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You've Got DataBased Advisor!
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1 October 2007
Dear Subscriber,
This information is for you, if you were originally a subscriber to any of these Advisor magazines, journals or guides: Microsoft Access, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Visual FoxPro, Microsoft Visual Studio, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Professional Development, Microsoft Visual Basic .NET, IBM Lotus Software, IBM WebSphere Software, IBM Workplace Software, Novell GroupWise, Business Collaboration, Business Security, Corporate Compliance, E-Business, E-Discovery, Law Technology, Mobile Business.
Your subscription has been upgraded to DataBased Advisor, for 25+ years the expert guide to database, development and collaboration software.
You now have access to more than 10,000 articles, tips and downloads -- at no extra charge. Here's why:
In recent years the cost of providing a niche print publication went deep into the red, with big, never-ending increases in design, layout, paper, printing, and delivery costs. These cost increases were magnified by a continuing shift in readers from print to web. So, we spent more and more on print publishing to serve fewer and fewer readers. It was a growing problem. But while print readers were declining, our proportion of online-only readers has gotten larger and larger.
The good news is, there is a constant need for Advisor's how-to advice and expert solutions on business technology. We just needed to meet the need in an affordable way. Fortunately, the perfect solution was already online: DataBased.Advisor.com.
DataBased Advisor is your all-in-one publication
At the beginning of October 2007 the above-listed publications were merged into super-site DataBased.Advisor.com. The separate publications were discontinued. Plus, we added everything in our FileMaker publications, which also continue to be offered separately.
As we said in the notice mailed to your subscription address, you didn't have to do anything, the upgrade was automatic.
At the time of the merging, if you had a current subscription to any of the listed publications, you were upgraded for the duration of your subscription at no extra charge. When it expires you should renew as a DataBased Advisor subscriber at http://www.AdvisorStore.com.
Now, in one place, DataBased.Advisor.com gives you expert advice on all the key topics, and more, including articles on leading database, development and collaboration technologies and best practices.
You now get all the new IT articles that appear in DataBased Advisor, plus Advisor's complete IT library -- more than 10,000 online articles, tips and downloads, most previously provided only to individual-publication subscribers. This huge library contains virtually everything Advisor published this century, plus many time-tested classics from earlier issues.
Get your online access
Of course, to be recognized as a subscriber you need to sign-in at DataBased.Advisor.com or My.Advisor.com (the exclusive subscriber area). The connection between your subscription and sign-in happens automatically if you provide your Advisor-registered ID when you subscribe or renew at http://www.AdvisorStore.com. If you have questions or aren't yet set up for this, click here for instructions on getting your online access activated.
You can check the status of your subscription in two places. Sign-in on the main page of http://DataBased.Advisor.com (via the pink box) and you'll see the status of your current and recent subscriptions (in a yellow box just below the pink box sign-in information. Or go to http://MemberCenter.Advisor.com, select UPDATE MEMBER INFO and sign-in to see and update all your subscriber information. If you have sign-in or subscription questions or problems, see http://Help.Advisor.com.
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History of DataBased Advisor
If you've been in the IT field for more than a few years, you probably know about DataBased Advisor. It was launched in 1983 during the pioneering days of what is now known as Information Technology.
The first issue of DataBased Advisor focused on the emerging adoption of the IBM PC by businesses. Much of the move to PCs was driven by the need for managing data and automating business processes. This was achieved with breakthrough database software from Ashton-Tate known as dBASE II (there never was a dBASE I). dBASE was a desktop computer implementation of JPLDIS used at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Many new companies and careers were based on using dBASE to build business software solutions for the brand-new world of PCs, and DataBased Advisor was the guide.
It quickly became clear that dBASE II was just the beginning of a computing revolution. Within a few issues, DataBased Advisor was overflowing with information about the exploding world of database management systems, computer hardware, networking products, and software development practices.
Maybe you remember some of these: FoxBASE, Nantucket Clipper, Oracle, Novell NetWare, IBM DB2, Ingres, Lotus Symphony, Ashton-Tate Framework, Informix, Gupta SQLbase, Sybase SQL Server, Borland Reflex, FileMaker, Nomad, SBT, PFS: File, AccountMate, Softcraft Btrieve, Microrim R:BASE, Borland Paradox, Lotus Approach, Powersoft Powerbase, Lotus Notes, Progress, Superbase, WordTech, DataEase, Nutshell, Ashton-Tate Friday, Alpha, Emerald Bay, KnowledgeMan, Symantech Q&A, Microsoft File, Borland Delphi, and many more.
dBASE itself spawned a mini-industry of so-called "clones". So many companies created so many innovative variations that they were collectively called Xbase, and an ANSI-sanctioned committee was formed to standardize the Xbase programming language. (Ultimately, the competitors couldn't agree so it didn't happen.)
In the early 90s, DataBased Advisor readers encountered a major wave of IT consolidation. Microsoft licensed SQL Server from Ashton-Tate and Sybase, bought Fox Software to get FoxPro (successor to FoxBASE+), bought what became Visual Basic, and hired key people from MicroRIM to build Microsoft Access. Computer Associates bought Nantucket to get Clipper and Aspen, which became Visual Objects. Borland bought Ashton-Tate to get the dBASE name and InterBase technology, and WordTech to build the next generation Visual dBASE. IBM bought Lotus Development to get Notes. Sybase bought Powersoft to get Powerbase. Novell acquired Btrieve. Apple's Claris subsidiary acquired FileMaker, formerly known as Nutshell. And DataBased Advisor covered it all.
In the mid-1990s DataBased Advisor embraced online development and deployment, and today covers a broad range of key technologies.
DataBased Advisor went online in 1984, first via a dial-up BBS, then on pioneering service The Source, followed by the popular "GO DBA" area of CompuServe, and starting in 1994, on the World Wide Web. In 1998, the print magazine switched to online-only at DataBased.Advisor.com.
Marking its 25th anniversary in 2008, DataBased Advisor continues to be a trusted guide for IT pros. |
ADVISORAMA Relationships with coworkers can be fraught with consequences. -- Capt. Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: The Next Generation
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