The Old New Thing

Diving into kernel mode with Doron

February 17, 2006 Feb 17, 2006 02/17/06

Raymond Chen

My colleague Doron Holan has started writing about kernel mode driver programming, and it looks like he's jumping in with both feet. I have to admit that I don't understand what he's saying (not being a kernel-mode person myself), but I can assure you that he knows what he's talking about. (Note that he's writing about driver programming, so...

Recycling old PCs and cell phones

February 15, 2006 Feb 15, 2006 02/15/06

Raymond Chen

PC World reports that eBay has set up a recycling initiative called rethink. The web site includes organizations that will accept donations or recycle your old equipment. In the Seattle area, the Take It Back Network will accept your old equipment for reuse or recycling. On the other hand, I have equipment so old nobody would take it...

The "symmetric" in symmetric multiprocessing really means "symmetric"

February 15, 2006 Feb 15, 2006 02/15/06

Raymond Chen

The Windows NT family of operating systems supports symmetric multiprocessing. And symmetric really means symmetric. All the processors have to be the same speed, the same stepping, the same manufacturer. They must be identical in every way. If you break any of these rules, you will get strange results. Strange results from will be the...

Studs from Microsoft

February 14, 2006 Feb 14, 2006 02/14/06

Raymond Chen

Chris Sells reminded me of the Studs from Microsoft sketch (direct link to video), a parody of the dating game show Studs, as performed by the now-defunct local sketch comedy program Almost Live! And yes, in that sketch is Bill Nye at the midpoint of his rise to stardom. Between his careers as Boeing mechanical engineer and nationally-...

Shifting from program management to programming also affects your social life

February 9, 2006 Feb 9, 2006 02/9/06

Raymond Chen

My colleague who switched from program management to programming has this to say about unintended consequences: My take on this is that I developed through the needs of my job as a lead program manager the ability to talk to anyone at any time to get a particular issue dealt with, but that I didn't necessarily want to do this or enjoy the...

Comparing writing specifications to writing code

February 8, 2006 Feb 8, 2006 02/8/06

Raymond Chen

My colleague who manages to pack his entire office into a single box recently made the switch from program management to programming. I teased him, "So what's it like using an editor without a 'boldface' button?" His response was actually rather insightful. "Writing specifications is like writing a novel. Writing code is like writing poetry...

From Doom to Gloom: The story of a video game

January 18, 2006 Jan 18, 2006 01/18/06

Raymond Chen

NPR's Morning Edition developed a series on the subject of flops, and one of their segments was devoted to the rise and fall of John Romero. You can read more about the phenomenon known as Daikatana in a huge series on Gamespot. Set aside at least an hour if you choose to read it. You can also read the Dallas Observer story that opened ...

Beware the MSJ subscription scam

January 9, 2006 Jan 9, 2006 01/9/06

Raymond Chen

Stephen Toub from MSDN Magazine alerts us to the MSJ subscription scam. Somebody has been sending out (via paper mail) a fake subscription offer for Microsoft Systems Journal, a magazine that ceased publication back in 2000. Read Stephen's article for more details as well as a copy of the scam letter itself. (The address for the "publisher...

Don't underestimate the resourcefulness of people trying to be annoying

January 4, 2006 Jan 4, 2006 01/4/06

Raymond Chen

TechNet Magazine's January • February 2006 issue is now available, including a short article from me on the resourcefulness of people trying to be annoying. The issue also has an article on how to use the Volume Shadow Copy Service which I mentioned a few months ago. (And if you had read that posting from last September, ...