Politics.NET

This is a sad blog for me to write. A product I absolutely love is now being used for evil 1 by the creators. If you have ever done any database work with Microsoft SQL Server, you've probably heard or maybe even used Redgate 's various database tools. Those tools are a godsend and I can't imagine using SQL Management Studio (SMS) without Redgate 2 . It's literally the first thing I install after installing SMS. It's a tool that if my job didn't pay for it, I'll buy it with my own money. I love it that much. So imagine my surprise yesterday when I realize that Redgate had made a few changes to their products. Originally, the licensing was pretty straightforward. You pay for a number of licenses, get your license key(s) and put it in the product. That's it. It was based on the honor system (i.e. that you aren't using it on more servers than you paid for). I am not naive enough to think people wouldn't have abused the system. It's the softwa...

Last Tuesday morning, as I was getting my kids ready for school, I checked my calendar to see what my day was going to be like at work. I had taken the previous day off and wanted to see if there was any unplanned meeting I had been dragged into. First thing I noticed was that my boss had double booked me for an event I knew nothing about. This was unlike her so I decided to see what this new event was about. Turns out, the "small" company I have worked for for 16 years had been acquired by a much bigger company ...you might have heard of them... Booz Allen Hamilton ! Yeah, that behemoth. Needless to say the past week has been very eventful, very hush-hush and filled with a lot of FUD. I get that in acquisitions of this magnitude ($250M to be specific), secrecy is of utmost concern. I also get that CEOs typically don't send an email saying "Hey guys, we are shopping the company around". So by their very definition, these things will always come as a surprise. ...