The Old New Thing
Practical development throughout the evolution of Windows.
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Microspeak: FMLA
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 somebody who left their computer unattended and logged in has left themselves open to an identity theft attack, for the person who sent the email could very well have just sent the email to Bill Gates demanding to be fired. (The victim of this prank is typically somebody new ...
Follow-up: Mysterious Dietrich identified from that bizarre Ferarri crash
Last year, a spectacular crash of a $1 million Ferrari left a lot of questions unanswered. Who were those mysterious men who picked up Eriksson? How did a fully loaded automatic pistol get under the seat of a person who stopped to help? Why exactly does the San Gabriel Valley Transit Authority have an anti-terrorism unit? And who is this mysterious Dietrich who was allegedly driving the car when it crashed? Well, the authorities think they have an answer to that last question. Trevor Karney is in custody on charges of drunken driving, among others. He gave a false address to the police, and while they were try...
Kernel handles are not reference-counted
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 However, when I run the code, I find as soon as the first object calls , the handle is no longer valid and nobody else can use it. What flags do I need to pass to to get this to work? In other words, the code went something like this: Kernel handles aren't reference-counted. When you call , that closes the handl...
Airport travel tip: LAX Terminal 6 (United)
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 effectively the same as at Newark: You want to take the rightmost line, number three in the diagram below.
With a new Start menu come new keyboard shortcuts
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 that Internet Explorer is the only program that you run frequently which begins with the letter I. With Windows Vista, the keyboard focus is on the Search box when you open the Start menu, so these one-letter shortcuts are treated as the start of a search. The designer...
Is this the normal way of comparing toilets?
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 coverage of flush technology. "I also suspect that someday I'll finally break down and verify just how many golf balls I can flush."
Yes indeed, all Microsoft files are (or should be) digitally signed
Yes indeed, all Microsoft files are (or should be) digitally signed (as far as I'm aware). So I'm not quite sure what commenter Dave is getting at: The Microsoft file should have embedded vendor/product information saying it's from Microsoft and will be cryptographically signed by Microsoft. Similarly-named malware won't be signed by Microsoft, unless Verisign slipped up *again* and issued another bogus certificate. Wow, this is such a great idea, that it's been true for many years now. All Microsoft files are digitally signed. They have to be; otherwise, Windows File Protection wouldn't be able to tell whet...
What happens at LL Bean at three in the morning?
The LL Bean flagship store in Maine is open 24 hours a day. Joshua Gleason went to see what people do there at three in the morning. There are people around, but they're not shopping.
Microspeak: Value proposition
This term is used outside Microsoft as well, but it still bothers me. The value proposition is the benefit that the end-user gets from your product, the thing that convinces them to buy it. What makes it even more annoying is when it is abbreviated to value prop. Sample usage: "The main value proposition of this model is that it permits changes to be tracked without imposing a significant burden upon the editors."