Posted by
Andy Brown
on 25 September 2023
We've been teaching SQL to advanced level for a long time now, but it's always been using Transact SQL (T-SQL), the Microsoft SQL Server dialect. If you have a MySQL database we can now teach you using your correct dialect and coding environment (let us know if you are interested in PostgreSQL, PL/SQL for Oracle or any other dialect).
Posted by
Andy Brown
on 30 August 2023
Should you write your SQL queries in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) or Azure Data Studio (ADS)? Read this blog to find out!
Posted by
Andy Brown
on 29 August 2023
If you subscribe to the Excel Beta Preview channel (and are lucky) you can now insert Python code within Excel. The rest of us may have to wait a bit for the official release, but the wait will be worth it, as this blog shows.
Posted by
Andy Brown
on 26 August 2023
You can now download a PDF file listing our provisional schedule of courses for the next 12 months, up to the end of August 2024
Posted by
Andy Brown
on 26 August 2023
A substantial proportion of Wise Owls had never heard of either of these life hacks. Don't live in ignorance like we did (the texting trick in particular may change your life).
Posted by
Andy Brown
on 26 August 2023
A holiday season update with only two small changes: new icons to switch between mobile and normal layout, and a new scaling option for bubble charts (surely on-object formatting will go live soon?).
Posted by
Andy Brown
on 26 August 2023
Congratulations to Denzil Foakes of Skanska for winning our second film title rebus competition, out of a field of 24 entries. Here are the answers to the riddles!
Posted by
Andy Brown
on 25 July 2023
The July update contains smoothed and leader lines for charts, which are very welcome, but on-object interaction remains elusively stuck in preview ...
Posted by
Andy Brown
on 21 July 2023
We have 15 more films for you to identify from cryptic picture clues - something to while away the time while you sit on the beach, by the pool or in the office this summer - and there's a prize to be won too!
Posted by
Andy Brown
on 26 July 2023
At Wise Owl we are passionate about short-cut keys - both using them, and sharing discoveries about them with our newsletter readers. Imagine our excitement when we found these gems that you can use when browsing the Internet!
Posted by
Andy Brown
on 20 July 2023
You can now exchange high-fives in Teams: the first of a planned family of "together emojis".
Posted by
Andy Brown
on 20 July 2023
What connects the ability to high-five in Teams, the inclusion of Excel in EVE Online, a new default font in Office and pricing policy for the new Microsoft AI Copilot feature? This blog!
Posted by
Andy Brown
on 29 June 2023
We've introduced a new (shorter) two-day Introduction to Python course, a (longer) three-day advanced course and created a three-day fast-track course for those who want a more intensive learning experience.
Posted by
Andy Brown
on 26 June 2023
The June Power BI Desktop update includes an impressive new card visual, but on-object interaction (the new formatting feature which will change your working life) is still in preview, for now.
Posted by
Andy Brown
on 26 June 2023
Microsoft have introduced an impressive new card visual in the June 2023 Power BI Desktop update, which blows the old (rather feeble) card visual out of the water!
Posted by
Andy Brown
on 08 June 2023
It may seem a little OTT, but you can use your favourite AI tool as a calculator - as long as you don't mind if the answers are sometimes not quite right!
Posted by
Andy Brown
on 09 June 2023
The big event this month is the (long-awaited) release of Azure Maps, but the May 2023 update also includes the official launch of the Optimize ribbon and allows you to use measures as data labels, among other changes.
Posted by
Andy Brown
on 07 June 2023
While browsing through forums (as one does) we found what must surely be the most complicated Excel formula. At 1,860 characters long - and combining some of the most complicated Excel functions - it's a true Excel monster. Unless you can do better?!
Posted by
Andy Brown
on 07 June 2023
Find out who won last month's newsletter competition, what people's favourite Taylor Swift songs are and why her elbows are so special!
Posted by
Andy Brown
on 07 June 2023
One of the immediate and obvious ways to use AI tools is to boost your productivity as a programmer. This blog shows how you can use ChatGPT 4 and Google's Bard to write programs in SQL, Python, VBA, JQuery and Office Script (probably the 5 languages Wise Owl use most).