The Old New Thing

Knock knock. Who's there? Not you any more.

September 3, 2007 Sep 3, 2007 09/3/07
Raymond Chen
One of my many favorite Dilbert cartoons is also one of the earlier ones. It's the first strip reprinted in this article. It may not actually have happened, but I was told that that one project many years ago replaced its lead manager. While noteworthy, this sort of thing happens often enough that people take it in stride. What put it into a...

The Internet Explorer pop-up blocker follows guidelines, not rules

August 31, 2007 Aug 31, 2007 08/31/07
Raymond Chen
Here's a question that came in from a customer (paraphrased): Hello, we are developing an ASP.NET application and are running into problems with the pop-up blocker introduced in Windows XP Service Pack 2. Where can we get a full description of the rules that control whether a pop-up will be blocked so we can make sure our pop-ups ...

Somebody actually took the time to translate my book into Japanese, it appears

August 30, 2007 Aug 30, 2007 08/30/07
Raymond Chen
I have no idea who they are (since I can't read Japanese), but hatena appears to be some sort of Japanese social bookmarking site, and I'll often find hits from them in my referrer logs. One of the members found a newly-issued Japanese translation of my book, which opens up a whole new audience to my obnoxious personality. Stumbling across ...

Microspeak: FMLA

August 30, 2007 Aug 30, 2007 08/30/07
Raymond Chen
If you leave your computer unattended and logged in, especially if you work on the security team, you may come back to your office to find that somebody used your computer to sent email out to the entire team with the subject line FMLA. FMLA stands for "Fire my lame anterior" (except with another word for anterior). The implication is that ...

Kernel handles are not reference-counted

August 29, 2007 Aug 29, 2007 08/29/07
Raymond Chen
Here's a question that floated past some time ago: In my code, I have multiple objects that want to talk to the same handle (via ). Each time I create an object, I use to increment the reference count on the handle. That way, when each object calls , only the last one actually closes the handle. However, when I run the code, I find as soon...

Airport travel tip: LAX Terminal 6 (United)

August 28, 2007 Aug 28, 2007 08/28/07
Raymond Chen
When you enter Terminal 6 and turn right to enter the security queue, there are two sets of security equipment. If you are directed to the far set of equipment, you will find three lines for screening. At the point at which you have to choose which line to take, you can't see how your decision is going to play out. The arrangement is ...

With a new Start menu come new keyboard shortcuts

August 28, 2007 Aug 28, 2007 08/28/07
Raymond Chen
With the new Windows Vista Start menu, the keyboard shortcuts have once again been reorganized. You used to be able to hit the Windows key and then type L to call up the Log off menu, and then L again to trigger the logoff. Or you can hit the Windows key and then type I to launch Internet Explorer if you've been so careful to ensure ...

Is this the normal way of comparing toilets?

August 27, 2007 Aug 27, 2007 08/27/07
Raymond Chen
My colleague Erin Dallin remarked, "I just installed a new toilet as part of my bathroom remodel. I was told that it is capable of flushing 20 golf balls using only 1.6 gallons of water. I'd love to know how this standard was developed." Visit the product Web site and click on Flushing system in action to watch the video. Or read Wired's ...