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There is certainly a toolbar for IE that adds DOM Inspection and a few other tools. Surprisingly enough, it is called the IE Developer Toolbar.

There are add-ins - http://www.ieaddons.com/en/ which is linked to from the IE8 home page at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspx The article just basically got it wrong on that front.

Those are not add-ons in the same sense as Firefox add-ons. Those are mostly toolbars, with some of the new accelerators and web slices mixed in. I see nothing that alters the browser fundamentally in the way that FF add-ons do.

Go to the home page
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspx

Click on Get the Facts on Browser Performanc
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/windows/internet-explorer/videos.aspx?mname=IE8_Perf_Test2

You end up here
http://www.microsoft.com/library/errorpages/smarterror.aspx/404?aspxerrorpath=/windows/internet-explorer/windows/internet-explorer/videos.aspx

Pretty smart error - don't you think

Go to the home page
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspx

Click on Get the Facts on Browser Performanc
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/windows/internet-explorer/videos.aspx?mname=IE8_Perf_Test2

You end up here
http://www.microsoft.com/library/errorpages/smarterror.aspx/404?aspxerrorpath=/windows/internet-explorer/windows/internet-explorer/videos.aspx

Pretty smart error - don't you think

Go to the home page
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspx

Click on Get the Facts on Browser Performanc
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/windows/internet-explorer/videos.aspx?mname=IE8_Perf_Test2

You end up here
http://www.microsoft.com/library/errorpages/smarterror.aspx/404?aspxerrorpath=/windows/internet-explorer/windows/internet-explorer/videos.aspx

Pretty smart error - don't you think

There are add-ins - http://www.ieaddons.com/en/ which is linked to from the IE8 home page at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspx

The article just basically got it wrong on that front.

The add-ins comment makes no sense - http://www.ieaddons.com/en/ (linked to from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspx). Add-ins are there...

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspx?ocid=ie8_s_cfa09975-7416-49a5-9e3a-c7a290a656e2 Looks live now.

According to Microsoft's own IE8 site, the current version of IE8 is RC1, not a final release. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/Internet-explorer/beta/default.aspx

That's a very interesting list. It shows you that it's worth enforcing some limits on passwords.

The classic NT restriction is that you need to have

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc875814.aspx
* The password is at least six characters long.
* The password contains characters from at least three of the following five categories:
* English uppercase characters (A - Z)
* English lowercase characters (a - z)
* Base 10 digits (0 - 9)
* Non-alphanumeric (For example: !, $, #, or %)
* Unicode characters
* The password does not contain three or more characters from the user's account name.

They recommend setting the maximum password age to 42 days too. And the default is to remember the last 24 passwords and stop people reusing them. It's clear the people that use their girlfriend or boyfriend's name as a password would be stopped by this and would thus be a much harder target for casual password guessers.

Actually storing a hash rather than the password would be helpful too, that way even if the list leaks someone would still have to find a password which generates the leaked hash.

And people who are writing essays, and need to submit them, correctly formatted, to a professional publication that requires submission in MS Word format.

Would Wine + Word Viewer + OpenOffice.org Writer work?

"To further quote your pointless reference..."

'The advanced Windows-based ATMs coming into use now mean the ATM is technologically close to the Internet banking channel, since both use client/server applications, TCP/IP, and other modern computing methods'

Top 10 Reasons for Using Microsoft Windows on ATMs

'unlike Linux, the Windows OS features systems management, security, and software distribution tools within the OS kernel, easing integration with a bank's existing infrastructure while obviating the need to purchase additional components, or build them from scratch'

Wow, especially considering extended support retired in July 2006.

Does anybody know if Microsoft has ever offered a reward for the capture of a virus creater, as they have with this one?

Reference:

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2009/feb09/02-12ConfickerPR.mspx

Here is teh MS Link (MS04-028): http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS04-028.mspx

Because one of the first clauses in any OSS license states that the software comes with NO WARRANTY, meaning that if it fucks your shit up, no one can be held accountable.

Do you mean, like this one?

G. NO OTHER WARRANTIES. The limited warranty is the only direct warranty from Microsoft. Microsoft gives no other express warranties, guarantees or conditions. Where allowed by your local laws, Microsoft excludes implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. If your local laws give you any implied warranties, guarantees or conditions, despite this exclusion, your remedies are described in the Remedy for Breach of Warranty clause above, to the extent permitted by your local laws.

And the remedies for the few things that the warranty does cover:

D. REMEDY FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY. Microsoft will repair or replace the software at no charge. If Microsoft cannot repair or replace it, Microsoft will refund the amount shown on your receipt for the software. It will also repair or replace supplements, updates and replacement software at no charge. If Microsoft cannot repair or replace them, it will refund the amount you paid for them, if any. You must uninstall the software and return any media and other associated materials to Microsoft with proof of purchase to obtain a refund. These are your only remedies for breach of the limited warranty.

(emphasis mine)

There is also the fact that there is no contractual obligation to continue support for the software.

I couldn't find anywhere on that EULA where are they in a contractual obligation to continue support for the software. I didn't look very hard, though.

Oh, sure, "It's open source, you can fix everything yourself!" This is one of my favorite idealistic arguments of FOSS proponents that doesn't take into account the man hours that would be required not only to learn and understand the code base, but then to make the required modifications. So, your safest option is to purchase a support contract, which of course means that you're "throwing" money at FOSS.

You have the option of throwing money at a support company if you need to, to deploy your own programmers if you consider it to be a more cost-effective solution, or not having support at all. And if you choose to pay a company, you will be getting your support in no uncertain terms, unlike the vague fuzzy feeling that just becuase you paid for a user license, the authors will provide you the support you need with no additional cost.

At this point, there is no real inherent benefit to using FOSS, and your choice in software is going to be based on it's quality and technical merits.

Yeah, there is no value whatsoever in being able to chose your support venue, instead of having to rely on petitions to the software maker when they decide to shut down theirs.

That's because it was patched quite awhile ago. I got a sneaking suspicion this guy has windows update completely disabled, and it still using XP with no service packs because he "can't trust" Microsoft updates.

Internet Explorer still has the JPG exploit unresolved.

You would be right, except for this patch that was released in 2004 shows that you aren't.

Uhh, what? I have no idea what this "JPG exploit" your talking about is. Conflicker spreads through the MS08-067 RPC vulnerability, removable media, and shared folders; nothing to do with IE or jpegs.

I might be off on how it's spread, but I know of many other virus' that spread because of the JPG exploit. If I was at home I would dig up the sample image I have that if opened in IE it opens up a message box saying "Your browser is insecure!". Using the simple JavaScript that it does to make that message you can use it to open up popups to malicious webpages, offensive material, etc.

Uhh, what? I have no idea what this "JPG exploit" your talking about is. Conflicker spreads through the MS08-067 RPC vulnerability, removable media, and shared folders; nothing to do with IE or jpegs.

The amount of money MS gives the community is far less than 11 million dollars.

[citation needed]

Or, to put it another way, you are making shit up so STFU now.

I did a couple quick google searches. In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, Microsoft had about $60 billion in revenue. Based on the Washington state B&O tax rate, I calculate that Microsoft must have paid over $290 million in B&O tax alone. Now, that's paid to the state, not directly to Redmond, but Redmond gets some portion of that, and Redmond gets to collect property tax on microsoft's fucking huge corporate campus, which is prime commercial real estate with lots of improvements (buildings, parking garages, etc).

In August 2007, Redmond's property tax rate was $1.18 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. Currently, Redmond's property tax rate is $1.33 per $1,000. In the 2008 Microsoft annual report, Microsoft said it has over $6 trillion in "property and equipment". If we suppose that only $3 trillion of that is real estate in Redmond, and use the lower $1.18 rate, then Redmond is collecting $3.5 billion in property tax per year. At that rate, $11 million is a little over ONE FUCKING DAY'S WORTH OF TAX.

Then there is the fact that Microsoft employees spend money in Redmond, which means the city collects sales tax and restaurant tax. And the fact that many Microsoft employees live in expensive houses in Redmond, which means more property tax for the city... the city would collect that property tax whether or not the employees lived there, but if Microsoft were not there, the property values would be much lower and the tax revenues much lower as well.

So it looks to me like Washington state and the city of Redmond are getting lots of tax money from Microsoft. And you are making shit up.

http://www.microsoft.com/msft/earnings/FY08/earn_rel_q4_08.mspx

http://dor.wa.gov/Content/FindTaxesAndRates/BAndOTax/BandOrates.aspx

http://www.microsoft.com/msft/reports/ar08/10k_fr_bal.html

http://your.kingcounty.gov/elections/contests/measureinfo.aspx?cid=23329&eid=1219

http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:O_VYWHm8NLAJ:https://redmond.gov/insidecityhall/finance/budget/0910AdoptedPDFs/MiscellaneousStatistics.pdf+city+of+redmond+property+tax+1.18&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

The amount of money MS gives the community is far less than 11 million dollars.

[citation needed]

Or, to put it another way, you are making shit up so STFU now.

I did a couple quick google searches. In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, Microsoft had about $60 billion in revenue. Based on the Washington state B&O tax rate, I calculate that Microsoft must have paid over $290 million in B&O tax alone. Now, that's paid to the state, not directly to Redmond, but Redmond gets some portion of that, and Redmond gets to collect property tax on microsoft's fucking huge corporate campus, which is prime commercial real estate with lots of improvements (buildings, parking garages, etc).

In August 2007, Redmond's property tax rate was $1.18 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. Currently, Redmond's property tax rate is $1.33 per $1,000. In the 2008 Microsoft annual report, Microsoft said it has over $6 trillion in "property and equipment". If we suppose that only $3 trillion of that is real estate in Redmond, and use the lower $1.18 rate, then Redmond is collecting $3.5 billion in property tax per year. At that rate, $11 million is a little over ONE FUCKING DAY'S WORTH OF TAX.

Then there is the fact that Microsoft employees spend money in Redmond, which means the city collects sales tax and restaurant tax. And the fact that many Microsoft employees live in expensive houses in Redmond, which means more property tax for the city... the city would collect that property tax whether or not the employees lived there, but if Microsoft were not there, the property values would be much lower and the tax revenues much lower as well.

So it looks to me like Washington state and the city of Redmond are getting lots of tax money from Microsoft. And you are making shit up.

http://www.microsoft.com/msft/earnings/FY08/earn_rel_q4_08.mspx

http://dor.wa.gov/Content/FindTaxesAndRates/BAndOTax/BandOrates.aspx

http://www.microsoft.com/msft/reports/ar08/10k_fr_bal.html

http://your.kingcounty.gov/elections/contests/measureinfo.aspx?cid=23329&eid=1219

http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:O_VYWHm8NLAJ:https://redmond.gov/insidecityhall/finance/budget/0910AdoptedPDFs/MiscellaneousStatistics.pdf+city+of+redmond+property+tax+1.18&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

It's okay, Microsoft is helping with the CSS 2.1 testing.

http://samples.msdn.microsoft.com/ietestcenter/

http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2009/01/27/microsoft-submits-thousands-more-css-2-1-tests-to-the-w3c.aspx

Either you're standards compliant or you're not. WebKit claims they're not. I believe them.

Untrue:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/827281

Windows Server 2003 Family - 32-bit (x86) Editions supports 1-8 CPU's...

APK

P.S.=> You must be careful to read to the bottom there, as it notes what versions of Exchange, AND Windows OS' in Windows Server 2003:

APPLIES TO
Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition
Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server Standard Edition, when used with:
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (32-bit x86)

apk

Try not to speak authoritatively about things you clearly know nothing about:

http://www.rungeek.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/taskmanager2.jpg

And if you want detail:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc768048.aspx

The "poor utilization" in the article is a relative term. For most apps running under Windows, scalability to multiple CPUs is not hampered by the kernel. There have been improvements to I/O and networking on many-CPU servers, but it's just a fine tuning, not a massive leap forward.

600% scalability on 8 CPUs - this is SQL 7 on NT4 mind you!
http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/servers/technology/images/performancepreview-chart1.gif

Is that a nice linear scalability graph of a Windows application I see?
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oGCeAi-2i3Q/RuWC4LFEeQI/AAAAAAAAAD0/7B6g8tYUVac/s1600-h/BarcaWinrar.gif

But clearly I'm an idiot. I run Windows XP 64-bit on a quad-core CPU, and I really do get 4x the WinRar compression speed. I've timed it, because I use it to compress my backups, so it matters. It's 4x faster. Am I an idiot? Do I have difficulty telling time? You tell me.

Another issue is the core of the Novell-MS partnership: interoperability. AFAIK, that part is working well.

Not so much.

The last time I played with SLES/SLED was about a year ago, and interoperability was not hugely better than any other generic Linux. They just don't have the manpower now to rewrite core stuff themselves. They do have a nice distro with well chosen components, and a default desktop that is very "Windows-Like", which is nice. They even had the start-bar at the bottom!

However, in the environment where I worked, it all broke down in testing. For example, joining a domain was painful, broken, and flat out didn't work in my client's environment (multi-domain, multi-forest, with users and machines all over the place). It could talk to one domain, most of the time, until you removed a domain controller, which would break it.

A note to Linux devs working on Active Directory compatibility: When 'joining' an AD domain, a Linux desktop is allowed to ask exactly 3 questions:

- The name of the domain (either the 'short NT4 name' or 'long DNS name')
- A user name to connect with
- A password

Lets compare this to instructions I randomly found on Ubuntu's support site:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=91510

That's about 2 pages of config files! NO. Just NO. It's not even slightly correct. I have nothing against config files as such, but "hard coding" parameters that MUST be looked up dynamically is WRONG. You can't state "compatible with Active Directory" when it is clearly NOT COMPATIBLE.

What happens when the machine and the user are in different domains? What happens if domain controllers move? Why doesn't it automatically locate the nearest servers using Sites & Services?

Correct behavior isn't even one of those Microsoft secret proprietary things. The API for dynamically obtaining configuration data for a desktop's AD connection is well documented:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms684291(VS.85).aspx

www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

This gets old.

It is worth nothing more than a gratuitous +5 mod-up on Slashdot and a 0.83% share of the client desktop for Linux.

Time to dig deeper I think.

Cornflicker was dealt with in the January release of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool

Deployment of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool in an enterprise environment

www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

This gets old.

It is worth nothing more than a gratuitous +5 mod-up on Slashdot and a 0.83% share of the client desktop for Linux.

Time to dig deeper I think.

Cornflicker was dealt with in the January release of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool

Deployment of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool in an enterprise environment

The review of this book doesn't make it obvious to me. Is this book really about refactoring or is it about query tuning?

IMHO, the former doesn't really need to be db vendor specific. Refactoring should encompass all code and not just the SQL. Looking for ways to refactor from an ORM perspective makes sense such as lazy evaluation and strategic caching.

Query tuning is an important topic with which there are already plenty of resources devoted to it.

Microsoft is letting you download virtual PC images of XP SP2, SP3 and Vista (presumably SP1) with IE6, IE7 and IE8 RC1 free of charge. It's called "Internet Explorer Application Compatibility VPC Image". They have a set expiry date, but at this time you should be able to download updated version. http://www.microsoft.com/Downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=21eabb90-958f-4b64-b5f1-73d0a413c8ef&displaylang=en

Any idea as to how this machine got infected in the first place? Was the firewall disabled? Windows updates disabled? Who do you believe dropped the security ball in this instance?

I'm also interested in why you can't remove the virus from inside Windows. While I have no personal experience with Conflicker myself and I haven't done bench work since 2006, in practice I found anything could be removed in safe mode with the right tools and knowledge.

As someone else mentioned previously, the Microsoft Application Compatibility Virtual PC VM image is free and it'll give you IE + XP SP3 in a VM, or there's a much bigger one that runs Vista if you prefer. Use it with Microsoft's free Virtual PC 2007 SP1 download to run the VM.
http://www.microsoft.com/Downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=21eabb90-958f-4b64-b5f1-73d0a413c8ef&displaylang=en

Alternatively, run something like the Linux Mint 6 Live CD ISO image or an installed version from it [create a 6GB sized virtual hard disc if you want to 'install' it to there to facilitate having a persistent copy of patches / bookmarks / files et. al.] from a VirtualBox VM. Run firefox, Opera, or even the Google Chrome port someone did and see if any of those work for you when you relax / adjust their settings appropriately. There's even the way to run MS IE under LINUX's WINE windows program compatibility emulation subsystem, and that works pretty well if you really 'want' MSIE under LINUX [or in this case WINE under a LINUX VM under whatever your host OS is].

Still alternatively, get a cheap 1GB-8GB fast flash drive or external USB HDD or cheap 20 GB / whatever internal HD or whatever and use it to boot a totally distinct OS environment that just has the OS + browser dedicated for taking this coursework. You can even replace that whole image from a clean backup of itself after every use if you like. You can run a fully installed LINUX off of a 5-8GB partition or a fully installed Windows XP off of about a 15 GB sized partition [maybe with the page/swap file settings reduced] so it is no real big deal to keep a dedicated boot image + a full image backup of it around whether it is a VM based image or not.

Anyway if you want to get fancy you can even try to run something like VMWARE ESXI bare metal so you don't even need to be booted into the host OS to run a subsidiary VMWARE VM image containing your disposable guest virtual OS environment. Similar deal with SUN's semi-vaporware XVM or Microsoft's upcoming Hyper V core thing. YMMV on whether any of the "bare metal no host OS required" VM managers work with your hardware given their drivers et. al. though. I wouldn't bother except for extra credit in case you get lucky and it works.

It'd also be possible to use GPXE booted from a flash drive or PXE BIOS setup to network boot one PC from a network image served up by the other PC, so you could even have one PC be totally diskless and boot a perpetually clean image served/stored from the other PC if need be, but this adds complexity so I'd skip it unless you're highly motivated to try it.

Oh about networks / firewalls -- get a $8 or so USB connected 10/100 Mbit LAN dongle. Fry's has them on sale sometimes, as will generic brand hardware vendors perhaps like svc.com, directron.com, ewiz.com or similar. Then you'll have a second distinct USB ethernet connection on that PC. You can use VirtualBox or similar to "capture" that 2nd NIC and tell the host OS that is running the VM manager to IGNORE the 2nd [USB] NIC. Thus the NIC can show up in the VM and not be used by the host OS. Then you can plug that NIC physically or logically in as a DMZ port on your firewall and assign different firewall rules [or even have it bypass the firewall totally] just for its cable / its MAC address. Obviously you'll want to FULLY PATCH the VM guest OS via a FIREWALLED net connection FIRST before you plug the NIC into the less protected / unprotected DMZ / port forwarding setup.

Another option is getting a new PC just for this sort of thing. You can get an Intel ATOM based MiniITX motherboard *AND INCLUDED CPU* for $70-$90 or so. Add in $15-$20 of RAM, and some old free / $20 case + PSU and you've got a very low power consumption [but very slow performance] new PC that can be for a dedicated school computer or eventually can replace your old energy hog PC or whatever. They make goo

You can even make the "My Computer" zone configurable - if you decide htm files that you load locally shouldn't be so trusted and running stuff like javascript (it kind of breaks some explorer stuff unless you are in classic mode).

See: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555599

Or even add zones.

See:
http://www.geocities.com/uzipaz/eng/fifthzone.html
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/182569

However doing that might break NET 1.1

See: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/837214

IE's zone security is actually better than what Firefox has. With firefox you only get something like security zones if the plugin provides it, and then it typically only applies to that plugin.

You can even make the "My Computer" zone configurable - if you decide htm files that you load locally shouldn't be so trusted and running stuff like javascript (it kind of breaks some explorer stuff unless you are in classic mode).

See: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555599

Or even add zones.

See:
http://www.geocities.com/uzipaz/eng/fifthzone.html
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/182569

However doing that might break NET 1.1

See: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/837214

IE's zone security is actually better than what Firefox has. With firefox you only get something like security zones if the plugin provides it, and then it typically only applies to that plugin.

You can even make the "My Computer" zone configurable - if you decide htm files that you load locally shouldn't be so trusted and running stuff like javascript (it kind of breaks some explorer stuff unless you are in classic mode).

See: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555599

Or even add zones.

See:
http://www.geocities.com/uzipaz/eng/fifthzone.html
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/182569

However doing that might break NET 1.1

See: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/837214

IE's zone security is actually better than what Firefox has. With firefox you only get something like security zones if the plugin provides it, and then it typically only applies to that plugin.

http://www.microsoft.com/Downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=21eabb90-958f-4b64-b5f1-73d0a413c8ef&displaylang=en

The images expire intermittently.

Windows 2000 is not out of support. It is, in fact, still supported under the "Extended Support" model, where security fixes are still produced. It has left the mainstream support model where tech support was free. The difference between mainstream and extended is that you must pay for tech support calls instead of them being free.

According to this, Extended support doesn't end until July 13, 2010.

Bill

require you to turn off your firewall and pop-up blocker. Why they cannot write web software to work without needing pop-ups and can work with firewalls is beyond me.

Virtual PC 2007 is free. Use Pricewatch's operating system price search to find a version of Windows to run under it. Windows XP can be bought in OEM version for under $100.

Run all college web sites in a virtual machine.

Use Avast Home for Antivirus as it is free for home and non-profit use.

It's available for XP and Vista (32 bit) free from Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/sharedaccess/default.mspx

Then the spec is wrong. Losing data that hasn't been flushed to disk yet is totally reasonable. Losing data already on disk is not.

It's just the way modern filesystems work. They aren't databases, and fsync() is not a transaction border marker. It is only an explicit request to persist all data cached so far, nothing less, nothing more. What you seem to want is true atomicity, and that is just not there, and has never been, spec or not. So far the only mainstream OS/FS combo that I know that has true ACID transactions is Vista/NTFS.

On a side note, I agree that transacted filesystems would be immensely useful, as there are many, many ways where you really want atomicity at least. The usual response is "well just use a database", but sometimes you don't want relational storage or even a key-value mapping, which most DBMS imply - just ACID on files.

I prefer Firefox, but even I know Opera is amazingly quick.

Regardless, since when is the speed of loading a website the measure of a good browser?

Also, it's worth pointing out that this test shows IE is faster at loading cached pages, not uncached websites. From their paper:

In the Internet Explorer lab: We visit each site prior to starting any site test. âoePreloadingâ the cache prior to a test helps ensure systems are at a known base before starting.

CreateFile in Win32 has always allowed you to force write through if you want writes to be synchronous.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc644950(VS.85).aspx

If you are a .NET developer, FileOptions.WriteThrough is what you are looking for it you need your shit to get written out to the filesystem right away.

using(FileStream fWrite = new FileStream("test.txt", FileMode.Create, FileSystemRights.Modify, FileShare.None, 8, FileOptions.WriteThrough)) { // do shit.... // no need to Flush();

} // this will be written out
using(FileStream fWrite = new FileStream("test2.txt", FileMode.Create, FileSystemRights.Modify, FileShare.None, 8, FileOptions.None)) { // do shit....
      fWrite.Flush(); // flush the shit do disk, kinda like fsync();

}

Except the filesystem API doesn't have any way to says "commit these 500 little files in a single transaction", unfortunately.

Depends on the filesystem and the API (though I must admit that I'm not sure whether committing KTM transaction will fully flush the file buffers).

hmmm ... do you need a Codex then?

Based on no personal knowledge whatsoever - I just saw a reference somewhere - take a look at Kodu. It appears to be a programming language for building games that is designed to be accessible to kids. That way you could teach the basics of algorithms without getting to bogged down in syntax. As a bonus you might be able to get some financial support from Microsoft since they'll be interested in building a market for their product.

Since someone picked the rest of this apart, I need to do the math.

Now, Microsoft is a safe bet because you know those [Windows 95] applications were written decades ago and will still work.

Today = 2009
1 decade ago = 1997
2 decades ago = 1985
3 decades ago = 1973

The only option available to a bank in "decades" ago computing would be DOS, some variant of UNIX, IBM punch cards, or one of several other computer lines that are no longer with us. Windows 95 still isn't old enough to drive a car.

Microsoft delivers what businesses want: Reliability. Long. Term.

If you go to Microsoft's page on older windows compatibility, they use such terms as "in most cases" and ends with "If your program does not run correctly after testing it with the Program Compatibility Wizard, check the Web site of the program's manufacturer to see if an update or patch is available." That doesn't sound like a given. The compatibility between 95 and Vista is even worse... Heck, the compatibility between XP and Vista is pretty bad.

Okay, here's an "artificial barrier": You're an IT administrator for a bank. You support about 35 mission-critical applications that go to a mainframe. Why keep the mainframe? Because it's the only thing that's gone through the laborous process of being documented, audited, and certified for use. Those certifications could run into the tens of millions of dollars, plus another fifty million to retool your existing infrastructure, minimum. All those applications were written for Windows 95.

Your mainframe runs Windows 95? Windows 95 has:
1. A hard limit of 500 MB of memory
2. A disk limit of 32 GB
3. No journaling in the FAT file system
4. Zero user access and other security controls
5. A propensity towards needing to be rebooted daily

Assuming we're talking about raw number-of-supported-users, you should be able to support between 8 (RAM limited) to 30 (Disk Limited) times as manu users on a more modern desktop OS configuration used as a server. On a real server configuration, you should be able to serve hundreds or thousands of more users. That alone should be enough to validate the cost of certification.

Further, if this is truly as mission-critical as it sounds, that would add journaling file systems, support for RAID configurations, user protections... Oh, and an OS whose security support wasn't end-of-lifed back in 2002.

But you go with Apple, or Linux and what do you get? Every five years, maybe ten if you're lucky, you have to rebuild and redesign everything to make it work with the latest and greatest.

As mentioned, Win 95 was EOL'ed in 2002, about 7 years after launch. Earlier versions of Linux, on the other hand, still have active security patches issued. If you wanted to roll out 400 more Win 95 seats, you simply couldn't do it legally. If you wanted 400 more linux 2.4 kernel servers, it would be easy to do.

Microsoft delivers what businesses want: Reliability. Long. Term. And that costs money, time, effort, and yes... it's a MUCH higher standard to reach for.

You remember back when something like 50% of the ATM's in the US caught a worm, because they were all still running on an old, no-longer-supported version of Windows? Yeah, those were good times.

Your 2003/2008 servers aren't affected because they fixed this bug a while ago (the GP was being slightly disingenuous). But it was a pretty notorious Win95/98 bug. Here's the MS support ticket if you don't believe me.

Microsoft's page on Windows 7 SKUs confirms that Windows 7 Starter is the edition that supports "up the three concurrent applications", while Home Basic is for "emerging markets only".

So not only are you obnoxious, you're also wrong. And the guy you were sneering at was right.

We have talked about W7 performance on netbooks which will only allow to run 3 apps. Perfect for an antivirus, a firewall, an antispyware, the WGA... oh crap!

Is this the ultimate trump card for emacs over vi? One app is all you need!