Monthly Archives: June 2006

A Blinking Orange Power Light

June 30, 2006
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Yesterday morning I plugged in my computer. I reached for the power button on my Dell Dimension 8400, but then noticed that the tower’s power light was flashing orange. In my Dell manual, I found the section about power light signals and read:

If the power light is blinking amber – The computer is receiving electrical power, but an internal power problem might exist.

Ensure that the voltage selection switch is set to match the AC power at your location (if applicable).

Ensure that the processor power cable is securely connected to the system board (see page 73).

Well, I was sure that the voltage selection switch was in the right place. And I found it highly unlikely that the processor power cable would suddenly unseat itself. Ugh.

Then I had an idea. I flipped off the surge protector and then flipped it back on.

Tada! No more orange lights. Weird.

The moral of the story: try the simple stuff first.

Many visitors have provided additional solution ideas in the comments section below.

Yahoo Buzz Game Relaunched

June 29, 2006
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The Yahoo Buzz Game has been relaunched in a third round with new markets, just in time for (surprise!) the 2006 hurricane season. (Long-time players of the game will know that the only way to make or lose a large amount of (fake) money is during the hurricane seasons.)

Yes, this relaunch does make the game much more exciting for the time being, but how many people actually play this anymore?

Internet Explorer 7+ vs. Internet Explorer 7

June 28, 2006
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I don’t know about you, but I had never even heard of the concept of “Internet Explorer 7+” until I read a post from the MSBLOG that explains what IE 7+ is and what the difference is between it and regular IE 7:

Vista has a core of security – I mean the whole thing is based on security and making everything incredibly secure. Having the 7+ identifies that the Vista copy of IE7 has extended features that integrate with the operating system itself, such as Parental Controls which restricts what specific users access, and Protected Mode which helps virtualise areas of the disk so that if anything harmful access the machine, then it won’t attack the computer.

So basically, the 7+ version is the Vista one and will harbour some of the core security features of the operating system, whilst 7 is just for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 which won’t be less secure in anyway [sic] and will still have all the same features as 7+ except not have the core operating system parts.

WinFX Renamed to .NET Framework 3.0

June 22, 2006
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According to a post on “Somasegar’s WebLog”, WinFX has been renamed to .NET Framework 3.0.

When speaking to developers about WinFX one question that repeatedly comes up is, “WinFX sounds great, but what happens to .NET?” .NET Framework has becomes the most successful developer platform in the world. Developers know and love .NET.

The .NET Framework has always been at the core of WinFX, but the WinFX brand didn’t convey this. The WinFX brand helped us introduce the incredible innovations in terms of Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) and the newly christened Windows CardSpace (WCS) formerly known under the codename “InfoCard.” The brand also created an unnatural discontinuity between previous versions of our framework and the current version.

With this in mind we have decided to rename WinFX to the .NET Framework 3.0. .NET Framework 3.0 aptly identifies the technology for exactly what it is — the next version of our developer framework.

The change is in name only and will not affect the technologies being delivered as part of the product. The .NET Framework 3.0 is still comprised of the existing .NET Framework 2.0 components, including ASP.NET, WinForms, ADO.NET, additional base class libraries and the CLR, as well as new developer-focused innovative technologies in WPF, WCF, WF and WCS:

The .NET Framework 3.0 will still ship with Windows Vista, and will be available down-level for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 as planned. This change doesn’t affect in any way the ship schedules of either Windows Vista or the .NET Framework 3.0 itself.

What I find weird is that .NET Framework 3.0 doesn’t seem to be a new version of the framework per se, but it seems to be an extention to the existing .NET Framework 2.0.

I think Microsoft is trying to encourage developers to utilize WinFX by marketing it as the next version of the .NET Framework. To me, “.NET Framework 3.0″ certainly does sound a lot more “friendly” and approachable than “WinFX.”

But is WinFX really a new version of .NET?

It depends on how you look at it. On the one hand, WinFX seems more like an “add-on” package to the .NET Framework than an upgrade. But on the other hand, some program upgrades do indeed just add new features while for the most part leaving pre-existing components of the program alone.

For me, and I’m guessing for many other developers, this news was strange and unexpected. I think it’s probably because we had a different mindset of what we thought WinFX was going to be.

But this name change has let me know that I’ll be able to use my existing .NET Framework knowledge and experience to harness the power of WinFX. And that is very exciting news.

Tip: Insert Random Text into Microsoft Word

June 21, 2006
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It’s easy: just type =rand() into a Microsoft Word document and press Enter. It’ll be replaced with a five-sentance paragraph:

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

You can also type in =rand(3) to get three five-sentance paragraphs.

I figured out that the highest you can go is =rand(200), which produces 14 pages of random goodness. (Assuming you have 12-point Times New Roman font.) Typing =rand(201) and then pressing Enter doesn’t do anything.

So, what’s the practical use of this?

Well, say you want to test some text formatting or text wrapping. Instead of pounding on the keyboard for three minutes producing gobbeldy-gook text to test on, just use Word’s random text insertion.

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