things are looking very bright for the developer community.  Since its inception Kellerman Software has been here to make the most out of the framework so that your business can concentrate on core business functionality instead of plumbing.  With the launch of this news blog, our Face Book fan page, and an official twitter account, we are committed to enhancing our communication with our customers.