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AFAIK, it's not a replacement of COM, as such. more like a set of enhancements to COM:

- it's still based on IUnknown
- instead of CoCreateInstance, HKCR & CLSIDs, theres RoActivateInstance and its string-based registry entries.
- instead of VB's IDispatch/ITypeInfo, there's IInspectable/IMetaDataImport2 for getting type information
- instead of BSTR, there's the immutable HSTRING

the confusing this is that there's a whole bunch of work done in the language environments (C++ compiler, .NET runtime) to make all this invisible.

AFAIK, it's not a replacement of COM, as such. more like a set of enhancements to COM:

- it's still based on IUnknown
- instead of CoCreateInstance, HKCR & CLSIDs, theres RoActivateInstance and its string-based registry entries.
- instead of VB's IDispatch/ITypeInfo, there's IInspectable/IMetaDataImport2 for getting type information
- instead of BSTR, there's the immutable HSTRING

the confusing this is that there's a whole bunch of work done in the language environments (C++ compiler, .NET runtime) to make all this invisible.

AFAIK, it's not a replacement of COM, as such. more like a set of enhancements to COM:

- it's still based on IUnknown
- instead of CoCreateInstance, HKCR & CLSIDs, theres RoActivateInstance and its string-based registry entries.
- instead of VB's IDispatch/ITypeInfo, there's IInspectable/IMetaDataImport2 for getting type information
- instead of BSTR, there's the immutable HSTRING

the confusing this is that there's a whole bunch of work done in the language environments (C++ compiler, .NET runtime) to make all this invisible.

AFAIK, it's not a replacement of COM, as such. more like a set of enhancements to COM:

- it's still based on IUnknown
- instead of CoCreateInstance, HKCR & CLSIDs, theres RoActivateInstance and its string-based registry entries.
- instead of VB's IDispatch/ITypeInfo, there's IInspectable/IMetaDataImport2 for getting type information
- instead of BSTR, there's the immutable HSTRING

the confusing this is that there's a whole bunch of work done in the language environments (C++ compiler, .NET runtime) to make all this invisible.

AFAIK, it's not a replacement of COM, as such. more like a set of enhancements to COM:

- it's still based on IUnknown
- instead of CoCreateInstance, HKCR & CLSIDs, theres RoActivateInstance and its string-based registry entries.
- instead of VB's IDispatch/ITypeInfo, there's IInspectable/IMetaDataImport2 for getting type information
- instead of BSTR, there's the immutable HSTRING

the confusing this is that there's a whole bunch of work done in the language environments (C++ compiler, .NET runtime) to make all this invisible.

AFAIK, it's not a replacement of COM, as such. more like a set of enhancements to COM:

- it's still based on IUnknown
- instead of CoCreateInstance, HKCR & CLSIDs, theres RoActivateInstance and its string-based registry entries.
- instead of VB's IDispatch/ITypeInfo, there's IInspectable/IMetaDataImport2 for getting type information
- instead of BSTR, there's the immutable HSTRING

the confusing this is that there's a whole bunch of work done in the language environments (C++ compiler, .NET runtime) to make all this invisible.

AFAIK, it's not a replacement of COM, as such. more like a set of enhancements to COM:

- it's still based on IUnknown
- instead of CoCreateInstance, HKCR & CLSIDs, theres RoActivateInstance and its string-based registry entries.
- instead of VB's IDispatch/ITypeInfo, there's IInspectable/IMetaDataImport2 for getting type information
- instead of BSTR, there's the immutable HSTRING

the confusing this is that there's a whole bunch of work done in the language environments (C++ compiler, .NET runtime) to make all this invisible.

AFAIK, it's not a replacement of COM, as such. more like a set of enhancements to COM:

- it's still based on IUnknown
- instead of CoCreateInstance, HKCR & CLSIDs, theres RoActivateInstance and its string-based registry entries.
- instead of VB's IDispatch/ITypeInfo, there's IInspectable/IMetaDataImport2 for getting type information
- instead of BSTR, there's the immutable HSTRING

the confusing this is that there's a whole bunch of work done in the language environments (C++ compiler, .NET runtime) to make all this invisible.

AFAIK, it's not a replacement of COM, as such. more like a set of enhancements to COM:

- it's still based on IUnknown
- instead of CoCreateInstance, HKCR & CLSIDs, theres RoActivateInstance and its string-based registry entries.
- instead of VB's IDispatch/ITypeInfo, there's IInspectable/IMetaDataImport2 for getting type information
- instead of BSTR, there's the immutable HSTRING

the confusing this is that there's a whole bunch of work done in the language environments (C++ compiler, .NET runtime) to make all this invisible.

AFAIK, it's not a replacement of COM, as such. more like a set of enhancements to COM:

- it's still based on IUnknown
- instead of CoCreateInstance, HKCR & CLSIDs, theres RoActivateInstance and its string-based registry entries.
- instead of VB's IDispatch/ITypeInfo, there's IInspectable/IMetaDataImport2 for getting type information
- instead of BSTR, there's the immutable HSTRING

the confusing this is that there's a whole bunch of work done in the language environments (C++ compiler, .NET runtime) to make all this invisible.

AFAIK, it's not a replacement of COM, as such. more like a set of enhancements to COM:

- it's still based on IUnknown
- instead of CoCreateInstance, HKCR & CLSIDs, theres RoActivateInstance and its string-based registry entries.
- instead of VB's IDispatch/ITypeInfo, there's IInspectable/IMetaDataImport2 for getting type information
- instead of BSTR, there's the immutable HSTRING

the confusing this is that there's a whole bunch of work done in the language environments (C++ compiler, .NET runtime) to make all this invisible.

Metro is a user interface, not an entire programming environment composed of several languages and thousands of libraries.

Metro isn't, but WinRT is.

.NET and C# are not going anywhere. Everything you can do in a Metro app in C++, you can also do in C# - by design.

Heck, you can usually do it easier, especially because a lot of WinRT APIs are intentionally future-based async only (e.g. most of file and network I/O) so that developers don't block the UI thread with blocking I/O. And C# (5.0) is easiest to use those APIs from, because it has direct language support for them - in both C++ and JS, you have to explicitly sign up a continuation for the task, usually with a lambda, and of course loops and other constructs cannot straddle that boundary.

They encourage you to use WinRT when possible, but the entire Win32 API is still available.

Not entire API, no. Try calling e.g. CreateFile in a Metro C++ app - it won't even compile. This describes it in more detail, and this lists all APIs that are available.

It's not clear if they'll be filtering the APIs you're allowed to use during the review process.

It will. You can try it yourself by using something that's banned (e.g. by making your own dllexport declaration) and then running it through Windows App Cert Tool.

They encourage you to use WinRT when possible, but the entire Win32 API is still available.

Not entire API, no. Try calling e.g. CreateFile in a Metro C++ app - it won't even compile. This describes it in more detail, and this lists all APIs that are available.

It's not clear if they'll be filtering the APIs you're allowed to use during the review process.

It will. You can try it yourself by using something that's banned (e.g. by making your own dllexport declaration) and then running it through Windows App Cert Tool.

Umm, you don't have to be an administrator to install a C++ or C# program on a PC. I compile and install C, C++ and Java software to my unprivileged user's home directory all the time on Linux, Solaris and Mac OS X systems.

It appears you've never used a thoroughly locked down machine with /home mounted noexec.

I run Windows programs written in C++ and C# from my unprivileged account's desktop just slightly less often. I've never run into problems.

It appears you've never used a thoroughly locked down machine with Software Restriction Policies.

Why do you JavaScript morons and Web 2.0 weenies always make the false claim that "you have to be an administrator to install a program on a PC"?

For one thing, PCs have the measures I described above. For another, please address video game consoles and other set-top boxes, which won't run anything unsigned or self-signed.

By what mechanism can a browser know when the memory it has reserved is needed elsewhere in the system?

On Windows, it could call CreateMemoryResourceNotification(), which was made for this exact reason. I imagine that there must be something similar on other platforms.

> it will also let services start on a trigger and stop when needed instead of running all the time.

Nice.

Although I have to wonder, why are "services" treated differently than other programs, in this context or any other? Does it have any positive effect?

First of all, it's worth noting that Service trigger events shipped with Windows 7.... they're just making better use of this capability in Windows 8. (This is a common flaw with Microsoft's development process for Windows.... they include some really smart new APIs but then take another 5 years to start really using them thoroughly in Windows itself.)

But to your main question -- why are services different from other programs? A service is actually a regular program, with one exception -- it hooks into the operating system to receive events telling it to pause, continue or stop its operation.

Why do this? Management. You don't want 20 different programs with 20 different ways of starting & stopping them.

A feature the Windows Service Control Manager offers is the ability to run your service in a single pooled process alongside other services that require roughly the same privileges on the system. You can see this at work in the Windows 7 task manager -- go to the Services tab and sort the list by PID. If you ever wondered what "svchost.exe" is on a Windows system, or why there are several running on your system, each under different user accounts...... there you go.

If so, I doubt the competence of those "senior software engineers" (or more likely the problem was somehting more interesting) - seriously: notepad. Or msdn. This ain't rocket surgery.

My windows machine has been up for 2 months.

Then there are critical security updates you haven't applied. (e.g. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/bulletin/ms11-057 )

The personal information we collect from you will be used by Microsoft and its controlled subsidiaries and affiliates to enable the features you use and provide the services or carry out the transactions you have requested or authorized. The information may also be used to analyze and improve Microsoft products and services.

I did some more digging on this. Apparently, when upgrading from Win3.1, Program Manager groups are converted to start menu entries (citation). Installing a legacy program on a clean Win95 box doesn't create convert them automatically, it seems, but opening a .grp file adds the entries for you.

So, I think MS did it mostly right, or at least as well as can be expected.

Maybe you're not aware of this, but many features you might take for granted -- like spell-checking and grammar in Office, spam filtering in Outlook, text-to-speech, and a lot of the cryptography in Windows were developed or significantly improved by Microsoft Research (see here for a detailed list). Plus, how about Kinect for an "actual product"?

Maybe you're not aware of this, but many features you might take for granted -- like spell-checking and grammar in Office, spam filtering in Outlook, text-to-speech, and a lot of the cryptography in Windows were developed or significantly improved by Microsoft Research (see here for a detailed list). Plus, how about Kinect for an "actual product"?

MS is still the only one of these big three to have a committed interest in long-term research

MS does research? For real? I thought all they did was buy startups and competitors, some of which had done research in the past, or are winding down R+D after the purchase.

Please don't confuse research grants from the bill gates charitable foundation with "MS does long term research".

Why not visit Microsoft Research and see for yourself?

Also check out the Microsoft Garage

You may not like Microsoft but it's hard to deny that they do more research than, say, Symantec or Dell.

WHY I also set myself up the way I do online layering of security measures, in:

---

1.) Custom HOSTS files (mine's currently 1,586,590++ entries strong vs. known malicious sites/servers, botnet C&C servers, bogus adbanners (& ads in general) servers, phishing + spamming sites, & for security's sake alone (I get more out of it speedwise too via "hardcoding fav. sites" into it also, avoiding DNS redirected-poisoned dns servers, & getting there faster by avoiding them totally (their slower lookup vs. my SSD based & cached ones from HOSTS, locally, instead of slower remotely)).

2.) DNSBL filtering DNS servers (NortonDNS, OpenDNS, ScrubIT DNS are all in my IP stack dns servers list, & in my router-firewall too).

3.) Firewall IP rules tables (to catch IP addresses more than host-domain named ones - HOSTS does that too)

4.) IP Security Policies (Via Windows NT-based OS' security policies (I do both domain & local level here)).

5.) OS security hardening -> http://www.google.com/search?sclient=psy-ab&hl=en&site=&source=hp&q=%22HOW+TO+Secure+Windows+2000%2FXP%22&btnG=Search , which includes remotely listening services if not needed especially &/or potentially vulnerable ones + shares remotely solicited.

6.) IP stack hardening -> http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff648853.aspx

---

( & FAR more in the way of "layered-security/defense-in-depth" stuff, such as using Opera 11.51 to setup a GLOBAL policy for all sites to not use javascript, iframes, cookies, plugins, java etc. "everywhere", & only set it up, via Opera's "By Site Preferences" exceptions list, & only for sites that actual DEMAND their usages (think ecommerce sites) only - PLUS, using its urlfilter.ini file, custom .pac files, & custom CSS sheets )

I.E.-> To simply stay away from what makes you "sick online" by lessening its attack surface area + tools it can use against you (as well as for you, the double-edged sword that any scripted document, yes, including HTML ones, can be)

Why?

* See my p.s. below...

APK

P.S.=> I do ALL that, & more, just to avoid:

---

A.) Tracking (not using javascript @ all, or using sites that 'track you' not only thru their own mass, but thru the mass of other sites too? For Pete's sake, lol, 'enough already')

B.) To avoid malware

C.) To avoid losses of speed & to gain back loads of it too!

D.) To obtain great security for decades online

E.) To get MORE OF WHAT I PAY FOR OUT OF POCKET!

---

Is why, & I have for DECADES now (so have others in the url's above)...haven't been infected online since 1996 in fact because of the above & can make a DSL connection seem like high-end cable or FIOS for websurfing online... +, 4 FREE, & the above's just a part of the "how" is all...

... apk

Mainly these 3 (which integrate into your IP stacks' settings & hardware router/firewalls too) - Each has a writeup on how/why/when/where they work too:

---

Norton DNS:

https://dns.norton.com/dnsweb/faq.do

OpenDNS:

https://store.opendns.com/get/basic

ScrubIT DNS:

http://www.scrubit.com/index.cfm?page=faq

---

* EACH does a heck of a job supplementing online security (in addition to my custom HOSTS file + Firewall rules tables I noted in my prior post I am replying to now)...

APK

P.S.=> It's ALL about "layered-security/defense-in-depth" first of all, but the nicest part? Well... THAT, is the added SPEED this layered security setup of mine yields (in addition to hardening the TCP/IP stack vs. attack, mostly via this -> http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff648853.aspx )...

... apk

@ least, via its "TPL's" (tracking-protection-lists), here (free too):

http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/Browser/TrackingProtectionLists/

APK

Have you seen the Firefox demo's when Firefox 4 came out? All 3D rendered with webgl. Accelerated html 5 is coming and has many uses. I already see the HP add in 3D on slashdot if I use Firefox or IE 9. It is not in Chrome yet as the canvas is not accelerated by default yet.

With decent integrated GPUs that actually do not suck in AMDs and now Intels latest offerings it is certainly doable and coming. MS has demos including a game of scrabble. Mostly 3D is for games, children love Flash games these days and that is turning to HTML 5 as I type this.

In 2 years it will be quite mainstream. My guess is even less. Browsers are being updated very quickly now and even IE now has an annual update. Since IE follows standards in the later releases, many businesses can upgrade with ease annually once their crappy IE 6 intranet sites are updated.

True World of Warcraft in HTML 5 with CSS 3D is not going to happen anytime soon, but many games already do advanced mmos in javascript that are impressive. We will see but my guess is it will be here sooner than you think.

Agreed. Citation *definitely* required for a comment like this one.

I just did a quick search and found only this reference to any patent licensing agreement in February 2009, where Google paid Microsoft for their "ActiveSync" technology. Hardly enough to imply that Google has purchased a "Thou Shalt Not Sue Me over my Phones" license from Microsoft.

Or Microsoft? They give their compilers away, but charge you for the IDE.

Wait...er, now they give away the IDE, too, but charge you for MFC.

Or Microsoft? They give their compilers away, but charge you for the IDE.

Wait...er, now they give away the IDE, too, but charge you for MFC.

Microsoft won't let that happen.

Microsoft, the company that has lobbied for Patent reforms to make our system more like the European system? They are the folks that wont let it happen?

Microsoft is playing the current game because its the game being played currently. It wasnt so long ago that there was a patent cold-war where there were very few patent lawsuits, and never between the big players, because nobody wanted to open that can of worms. Then Apple got into mobile devices and starting suing everyone that dared make anything competitive with iBrand products, and now everyone is suing everyone.

It comes from Microsoft, but the cell provider can delay it. So far, only a few specific models are delayed (at least in the US).

That leaves the timetable up to Microsoft for most users; however, Microsoft is deliberately delaying it for everybody. If you get it early, great, but you can't count on the update being available to you until a month after the "release date". And even if you get an update notification on the phone it will still sometimes refuse to update. I've tried three different desktops—no joy.

It has come to my attention that the entire Linux community is a hotbed of so called 'alternative sexuality', which includes anything from hedonistic orgies to homosexuality to paedophilia.

What better way of demonstrating this than by looking at the hidden messages contained within the names of some of Linux's most outspoken advocates:

• Linus Torvalds is an anagram of slit anus or VD 'L,' clearly referring to himself by the first initial.
• Richard M. Stallman, spokespervert for the Gaysex's Not Unusual 'movement' is an anagram of mans cram thrill ad.
• Alan Cox is barely an anagram of anal cox which is just so filthy and unchristian it unnerves me.

I'm sure that Eric S. Raymond, composer of the satanic homosexual propaganda diatribe The Cathedral and the Bizarre, is probably an anagram of something queer, but we don't need to look that far as we know he's always shoving a gun up some poor little boy's rectum. Update: Eric S. Raymond is actually an anagram for secondary rim and cord in my arse. It just goes to show you that he is indeed queer.

Update the Second: It is also documented that Evil Sicko Gaymond is responsible for a nauseating piece of code called Fetchmail, which is obviously sinister sodomite slang for 'Felch Male' -- a disgusting practise. For those not in the know, 'felching' is the act performed by two perverts wherein one sucks their own post-coital ejaculate out of the other's rectum. In fact, it appears that the dirty Linux faggots set out to undermine the good Republican institution of e-mail, turning it into 'e-male.'

As far as Richard 'Master' Stallman goes, that filthy fudge-packer was actually quoted on leftist commie propaganda site Salon.com as saying the following: 'I've been resistant to the pressure to conform in any circumstance,' he says. 'It's about being able to question conventional wisdom,' he asserts. 'I believe in love, but not monogamy,' he says plainly.

And this isn't a made up troll bullshit either! He actually stated this tripe, which makes it obvious that he is trying to politely say that he's a flaming homo slut!

Speaking about 'flaming,' who better to point out as a filthy chutney ferret than Slashdot's very own self-confessed pederast Jon Katz. Although an obvious deviant anagram cannot be found from his name, he has already confessed, nay boasted of the homosexual perversion of corrupting the innocence of young children. To quote from the article linked:

'I've got a rare kidney disease,' I told her. 'I have to go to the bathroom a lot. You can come with me if you want, but it takes a while. Is that okay with you? Do you want a note from my doctor?'

Is this why you were touching your penis in the cinema, Jon? And letting the other boys touch it too?

We should also point out that Jon Katz refers to himself as 'Slashdot's resident Gasbag.' Is there any more doubt? For those fortunate few who aren't aware of the list of homosexual terminology found inside the Linux 'Sauce Code,' a 'Gasbag' is a pervert who gains sexual gratification from having a thin straw inserted into his urethra (or to use the common parlance, 'piss-pipe'), then his homosexual lover blows firmly down the straw to inflate his scrotum. This is, of course, when he's not busy violating the dignity and co

It has come to my attention that the entire Linux community is a hotbed of so called 'alternative sexuality', which includes anything from hedonistic orgies to homosexuality to paedophilia.

What better way of demonstrating this than by looking at the hidden messages contained within the names of some of Linux's most outspoken advocates:

• Linus Torvalds is an anagram of slit anus or VD 'L,' clearly referring to himself by the first initial.
• Richard M. Stallman, spokespervert for the Gaysex's Not Unusual 'movement' is an anagram of mans cram thrill ad.
• Alan Cox is barely an anagram of anal cox which is just so filthy and unchristian it unnerves me.

I'm sure that Eric S. Raymond, composer of the satanic homosexual propaganda diatribe The Cathedral and the Bizarre, is probably an anagram of something queer, but we don't need to look that far as we know he's always shoving a gun up some poor little boy's rectum. Update: Eric S. Raymond is actually an anagram for secondary rim and cord in my arse. It just goes to show you that he is indeed queer.

Update the Second: It is also documented that Evil Sicko Gaymond is responsible for a nauseating piece of code called Fetchmail, which is obviously sinister sodomite slang for 'Felch Male' -- a disgusting practise. For those not in the know, 'felching' is the act performed by two perverts wherein one sucks their own post-coital ejaculate out of the other's rectum. In fact, it appears that the dirty Linux faggots set out to undermine the good Republican institution of e-mail, turning it into 'e-male.'

As far as Richard 'Master' Stallman goes, that filthy fudge-packer was actually quoted on leftist commie propaganda site Salon.com as saying the following: 'I've been resistant to the pressure to conform in any circumstance,' he says. 'It's about being able to question conventional wisdom,' he asserts. 'I believe in love, but not monogamy,' he says plainly.

And this isn't a made up troll bullshit either! He actually stated this tripe, which makes it obvious that he is trying to politely say that he's a flaming homo slut!

Speaking about 'flaming,' who better to point out as a filthy chutney ferret than Slashdot's very own self-confessed pederast Jon Katz. Although an obvious deviant anagram cannot be found from his name, he has already confessed, nay boasted of the homosexual perversion of corrupting the innocence of young children. To quote from the article linked:

'I've got a rare kidney disease,' I told her. 'I have to go to the bathroom a lot. You can come with me if you want, but it takes a while. Is that okay with you? Do you want a note from my doctor?'

Is this why you were touching your penis in the cinema, Jon? And letting the other boys touch it too?

We should also point out that Jon Katz refers to himself as 'Slashdot's resident Gasbag.' Is there any more doubt? For those fortunate few who aren't aware of the list of homosexual terminology found inside the Linux 'Sauce Code,' a 'Gasbag' is a pervert who gains sexual gratification from having a thin straw inserted into his urethra (or to use the common parlance, 'piss-pipe'), then his homosexual lover blows firmly down the straw to inflate his scrotum. This is, of course, when he's not busy violating the dignity and co

It has come to my attention that the entire Linux community is a hotbed of so called 'alternative sexuality', which includes anything from hedonistic orgies to homosexuality to paedophilia.

What better way of demonstrating this than by looking at the hidden messages contained within the names of some of Linux's most outspoken advocates:

• Linus Torvalds is an anagram of slit anus or VD 'L,' clearly referring to himself by the first initial.
• Richard M. Stallman, spokespervert for the Gaysex's Not Unusual 'movement' is an anagram of mans cram thrill ad.
• Alan Cox is barely an anagram of anal cox which is just so filthy and unchristian it unnerves me.

I'm sure that Eric S. Raymond, composer of the satanic homosexual propaganda diatribe The Cathedral and the Bizarre, is probably an anagram of something queer, but we don't need to look that far as we know he's always shoving a gun up some poor little boy's rectum. Update: Eric S. Raymond is actually an anagram for secondary rim and cord in my arse. It just goes to show you that he is indeed queer.

Update the Second: It is also documented that Evil Sicko Gaymond is responsible for a nauseating piece of code called Fetchmail, which is obviously sinister sodomite slang for 'Felch Male' -- a disgusting practise. For those not in the know, 'felching' is the act performed by two perverts wherein one sucks their own post-coital ejaculate out of the other's rectum. In fact, it appears that the dirty Linux faggots set out to undermine the good Republican institution of e-mail, turning it into 'e-male.'

As far as Richard 'Master' Stallman goes, that filthy fudge-packer was actually quoted on leftist commie propaganda site Salon.com as saying the following: 'I've been resistant to the pressure to conform in any circumstance,' he says. 'It's about being able to question conventional wisdom,' he asserts. 'I believe in love, but not monogamy,' he says plainly.

And this isn't a made up troll bullshit either! He actually stated this tripe, which makes it obvious that he is trying to politely say that he's a flaming homo slut!

Speaking about 'flaming,' who better to point out as a filthy chutney ferret than Slashdot's very own self-confessed pederast Jon Katz. Although an obvious deviant anagram cannot be found from his name, he has already confessed, nay boasted of the homosexual perversion of corrupting the innocence of young children. To quote from the article linked:

'I've got a rare kidney disease,' I told her. 'I have to go to the bathroom a lot. You can come with me if you want, but it takes a while. Is that okay with you? Do you want a note from my doctor?'

Is this why you were touching your penis in the cinema, Jon? And letting the other boys touch it too?

We should also point out that Jon Katz refers to himself as 'Slashdot's resident Gasbag.' Is there any more doubt? For those fortunate few who aren't aware of the list of homosexual terminology found inside the Linux 'Sauce Code,' a 'Gasbag' is a pervert who gains sexual gratification from having a thin straw inserted into his urethra (or to use the common parlance, 'piss-pipe'), then his homosexual lover blows firmly down the straw to inflate his scrotum. This is, of course, when he's not busy violating the dignity and co

Microsoft.

P.S.: Homer Simpson for President ( of former U.S.A.)

Yours Truly,
K. Trout

all real monkeys have progressed to randomly downloading things from bit-torrent.

Sadly, in my experience you're more likely to find them here:
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/mcse.aspx

They just won't run MS Office which is the biggest problem for most office workers.

Actually, they can..

There are no patents listed there. It only says that:

"Some cases where Microsoft patents apply to standards used in the .NET framework are documented by Microsoft and the applicable patents are available on either RAND terms or through Microsoft's Open Specification Promise that releases patent rights to the public"

with a reference, but said reference just goes here, where again no list of patents applicable to C# is provided.

So, on one hand, you have a language with known patent issues, a lawsuit in progress, and no release of patent rights (like what OSP is for .NET-related stuff); and on the other, a language for which there are several third-party implementations have existed without any patent issues brought up, and there is an explicit legally-binding promise to not sue any conforming implementation - and somehow you conclude that the second language is more heavily patent encumbered?

No, it's not the same. ReadyBoost provides a compressed paging file cache, it doesn't work as a cache between the OS and the HD.In other words, it only gets what is written to the paging file, or pages that are dropped from memory.

That's not how Mark Russinovich describes it here.

"After the ReadyBoost service initializes caching, the Ecache.sys device driver intercepts all reads and writes to local hard disk volumes (C:\, for example), and copies any data being written into the caching file that the service created."

I'm no M$ apologist, but have you heard of Windows PowerShell?

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/scriptcenter/dd742419

So in your lovely theoretically pure strongly typed language, what do you do when live data doesn't correctly follow the strongly typed paradigm that is part of the language design?

I prefer to use "pragmatically typed" languages instead - ones which let you opt into duck typing when you want, but default to static typing because it's preferable in most cases.

or you have exception handlers that catch all data type exceptions and keep the code running under all conditions.

That doesn't really make sense, since you don't have "data type exceptions" in statically typed languages - you have compiler errors from type mismatches. You can get an error from an incorrect downcast (in some statically typed languages, not all of them - e.g. OCaml simply doesn't have downcasts), but I don't see how this would be of any help to you in a scenario where data is so vaguely shaped that it cannot be properly typed.

You also underestimate the versatility of static typing, probably because GP mentioned Java specifically, and you use it as an example. We can do much better. For example, in OCaml - which is statically and strongly typed, more so than Java - you can define a function thus:

let f x = x#foo

"#" is a method call operator. The type of function "f" in the above snippet is statically inferred to be "function taking one argument of any object type that has a no-argument method 'foo'". This is still different from duck typing because the constraint is actually verified at compile-time - you can't pass just any random object to it, you can only pass something that is statically known to have "foo". But, with flexibility like that, type inference just walks its way through the entire chain of method calls, starting from the point(s) where "foo" originates - and even if you have two completely unrelated classes which both have "foo", it'll be able to figure it out.

Indeed, most code written in duck-typed languages can be written almost identically in a statically-typed, structurally-typed language with pervasive type inference.

No, this isn't it. Reading the article linked by you:

In a negotiated drag'n'drop, the drag message does not typically carry the data that defines the object being dropped; for example, if you drop a block of text, the message that is dropped normally does not contain the text that was dragged. Instead, the drag message contains information about the different formats and methods by which the sender application may supply the data to the receiver application, and about which actions the receiver application can request of the sender application.

This is exactly how Windows clipboard works already with OLE objects. It has been there since, oh, WinNT 3.1 (1993)?

What's described in TFA, as noted by others, is much more like Android intents.

Does WP7 have anything this, or is it missing the inter-app ability as well?

One of the biggest flaws of WP7 as it stands is complete absence of any inter-app communication for third party apps - you are limited to a few hardcoded entrypoints for stock apps only. It doesn't even have what iOS has, the ability to pass files and URLs from app to app. The only way to share data is by uploading it to the "cloud".

Beep codes vary depending on the BIOS manufacturer. See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/261186 for an extreme example.

Actually, IE6 was horribly broken. It never followed standards, had all kinds of proprietary crap in there, and didn't follow it's own rules half the time.

And the other browsers of the day were even more so. XMLHTTPRequest (here) is a funny thing about those broken rules and not following standards - this little jem is responsible for AJAX.

There's workarounds, but you shouldn't need workarounds.

Hello HTML5? We're BACK into the browser wars, supporting multiple vender extensions... yay for progress!

IE6 saw success because it was a default install on Windows, and Windows was/is successful.

Also it was FREE and for a time it was the best browser out there, then it stopped getting better. I don't miss supporting it one bit however.

I don't see a big issue here. Most workstations are bought with an OS pre-installed simply because it is legislated. Corporations wipe them and re-install their own 'flavour' of the OS - even if it is the same version. And many private buyers do too. We install our own flavour of the OS regardless of what came on the PC. We buy workstations with 'Home' editions and install 'Pro' editions (legitimately) ...

One of Microsoft's more evil policies is that corporate bulk Windows licenses are only upgrades. Thus, you cannot (legally) install a volume license on a naked machine. Thus, you need to buy a system with an OEM license only to blow it away with the corporate version. This means that you have to do exactly what you are doing (buy systems with preinstalled OSs) in order to remain in compliance with the license.

You don't necessarily have to blow anything away. If you're building your own custom systems you can buy a blister pack of OEM CoAs to cover your licencing, then deploy your VL copy. But with the bulk pricing they get on PCs from Dell, Lenovo, etc. the cost of those OEM licences are still low.

VL licences are upgrade only, however your right to use the VL media are extended for no charge to any machine that comes with that version of windows, or has downgrade rights. For example many businesses use Windows XP on machines with Vista-business or Win7-Pro CoAs. They can continue to use their existing WindowsXP key and media on these machines for no charge. If they wish to deploy Win7-Pro VL, they would only have to pay for VL licences on the XP or vista machines. However to use your existing licence for the paid for VL, or reimage rights, or downgrade rights, they must be "professional" level: XP-Pro, Vista-Business, 7-Pro. Except educational customers, they can buy "Home" level.

They then try to make their money with Software assurance. You pay an annual fee on those PCs in the hope of getting "free" upgrades. What a joke. People who bought it after Office 2003 or Windows XP came out wasted their money, and as we've seen the uptake of upgrades has been very slow. So they try throwing in other perks: Vista/7 Enterprise, Office Home Use Program, and a bunch of features you've never heard of.

If nothing else is clear, it's that Microsoft licencing is confusing.

Info on re-image rights: http://download.microsoft.com/download/3/d/4/3d42bdc2-6725-4b29-b75a-a5b04179958b/reimaging.docx

If it really WAS infringing, the lawsuits should have been flying left and right a decade or more ago.

They seem to turn a blind eye to desktop use of Linux and go after commercial implementations embedded in devices. They also do not have a policy of using the courts first, but rather they attempt to negotiate deals like this Casio one.

My guess is that Casio wants to use long file names using FAT32.