For the longest time, I thought almost every single page on Microsoft.com was designed to look different on purpose just to play with you, but I guess I was wrong because the newly redesigned Microsoft.com Support site is actually partially consistent with the frontpage. In general its a subtle update with a more flexible layout giving more focus to the content.

Maybe even one day, they’ll make it beautiful.

P.S. If you don’t know already, check out the auto-complete feature in the search field on the support site. You have to type at least 3 characters before it kicks in. Try “Microsoft suc”. Apparently very frequent query.

Microsoft's latest Windows client brought to the table in November 2006 (for businesses) and in January 2007 (for the general consumers) a revamped activation architecture. But most importantly, Windows Vista features an intimate connection with Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage anti-piracy mechanism, as well as the Reduced Functionality Mode kill-switch designed to cut access to products detected as non-genuine or that failed to activate properly. But despite the fact that Microsoft was applauding a more flexible, accurate and secure activation process in comparison to Windows XP, the fact of the matter is that the latest Windows client did manage to produce its fair share of frustration to end users.

On April 11, 2008 Microsoft has updated a list of no less than 10 frequent error messages which prevented Vista RTM users from activating their copies of the operating system ahead of the delivery of Windows Vista Service Pack 1. KB951287 refers exclusively to error codes and error messages associated with the gold version of Vista, and do not point to any similar scenarios following the delivery of Service Pack 1.

Windows Vista SP1 was released to manufacturing...

There have been many times while working on a problem that I have found files that look suspicious, or are not part of the standard windows install. Microsoft has provided an excellent resource for researching executable files within windows.

It is called the DLL Help Database Search



So for example...you are working on your server, trying to diagnose a problem...and you see a process running called MAD.EXE

On the surface this really looks like a nefarious program. What legitimate application could be called MAD.exe?

If we do a search on the DLL help database we find that it is part of Microsoft Exchange:



Even better, you can see the version history of the file, what product it belongs to, and even the path of the file on the original install disk by clicking on the "More Info" link:



If that was not enough information for you, each file has a link to more details. Click on...

Six weeks after my international flight from Los Angeles to Australia was delayed for 24 hours, United Airlines has finally come up with a value for my inconvenience when a full Boeing 747-load (400+) of passengers waited at the terminal for 6 hours into midnight, sent to an airport motel at 2am, lining up half an hour to check-in (guess what happens when 200 people enter one motel at the same time), sleep and wake up in the same clothes, eat 3 meals of crummy tasteless food and not to mention some LAPD cops busting in a room next door. Four dollars and seventeen cents per hour is how much United thinks my time is worth. Even McDonalds has higher standards.

To be blunt, all I missed was a lecturer, tutorial and some work. I can’t imagine how the family of four who missed their child’s birthday party in Sydney, or the half a dozen elderly couples who missed their retirement Pacific cruise must feel when this arrives for them. Considering everyone paid almost $80/hour for the flight, this is worse than a slap in the face.

Click to continue reading "United Airlines: your time is worth $4.17/hour"

Written by Long Zheng on April 15th, 2008 with no comments.
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