Sep

10. Vista sucks
9. Vista sucks
8. Vista sucks
7. Vista sucks
6. Vista sucks
5. I don't have very much personal time available to me these days.
4. I don't have any spare computers with which I could run Vista at the moment.
3. I use Borland Delphi which is fucking terrible, and I haven't been able to get back to my C studies for several months now. Object Pascal (as a language) is kick-ass (in my opinion), but Borland's IDE is complete garbage – especially its cost. Don't suggest .NET… that's not even funny.
2. Microsoft changed nearly everything Dial-a-fix is capable of fixing to the point that Dial-a-fix has to be rewritten from the ground up just for Vista. Nobody's really got lists of "common" fixes the way XP has. Dial-a-fix is just a collection of known fixes, anyway – 99% of what DAF does is not even my invention.
1. Microsoft should fix their shit so Dial-a-fix need not exist. Is it too much to ask for a brand new operating system version not to bring 7 years worth of bugs with it? Basically, #1 is that I can't currently be arsed to fix their brand new old bugs – that's their fucking job!

Everyone should petition Microsoft to get their shit together. How can this stuff happen so much to so many people that a program like Dial-a-fix needs to be made? If I can do it, why can't Microsoft?

I will probably make a Vista version, but don't ride my ass about when and where.

Vista is an abomination and it just goes to show you that even if you "listen" to your customers (by way of usability tests, etc) it doesn't guarantee you'll get the implementation right. Microsoft needs to go back to the basics and re-think the way people use computers. Most people are multitasking, non-deterministic users. Some are single-tasking deterministic users who have old habits that are hard to break. Tough for you folks – you'll need to renew your computing license. One of the problems I see in Vista is that it tried to simultaneously retain backward compatibility while moving forward. The result: a train wreck. You know who doesn't care AT ALL about your previous programs working? Apple. They couldn't give less of a flying double monkey fuck about your programs working in the next version. You know what else? This seems to be perfectly acceptable behavior in the Mac community. Why isn't anyone up in arms about how Apple constantly ditches everyone, each time a major OS release is made? At least Microsoft tries (even if they inevitably fail).

Part II: Mac zealotry

Don't even get me started about Mac zealotry (too late). Some (but not most) Mac users have serious mental issues and honestly believe that Apple computers are somehow special or better than PCs. I have news for you: they suck exactly as much as PCs – no more, no less. They fail too, and often in the same ways as PCs. Sure, there aren't any major viruses going around, but that's because people with virus programming skill are usually in it for the money, and are too skilled to waste their time on 1% of 1% of the computing population. (It might even be embarrassing to them to some degree.)

Apple almost had it right except that they've spent a lot of their time and money mocking Microsoft Windows and not a whole lot of time developing a better computing attitude and environment and moving forward with technology. So what if you're some hipster/yankee twentysomething who buys vendor-locked brand name computers at ridiculously inflated prices to use most of the same programs that are available for Windows? Sure, sometimes it's not the exact same program, but with so many choices available, there has to be something for Windows that does the same thing as what you're trying to accomplish on a Mac. There's a lot more freeware on the PC than there is on a Mac, too.

Most of the time they mock PCs for the wrong reasons. PCs don't get viruses, Windows does. PCs don't need major overhauls to upgrade operating system software – Windows does. A PC is just some hardware. Everything after that is up to the operating system, of which there are many available. It's just unfortunate for all of us that Microsoft won that war before the war really began.

You know the Mac guy on the PC versus Mac commercials? That guy is more smug than a motherfucker. Meanwhile, the PC guy is hilarious and has a nerdy charm to him. The Mac guy is a huge douche about everything, constantly mocking the poor PC's troubles, ignoring the fact that he has his own, as well as the fact that he lives in his mom's basement smoking pot all the time and needs to shave, get some respectable clothes, and get a fucking job.

I digress.

You basically bought a PC with different software on it. You have what kind of processor and motherboard (I'm sorry – "logic board")? Oh right, Intel. What kind of power supplies are used in Macs? ATX and BTX. What kind of hard drive? Seagate. Congratulations: you bought the most proprietary PC possible that still contains nothing but regular modular PC parts (excluding the motherboard's design and firmware). At least it can run Windows, I guess. I'm not sure if that's a pro or a con.

Oct

20

Superfail, the third

Filed Under Dial-a-fix, Fixes, Microsoft, Windows 2000, Windows Update | 8 Comments

Superfail part 1
Superfail part 2

Thanks to astute reader Nate Coffey and Dial-a-fix, we've found another DLL registration bug.

The current version of wuaueng.dll provided to Windows 2000 service pack 4 clients has a bug in its DllInstallServer.

In the first picture is a "before" screenshot that shows that all of the SvcHost key values are here. This is a freshly installed Windows 2000 machine that only has Service Pack 4:

In this second picture, I have visited Windows Update, gotten the latest Windows Update client, closed my browser, and then unregistered the DLL using regsvr32 /u:

In this third picture, I have re-registered the DLL using regsvr32 /i, but it caused an error (0×80070057) and only one key was put back. The netsvcs key is lost at this point. In order to fix this, merge this default SvcHost key .reg file.

The error code 0×80070057 is E_INVALIDARG, or invalid parameters/arguments.

The current version of Dial-a-fix will accidentally trigger this because of the malformed DllInstallServer in wuaueng.dll. Once a new, fixed version of the Windows Update client is pushed out, Dial-a-fix will be able to help you again. I'll be filing this as a bug with Microsoft – I hope they fix it.

Edit: be sure to read Superfail part 2 for the solution for afflicted machines.

Oct

10

No OOXML!

Filed Under Activism, Microsoft | Leave a Comment

http://www.noooxml.org/petition

Sign the petition above to let ISO members know that they should not allow Microsoft's bastard XML document format to become an ISO standard. What the hell is wrong with you, Microsoft?

Oct

6

Microsoft removes WGA validation from IE7

Filed Under Microsoft | Leave a Comment

Microsoft has updated the IE7 installer, removing the need for Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) validation. The move is designed to make IE7 "available as broadly as possible to all Windows users," according to a Microsoft blog.

Over the past couple of years Microsoft's Internet Explorer was steadily losing market share to competing browsers like Mozilla Firefox. The WGA validation was one extra hurdle that has prompted users (especially those who have an illegal copy of Windows) to choose an alternative browser.

Aug

30

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\*

Filed Under Data recovery, Microsoft, Technical, Windows 2000, XP | 2 Comments

Perform a registry hive recovery using the information in my System Volume Information article for the hive mentioned after CONFIG\ (typically SYSTEM).

Sorry, Windows 2000 users, Microsoft hath cursed thee without an enabled-by-default automatic registry hive backup facility. Try ERUNT, though, and perform similar steps to roll back your failed SYSTEM hive when it inevitably fails.

Aug

30

Autopatcher takedown notice

Filed Under Microsoft, Software | Leave a Comment

Here's an explanation of the Autopatcher takedown notice provided by our friends at Lunarsoft.net. Make sure you Digg it.

Aug

4

Free MS Office Suite

Filed Under Microsoft, XP | 2 Comments

Free copies of some of Microsoft's office software will soon be available. Microsoft said it would make ad-supported copies of the Works package available within "months".

The programs will not run in a web browser but will be installed on a PC and have their cost offset by running adverts while in use. Microsoft said the service would debut with Works 9.0 that was due to launch by the end of the year. Word processing and spreadsheet software are expected to be the main part of the package.

The ad-supported version will have a store of adverts it will show to people while they put together documents or spreadsheets. The store of ads would be refreshed every time that computer goes online. Microsoft has not said which PC makers it is working with on the project who will pre-install the ad-supported copies of Works.

The software company said the trial would run until mid-2008 and was being run to find out if it can generate enough cash to support such a service. The usual retail price of Works in the US is $39.99 (£20).

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Sep

20

Thanks Microsoft

Oct

13

Hey guys, what will Codename: "Windows 7" be called upon release?

Dec

18

Top ten reasons why Dial-a-fix doesn't support Vista yet – and – Mac zealotry

Oct

20