The Old New Thing

Why do DLGC_WANTALLKEYS and DLGC_WANTMESSAGE have the same value?

June 26, 2007 Jun 26, 2007 06/26/07
Raymond Chen
From a purely theoretical point of view, there is only one "want" code you really need: . All the others are just conveniences. For example, returning means "I want this message if it is an arrow key; otherwise, I don't care." It lets you write instead of the more cumbersome (but equivalent) Similarly, is equivalent to returning if ...

There's no point improving the implementation of a bad idea

June 25, 2007 Jun 25, 2007 06/25/07
Raymond Chen
is a bad idea and you shouldn't call it. In the comments, many people proposed changes to the function to improve the implementation. But what's the point? is just a bad idea. There's no point improving the implementation of a bad idea. On the other hand, some people suggested making it clear that is a bad idea by making it worse. While...

Einstein the geographer? A hoax.

June 22, 2007 Jun 22, 2007 06/22/07
Raymond Chen
Perhaps you've seen this quote attributed to Albert Einstein: As a young man, my fondest dream was to become a geographer. However, while working in the Customs Office, I thought deeply about the matter and concluded that it was far too difficult a subject. With some reluctance, I then turned to physics as an alternative. Well, it's a fake...

Even advanced users liked the Windows XP Start menu

June 22, 2007 Jun 22, 2007 06/22/07
Raymond Chen
In addition to testing out the Windows XP Start menu on beginners, we asked advanced users (including lots of system administrators) what they thought of it, and the response was still positive. This was kind of surprising, for advanced users tend to be resistant to change. In fact, system administrators like the new Start menu so much ...

How does the Windows XP Start menu decide that a program is newly-installed?

June 21, 2007 Jun 21, 2007 06/21/07
Raymond Chen
Actually, I discussed this topic already, but I'm mentioning it again here since it's thematically related to the other Start menu articles. I'm told that there have been a few tweaks to the rules for Windows Vista. Some installers set the time stamps on the program to match the time stamp of the install media. This makes for pretty ...

In order to serve you better: Frequent flyer miles expiring sooner

June 20, 2007 Jun 20, 2007 06/20/07
Raymond Chen
At the beginning of the year, United quietly changed its policy on frequently flyer points. Under the old rules, your account remained active provided there was some sort of account activity in the past three years. The activity could be taking a flight, redeeming points for product, or earning points through one of their partners. Anything ...

I'm pretty sure he's going to be the envy of his next school reunion

June 19, 2007 Jun 19, 2007 06/19/07
Raymond Chen
Masi Oka has pretty much everything the dorky nerd geek has ever dreamed of. Right out of college, he lands a job at Industrial Light and Magic doing digital effects, developing complex algorithms for water and other fluid effects seen in movies like The Perfect Storm. That'd already be enough to make him the hit of his next school reunion...