Iiiiii'm too busy for these threads

You rarely see a 408 response  from a website. Nowadays, that probably means, "The website is too busy to show the webpage, but not too busy to catalog all your traffic and demographic info to help them sell ads." And yes, I got the 408 response from a Google served address. Btw, this blog page is also served from a Google server.

Clear Spud

I have been putting those yellowish compostable utensils in the compost bin, which cuts down on the volume in the landfill bin. However, I just realized that the clear plastic cups we have been using the past year are also compostable. That's wonderful news to me. I wonder if the clear plastic straws are compostable as well? Compostable vs biodegradable is a bit confusing. Some sites say biodegradable is the broader category, some say the opposite. Some say the difference is based on the process, some say the difference is based on the metrics of the post-degrade material.

http://q.okdaily.com/?waffle,1534

Vulnerability Bulletins

Vulnerability Bulletins are completely useless because they are so afraid to give any details on the problem. By focusing on just the idiot steps to patch the problem, they are fostering a culture of 'dont learn it, just follow.' Ignorance is the main ingredient in fertile grounds for more attacks.
There was a recent bulletin on the IE mhtml vulerability. Google labeled it an IE issue which may leave non-IE users with a false sense of security. Does vulnerability affect ff plugins for mhtml? If your ff/win doesnt support mhtml, would that open IE? Bulletins keep these detail a secret because SW vendors have no in users overal security, just CYA.

http://q.okdaily.com/?waffle,1507

Learning CS5 to make flash animations and games

If you are learning CS5 and need help, leave questions in comments below.

Things That Don't Work Are Security Features

The "forgot password" feature on a major global SW vendor site says the password will be sent to you registered email address. Another "forgot username" feature says the username will be sent to you registered email address. Of course, the email address is the username. Whether its confusing, or it never worked, doesn't matter. It's just tougher security, like a bricked router. Can't get any more secure than a bricked router.

.xlsx Excel file opens as read-only

When I double click on an xlsx Excel file, it opens as readonly temp file xl0000001.xls and I cannot save any changes. To work around this, I close the spreadsheet without closing Excel. Then open the same file again and the correct file is opened in readwrite mode.

There are so many ways a user configuration can be in terms of versions of Excel, Office, Windows, SPs, filters, browsers, frameworks, wrappers, and Document Management Systems. It's ridiculous to give users the run around to different groups or forums specializing is artificially segrated topics. Excel users know they're screwed until they (and their correspondents) switch to sane open document format, so they'll try everything with a reasonable effort, then go away. The so-called experts never really solve or fix anything. Users arrive at some passable workaround and just stop coming back.

How to set icon for shortcut to HTA

The icon in the upper left corner of the running HTA is specified in the icon attribute of the hta:application tag. Just put in the pathname of the ico file*. Your HTA markup is read and executed by mshta.exe, not explorer.exe. So it makes sense that file explorer will list your hta file with a generic icon. A shortcut to your hta file will also have a generic icon. Nothing got lost or corrupted because your file is just a markup interpreted at runtime containing the name of an icon resource. You never compiled that icon resource into anything to corrupt.

However, after the shortcut has been created, you can change the icon of that shortcut using right-click->properties. Then use the change icon button and pick from a list of windows icon made available thru the DLL that handles shortcuts. After changing your shortcut, copy it back to your distribution folder and the icon will stick. On the client's machine, don't create new shortcut with the hta. Instead, copy the shortcut directly.

We all know that file explorer is schizophrenic in many ways. Windows file shortcuts are binary files that don't show well in notepad. URL shortcuts are text files containing the URL in plain text. As such they should be readable by programmatic processes like AJAX, but some hack in the OS screws that up. That is either braindead or extraterrestrial ingenuity depending whom you ask.

*Btw, the ico file should actually exist. Since this will be read by Windows developers, these types of questions are encountered quite frequently.

Sneaky google docs

I will stop using google docs immediately, maybe even gmail. G is going to slug it out with A and A. I was using google docs to view a variety of file formats that people send me. Crazy office people like to send plain text data in spreadsheets and presentations. Go figure. Gdocs allowed you to "print" most files into PDF files, which I can then download onto almost any device (from DVRs to old PCs to mobile) for viewing. Now that feature is gone and G converts everything to G format viewable on Google ONLINE. Way to go G, be like Bill!!

I might go back to zoho.

Neck and back

My back was hurting for about 2 weeks where it was difficult transitioning from sitting to standing, but now its almost normal. Now my neck is still.

Tablets from smart phone OS is not smart

HP acquired Palm to build a tablet based on Palm's OS. HP's twisted concept of what is a tablet may have doomed their development effort. In the most oversimplified form, a tablet is a stripped down netbook with a touchscreen. Some people think a tablet must have cellular broadband service. HP wanted to follow Apple and Googles path of building the tablet based on a smart phone OS platform. That path was needed then for public education, because the public didn't know what to make of the iPad when it was first introduced. Now, the public perception has matured and the minimal form of a tablet is pretty simple. Maybe it can even be built from a camera OS.

The public was originally confused about the netbook concept as well. Now that the netbook market has matured, manufacturers are slapping many different OSes onto netbooks. The public initially proclaimed netbooks useless without a particular kitchen sink that someone personally wanted. History has revealed them as typical moaning geeks and that minimal netbooks are still very marketable and highly capable machines. I suspect the tablet segment will shake out in a similar fashion.

Mobile Broadband Outage

VirginMobile's mobile broadband network had a 2-day outage over the 1/15/11 weekend. Be aware that the error says "there is something wrong with you account or your mifi router." even though the problem was confirmed to be on their network. After VirginMobile fixed the network outage problem, users need to reset their mifi router. Unfortunately, there is no way for them to broadcast when such repairs were completed, assuming they would admit that an outage had even occurred.

Feel free to use this blog as the global status dashboard for VirginMobile (or any other system that refuses to host their own) mobile broadband network by posting a comment.

iPhone bluetooth cripple

Bluetooth file transfer to and from iPhone/iPod is cool, but there are limitations. These limitations seem to be enforced by Apple and are not due to technical reasons. I can understand the restriction on DRM files like music and videos, but limiting bluetooth file transfers to only images and contacts is very oppressive. How about the fact that music and images can be transferred by wifi iPhone apps anyway? Image copyrights are not important? The limitations just seem arbitrary and at the whims of the Apple gods.

Of course, there are jailbroken alternatives around these unreasonable limitations. But most of us don't use jailbroken solutions either due to technical ignorance or religious reasons.

Happy New Year

I hope everyone enjoy their new year celebrations. Have a prosperous 2011.