I am thrilled and honored to take over the reins of the NoCOUG Journal!
My first issue as Editor was just published and can be downloaded from the NoCOUG website at http://www.nocoug.org/Journal/NoCOUG_Journal_201105.pdf. It kicks off a new series of short articles called "Ask the Oracle ACEs" where you can read diverse advice from several experts in response to a single question. The question for this issue was intentionally vague: "Why is my database slow?" This issue also continues regular features such as an interviews and book reviews. For this May 2011 issue, our interview is with Greg Rahn, a database performance engineer in the Real-World Performance group at Oracle Corporation, and Brian Hitchcock reviews the new book "Achieving Extreme Performance with Oracle Exadata" by Rick Greenwald, et al.
I especially want to thank Iggy Fernandez who has been the editor for the last five years. He set very high standards, and I'll be working very hard to follow in his footsteps. NoCOUG's speakers, authors, and vendors have given us all a tremendous amount of practical skills and real-world advice for the last 25 years. Their generosity and commitment have benefited us all. Even the end users of our databases are happier because of the skills that have been passed on to us! I am convinced that sharing and collaboration are the keys to professional growth and success. With this inspiration in mind, I'll do my best to ensure that this Journal continues to be a vital source of knowledge.
Also, the NoCOUG spring conference is this Thursday, May 19 at the Oracle Corporation in Redwood Shores. See the agenda at http://nocoug.org/next.html. Presentation materials will be available for download at http://www.nocoug.org/presentations.html.
