Showing archive results for 2007

Sep 18, 2007
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Japanese street fashion reaches Finland

Raymond Chen

På hemsidan av Martin Frid, en av programledarna av NHK:s japanska nyheter på svenska, hittade jag dem här fotona av japanskt gataklädemode... i Finland! (Don't worry, the web site is in English.) Nu behöver du inte resa till Japan. Om det är en positiv utveckling är jag inte helt säker på...

Non-Computer
Sep 18, 2007
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Why is my delay-rendered format being rendered too soon?

Raymond Chen

Here's a customer question: I've put data on the clipboard as delay-rendered, but I'm getting a request for my for many operations even though nobody actually looks at the files. Operations such as right-clicking a blank space on the desktop or opening the Edit menu. I don't want to render the data until the user hits Paste because generating th...

Code
Sep 17, 2007
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Nearly everybody has a $500 flashlight

Raymond Chen

When I described using a laptop computer as an impromptu flashlight, that triggered a lot of comments from people using their cell phone or PDA as a flashlight. One nickname I've heard for this phenomenon is "the $500 flashlight", $500 being the price of a PDA or SmartPhone at the time the term was coined. (I was amused to find that even Scott A...

Non-Computer
Sep 17, 2007
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What do I do with per-user data when I uninstall?

Raymond Chen

If the user chooses to uninstall your program, what do you do with the data your program kept in , and other parts of the user profile? Should you enumerate all the profiles on the machine and clean them up? No. Let the data go. First, messing with the profiles of users that aren't logged on can result in data corruption, as we saw when we look...

Other
Sep 14, 2007
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Another type of misplaced apology: Apologizing for not knowing the penalty

Raymond Chen

You may remember this story from a few years ago. A college student printed his own bar codes (for inexpensive items), placed them over the bar code for expensive items, then went through the register and ended up paying $4.99 for a $149.99 iPod, for example. Ironically, he would have gotten off lighter if he had merely shoplifted the items, beca...

Non-Computer
Sep 14, 2007
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The code page on the server is not necessarily the code page on the client

Raymond Chen

It's not enough to choose a code page. You have to choose the right code page. We have a system that reformats and reinstalls a network client computer each time it boots up. The client connects to the server to obtain a loader program, and the loader program then connects to the server to download the actual operating system. If anything goes wr...

Code
Sep 13, 2007
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Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory now more popular than vice versa

Raymond Chen

If you go to your favorite search engine and search for the phrase "defeat from the jaws of victory", you'll find that it turns up several times more its than the phrase "victory from the jaws of defeat". I just find it oddly amusing that the joke has become more popular than the phrase it came from.

Non-Computer
Sep 13, 2007
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Why isn't QuickEdit on by default in console windows?

Raymond Chen

In the properties of console windows, you can turn on QuickEdit mode, which allows the mouse to be used to select text without having to go explicitly into Mark mode. (In a sense, the console window is permanently in Mark mode.) Why isn't this on by default? It's so useful! Somebody thought the same thing and changed the default in one of the earl...

History
Sep 12, 2007
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Astrologers struggling with reclassification of Pluto

Raymond Chen

One of the consequences of the demotion of Pluto from planet to dwarf planet is being felt by astrologers, who now have to decide what role the body plays in the lives of mere humans. I remember reading an article many years ago wherein the writer asked several astrologers what impact the discovery of a new planet would have on their craft and wh...

Non-Computer
Sep 12, 2007
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Making some statements and asking for advice isn't a question

Raymond Chen

This is a corollary to Don't forget to ask your question: Making some statements and asking for advice isn't a question. When we do X, and then select Y, and then click the Q button, we get an error message saying that Q can't be performed because "The computer Z that Y refers to cannot be contacted." Can you provide advice? ...

Non-Computeremail