He helped build the database engine in SQL Server 2000, co-founded Spathe.com, and served as Director of Technology at Progress Software and as chief technology officer at AppZero.com.

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Microsoft has a long list of Windows 2000-centric products due out this year -- including Exchange 2000, SQL Server 2000, Host Integration Server 2000, Application Center 2000, BizTalk 2000, and Commerce Server 2000.

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XLeratorDB, from WestClinTech in Irvington, NY, says it extends the analytic and number-crunching capabilities of Excel into the SQL Server database.

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In January 2003 the Microsoft SQL Server worm, known as Slammer, infected a private computer network at David-Besse nuclear power plant in Oak Harbor, Ohio, disabling a safety monitoring system for nearly five hours, says the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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