Intel chipset Z77 vs X79

As anyone who is trying to get more than 32GB on a home lab PC, I asked the same question: What motherboard do I need to obtain more than 32 GB RAM. The answer is not so simple, as the popular Z77 and H77 are not supporting RAM over 32GB. At this moment the only choice is X79.  The drawback is that you need LGA 2011 socket processor and that fact is that Z77 is more recent than X79. So, no 3rd generation  I7 support for this one. Waiting for Intel to tic-tac further and hopefully further price drops...

So from timing and price point of view, anyone should be happy with Z77 (or H77 locked) and quite affordable CPU I7-3770K (or I7-3700 locked) = limited to 32GB RAM and 4/8 cores.

If you are ready to wait until June 2013, then you may save some money on current lineup since a new one is getting ready: 4th generation of Intel CPU and Z87, H87, etc. chipsets - refer to http://cdn.wccftech.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Intel-Desktop-Roadmap.jpg

MCSE private cloud: how does it rate? Just buzzwords or real value?

Author rates it as 9 in 1-10 scale due to a current trend, but this value will drop with the time.

http://therepadmin.com/index.php/2012/10/12/certification-spotlight-series-mcse-private-cloud-how-does-it-rate-just-buzzwords-or-real-value/

Visifire is not free anymore

Sometime ago I implemented a dashboard based on Visifire on the sharepoint with query to SQL db. At that time it was free, but not anymore: http://www.visifire.com/blog/2011/02/08/license-changes/

Nevertheless the previous to 4.0 versions will still be GPL - download latest free version from here: https://code.google.com/p/visifire/downloads/list

Agile: setting priorities on user stories (features) - MoSCoW method

Must have (highest priority)
o
Should have
Could have
o
Would have (lowest priority)

How to convert PDF table to Excel

If you do not have Acrobat Full edition or not ready for 12 month subscription then you can use 3rd party online tool: http://www.pdftoexcelonline.com/

Warning: you will need to trade out your email address. Note that it takes up to 20 minutes until you get your xls by email.

Why you want to buy Samsung or Intel SSD disks?

One of the reasons is the fact that these companies produce NAND chips themselves ( http://www.dramexchange.com/WEEKLYRESEARCH/Post/2/3030.html)

and they have a theoretical right to select the best quality batches to be used in their own final products.

Scrum phases

Pre-game (initiate, plan, sprint zero)
Game (implement in several sprints of`~30 days, monitroing and control at the end of each sprint)
Post-game (closure)