Entries for lars

C9 Email form broken? [C9 Email form broken?]

lars — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 15:25:06 GMT

Does the C9 email form work? I don't seem to get any mail when I test sending email to myself.

(The address is correct and it works from Outlook).

in reply to C9 Email form broken?

Software activation and product end of life [Software activation and product end of life]

lars — Tue, 10 May 2005 01:00:39 GMT

Software like Window XP and Office requires activation after being installed. How will this be handled after Microsoft announces that those products have reached their "end of life"? Will Microsoft continue to run activation servers "forever", or will people be forced to upgrade when they fail to activate after a reinstall?

in reply to Software activation and product end of life

Free upgrade to XP64 [Free upgrade to XP64]

lars — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 20:04:24 GMT

Looks like people with x64 hardware running Windows XP gets to upgrade to Windows XP 64-bit free of charge. How cool is that? Rock'n'roll!

in reply to Free upgrade to XP64

How "open" are YOU? [How "open" are YOU?]

lars — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 17:45:12 GMT

So, we know that Microsoft is trying to be open and transparent and communicate on all levels, with blogs, chats etc.

How transparent is the average 9er? What kind of communication do you permit, and why (not)? Do you put your phone number on the homepage? Your MSN Messenger address? Skype? ICQ?

(I've still not figured out my own take on this one yet.)

in reply to How "open" are YOU?

Penguins at airport security [Penguins at airport security]

lars — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 01:07:47 GMT

"The first penguin seems to be wondering why this is necessary. "It's not like I planned to hijack the plane to Antarctica."

The Denver Channel: Penguin at airport security

(Via: Bruce Schneier's blog)

in reply to Penguins at airport security

Re: End of an Era, Proof [Re: End of an Era, Proof]

lars — Fri, 15 Apr 2005 14:41:20 GMT

shooby wrote:

I'd be your salvation, if you listen.

I knew it! It's another one of those "how to get into heaven" type of threads isn't it? :p

in reply to Re: End of an Era, Proof

Re: The End of an Era [Re: The End of an Era]

lars — Tue, 12 Apr 2005 18:45:12 GMT

billh wrote:

Bad karma, away! Shoo! Perhaps Charles should perform some GUI Feng Shui on this site by rearranging the forums.

in reply to Re: The End of an Era

MSN Messenger encryption [MSN Messenger encryption]

lars — Tue, 12 Apr 2005 01:25:33 GMT

I'm looking for something that will encrypt/decrypt my MSN Messenger traffic on the fly. It doesn't have to be amazingly secure, I'm just trying to stop the casual snooper watching my traffic on the wire. Since it would have to be installed on the recipients machine as well it should be as cheap as possible.

Any ideas?

in reply to MSN Messenger encryption

Re: The End of an Era [Re: The End of an Era]

lars — Wed, 06 Apr 2005 17:10:29 GMT

And all along I though toast was a Mac thingie.

in reply to Re: The End of an Era

Google: That's my layout, now hand over your domain Mister! [Google: That's my layout, now hand over your domain Mister!]

lars — Tue, 07 Sep 2004 14:35:57 GMT

"The takedown notice was rather curious in its use of American law, given that the site is at a Belgian web address, but it appears as though the server itself is hosted in Houston, Texas. [...] They insist not only that the parody stop, but that the domain be transferred to Google. See, it's all fun and games until you make a parody of a Google site.

If Microsoft did this, half of the planet would explode. Don't be evil, mm'kay!"

Google puts the hammer down on Google parodies

in reply to Google: That's my layout, now hand over your domain Mister!

MS Office: The Next Generation? [MS Office: The Next Generation?]

lars — Tue, 03 Aug 2004 23:26:11 GMT

How is the next generation of Microsoft Office coming along? Maybe you could do some interviews with the Office dev team? That would be interesting!

in reply to MS Office: The Next Generation?

Fun with IE: Crash IE with 11 bytes [Fun with IE: Crash IE with 11 bytes]

lars — Mon, 26 Jul 2004 23:37:47 GMT

"IE seems to have problems handling Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) elements and therefore an attacker can easily crash IE by using the following, imho, weird combinations of CSS elements:
<STYLE>@;/*
There you go, 11 bytes is all it takes to crash IE. Having <STYLE>@;/*
alone is enough, other HTML tags are not necessary."

http://www.ecqurity.com/adv/IEstyle.html

in reply to Fun with IE: Crash IE with 11 bytes

Informant in `Sasser' worm case under investigation [Informant in `Sasser' worm case under investigation]

lars — Wed, 16 Jun 2004 18:29:21 GMT

"The informant who tipped Microsoft Corp. to the identity of the "Sasser" computer worm's creator last month is among five people under investigation as possible accomplices, prosecutors said Wednesday."

Informant in `Sasser' worm case under investigation, German prosecutors say

Greed and stupidity in perfect harmony. LOL!

/Lars.

in reply to Informant in `Sasser' worm case under investigation

Microsoft antivirus [Microsoft antivirus]

lars — Wed, 16 Jun 2004 13:43:41 GMT

Mike Nash, chief of Microsoft's security business unit, told reporters that Microsoft is developing software to protect personal computers running Windows against malicious software, the worms and viruses that have plagued users with data loss, shutdowns and disruptions in Web traffic in recent years.

"We're still planning to offer our own AV (anti-virus) product," Nash said

Reuters: Microsoft on Track to Offer Anti-Virus Software

This is going to be interesting. If Microsoft starts selling an anti-virus solution, they are in a sense charging for their own faults. No security holes - no anti-virus program needed. So in order för the Anti-virus division to show a profit, windows needs more security problems.

If Microsoft integrates it into the OS, or gives the product away for free - we're right back the situation where MSIE was offered free and Netscape cost money. Lawsuits, Lawsuits, Lawsuits.

The only way to win is to make it so GOOD that it puts an end to the whole virus plague. That is one challenging task.

/Lars.

in reply to Microsoft antivirus

What is...? [What is...?]

lars — Tue, 15 Jun 2004 22:48:57 GMT

Okey so, I'm abit bored today.

Edit: just to clairfy: These are results returned when searching on www.solvalou.com. Follow the links.

Linux is ...

Linux is for Bitches.
Linux is Right For You.
Linux is not open source.
Linux is more secure than any other operating system
Linux is obsolete.

Windows is ...

Windows is a Security Nightmare.
Windows is cheaper than Linux
Windows is free and offers a one-click.
Windows is here.

Microsoft is ...

Microsoft is Building a Global Monopoly.
Microsoft is not making money on its browsers.
Microsoft is making lemonade.
Microsoft is not an innovator.
Microsoft is right.
Microsoft is Plain Crazy.
Microsoft is everywhere.

Scoble is...

Scoble is a Worm.
Scoble is still looking over his shoulder.
Scoble is a good guy.
Scoble is just plain scary.
Scoble is wrapping.
Scoble is losing it.

Lars is...

Lars is Online
Lars is approximately £1.
Lars is Torture
Lars is most professional.
Lars is a little BUTT KISS *.
Lars is a young strong Judo exerciser from Jutland.
Lars is scheduled for decommissioning early this summer.

channel 9 is ...

Channel 9 is Alive.
Channel 9 is all about the conversation.
Channel 9 is either the next big thing in corporate communications
Channel 9 is available at http.

Just for fun.

/Lars.

in reply to What is...?

Moblog dead in the water? [Moblog dead in the water?]

lars — Tue, 15 Jun 2004 14:35:18 GMT

Dudes - Get those cameras a'snappin' again!

/Lars.

in reply to Moblog dead in the water?

HoTMaiL vs GMail - bring it on! [HoTMaiL vs GMail - bring it on!]

lars — Mon, 10 May 2004 08:50:12 GMT

Extremetech.com has a Preview of Google's Gmail Beta

The part I find most interesting is that the amount of ad space so far looks pretty okey. Maybe they'll crank it up a bit when it goes public. But it looks pretty slick compared to MSN / Hotmail. I wouldn't use Hotmail at all if it didn't integrate with Outlook. Those flashy ads are just horrible. And it's only 20 (?) Mb of space? Maybe GMail isn't so bad. Wonder what MSNs move will be?

(Image from Extremetech for those that think the article is a bit on the long side.)

in reply to HoTMaiL vs GMail - bring it on!

A bug that just might kill you [A bug that just might kill you]

lars — Wed, 05 May 2004 23:26:13 GMT

Independent published an article today about how the Sasser Worm crashed UK Coastguard computers.

It makes one think. It's easy to slip up and leave something vulnerable. But in todays world it may actually end up killing someone.

/Lars.

in reply to A bug that just might kill you

Longhorn back to basics: Error messages that makes sense! [Longhorn back to basics: Error messages that makes sense!]

lars — Wed, 05 May 2004 20:09:22 GMT

I have a suggestion for an improvement that I think is long over due. And this is going to be a real rant, so hold on to your hats.

Short version: Something should be made to make system errors more understandable to the end user.

Rant: Right now there are two levels of errors.

The ones you get in windows that is pointless because
they don't give enough information - like "Unable to print", and then you know that the Wizard is just going to ask you if the cable is plugged in and then give up.

And then there is the other kind, the kind that is horribly undecipherable. The information you get when Windows blue screens is practicly useless for the average joe. And for most computer professionals outside Microsoft aswell. When my computer reboots and I find an entry in the event log that says "event ID 1003, category 202, source: unknown, System Error". What am I supposed to do with that information? First stop is the Knowledgebase. And I'm grateful for that. But if that turns up a blank? Call Microsoft Technical Support and start handing over money? And to make it even more useless, it's even translated. Probably by someone who didn't know what it ment either...

It's like being right back in the good old days when
the Amiga coughed up a [guru meditation] with some strange number you could look up to find out what subsystem that crashed. Atleast that was cute. Now it's 20 years later. And I still have to go to
www.softwaretipsandtricks.com or www.eventid.net or some other strange website. And if I'm lucky, and that's a big IF, they have a listing relevant to my case. Is it so hard to put something understandable in the event log? Or is it obscure by design to generate support call revenue? Talk to me.
But don't tell me to analyze the crash dump. Normal end users don't do that. And I shouldn't have to do it either.

Get some guys over from the Longhorn translucent spinning 3D prettywindows team and put them to work writing real error messages, and get the basics right first.

/Lars.

in reply to Longhorn back to basics: Error messages that makes sense!

C# v2.0 Specification [C# v2.0 Specification]

lars — Sat, 01 May 2004 15:30:44 GMT

Does the C# 2.0 Specification (July 2003) available at C# Language Corner describe the way C# will be implemented in Whidbey? If not, where can I obtain the most recent draft? And when will the final standard be ready?

/Lars.

in reply to C# v2.0 Specification

Integrate ebooks with Visual Studio [Integrate ebooks with Visual Studio]

lars — Wed, 28 Apr 2004 00:20:32 GMT

Alot of books these days come with an ebook version on CD. Many of them are in Compiled HTML (CHM) format. Atleast the books from Microsoft Press.

Wouldn't it be great to be able to integrate the books you buy with Visual Studio? Drop the CHM file in a special directory and get it searched right alongside MSDN (and Codewize). I think that would be great. Right now I have to first find the file, open it and then search. Never happens.

Btw; what is the best tool to handle your CHM collection? Is there a tool that let you index and keep a searchable library?

/Lars.

in reply to Integrate ebooks with Visual Studio

Come on Microsoft people. Let's see your bookshelves! [Come on Microsoft people. Let's see your bookshelves!]

lars — Wed, 21 Apr 2004 15:48:11 GMT

Created a new thread for this question that came up in the thread "Good books for learning to program".

Jaz wrote:
Just wondering. What do the MS guys have on their bookshelves, programming related and well maybe some fiction?

Excellent question! Come on MS people. Let's see your bookshelves! Why not post a picture of it so we can see which O'reilly books you're secretly reading.

How is Microsoft related to Microsoft Press? Does every employee get a set of books - do you just request them? Or do you have to open your wallet like the rest of us?

/Lars.

in reply to Come on Microsoft people. Let's see your bookshelves!

Outlook for the whole family. [Outlook for the whole family.]

lars — Mon, 19 Apr 2004 17:07:58 GMT

I've been using Outlook for a few years, and now I've managed to convince my wife to give up Eudora and run Outlook too. So now I'm trying to share my calendar and contacts with her. Sound simple enough. Atleast I thought so.

The only way I've found so far is to share a .pst file, but there is no multiuser support for doing that. It seems like the kosher way to go is to run Exchange. But Exchange is not free. Nor is the server OS it requires. And so on. So it suddenly becomes very expensive. And complicated!

Have Microsoft got a strategy for dealing with using Outlook within a family (home use)? I've read that there used to be something called Web folders" in earlier versions but that they are gone in 2003.

/Lars.

in reply to Outlook for the whole family.

Give me your best Windows diagnostics tips! [Give me your best Windows diagnostics tips!]

lars — Mon, 19 Apr 2004 16:48:48 GMT

The scenario:

You're a happy windows user that run Windows 2000 or XP. Got a few applications installed from major vendors like Micrsoft, Adobe, Macromedia and Symantec. Not too many freeware quick hacks. The basic setup. And so one day out of the blue, it happens. You're working as usual and the computer freezes up. So you do the monkey manouver and bring up the Task Manager.

There you find 99% idle time, no hung apps. No unusual memory usage. Not too much kernel time. No disk activity.

So you kill explorer.exe and restarts it. And maybe that does the trick. Or you have to reboot. And the computer runs again. And suddenly, the problem is back.

At this point, the regular user reinstalls windows.
I think most of us have experienced this at some point or another. But how can it really be solved?
How do you really find out WHAT is wrong, and WHY the computer just hangs there idle? How do you find out what explorer.exe (or other application) is waiting for?

Maybe the smart thing is to reinstall. But I hate to lose. I know about regmon, filemon and the performance monitor. But how do I look "under the hood" of a production system and find out what component, driver, < insert here > that causes the problem when it doesn't result in any load? When it just goes into wait without generating any special activity?

I know this may not be the best forum to ask this question. But I've asked alot of my developer buddies and they all go I don't know.

So how would YOU go about trying to diagnose such a system? What are your best tips?

/Lars.

in reply to Give me your best Windows diagnostics tips!

Significance of 1033 [Significance of 1033]

lars — Fri, 16 Apr 2004 13:24:16 GMT

It seems the documentation is always contained in a folder named as a number. I don't know if it's always been "1033", but I've seen that one for ages with the MSDN Library. What is the significance of "1033"?

/Lars.

in reply to Significance of 1033