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    The Old New Thing

    August 2009 | The Old New Thing

    And they don't take American Express
    And they don't take American Express
    Raymond Chen Raymond Chen August 31, 2009 Aug 31, 2009 08/31/09
    A conversation between two friends of mine. Friend 1: Here's the fifteen dollars I owe you. Oh wait, I only have a twenty. Do you have a five? Friend 2: I don't carry cash. Everybody takes credit cards. Friend 1: I don't take credit cards. In my imagination, Friend 1 would have responded to "Everybody takes credit cards...

    Comments are closed.0Non-Computer
    Why do new controls tend to use COM instead of window messages?
    Why do new controls tend to use COM instead of window messages?
    Raymond Chen Raymond Chen August 31, 2009 Aug 31, 2009 08/31/09
    Commenter David wonders why new controls tend to use COM instead of window messages. "It seems that there must have been a decision to only develop COM controls after the invention of COM." There have been plenty of Win32 controls invented after the invention of COM. In fact, the entire common controls library was developed after the ...

    Comments are closed.0Other
    A different perspective from the first row of the symphony
    A different perspective from the first row of the symphony
    Raymond Chen Raymond Chen August 28, 2009 Aug 28, 2009 08/28/09
    On the weekend of November 10 during the 2007–2008 Seattle Symphony season, the symphony performed both Brahms piano concerti and two of his symphonies in consecutive concerts. My subscription included one of them, and I bought a separate ticket to the other one, and the seat I was given was in the very front row. You notice all ...

    Comments are closed.0Non-Computer
    The great thing about naming conventions is that not everybody will follow them
    The great thing about naming conventions is that not everybody will follow them
    Raymond Chen Raymond Chen August 28, 2009 Aug 28, 2009 08/28/09
    The naming convention for HRESULT is «facility»_«severity»_«name», where the facility portion (and the underscore) is omitted if the facility is FACILITY_NULL or FACILITY_WIN32. Good luck finding anybody who follows this naming convention. Okay, fine, if you look closely you might be able to find some ...

    Comments are closed.0Code
    Isn't every dinner at a technology conference a geek dinner?
    Isn't every dinner at a technology conference a geek dinner?
    Raymond Chen Raymond Chen August 27, 2009 Aug 27, 2009 08/27/09
    I'm always amused when somebody announces that they're having a geek dinner at a technology conference. I mean, at a conference like that, every dinner is a geek dinner. The geek density is so high, +4 enchanted vorpal swords quiver in fear. [Update 8am: Fixed broken permalink. Yay, they broke a permalink...

    Comments are closed.0Other
    What is the maximum number of timers a program can create?
    What is the maximum number of timers a program can create?
    Raymond Chen Raymond Chen August 27, 2009 Aug 27, 2009 08/27/09
    As MSDN correctly notes, "Timers are a limited global resource." How limited are they? (We're talking about timers created by SetTimer.) Not as limited as they once were. Originally, there were eight timers total for the entire system. When there are only eight timers, you have to be very careful not to waste them and to destroy them when ...

    Comments are closed.0History
    The way to stop people from copying files to a folder is to use NTFS security, not to block drag/drop
    The way to stop people from copying files to a folder is to use NTFS security, not to block drag/drop
    Raymond Chen Raymond Chen August 26, 2009 Aug 26, 2009 08/26/09
    A customer wanted to prevent users from copying files to certain locations, and they did it by hooking functions like SHFileOperation and failing the operation if the parameters were not to its liking. The customer found that the hooks stopped working in Windows Vista because Explorer in Windows Vista uses the new IFileOperation COM interface ...

    Comments are closed.0Tips/Support
    In Ephesus, you juggle or die
    In Ephesus, you juggle or die
    Raymond Chen Raymond Chen August 26, 2009 Aug 26, 2009 08/26/09
    In 1987, The Flying Karamazov Brothers performed their interpretation of Shakespeare's A Comedy of Errors. When I watched this show (part 1, part 2) when it first aired, it was my introduction both to the juggling team and to the play. It also reinforced my impression that Shakespeare was meant to be performed and not merely read...

    Comments are closed.0Non-Computer
    Meta-content: Suggestion Box 4 will open sometime next year
    Meta-content: Suggestion Box 4 will open sometime next year
    Raymond Chen Raymond Chen August 25, 2009 Aug 25, 2009 08/25/09
    Yesterday, I finished composing the last entry taken from an item in Suggestion Box 3. My prediction that the backlog would clear in early 2010 was off by exactly one year: The last Suggestion Box 3 entry is scheduled to be posted on January 3, 2011. I figure I'll open Suggestion Box 4 sometimes next year. But I'll leave it ...

    Comments are closed.0Non-Computer
    My phone just DoS'd my office network
    My phone just DoS'd my office network
    Raymond Chen Raymond Chen August 25, 2009 Aug 25, 2009 08/25/09
    The other day I was working in my office minding my own business when I suddenly lost network connectivity. I couldn't contact any machines other than the ones in my office. When this happens, I go through some basic troubleshooting steps. Is my neighbor's network okay? How about power-cycling the affected machines? Refreshing the TCP/IP ...

    Comments are closed.0Non-Computer
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