The Old New Thing

If you pin a program, it doesn't show up in the frequently-used programs list

June 14, 2007 Jun 14, 2007 06/14/07

Raymond Chen

After the initial explorations with the Windows XP Start menu, we had to add a rule that fine-tuned the results: If a program is pinned, then it is removed from consideration as a frequently-used program. For example, if you right-click Lotus Notes and select "Pin to Start menu", then it goes into the pin list and will never show up in ...

SIFF reviews: Falling, 2 Days in Paris, Hula Girls

June 13, 2007 Jun 13, 2007 06/13/07

Raymond Chen

More SIFF reviews.

The program doesn't have to be run from the Start menu to earn Start menu points

June 13, 2007 Jun 13, 2007 06/13/07

Raymond Chen

There's a second subtlety to the basic principle that determines which programs show up in the Start menu: Each time you launch a program, it "earns a point", and the longer you don't launch a program, the more points it loses. Since programs earn points and not shortcuts, a program can earn points even if you don't use the Start menu to ...

I never thought of it before, but drumming is a metaphor for life!

June 12, 2007 Jun 12, 2007 06/12/07

Raymond Chen

Rolling Stone writer Jancee Dunn talks about her memoir and particularly presents several tips on how to interview rock stars and other celebrities. The story about Ben Affleck is worth the price of admission...

Points are earned by programs, not by shortcuts

June 12, 2007 Jun 12, 2007 06/12/07

Raymond Chen

The first subtlety of the basic principle that determines which programs show up in the Start menu is something you may not have noticed when I stated it: Each time you launch a program, it "earns a point", and the longer you don't launch a program, the more points it loses. Notice that the rule talks about programs, not shortcuts. The "...

The New York City Profit Calculator

June 11, 2007 Jun 11, 2007 06/11/07

Raymond Chen

New York Magazine has a fascinating feature in today's issue: The Profit Calculator. It covers a cross-section of New York City businesses and studies how they make their money. Chock full of interesting little details, such as...

What determines which programs show up on the front page of the Windows XP Start menu?

June 11, 2007 Jun 11, 2007 06/11/07

Raymond Chen

The principle is that programs you've run most often recently are the ones that show up on the front page of the Start menu. At least, that's what we started with, but it turns out that some fine-tuning was needed in order to get the experience to be more "natural". The basic rule is that each time you launch a program, it "earns a point", ...

shopautodotca seocontest online contest tacitly encourages comment spam

June 8, 2007 Jun 8, 2007 06/8/07

Raymond Chen

There is a Canadian web site that is running a contest to see who can get their web site to rank highest for the terms "shopautodotca seocontest". There's $14,000 in prize money at stake (presumably in Canadian dollars), as well as a contract as the company's SEO manager. Since the contest rules do not rule out spam as a mechanism for ...

Why does canonical order for ACEs put deny ACEs ahead of allow ACEs?

June 8, 2007 Jun 8, 2007 06/8/07

Raymond Chen

So-called canonical order for ACEs in an access control list places deny ACEs ahead of allow ACEs. Why is this the canonical order? Because it gives results that are sensible. The algorithm for determining whether a user has access to an object protected by an ACL is as follows: let access-still-needed = access-requested for each ACE...

The meaning of a red traffic light is open to interpretation

June 7, 2007 Jun 7, 2007 06/7/07

Raymond Chen

It seems a sure-fire way to get a lot of good comments is to write about traffic lights or crazy driving, so I'm going to combine the two and write about crazy driving at traffic lights. Then my comments will set a new record. My friend The Knitty Professor told me about the time the sister of one of her friends came to visit from another...