The Old New Thing
Practical development throughout the evolution of Windows.
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Sep 22, 2026
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19
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3
A brief history of Windows scroll bar shortcuts
Right-clicking and shift-clicking.
Sep 21, 2026
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9
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4
What’s the highest legal FILETIME? Is it safe to use?
Being wary of how people use it and how it interacts with other types.
Sep 18, 2026
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7
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2
Comparing exception behavior of magic statics, std::call_once , and std::async
Do you try again or give up?
Sep 17, 2026
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2
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3
std::call_once vs. std::async
Simple vs complex machinery.
Sep 16, 2026
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1
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4
Magic statics vs. std::call_once
They sort of do the same thing, but differently.
Sep 15, 2026
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10
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3
Why do Microsoft job levels start in the high 50’s instead of starting at a sane number like 1?
It used to start at 1, but that was the old system.
Sep 14, 2026
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8
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3
Why didn’t ReadDirectoryChangesW provide a way to correlate the two sides of a rename operation?
Perhaps it wasn't necessary, or perhaps it didn't occur to them that this a problem.
Sep 11, 2026
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6
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0
How can I remove the Close button from my window caption?
Not through normal means.
Sep 10, 2026
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14
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7
Why is the x86 undefined instruction called ud2? Why 2?
It came after <CODE>ud0</CODE> and <CODE>ud1</CODE>.