The Old New Thing
Practical development throughout the evolution of Windows.
Latest posts
What kind of uncle am I?
The terminology of family relationships.
The Start menu pin list is just a list of items; there’s no magic
Commenter Kevin Dente asks, "Is it possible to put a folder on the Start Menu Pin list and have it cascade?" No. The last time I checked (which was back in Windows XP), the Start menu pin list was a list, not a menu. (Specifically, a list view in tile mode.) When you click on the icon, it launches. There is no code to say "Oh, if this flag is set, then let me draw a little menu arrow next to the item, and if the user clicks the arrow, bind to the target of this shortcut, enumerate its contents, and create a menu from it." Remember, features don't exist by default; somebody has to implement them.
No, we’re not nerds, why do you ask?
Last year, to celebrate successful completion of a project milestone, our group went on a "cultural expedition" to a glass-blowing studio where we were to learn about the craft of glass blowing and even do some of it ourselves. (By the way, it was fun.) One of the glassblowers had been making a lot of little jokes about Frodo and Mount Doom. Working with molten glass does that to a person, I guess. When it came time to break up into smaller groups, each working with a different glassblower, the Tolkein-obsessed glassblower announced, "Okay, let's do it this way. Lord of the Ring fans on this side of the room, S...
Fashion is something that can be acquired by looking at lots of different fashions
Actress Brenda Dickson teaches us how to be awesome. Update: Apparently that video link died within days of my finding it, but there are plenty of other copies floating around the Intertubes. Here's one of many series on YouTube: Part 1 (Fashion), Part 2 (Make-Up), Part 3 (Exercise). and Part 4 (Diet and Nutrition),
Why are there two values for PSH_WIZARD97?
Welcome, Slashdot readers. Remember, this Web site is for entertainment purposes only. If you go cruising through the commctrl.h header file, you'll find that there are two different definitions for PSH_WIZARD97: #if (_WIN32_IE >= 0x0400) ... #if (_WIN32_IE < 0x0500) #define PSH_WIZARD97 0x00002000 #else #define PSH_WIZARD97 0x01000000 #endif ... Why are there two values for PSH_WIZARD97? Set the wayback machine to 1997. (Note: Dates are approximate.) The user interface design team studied how Windows 95 wizards have been faring and have begun using what they've learned t...
If you can’t find the statistics you want, then just make them up
Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported on America's Newest Profession: Bloggers for Hire and included this handy little chart: I found this number hard to believe, so I followed the Source link to the information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. I found that, yup, in a May 2007 survey, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that there were indeed 555,770 lawyers, 394,710 computer programmers, 299,160 chief executives, and 289,710 fire fighters in the United States. Bloggers? Didn't even make the list. The number 452,000 appears nowhere in the Bureau of Labor Statistics report. If you can't f...
What structure packing do the Windows SDK header files expect?
/Zp8 In words, integral types and pointers up to eight bytes in size are stored at their natural alignment. Larger types are stored at eight-byte alignment. In other words (saying it a third time), let be an integral or pointer type. If ≤ 8, then is aligned at a -byte boundary. If ≥ 8, then is aligned at an 8-byte boundary.
How to answer the telephone, according to the manual
I have a fancy new office telephone with a bajillion features (most of which I will never even find, much less use). The telephone comes with a helpful manual, explaining how to carry out various tasks. For example: Answering a Call Using the Handset: Pick up the handset. Cool, I was wondering about that.
Principles of economics, translated
Yoram Bauman, the stand-up economist translates Mankiw's ten principles of economics into English. The proof presented in the footnote to principle 5, as well as an extended version of the translation, can be found in the Annals of Improbable Research.