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January 31, 2006

Windows Mobile - Sux Again

I'm convinced that the Windows Mobile team is nothing more than three REALLY starved devs chained to some flunky-PM's desk in Ballmer's basement.

The platform stinks. It's got some killer potential - but hasn't really changed one damn bit since Windows CE. (Oh, forgive me, I nearly forgot about how the interface went from 3D to 2D - oh, and that now it supports wireless).

Jesse Ezzel apparently found out the hard way. (His gripe isn't about the bug - it's about the FIX to the bug that he can't have on his new device.)

Me? I'm just bitter that the PM for the platform is so clueless. Seriously, consider:
1) The first thing that anyone does when they buy a new Pocket PC\Windows Mobile Device is zip out and buy/download a program that lets them close their APPLICATIONS when they CLOSE them.
2) It's been like this since WinCE.
3) It would obviously be absurdly simple to fix. (I can almost bet that any Windows Mobile 101 class out there in the wild wouldn't have a "Hello World" sample application on day one - instead they'd show you how to shut down windows when you close them.)
4) From what I'm told, in order to register your mobile apps as Windows Mobile certified, one of the requirements is that there's no visible way for the application to be closed.

I guess clueless isn't the word - stubborn is probably more like it.

Posted on January 31, 2006 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

APress - Doing Ebooks Correctly.

So, my copy of Sahil Malik's Pro ADO.NET 2.0 just showed up today. I haven't had time to read through it yet (but I've heard good things about it, and I've been impressed with some of the stuff that Sahil has thrown up in his blog about ADO.NET 2.0 - so I'm expecting the book to be excellent), but I did notice that the font of the book told me I could get a digital copy of the book for free.

As much as I love books, and prefer to read them in their analog form, I also love having a digital copy around (especially if I can read it in FoxIt (Adobe Reader is just such a resource hog that it takes the fun out of digital books)).

All I had to do to get the free digital copy was register the book with my email addy and then answer a simple question about the contents of the book in less than 60 seconds. (i.e. what's the picture of on page such and such, or something similar).  Then presto, an 8MB .pdf of the entire book (everything, not just chapters, but a complete digital book) free for download (and the .pdf is passworded with my email addy).

Spiffy.

Posted on January 31, 2006 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

January 25, 2006

Google should change their Motto

Google's motto: "Do no evil" is just a pithy saying. What could it have meant to them? Don't roast and eat children? Don't torture kittens? Don't discipline employees with bamboo shoots under the fingernails?

No, it probably really meant: "Don't sacrifice principles for $$"

Yet, they've gone ahead and allowed China to censor information returned in searches - primarily about human rights. (Yahoo and MS have done the same). The mere fact that China wants to censor things about democracy and human rights should be a pretty damned big indicator of just how EVIL things are over there.

Google could have said: "hey, either allow it unfettered, or ban it - your decision (though if google isn't available in China, won't that send a message that something is a bit screwy with Chinese policy *wink wink*)".

Google claims, of course, that they "took one for the team" -  to allow Chinese people greater overall access to information. Hrmmphh. I think the real win here though is that Google will have access to all of those ad impressions. Don't think of it as evil - just think of it as trading principles for $$.

Posted on January 25, 2006 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

January 24, 2006

Ultimate Pre-Flattening CheckList

Well, my machine has REALLY started to act up. I swear I've got some serious RPC problem - stuff is frequently taking 20 to 30 seconds to start on some days. No CPU or DRIVE or any other activity... just a long pause while the OS contemplates whether or not to be obedient - most of the time it obeys (but on occasion it hasn't). Yeah, I've checked for viruses/trojans/root-kits, etc. I'm clean, of course.

I THINK it might be the drivers installed for my new HP Photosmart 3210 All-in-One Printer. Sweet printer, but I've got about 6 hp services running on my box - and some of them are frequently jostling the CPU around. At any rate, it's been about 6 months since my last FDisk (Format Disk)... so I'm due for another.

I use Acronis True Image, which absolutely rocks - meaning that flattening doesn't take too long for me. I don't keep a running backup of my machine with Acronis, but instead just keep two images:
IMAGE A - A clean install with all drivers and everything working perfectly. Then all of my default settings set as needed, and any 'must have' tools/apps loaded in place.
IMAGE B - Extending Image A, all of my base apps (Office, SQL Server, Etc). This is what I typically recover to, and I keep a log of all substantial changes that I make to this image so that I can rebuild as needed.

This go round I'm not sure if I want to recover back to Image A, or Image B .... I'll have to decide.

But, enough about my issues.

Here's a running list of things to do if you're attempting to comletely repave your box. As with warnings in an airplane cockpit, most of these 'instructions' are written in blood (i.e. made from botched attempts earlier in life), so I'd recommend paying attention to all of them.

Uncle Mikeey's Pre-Flattening Checklist:
Drivers

  1. Make sure you have ALL of your needed drivers before you even begin thinking about repaving. Have you added any new hardware to your machine?
  2. Make sure all of your drivers are up-to-date. Don't Just run out and grab the latest drivers from manufacturer sites. Make sure you've got the latest/current set of drivers on your box.
  3. Make sure your drivers are accessible. For example, don't leave your NIC drivers backed-up on another workstation. Burn a CD full of drivers if need be.

Settings

  1. Registry Settings. Output any registry entries tweaks you've made and want to keep (examples include any hacks you've made to allow certain attachments through in outlook, or hacks you've made to allow search to find text in development files, etc).
  2. Email, WebSite, FTP, and other 'Internet' type settings. Make sure you copy out all of your email account details from outlook, and for any web-based email you may have. If you keep track of all of your passwords for online sites in your browser… make sure you can recover/record all of them. If you have access to FTP sites, newsgroups, messenger lists, etc… make sure you record all of those settings and can reproduce them. Do you have a list of all the blog-feeds you use? Do you have a list of all your contacts via instant messaging? Do you have a passport account, if so, do you have the username and password? Etc. Online Banking? (Do you have the software, and patches?) Do you have the passwords for your online banking, investment sites, etc?
  3. Application Settings (VS.NET, Query Analyzer, FTP Program, Dreamweaver, etc… most programs let you save your preferences out as files. Find all the programs you use heavily and determine which ones you care about the settings - most progs now-a-days let you export your settings (VS 2005, SQL Server, FTP progs, dev widgets, etc.)
  4. Office Settings.  Don't forget your rules in Outlook. Make sure that you export them. If you have 3rd party spam filters, make sure you grab any of those settings, including white-lists, etc. Use the Save My Settings Wizard to export all of your Office settings. Export your rules and other goodies in Outlook (Tools | Rules and Alerts - then hit the options button). You may also want to check out the following link (via Omar) which will let you save your auto-complete goodness from Office as well.
  5. Firewall settings/Security Settings. If you've got a firewall, or network connections etc. Make sure you can reproduce/rebuild them. Save as many settings to file as possible… otherwise document how you've got your settings currently set. VPNs? Dialups? Make sure you document them. What about your network settings? If you have a static IP, make sure you record all the info, etc.
  6. Wireless Settings. Make sure you know the location and access info for your router. Also make sure that if you're using WPA-PSK for any networks that you use that you know the passwords/etc. (If you're using WEP, don't bother, just download some hacking software and beat your way in - should only take a few minutes).
  7. Performance Settings. Made any tweaks to your system… like HD buffer sizes… TweakUI changes? Registry Hacks?
  8. Path. Any thing you've added to your Path? Most likely you'll be able to add them again later, but you might want to take a look and see what's in there right now and make a mental note before continuing.
  9. Passwords. You should be keeping all of your passwords in a strongly encrypted central location anyway (like Password Corral, or PasswordMinder, etc). Make sure you've got them ALL. Online Banking?
  10. Servers. Are you running IIS? SQL Server? How are the sites, and FTP, and SMTP etc set up? Make sure you can reproduce all of the settings. Document as needed. If you have VMWare or VirtualPC, make sure you have config settings for your virtualPCs. Make sure that your databases are either backed up, or that you are saving copies of the the .mdf and .ldf files (don't make the mistake of just saving the .mdf files - it can work, but burns people all the time - your best bet is to make full-backups AND save your data files if you care about your data).
  11. Remote Desktop/Terminal Services. If you use this make sure you've got a list of the servers you connect to with all usernames/passwords/settings etc. (you can backup your Default.rdp file).
  12. Remote Servers: If you connect to SQL Servers, web servers, etc… make sure you have a list of all the ones you need to connect to along with connection settings and credentials.

Software

  1. Create a list of all the programs/software that you want to install on your new build. Grab a piece of paper, go through your start > progs menu and list ALL of the programs you want to install on your new build. You can even check your start > control panel > add/remove progs list of installed programs. Also, if you've got snifty little programs that just run from a directory (without the need to be installed - i.e. xcopy progs), make sure you grab those directories.
        Make sure you don't forget software you use without 'thinking' such as Anti-virus progs, CD burning software, codecs, dvd players, etc. Include any other utilities you can think of (like tweakUI, registry cleaners, etc.)
        Also, don't forget any add-in programs you may have in applications like Outlook (like Lookout, NewsGator, SpamFilters, Auto-Backup Progs, etc).
  2. Now go through the list of programs you've created and make sure that you have discs/installation files, patches, and codes/software keys. Go through each program in your list and make sure you have everything you need for it to reinstall it.
  3. Double check your list of programs. Did you miss anything? Again, make sure that these programs will all be accessible. Don't do something dumb like put all of your smaller programs on a USB drive along with the USB Drive management software (where you can't get to it).

Data / Files

  1. Identify: Identify all data and files you'll want to copy over to your new build. Only you know where you keep your files… so make sure you get everything you'll need for business, hobbies, personal, finance, etc. The best way to do this is simply open up windows explorer and go through it directory by directory. (This is where being a slob is a definite disadvantage.)
  2. Gotchas: Make sure you watch out for any special files allowed by NTFS such as compressed files and encrypted files. Whatever program you are using to copy these files should create copies sans encryption/compression… but MAKE SURE you can get to these files from another computer first (especially for the encrypted files or you can kiss them goodbye).
  3. Specialized Data.
            i) Outlook. Depending upon how much data you have and how much you care about it, you can just backup your .pst (LocalSettings\ApplicationData\Microsoft\Outlook\??.pst). You may want to take it a bit further and do other types of backup (to excel for example, or you CAN just go, for instance, to your contacts, hit ctrl+A and then DRAG the entire selected group of contacts into a windows folder on your desktop… this will 100% backup information (be it email, calendar items, contacts, etc) in case your .pst won't bring all of your data back to you).
            ii) OneNote: Just use the program to create a backup to a file, or copy your notebooks out of you LocalSettings\ApplicationData\Microsoft\OneNote directory.
            iii) Financial Software. Frequently financial programs keep their data inside of the Program Files\FinancialSoftwareApp\ directory… make sure you not only back these files up, but can get to them with any passwords/encryption/etc you need. You may also want to check the settings in these programs for anything you wouldn't want to forget (such as backup schedules/locations/etc).
            iv) Pocket PC. Make sure you have copies of all the installers for your progs.
            v) DRM. Make sure you've backed up all of your purchased movie and book rights… there are ways to backup your reader activation as well (which you'll likely want to do). For songs, you may just want to burn purchased songs to disk just to be sure. (i.e. burn them to disc such that you can rip them as standard MP3s.)
           vi) BookMarks. If you're not already storing everything in del.icio.us, then make sure you backup your bookmarks and bookmarklets in some sort of format that will let you easily import them. (Files/plain-text are a good idea as a backup if you rely heavily upon bookmarks.)
           vii) Desktop. I shouldn't have to mention this one... but don't forget to backup stuff on your desktop.

Subscriptions

Make sure that if you have any subscriptions to iTunes or other music services and so on that you deactivate your computer where possible. Other than music subscription services think about things like: Anti-virus subscriptions, anti-spam plugins, games (WarCrack and other MMPG subscriptions), and so on. In many cases you won't be able to de-activate your computer, but where you can it will make things much easier for you.

Misc

  1. Fonts.
  2. Backgrounds.
  3. ScreenSavers.
  4. Scheduled Tasks. (Including defrag and backup schedules for any 3rd party apps).
  5. Sound Files (i.e. custom .wav files you've used to trick-out your installation).
  6. System Tray. Take a look at your systray - anything else we've missed?

Posted on January 24, 2006 | | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

January 20, 2006

EntLib 2.0 - Does anyone use them?

So, EntLib 2.0 is available for download. It boasts jiggy-ness with the 2.0 Framework.

Back in the day, when EntLib was just a collection of Application Blocks, it pwned. I used the DAAB quite a bit - and loved it. The thing was almost perfect.

Then Application Blocks somehow became Enterprise Libraries. Only, it wasn't a marketing ploy - the libararies actually went full-blown mediaeval. And the Data Access stuff just got absurdly loopy/stupid - with all sorts of support for agnostic RDBMS accesss. In my mind, it was just too bulky to really be worth it.

And what was with all the configuration crap? I didn't give it much attention - I just remember installing EntLib seeing all sorts of crap about configuring this, that, and the other thing, and then looked at what they'd done to pooch the object model of the data access goodies and left the entire ball of wax for a future date. Only, that future date never arrived.

Strange thing is, I've talked with a number of people who've had about the same experience.

So, given that Enterprises will typically re-invent the wheel themselves (i.e. write their own libraries out of fear of 'Not Invented Here' causing them issues), does anyone really use EntLib? Am I just being a baby? Is it a pain in the butt, or is it pretty easy?

Would a bunch of simple to use assemblies be an even better approach than trying to pimp these libraries out for 'Enterprises'?

Posted on January 20, 2006 | | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

January 19, 2006

ReverseDOS Q & A / Resources

Documentation / Resources
So, I've gotten a number of configuration and other questions about RDOS in the past few days.  These have been simple questions about how to allow posts with > 4 hrefs in them to how to defend against obscene attacks.

Every time I get an email asking for help on these issues, I just reply with:

RTFM!  noob!

Just kidding. ReverseDOS is actually documented fairly well. I think everyone that uses RDOS is familiar with the Installation Instructions and Quick Start Config Instructions, but there are also the following resources:

Configuration Docs - Full 'docs' on configuration - including defaults, descriptions, and notes about what the point/objective of the option/setting is.
XML Encoding Tool - Nothing special,  just makes xml-encoding nasty regexes that much easier.
Upgrade Instructions - Covers how to upgrade from 1.x versions of ReverseDOS to 2.x versions (Note, these are upgrade instructions for ReverseDOS, not .NET Frameworks/etc).

Spam Storms
Spammers, bless their little hearts, look like they may  be getting through on some  sites merely by overloading them.  ReverseDOS Refresher: RDOS works by detecting spam by matching it against your filters. In a default installation, once it sees a spam request, it latches on to it - for 20 seconds. (Remember, we want to HURT spammers, make it so that coming to your site is something they don't enjoy - and meanwhile (while they're being held) they aren't spamming elsewhere - on your site, or on someone else's site.) So... if spambots attack your site, and there are say... 5 bots, that would be 5 threads holding for 20 seconds each. Spiffy. But if they hit you with say... 25 bots, then basically ALL of your site's threads would be tied up. That would likely hurt the spammers - but REAL users wouldn't actually be able to get to your site - they'd effectively get the same result as if your site was suffering from a Denial of Service Attack.

Obviously, a spam filter that takes down your own site is a BAaaaad idea. One that I accounted for - in two ways. The first way is the concurrencyLimit setting in the ReverseDOS.config. This simple setting specifies the number of simultaneous spammers you want 'hooked' at any given time. The default is 6. ASP.NET sites typically deploy 25 threads (per processor) for each site. So setting the concurrencyLimit too high can have negative consequences - but you can experiment with bumping that up if you start to see spam making it's way through DESPITE your filters. (i.e. if you've got a filter against 'poker' and all of a sudden you see some comments/referrers/etc with poker in them, it's because RDOS was already holding the specified number of bots in its clutches and a subsequent spam request came through. In this case, if we've already exceeded the threshold, RDOS lets it through by default - I don't want to take people's sites down).

If playing with the concurrencyLimit helps, but doesn't stop spam altogether, then there's an additional setting you can tweak: lagTime. The lagTime setting specifies (in milliseconds) how long you want ReverseDOS to hold on to spammy-requests. (I've currently got mine set to 60000 (60 seconds) and for giggles and kicks I'll occasionally go look at my logs - I'm holding spam bots for... 60 seconds the majority of the time.) You can always set this value down to something like... 5000 (5 seconds) which would mean the spammy-requests would be held for less time.. that might work.  OR, you can just set it to 0. If it's set to 0, then ReverseDOS doesn't bother checking the value set in the concurrencyLimit. It doesn't stall the requesting client. It just returns an immediate 403, terminates the request, and returns the thread back to the pool to handles subsequent requests.

So, if you're getting hammered with oodles of spam bots, you can try to tune RDOS if you'd like (I'd suggest it - I've found that spammers largely leave my entire site alone - I think they think the site is flakey/non-responsive so they don't bother with it - that's where YOU want to be obviously). Or, if you just want spam blocked, without worrying about slowing down your site, just set the lagTime to 0, and move on with your life.

ReverseDOS 3.0
I'll be posting on this one in a few days. 3.0 is still a ways out, but I'll be announcing functionality here soon. (Main areas of focus will be: 1) clean up config hydration (just use serialization), 2) add ability to pull in external filters i.e. from a central repository, 3) Binaries for ASP.NET 2.0 (code will branch here...2.0 binaries will use generics/etc and 1.x binaries will stay compatible with 1.x framework), and 4) some sort of simple logging, perhaps). Further additions will be a separate tool/web page you can use to modify your ReverseDOS.config - instead of having to modify the .config file by hand, and then FTP/upload it to your server. (Think RDOS Command Console or something similar.)

Otherwise...
I want ReverseDOS to work for you. If you've got questions or concerns, feel free to contact me. I've obviously got to pay the bills, but I'll make it a point to get back to you as soon as I can.


Posted on January 19, 2006 | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

January 17, 2006

True? What gives?

True - the 'dating' service perplexes me to death. Actually, they just disgust me. What I really don't get is how they stay in business.

Take the following ad taken from a _news_ site: (Warning, it's barely work safe)
http://cdn5.tribalfusion.com/media/436256.jpeg

Their ads pop up all the time, and it's apparent that they're trying like crazy to attract men to their service. So what gives? Are there really that many women registered with them, and are they just desperate to bring in more men to help make 'matches'?

In other words, I _think_ I get how they are attracting single me to their site. But how in the world are they attracting women to their 'service'?

And lets be honest: men clicking on those ads aren't looking for true love, or even a semi-permanent relationship - they're clicking to see a semi-naked, air-brushed,  porn star. That sounds like true love to me. So, what women are signing up to be treated like vixen/sex-kittens instead of like human beings? Seriously, sometimes society pisses me off, and I wish that the whole 'sexual revolution' would shut up already. I don't think anyone in the world, anymore, is 'repressed' (like that's some kind of crime against humanity). But I can almost GUARANTEE that plenty of people in the world are _unfulfilled_ (which is really sad when you think about it) because of constant 'messages' from 'society' that what's being pimpedhere really is true love. I guess that's what angers me - just how shallow and cheap they are.

Posted on January 17, 2006 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

January 10, 2006

Word: Scourge of the Universe

So, how is it that MS Word can't remember the last size of a document? Every day I open up my 130+ page document and have to 'stretch' it to be a bit wider - because it doesn't remember that yesterday it was a bit wider.

I know, petty - but still.

Posted on January 10, 2006 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

January 05, 2006

Microsoft and 'Live'

Remember when .NET first made its appearance? Everything got the .NET moniker.

Windows Server .NET
Passport .NET
Paint .NET
.net .NET

It was confusing for a while... but finally cooler heads prevailed, and the fine folks at MS realized that slapping .NET on the back of everything didn't get people in a total frenzy beating down the doors on the Redmond Campus for more .NET!!!!  (i.e. people just ended up being confused about what .NET was - there wasn't a rush for .NET stenciled pencils on ebay, etc. as apparently the marketing folks were predicting.)

Now there's Live. Or, should I say: now there's Live!!!!!!!!111oneoneone

Predictions:
- MSN Messenger gets the Live branding (I was joking with Carson about this a few weeks ago. Today I got an invite to participate in a spiffy beta: MSN Messenger Live! (I just KNEW that one would happen))
- Office 2006 (or whatever it will be) may just become Office Live? I kinda doubt it will - but I almost guarantee that somebody somewhere at MS is discussing this... and wouldn't be shocked if the Live branding somehow got confused with that infusion of apple chrome on that slick new menuing system sported by Office...
- Vista Live? Nah..... but heaven help us if it DID happen.

I'm obviously being a bit tongue-in-cheek here with all this Live 'dissing', but all'z I can say is that I'm glad this whole Live 'buzz' happened after the release of VS 2005. I think I would have to shoot myself if I had to use Visual Studio .NET Live! (instead of plain, clean, simple ol' VS 2005).

Posted on January 05, 2006 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

January 02, 2006

Wired: How stupid could they be?

I've long maintained that most of the worry about Global Warming is just political garbage masquerading as science.

This latest list of top 10 biggest discoveries of 2005 from Wired Magazine proves it.
It's so incredibly biased in terms of politics that  they missed a pretty HUGE technical detail in the first sentence.

Well, HUGE isn't a big enough word. I'd say GIGANTIC. I'm quoting the entire entry below so that you can see that I'm not taking anything out of context:

1. It's getting hot in here: Thanks to the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, global warming can no longer be ignored. There's no doubt about it: Earth's climate is heating up. But is it part of the planet's natural climate cycle, or man-made? That's the question. More than 150 nations are willing to do something about it and propose to reduce greenhouse gases. But China and the United States, two of the heaviest-polluting nations, refuse to participate. What will it take to engage the United States -- the drowning of another major city?

And I thought these guys were supposed to be smart. Earthquakes are now proof of global warming? That IS a big Discovery - I can see why they put it in as #1.

And how's that for absurd political bias? You could cut that bias with your teeth. It's so venomous that they didn't even sit down to think what they were saying. In other words,  if the US had just signed Kyoto, that horrible tsunami that killed 200,000+ people could have been avoided? Translation: Global Warming equals a chance to hate America.

Posted on January 02, 2006 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)