SQL Server and Access news, rumours and gossip

	Professional Database Developers
Aldex Software Ltd.

* Latest *
	Windows XP Service Pack 3 released (again). 8 May 2008
	SQL Server 2000 mainstream support ended on 8 April 2008
	Windows Server 2003 SP3 released (20 March 2007)
	FoxPro discontinued
	SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 (SP2) released 21 Feb 2007
	Office 2007 released Nov 2006.
	Support for Windows XP SP1 ends 10 Oct 2006
	Support for Windows 98 (& Windows ME) finally ends (July 2006)
	SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 1 (SP1) released 18 April 2006
	Visual Studio.NET 2.0 released November 7th, 2005
	SQL Server 2005 released November 7th, 2005
	Mainstream support for Windows 2000 ends 30 June 2005
	SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 4 (SP4) released May 2005
	Windows 2003 Server Service Pack 1 released April 2005
	SQL Server Workgroup Edition released
	Windows XP Service Pack 2 (XP SP2) released August 2004
	Office 2003 Service Pack 1 released 27 July 2004
	SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services SP1 released 22 June 2004
	SQL Server 2000 SP3 bug fix (Invalid Cursor State) (released 27 May 2004)
	Office XP Service Pack 3 released 9 March 2004
	SQL Server Reporting Services released 27 Jan 2004
	Office 2003 released 21 Oct 2003
	JET 4, Service Pack 8 (SP8) released 15 October 2003
	Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office System released 13 Oct 2003
	MDAC 2.8 was released 4 Aug 2003
	JET 4, Service Pack 7 (SP7) released 18 June 2003
	Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (SP4) released end of June 2003
	Windows Server 2003 launched 25 April 2003
	Visual Studio .Net 2003 launched 25 April 2003
	SQL Server Slammer worm causes problems Jan 27, 2003
	SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3) released Jan 2003
	Office 2000 Service Pack 3 released 11 Dec 2002
	Windows XP Service Pack 1 released Nov 2002
	.NET Framework Service Pack 2 released Oct 2002
	JET 4.0 Service Pack 6 (SP6) released Spring 2002
	SQL Server 7.0 Service Pack 4 (SP4) released 29 April 2002
	Microsoft .Net formally launched 13 Feb, 2002
	Windows NT 4 and Windows 95 are officially obsolete

Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) released again! (8 May 2008)
Service Pack 3 for Windows XP has been released again after the initial release was pulled due to compatibility problemns with Microsoft Dynamics. It rolls up all of the isolated bug fixes since the last service pack but does not introduce any major new functionality. The last XP service pack (SP2 was released way back in August 2004 - so it's been a long wait).

Mainstream support for SQL Server 2000 ended 8 April 2008
Mainstream support for SQL Server 2000 (all versions) has now ended. Extended support is available for another 5 years.

Windows Server 2003 SP2 Released (20 March 2007)
Service Pack 2 for Windows Server 2003 has finally been released after a long gestation. It includes a host of bug fixes and patches as well as a few minor enhancements (WPA2 security, Management Console 3). It also has performance enhancements that will affect SQL Server 2005.

Foxpro discontinued
The current version of Foxpro (Visual Poxpro 9) is the last version of this venerable database to be released by Microsoft. There will be no version 10. Version 9 will however receive an enhancement (codename "Sedena") due to be released in summer 2007.

SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 (SP2) released 20 Feb 2007
This is a physically large service pack (200Mb) so prepare for a long download. It includes the usual bug fixes and enhancements including Sharepoint integration for Reporting Services and improvements to Maintenance Plans. Note also that SP2 is required if you plan to run SQL Server 2005 on Vista!
NB: Microsoft found a bug in the service pack soon after launch and have released a hotfix on 5th March 2007. This is available separately but has now been rolled up into the bugfixed SP2a release. Make sure you use SP2a and not the original, unpatched, SP2 version.

Office 2007 (inc. Access 2007) released November 2006
This is a major new release of Office with a totally new user interface (the Ribbon). This works well for Word which is a significantly improved product. Unfortunately we are less than impressed by the changes to Access! Microsoft appear to have re-focussed Access at power users; people who want something a bit more powerful than Excel but who don't have the training and expertise (or the inclination) to develop professional quality relational databases. In the past this group of people was forced to learn some of the disciplines of database design but a number of these constraints have been removed or modified. Two of our least favourite changes are the new multi-valued database fields and the recommendation to use macros instead of VBA (emphasised by a range of template applications all using macros). The first reduces the integrity of your database and the second makes anything other than a trivial application a nightmare to support. Oh, and did we mention that security has been downgraded as well... the existing Access security was 'too difficult' so if you have any sensitive data then Access may not be the best place to store it. Having said that the target audience of power users will probably like the changes - at least initially. The problems will arise when that Access 2007 application, developed as a small 'one-off' job, evolves to become a critical business system as so many of them do! (been there, seen it, got the T-shirt! x 1000).

Windows 98 Support Ends
Support for Windows 98 and Windows ME, which was extended due to a public outcry when it was previously slated to end, has now finally ended. Anyone using Windows 98, other than someone using it on a stand-alone computer not networked, connected to the Internet or having new software installed on it (which means virtually everyone) should upgrade to a more modern operating system. In practice this will probably mean retiring the old Windows 98 machine and buying an new computer.

SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 1 released 18 April 2006
This is a surprisingly large release for a Service Pack so soon after the original launch of SQL Server 2005 some six months ago. Reading between the lines it is primarily a fill-in for those features that Microsoft were unable to fully complete by the original release in November 2005., plus the usual bug fixes. The most notable enhancements are database mirroring and SQL Server Management Studio Express.

SQL Server 2005 / Visual Studio .NET 2.0 Released
SQL Server 2005, as well as Visual Studio.NET 2.0, were released on 7 November, 2005. This is a major new version of SQL Server, with many changes throughout the entire application suite. Upgrading basic databases from SQL Server 2000 should not be too traumatic, but many of the support systems, such as SQL Server DTS, have been completely rewritten as SSIS (SQL Server Integration Services) and will result in significant re-engineering.

Pulled from the release at the last moment is SQL Server mirroring; one of the most anticipated of the new features. It is now expected that mirroring will be available in the first half of 2006 as a free upgrade.

2000 Mainstream Support Ends June 30, 2005
Mainsteam support for Windows 2000 Server ends on June 30 2005. Time to either upgrade those machines or stump up for expensive extended support.

SQL Server 2000 Server Service Pack 4 Released May 2005.
It's been nearly 2 years since SP3 was released but this is not a major release - unless you want to run it on a 64 bit platform which is now supported. Note that you should not install the initial release of SP4 if you have >2Gb RAM and are using Address Windowing Extensions (AWE) due to a late discovered bug - presumably there will be a SP4a version soon? Enhancements in SP4 include XML and MDAC improvements as well as minor bug fixes and security changes. Although not a major upgrade it should certainly be installed. Like the vast majority of SQL Server Service Packs this one seems to be robust - we installed it in at the end of May and have had no issues at all.

Windows 2003 Server Service Pack 1 Released April 2005
This is Server 2003 equivalent of Windows XP SP2 bringing in a host of mainly security fixes and enhancements.

New SQL Server Workgroup Edition
Microsoft have announced that a new version of SQL Server, called the Workgroup Edition, will be released both for SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005. This version slots in above the free MSDE/EXpress versions and below the Standard version. It's price is about £1,000 less than the standard edition (a bit under £2,500).

Windows XP Service Pack 2 Released August 2004 (XP Home: 18 Aug; XP Pro: 25 Aug)
This is the long awaited and much hyped service pack for Microsoft Windows XP that is primarily concerned with improving the security of Windows XP. Although classed as a service pack it has so many changes that it can almost be considered a new version. Mainly due to the more aggressive firewall and security settings in SP2 a number of applications may need you to modify security settings to allow them to work correctly. One that will affect many of our clients are issues around SQL Server (or MSDE). This will likely manifest itself as the application displaying a connection error. Stand alone users and small sites with just one server will probably be okay. Problems are more likely to arise with linked servers, replication and the like. Further details are at
www.microsoft.com/sql/techinfo/ administration/2000/security/winxpsp2faq.asp
and also see
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid= 841249.

Office 2003 Service Pack 1 Released 27 July 2004
The first Service Pack for Microsoft Office 2003. Available in two versions; an 18Mb download which requires you to insert the original install CD and an 74Mb download which does not (although when we ran the latter it confusingly still asked us for the install CD!).

SQL Server Reporting Services SP1 Released 22 June 2004
The first service pack for SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services was released on 22 June 2004. Be aware that this Service Pack will modify your Reporting Services databases and is NOT COMPATIBLE with the original Reporting Services install. The Service Pack introduces a fair amount of new functionality so is worth installing but will probably break any existing Reporting Service systems you already have. Check out the details carefully before applying! Click here for the main SQL page then navigate to the update.

SQL Server 2000 SP3 bug fix (Invalid Cursor State)
Microsoft has released a fix for a bug introduced with SQL Server 2000 SP3. In Microsoft's words... "After you apply post-Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3) hotfix build versions between 8.00.0859 and 8.00.0875, applications that execute a stored procedure that uses a SET NOCOUNT ON statement and that return one or more result sets following an informational message, a RAISERROR statement, or a PRINT statement, may have various failures in processing results. The error message may differ depending on what client API is being used." The two commonest error messages are: "ADO: Operation is not allowed when the object is closed" and "ODBC: [Microsoft][ODBC SQL Server Driver]Invalid cursor state". Microsoft recommends that unless you are affected by the error that you wait for the next service pack. Click here for the update.

Office XP Service Pack 3 Released 9 March 2004
It has been a long time since the last Office XP Service Pack but this release seems primarily to be about security updates rather than bug fixes; however in Microsoft's own words "This update provides security enhancements in addition to stability and performance improvements. Some of the fixes that are included with Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) have been previously released as separate updates. This service pack combines them in one update. Office XP SP3 can be installed on any level of Microsoft Office XP and does not require any earlier service packs to be installed."
CAUTION: There are reports of problems with Outlook XP and third party products that interact with Outlook including Spam filters, Anti-virus software and PDA synchronization utilities.

SQL Server Reporting Services Released Jan 27 2004
This is yet another extension to the reach of SQL Server which is fast becoming a comprehensive Business Information tool rather than just a database engine. Reporting Services looks very slick and we expect that this tool to supplant third party reporting tools, such as Crystal Reports, for many SQL Server users within the next couple of years. The Reporting Services publish reports using IIS (Internet Information Server) and include plenty of goodies such as user selectable filters, grouping, totals and a form of drill down (actually just hiding and un-hiding grouping levels). One very nice feature is the ability to automatically send reports to selected e-mail addresses on a scheduled basis, say at the end of each month. Also note that, similarly to the way that DTS can be used to import or export data to other databases, the SQL Reporting Services works with data sources other than SQL Server. It was due to be included as part of Yukon, the next version of SQL Server, but delays to the release of Yukon have now led to the SQL Reporting Services being released as an add-in for SQL Server 2000.

Office 2003 launched Oct 21, 2003The current version of Office, Office 2003, was released on Oct 21, 2003. This update seems to be primarily aimed at corporates with most changes relating to collaboration, the use of XML and integration with SharePoint Server. There is also a new Information Rights Management (IRM) function to control access to documents. If you are a smaller organisation then there is less here of interest although Outlook has quite a number of usability enhancements that make it well worthwhile (for example the ability to stop graphics from automatically being downloaded in e-mail messages). Note that the name has reverted back to using the year after the aberration of the XP suffix. Office 2003 only runs of Windows 2000 or later and only if you have the latest service packs installed.

Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office System (Oct 13, 2003)
Released on Oct 13, 2003 this sounds the beginning of the end for VBA development within Office (including Access). VSTMOS (the whole name is far too much of a mouthful!) provides an environment for developers to write .NET code for Microsoft Word and Excel using Visual Studio .NET.

Microsoft Access requires a similar add on called the Microsoft Office Access 2003 Developer Extensions which also includes the functionality and licenses required to deploy run-time versions of Access.

Windows Server 2003 & Visual Studio .Net 2003 launched April 25, 2003
New versions of Windows Server (in effect the XP version of Windows Server) and Visual Studio were launched at the end of April 2003. Windows Server 2003 is effectively the Server version that should have been released with Windows XP (Home & Professional). However, just to keep you on your toes, the naming mechanism has reverted back to the practice of using the years to identify the version! This should be a significant release and incorporates many new features to make it integrate better with the .NET technologies.
The new version of Visual Studio seems to be primarily a bug fix release. There is some new functionality for some of the languages, especially C#, but as far as VB.NET is concerned these are fairly minor.

SQL Slammer Worm; Jan 2003
The SQL Server Slammer worm (also known as the W32.SQLExp.Worm and the Sapphire worm) back in Jan 2003 caused significant problems worldwide. This was the first time that multiple clients of ours have been hit by a virus at the same time. The worm does not actually cause direct damage but it does send out lots of packets of information which effectively floods your network so that you either experience a severe slow down in network speed or your network may ground to a halt entirely (a Denial Of Service attack). The worm is memory resident only and thus escapes most virus detectors but is also easy to remove. We assume that a server reboot will do the trick but there is a more reliable detector and fix that can be downloaded from the Symantec web site (www.symantec.com) and no doubt from the other anti-virus web sites as well. There is also a security patch from Microsoft (see Q323875) that stops this from happening in the future (requires you to be us to at least SQL Server SP2). SQL Server Service Pack 3 (SP3) also stops this worm.
NB If you are an existing client and have a current support agreement with us then we have already spoken to your IT department about this issue.

Retirements A number of well - loved (and some less well - loved) and widely used products have now either been 'retired' or are on the list for retirement in the future. In effect this means that Microsoft will no longer provide mainstream support for them (although an Extended (paid for) support is/may be available for a a bit longer), new products may not work with them and fixes for bugs, security holes, etc. will no longer be avialble. Essentially you are on your own with retired products! For further details see this Microsoft site. Mainstream support end dates (actual and planned) include:
	Jan 2001	Windows NT 3.5 - Retired
	Jan 2001	Windows 95 - Retired
	Jul 2003	Windows NT 4 - Retired
	Jan 2004	Office 97 - Retired
	30 Jun 2004	Office 2000 (extended support ends 30 Jun 2006)
	(was Jul 2004)	Windows 98 (now extended)
	Mar 2005	SQL Server 7
	Jun 30 2005	Minstream support for Windows 2000
	Jun 30 2006	Office XP (extended support ends 30 Jun 2008)

Service Releases

SQL Server 2000 is now on Service Pack 4 (it's ben nearly 2 years between SP3 and SP4 - hopefully this says something about the stability of SQL Server!). Not a major service pack but fixes a number of specific problems and security issues and should be installed.

Office 2003 is on Service Pack 1 (27 July 2004).

Windows XP is on Service Pack 1 (Nov 2002). Many people hold off using a new operating system until the first service pack has been release. All those people can now feel free to install Windows XP (but steer clear of the Home Edition if you are a business user).

Windows 2000 is on Service Pack 4 (SP4) as of the end of June 2003. As well as a large number of bug fixes note that as from SP2 these packs also update non US versions of Windows 2000 to 128 bit encryption (ie they significantly improve NT's security). The Service Packs also cure (or at least improve!) a performance problem accessing Windows 2000 Servers from Windows XP clients which were previously very slow when copying files. SP4 includes support for the new USB 2.0 standard as well as 802.1x wireless LAN authentication. Note that SP4 includes Service Pack 7 of JET 4 so that it is not necessary to include this JET service pack if you have installed Windows 2000 Service Pack 4.

Windows NT 4.0 is on Service Pack 6 (SP6). SP5 and SP6 are apparently not critical and only need be applied if you have been having problems. However SP4 is a different matter and includes a patch to make NT 4.0 Year 2000 compliant (yes, we too found it hard to believe that it wasn't already compliant!), support for the new Euro symbol and a host of bug fixes, patches and updates. SP4 is included in SP6 so you only need to install the latest Service Pack. Note that ALL NT4 support is withdrawn as from 31 December 2004.

Office XP is on Service Pack 3 (9 March 2004). For all the various office downloads the best starting place is www.microsoft.com/officeupdate/default.aspx .

Office 2000, and hence Access 2000, is on Service Pack 3 (SP3) as of Dec 11, 2002. The last Service Pack (SP2) for Office 2000 was two years earlier which is quite a long interval between Service Packs. Microsoft say that SP3 contains significant security enhancements and improvements in stability and performance. Before you install SP3 you must have installed Service Release 1a (SR-1a) which is more complicated than it should be because the Office 'about' screen tells you that you are on SR-1 when you are on either SR-1 OR SR1a! Also note the change from Service Releases (which are not cumulative and have to be installed in sequence) to Service Packs (which ARE cumulative and can be applied without having installing the previous Service Pack). No wonder people get frustrated with computers!!! For further gory details please see Microsoft article Q245025. Note that SP-3 contain an upgrade to the Access Run Time Executable (see Q287484 for details). Also note that you do not have to install Office 2000 SP2 prior to installing SP3, you can go straight from SR1a to SP3.

Office 97, and hence Access 97 , is currently on Service Release 2; or in reality 2a since there has been more than one release of SR 2 (sigh...). Unlike Windows NT, Windows 2000 and SQL Server service packs the Office service releases must be applied in order; ie SR 2a does NOT include SR 1.

Visual Studio 6.0 (ie Visual Basic 6.0 , etc.) is on Service Release 5 (SR5 - March 2001).

JET 4.0 (the native database engine shipped with Access 2000 and Access XP) is on Service Pack 7 (June 18 2003) or 8 (October 15 2003) depending upon which version of Windows you are using. SP8 is applicable only to the later versions (Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003). For earlier versions, such as Windows 98, you should be on Service Pack 7. Note that for SP7 there are 5 (yes, five!) different versions of this service pack depending upon which version of Windows you are using (!!)... at which point we suggest you lie down in a darkened room and hope that this is just a bad dream! See http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=282010 for further details.

MDAC is currently on version 2.8 (5 Aug 2003). MDAC (Microsoft Data Access Components) is not a single product but is a collection of assorted components that together constitute the various data connection and control products (ADO, ODBC, etc.). Note that as from MDAC 2.6 the JET updates are no longer included. Therefore, if using Access .mdb files, you also need to download JET service packs separately. MDAC 2.8 contains core Data Access components such as the Microsoft SQL Server™ OLE DB provider and ODBC driver. MDAC 2.8 installs the same Data Access components as Microsoft Windows Server 2003. It does not include Microsoft Jet, the Microsoft Jet OLE DB Provider or ODBC driver, the Desktop Database ODBC Drivers, or the Visual FoxPro ODBC Driver.

At the beginning of Oct 2002 Microsoft released a critical security patch for SQL Server (both 2000 & 7). Search for 8.00.0679_enu.exe on the Microsoft downloads site. This patch is approximately 10Mb in size.

SQL Server 7 is on Service Pack 3 (SP3 - January 2001). This Service Pack is downloadable from Microsoft's web site ( http://news.microsoft.co.uk/winplat2301018510 ) but be warned, it a hefty size! Note that Service Packs are cumulative and that SP3 includes all updates and bug fixes from SP1 and SP2. A beta version of SQL 7 Service Pack 4 was released in Feb 2002.

For anyone still using SQL Server 6.5 it is on Service Pack 5.

JET 4.0 Service Pack 7

The latest service pack for JET 4.0 , as supplied with Access 2000 and Access 2002/XP, was released June 25, 2003.

Unfortunately you need to download separate versions of the service pack depending upon which operating system you are using. There are five different service packs, one for 98/NT4, one for Me, one for 200, one for XP and one for Server 2003!

And to add more confusion if you want the Windows 98 version you can download the service pack from the web site (http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=282010 ). However if you want the Windows 2000 version you can't! Instead you need to go to the Windows update centre and run a check on your machine to see what updates are available. In other words you cannot easily download a file which can be saved and run as required. After much searching we did eventually track down these other updates in the download centre, but why can't these be linked in from the SP7 update page? And WHY are there five different versions? It does not inspire confidence that a deployed Access/JET application will work the same on each operating system?

Microsoft's .Net (dot Net) Initiative
This initiative has had a major impact on software development. It totally rewrites the rulebooks - all of Microsoft's previous development tools and support infrastructure has been completely redesigned. In our opinion this is the most significant change to come out of Microsoft since the changeover from DOS to Windows. We are very positive about this initiative; Microsoft have gone back to first principles and have (finally) developed a consistent, integrated environment for the development of software across all of its platforms. In particular it is much easier to develop standard code libraries, to reuse existing code and to maintain or upgrade .NET installations. In addition languages such as Visual Basic (VB) are now just as powerful and as flexible as 'traditional' low-level languages such as C++. However the downside is a MAJOR relearning exercise for developers and existing applications will not be easy to migrate to .NET (they really need to be redesigned from scratch). We have already developed a number of large projects using both ASP.NET and VB.NET and are enthusiastic converts!

.Net was officially launched on February 13, 2002 and a fairly minor update (Visual Studio 2003) came out just over a year later on April 25, 2003.

Windows XP
Windows XP was launched to great hoopla on Oct 25, 2001. This version of the Operating System is extremely significant because it merges the two previously distinct versions of Windows (the 95/98/Me line and the NT/2000 line). Compared to the 95/98/Me line XP represents a proper, 'grown-up' operating system and is vastly more stable. The benefits for existing Windows 2000 users are probably more tenuous! As with Office XP, Windows XP also includes the notorious Product Activation Feature; which is proving to be somewhat controversial. After having wrestled for several hours to persuade the Home version which came on a new Dell notebook to understand about networks and domains we strongly recommend that business users opt for the Professional version instead!

Office XP
The previous version of Office (Office XP) was released on May 31, 2001. This version includes a major new anti-piracy feature which forces you to either phone Microsoft or dial-in via the Internet to activate the software. Whist we certainly do not condone software piracy we feel that this initiative is over the top and will cause frustration and inconvenience to perfectly legitimate users. We tried out our version, then had a problem with the disk drive lettering at which point Office XP said that our hardware had changed (it hadn't) and we would have to telephone Microsoft and convince them that we weren't installing it on a different PC. These sort of problems can cause major headaches for a lot of honest people but do little to stop 'professional' pirates from breaking the mechanism.

To be perfectly honest there is very little technical reason for most people to upgrade beyond Access 97, which in most Access developer's opinion was the best version that there has ever been and is still the one in which they would prefer to continue to develop with. For example many developers still use Access 97's on-line help instead of the vastly inferior offerings in the later versions. Progress does not always seem to move forwards! Unfortunately Office 97 is now out of support so for any new work we recommend the latest version (Access 2003) which is certainly a better version than the somewhat flawed Access 2000.

SQL Server 2000
The current version of SQL Server (SQL Server 2000) was released on Sep 24, 2000. We have used it on many different types of projects and are highly impressed by it. It includes support for XML in SQL SELECT statements and is designed to integrate (to some extent) with Microsoft's .Net technology, although full integration will have to wait until the next version. Service Pack 3 came out in Jan 2003. Note that SQL 2000, unlike SQL 7.0, does not run under Windows 95. You should not run it on anything older than Windows 98 SE, and that also applies to the 'MSDE' version, renamed now to SQL Server Desktop Edition.

WARNING - If using Access 2000 be careful if you upgrade to SQL Server 2000. It has been confirmed that Access 2000 Projects (.ADP) do not work properly with SQL Server 2000 (yes, I know, unbelievable isn't it!) although the current service releases/packs to Office 2000 and SQL Server 2000 do correct the problem (but can cause other problems - See the Office 2000 entry under Service Releases). Access XP also resolves most of these issues but once bitten, twice shy, so we have increasingly been using VB.NET for SQL Server client development rather than Access, additionally you have greater control over the data traffic with .NET which usually makes it better for low bandwidth situations.

SQL Server 7.0
SQL Server 6.5 ran only on Windows NT Server (ie not, for example, on Windows NT Workstation or on Windows 95; although whatever is chosen for the client may obviously be able to be run on a much wider range of machines). Version 7.0 came out towards the end of 1998 and was a complete rewrite. It was a much more significant upgrade than the mere 0.5 increment would suggest. It was also far more scalable than the previous version; not only running on large, enterprise level, NT Server systems but also on a stand-alone (non-networked) laptop computer running Windows 95/98 as well as on everything else in-between.

SQL Server 7.0 also contained a lot of new functions related to ease of use as well as automatic configuration capabilities. All of these helped to reduce the administrative burden significantly when compared to earlier versions. A 'cut down' version of SQL Server 7.0, called the MSDE or Microsoft Data Engine, is bundled with Office 2000 (which came out in the summer of 1999). SQL Server 7.0 has now been replaced by SQL Server 2000 - not such a major change this time but more an enhancement... and don't forget to read our comments on it, especially if using an Access Project! SQL Server 7.0 is on Service Pack 4 (SP4 - 29 April 2002.)

MS Office 2000
Office 2000 (and Access 2000) was released back in June 1999. Reaction was initially muted but support has gradually built-up, although a large number of developers and users are still using Office 97/Access 97. One point to note is that Access 2000 does not live happily on the same machine as Access 97. They will coexist but Access 2000 constantly 'reinstalls' itself and resets essential properties such as the location of the workgroup file.

Microsoft Upgrade Advantage
Back in 2002 Microsoft changed their licensing from the normal method of offering users a discount off the price of a new product if you already own a previous version to a continuous licensing method where you pay a fee each year and receive updates when they arrive (more like a rental method). If you did not sign up for this service before 31 July 2002 you will need to pay the full price for any future upgrades. Needless to say, this has been a somewhat controversial change although the dust has now settled somewhat!

That's All For Now!

Check back here regularly to catch the latest News, Rumours and Gossip about Access and SQL Server!

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