k_nitin_r

Hi! The simplest way I see you can accomplish this is by using the NET SEND command. Follow these steps to get it running: 1. Right-click My Computer and select Manager 2. Go to Services and Applications - Services 3. Right-click on Messenger and select Start, if it isn't already running (you might have to go into the Properties and set the Startup Type to something other than Disabled - set it to Automatic) 4. Go to Command Prompt: Start - Run - Type "cmd" and press Enter 5. Type "hostname" and press Enter. This displays your computer name so write this down or remember it. 6. Go to the other computer and repeat steps 1-4 7. Type "net send " followed by the name from step 5 and then your message Eg. "net send nitinrk hello there" If you prefer to use a graphical interface, you could use NetMeeting. It's usually installed with Windows, but as there aren't any shortcuts, you'll have to look for it in C:\Program Files\NetMeeting and double-click conf.exe (the one with the icon of a globe with 2 converging orange arrows). After startign NetMeeting on both computers, you can find the name to type to call the other computer using Step 5 from above. Feel free to buzz me back if you need more help. Regards, Nitin

I've done most of my work with MS SQL Server and I see a lot of features. However, there's usually a catch to the functionality that they provide. I once tried integrating MS SQL Server with a MySQL database using the Linked Server feature. I used the MyODBC driver and the OLE DB to ODBC provider to setup the Linked Server. However, I was unable to perform DML on the MySQL tables using DML and I was unable to access columns of BIGTEXT type. It was quite frustrating at that point, as I was relying on MS SQL Server Linked Servers providing me with the functionality I needed. I also find the lack of Natural Join a drawback because it really would speed up development when joins are required and the columns have been named to facilitate the use of Natural Join. On the positive side, I find a lot of functionality useful in MS SQL Server - there's the SQL Server Agent that I use to schedule activities on the database. SQL Server Integration Services makes importing and exporting data to other OLE DB databases a breeze (but, there's no ODBC support if you are exporting TO an ODBC database! You can however, import from an ODBC database).

I would suggest getting a Lenovo/IBM Thinkpad. Their build is very solid and they'll last you a while. I've still got an old IBM Thinkpad 600E (Pentium II) that runs perfectly well without any repairs. The SL series of Thinkpads offer a good compromise between price and features, so you'll definitely find something there that suits your budget. If you don't care all that much for build quality, you can go for a budget model from HP or a Dell. I recently got an HP Compaq 6710b from the office and although the body of the laptop bends slightly when I pick it up from diagonal corners, the performance is pretty decent - it comes with the 4GB RAM, 160GB HDD, and a Intel Core 2 Duo T7700 2.4 GHz processor, DVD-RW and a fingerprint reader.