Some of you have noticed Kickfire, a new sponsor at this year’s MySQL Conference and Expo. Like Keith Murphy, I have been involved with them for a while now. This article explains the basics of how their technology is different from the current state of the art in complex queries on large amounts of data.

Kickfire is developing a MySQL appliance that combines a pluggable storage engine (for MySQL 5.1) with a new kind of chip. On the surface, the storage engine is not that revolutionary: it is a column-store engine with data compression and some other techniques to reduce disk I/O, which is kind of par for the course in data warehousing today. The chip is the really exciting part of the technology.

The simplest description of their chip is that it …

You have only a few more days to sign up for the MySQL Conference and Expo before the early-bird discount goes away. Check out the schedule of speakers and tutorials, and sign up soon! And just in case you didn't get one from any of the other people blogging about it, you can email me for a code that's good for a 20% discount.

I'm presenting two sessions: one on the query cache, and one on EXPLAIN. Both are manageable for an hour-or-so talk. I'm not trying to boil the ocean, but rather to help you understand these important topics in ways you'll remember after leaving the conference.

I was also on the voting committee for the proposals, so I've read them all. I really believe this event is worth every penny. (Of course, as a speaker, it doesn't cost me... but I digress).

While …

I'll be attending the 2008 MySQL Conference and Expo again this year, and I'm looking forward to hearing some great sessions, meeting new and old friends, and giving sessions myself. As a proposal reviewer, I looked at and voted on 250+ proposals for sessions and tutorials for this conference. There are going to be some great sessions and tutorials.

I'm on the select board of elite people who were duped into reviewing proposals for the upcoming MySQL Conference and Expo 2008, and I'm here to tell you how to get your proposal accepted. Aside from bribing me with chocolate, that is.