Skip to main content
Microsoft
The Old New Thing
The Old New Thing
  • Home
  • DevBlogs
    • Visual Studio
    • Visual Studio Code
    • Visual Studio for Mac
    • DevOps
    • Developer support
    • CSE Developer
    • Azure SDK
    • IoT
    • Command Line
    • Perf and Diagnostics
    • Notification Hubs
    • Math in Office
    • DirectX
    • PIX
    • SurfaceDuo
    • Startups
    • Sustainable Engineering
    • C++
    • Java
    • Java Blog in Chinese
    • JavaScript
    • PowerShell Community
    • PowerShell Team
    • Python
    • Q#
    • TypeScript
    • Visual Basic
    • Visual C#
    • Visual F#
    • .NET
    • ASP.NET
    • NuGet
    • Xamarin
    • #ifdef Windows
    • Apps for Windows
    • Azure Depth Platform
    • Azure Government
    • Bing Dev Center
    • Microsoft Edge Dev
    • Microsoft Azure
    • Office 365 Development
    • Old New Thing
    • Windows MIDI and Music dev
    • Windows Search Platform
    • Azure Cosmos DB
    • Azure Data Studio
    • Azure SQL
    • OData
    • Revolutions R
    • SQL Server Data Tools

    The Old New Thing

    April 2011 | The Old New Thing

    Not quite understanding why you wash your hands before playing the piano
    Not quite understanding why you wash your hands before playing the piano
    Raymond Chen Raymond Chen April 29, 2011 Apr 29, 2011 04/29/11
    My niece wanted to play my piano, and I asked her to wash her hands. She said, "I don't need that, I have Magic Soap," and she produced a bottle of hand sanitizer. Um, the purpose of washing your hands isn't so the piano doesn't get sick. My piano-instructor cousin-in-law tells me that her young students often say, "My hands are not dirty. ...

    Comments are closed.0Non-Computer
    Why is there a RestoreLastError function that does the same thing as SetLastError?
    Why is there a RestoreLastError function that does the same thing as SetLastError?
    Raymond Chen Raymond Chen April 29, 2011 Apr 29, 2011 04/29/11
    Matt Pietrek noticed that Set­Last­Error and Restore­Last­Error do exactly the same thing and wondered why there's a separate function for it. It's to assist in debugging and diagnostics. Say you're debugging a problem and when you call Get­Last­Error you get ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED. It would really help a lot if you ...

    Comments are closed.0Code
    Microspeak: Hipo
    Microspeak: Hipo
    Raymond Chen Raymond Chen April 28, 2011 Apr 28, 2011 04/28/11
    A friend of mind was asked out of the blue, "What does hypo mean?" She started to flash back to high school English class and Greek word roots. "I've started to hear it everywhere. Like Everyone in that meeting is a hypo or We need to reach out to hypos." My friend realized that she had mis-heard the question. It was not about the Greek ...

    Comments are closed.0MicrospeakNon-Computer
    How do I pin a program directly to the Start menu rather than a shortcut?
    How do I pin a program directly to the Start menu rather than a shortcut?
    Raymond Chen Raymond Chen April 27, 2011 Apr 27, 2011 04/27/11
    Anonymous bemoans the fact that pinning programs to the Start menu (in Windows XP) actually pins the shortcut rather than the program itself. This means that if you right-click on a shortcut to pin it, then delete the shortcut, the pinned item stops working. How do you pin the program directly? You pin the program directly by right-...

    Comments are closed.0Tips/Support
    No, you can't ask whether your notification icon is visible or not
    No, you can't ask whether your notification icon is visible or not
    Raymond Chen Raymond Chen April 26, 2011 Apr 26, 2011 04/26/11
    A customer asked what started out as a simple question, but by now you know that this sort of simple question only raises new questions: Is there a way that we can detect that the user has hidden our notification icon? No, there is no way to ask whether your notification icon is hidden or visible. Users decide which icons they want to see, ...

    Comments are closed.0Code
    There's only so much you can do to stop running code from simulating UI actions
    There's only so much you can do to stop running code from simulating UI actions
    Raymond Chen Raymond Chen April 25, 2011 Apr 25, 2011 04/25/11
    Commenter KiwiBlue asks whether Captcha-style tests were considered to prevent unsigned drivers from programmatically clicking the 'Install anyway' button. I'm sure somebody considered it, but Captcha has its own problems. "Type the (distorted) letters below"-type Captcha cannot be used by people with visual impairments, people who are ...

    Comments are closed.0Other
    Even if you have a lock, you can borrow some lock-free techniques
    Even if you have a lock, you can borrow some lock-free techniques
    Raymond Chen Raymond Chen April 22, 2011 Apr 22, 2011 04/22/11
    Even if you prefer to use a lock (after all, they are much easier to program), you can borrow some lock-free techniques. For example, consider this: There are some concerns here. First of all, there's the lock hierarchy issue: If reticulating a spline takes the geometry lock, that may violate our lock hierarchy. If the lock g_cs is a hot...

    Comments are closed.0Code
    The performance improvements of a lock-free algorithm is often not in the locking
    The performance improvements of a lock-free algorithm is often not in the locking
    Raymond Chen Raymond Chen April 21, 2011 Apr 21, 2011 04/21/11
    GWO wonders what the conditions are under which the lock-free version significantly outpeforms a simple critical section. Remember that switching to a lock-free algorithm should be guided by performance measurements. Switching from a simple algorithm to a complex one shouldn't be done unless you know that the simple algorithm is having ...

    Comments are closed.0Code
    Corrections to Patterns for using the InitOnce functions
    Corrections to Patterns for using the InitOnce functions
    Raymond Chen Raymond Chen April 20, 2011 Apr 20, 2011 04/20/11
    Adam Rosenfield pointed out that it is not possible to fail an asynchronous initialization; if you pass INIT_ONCE_INIT_FAILED when completing an asynchronous initialization, the function fails with ERROR_INVALID_PARAMETER. (Serves me right for writing an article the night before it goes up.) A more correct version is therefore In other ...

    Comments are closed.0Code
    Endorsement: Aaron Margosis's Unintended Consequences of Security Lockdowns talk at TechEd
    Endorsement: Aaron Margosis's Unintended Consequences of Security Lockdowns talk at TechEd
    Raymond Chen Raymond Chen April 19, 2011 Apr 19, 2011 04/19/11
    At TechEd 2011 North America in Atlanta, Aaron Margosis is presenting a talk on Unintended Consequences of Security Lockdowns. I've seen the internal version of his talk and I give it two thumbs up. If you're going to be at TechEd North America, consider adding it to your schedule...

    Comments are closed.0Other
    • Page 1
    • Page 2
    • Page 3
    • Next page
    Archive
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • December 2007
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007
  • July 2007
  • June 2007
  • May 2007
  • April 2007
  • March 2007
  • February 2007
  • January 2007
  • December 2006
  • November 2006
  • October 2006
  • September 2006
  • August 2006
  • July 2006
  • June 2006
  • May 2006
  • April 2006
  • March 2006
  • February 2006
  • January 2006
  • December 2005
  • November 2005
  • October 2005
  • September 2005
  • August 2005
  • July 2005
  • June 2005
  • May 2005
  • April 2005
  • March 2005
  • February 2005
  • January 2005
  • December 2004
  • November 2004
  • October 2004
  • September 2004
  • August 2004
  • July 2004
  • June 2004
  • May 2004
  • April 2004
  • March 2004
  • February 2004
  • January 2004
  • December 2003
  • November 2003
  • October 2003
  • September 2003
  • August 2003
  • July 2003
  • Relevant Links

    I wrote a book
    Ground rules
    Disclaimers and such
    My necktie's Twitter

    Categories

    Code
    History
    Tips/Support
    Other
    Non-Computer

    Stay informed

    Login
    Code Block
    What's new
    • Surface Duo
    • Surface Laptop Go
    • Surface Pro X
    • Surface Go 2
    • Surface Book 3
    • Microsoft 365
    • Windows 10 apps
    • HoloLens 2
    Microsoft Store
    • Account profile
    • Download Center
    • Microsoft Store support
    • Returns
    • Order tracking
    • Virtual workshops and training
    • Microsoft Store Promise
    • Financing
    Education
    • Microsoft in education
    • Office for students
    • Office 365 for schools
    • Deals for students & parents
    • Microsoft Azure in education
    Enterprise
    • Azure
    • AppSource
    • Automotive
    • Government
    • Healthcare
    • Manufacturing
    • Financial services
    • Retail
    Developer
    • Microsoft Visual Studio
    • Windows Dev Center
    • Developer Center
    • Microsoft developer program
    • Channel 9
    • Microsoft 365 Dev Center
    • Microsoft 365 Developer Program
    • Microsoft Garage
    Company
    • Careers
    • About Microsoft
    • Company news
    • Privacy at Microsoft
    • Investors
    • Diversity and inclusion
    • Accessibility
    • Security
    English (United States)
    • Sitemap
    • Contact Microsoft
    • Privacy
    • Manage cookies
    • Terms of use
    • Trademarks
    • Safety & eco
    • About our ads
    • © Microsoft 2021