Almost a year and a half ago when I installed the first beta, the Start Menu was still present. In the next iteration, it was disabled by default but could be brought back with a registry hack on a per-user basis. I was concerned, but not fully alarmed. Then the final public beta rolled around, and when I installed it I was appalled. It was at that ......

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Not nearly as impressive as its name sounds, but in Windows 7 we had the trick of creating a folder of tools called:GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E... on Windows 8 this still works. This is a pretty useful thing with Win8 since it's more difficult to reference all the obscure tools because many of the good ones can't be opened directly ......

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Consider this common construct that you and I have thrown into ASPX pages for years now: <%# DataBinder.Eval (Container.DataItem, "EmployeeID") %> In .NET 3.5.1 and older it returns -- tada -- a string. No mystery there. But in .NET 4.0 it returns the same type as the underlying data type -- which in this case for me was a nullable int. Interesting, ......

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The GAC in .NET 4.0 is cut into two parts now -- one half for .NET Framework 2.0 stuff, and the other for v4.0 stuff. When compiling any project, targeting .NET 2.0, 3.5, or what have you, this annoying error may pop up: Could not load file or assembly 'System.EnterpriseServices, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d5... or ......

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I've got a couple HDR-HC1 cameras, one from Japan and one from the US, and really like the video quality that comes out of 'em. As long as the scene is well-lit, the results are good. Annoyingly using CapDVHS I could only capture HDV video from the Japanese one. I haven't taken the time to figure out why until just today. It was easy enough in the past ......

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Four starcraft owned by galactically-registered prostitutes hovered over Phoenix late last evening, each illuminated with the traditional mark of the trade: a red light. The markings on the side of two craft indicate they are from the galaxy "Sextans", NGC 3115, which is seen in our sky near the constellation "Hydra". (Although the name of the spindle ......

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When playing back content from my 3D camcorder, if you aren't wearing shutter glasses then the result is pretty blurry and bland looking. After putting on the glasses, the scene jumps to life. So while putting together a sample photo to promote how it works, I wanted to superimpose a better 2D image, and stretch it over the existing image of a screen ......

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If you have one of these, you can capture *amazing* full-color high definition 3D video: The general idea is: 1. Record a scene with two high definition camcorders running at the same time. Have them mounted on a board, pointed the same direction, and spaced about 1 foot apart. 2. Acquire the footage into a computer and edit the streams to synchronize ......

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Over a million Japanese homes have a cutting-edge appliance that I'll bet you (along with 95% of America) have never even heard of. No -- it's not a singing toilet seat with a remote control, butt warmer, and built-in bidet. Why... here's one of those gleeking now: So I bet that most of you have heard about -- and some out there even used -- that particular ......

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Sometimes I'm a really early adopter. So early that I buy stuff in Japan the moment it becomes available. I've got a well-loved HDV camera that I got two and a half years ago that way. Hard to believe that I've had it around that long. It's now been on 3 continents, and has captured probably around 100 hours of really great content. Quite a few "battle ......

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I had an error that was been driving me up the wall, CS0234: The type or namespace name 'Pkcs' does not exist in the namespace 'System.Security.Cryptograp... This always happened while developing a web application in Visual Studio 2005 and wanting to use code that deals with certificates. During development Intellisense would find the System.Security.Cryptograph... ......

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A question was posed to our user group's listserv yesterday. After typing up a response I saw that I had written a short novel on the subject, and thought it may be of use to those outside our group. First the question posed: > My employer doesn't want to expose it's production databases to the world, so they sit safely behind a firewall. The production ......

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When will this administration learn to stop looking for things that don't exist? Weapons of mass destruction in Saddam's hands. Okay, maybe there weren't any. Spinning centrifuges in Iran. Okay, maybe there aren't any. Muslims banding together and plotting to blow up natural gas lines or release serin in subways. Probably not. Or how about -- me hiding ......

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At the MacWorld keynote this morning Steve Jobs saved the best for last. Of the 4 major things he spoke about, the final thing was the announcement of the crazy-small MacBook Air. This is the world's thinnest notebook, sporting an LED edge-lit screen, custom Penryn processor, and all that weighing only 3 lbs. Small enough to fit in an envelope: (Steve ......

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Got this phishing message in the email this morning: Subject: Case ID: DXA6E9JK Body: Dear Bank of America Military Bank customer, We regret to inform you that we have received numerous fraudulent e-mails which ask for personal information. Please remember that we will never ask for personal information through e-mail or websites. Because of this we ......

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