Spring has finally sprung, even though you can't really tell from the odd weather that we've been having here in New York lately. Along with spring, there are a few tidbits of useful news to cover this month from Macromedia and elsewhere.

First up, there are a useful new hot fix for CFMX 6.1 that has sprung from Macromedia's development offices this month. Full details (and the download) are available at: www.macromedia.com/support/coldfusion/ts/documents/client_purge_hotfix.htm.

In a nutshell, MX runs hourly purge operations on client variables stored in the registry and data sources, and as the number of entries in the client store increases, the CPU usage needed to purge the entries increases as well. The hot fix helps these performance issues, and who doesn't like better performance?

Second is another useful hot fix which is the release of updated DataDirect JDBC drivers (3.3) for those keeping track. The new drivers fix a variety of server stability issues, including the 100% CPU utilization problem that some folks have been experiencing. Additionally, they also add database failover, and SQL Server Windows Authentication support, which some folks have been clamoring for. Full details for that one, along with the download, are available at www.macromedia.com/support/coldfusion/ts/documents/cfmx61_sqlserver_cpu.htm.

In live event news, MAX 2004, Macromedia's annual user conference covering ColdFusion, along with the rest of their product line, has been officially announced for November 1 - 4 in New Orleans, LA. You can follow the progress at www.macromedia.com/macromedia/events/max/ where more details will become available as they get 'em. Mark it on your calendar!

Speaking of conferences, I hope (and expect) to see a bunch of you before November, at the always well-organized CFUN '04 (www.cfconf.org/cfun-04). This event will take place June 26 - 27 in Maryland. They've got a great lineup as I've mentioned before (and I don't just say that because my name's in it too), with the who's who of the CF world speaking on a wide variety of useful topics. (The full schedule is available at www.cfconf.org/cfun-04/session.cfm).

You'll recognize many familiar faces from CFDJ there, including Ben Forta, Raymond Camden, Simon Horwith, Hal Helms, Charlie Arehart, Michael Dinowitz, and a slew more that you won't want to miss. It's a great way to tune up your knowledge and have some fun as well. We'll be doing our CFDJ Keynote Panel again this year, with the various CFDJ writers up on stage, ready to discuss anything and everything relating to CF. If you have any questions from "How do I..." to "Where is ColdFusion going this year?" e-mail them on over to me and we'll pose them to the panel. Hope to see you there!