Visual Studio, SQL Management Studio, and SQL Express on a Windows 8 Tablet

I recently bought a Dell Latitude 10 Essentials tablet with Windows 8, my first experience with any personal Windows 8 device.  Of course one of the first things I wanted to do was install my development tools on this 64GB tablet, but I was skeptical if it had the memory and the juice to handle the Studios and database engine service.

Side note, my tablet started with around 32GB of space free after pre-installed programs.

So I installed Visual Studio 2012, SSMS 2012, and SQL Express 2012 DB engine, and have 12 GB to spare.  Not a lot but it fits.  Now all I need is to add a 64GB or 128GB SD card to the open slot, and I will have plenty of space for database and code hosting.

So if you are considering this type of setup on a Windows 8 tablet, my one piece of advice is do not settle for 32GB of internal memory because you will be disappointed.  I would say 64GB plus SD expansion room is a minimum, and if you can get 128GB internal or better yet 256GB+ in SSD internal, the more the better.

I will post updates if anything changes after a few weeks of use.  If anyone reading this has some experience with this type of setup, please post in comments.

T-Mobile's Cheap Internet and Mobile Blogging

I am using a 30 day trial of T-Mobile's web plan for cell phones. This plan includes unlimited web access but does not include downloads or a text plan. The up side... it only costs $10/Month.

So far I am very pleased. In fact I am writing this blog on my Shadow phone at a time that would usually be lost to simple waiting. Since I am used to the two letters per key typing method, I can crank out the words at about 60% of keyboard typing speed.

The strange thing is that T-Mobile limits this cheap web plan to phones that it considers non-smart phones. If you have a G1 you have to use at least the basic $25/Month data plan. Even stranger is the fact that they don't consider a phone like the Shadow, which runs Windows Mobile 6, a smart phone. But hey, I'm not complaining.

This little phone is still not as efficient as the ever popular netbooks, but on the flip side I always have my phone. Mostly I think it fulfills a role that I require within the ever broadening array of Internet enabled devices.