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Last week I had an urgent support call to attend to as an e-commerce site I'd developed for a
customer had stopped taking payments. You can imagine I jumped on to it pretty sharpish.
The problem soon became apparent - the payment-processing terminal wasn't running. The server had
been re-booted and, although Domino re-started as a Service, as expected, the payment terminal
didn't. This is because I (stupidly) had put a shortcut to the program in the "All Users" Startup
Folder and assumed it would load if ever the machine re-started for any reason.
It turns out programs in the Startup folder only launch if a user logs in. In this case
nobody did and so they never launched. Seems so obvious. What was I thinking!
As a quick fix I had them log in to Windows. I then went about finding a way to have the terminal
launch without them needing to log in.
Launching Programs When Windows Boots
It turns out it's not as easy as you might imagine to run a program when Windows starts but
before a user logs in. The only solution I found was to create your very own Service.
However, it only allows you to run one BAT file and it has to be called AutoExNT.bat. Whereas, in
my case I wanted to run two different BAT files. One for each payment terminal (one live and one
for testing). It turns out you can do this by calling the two (or more I guess) batch files
directly from inside the AutoExNT.bat file.
The first line tells the existing command prompt to launch a new instance and load the first
batch file in it. The second line then goes on to run the other batch file. The result being two
command prompts running the code in the relevant batch file. Et voila.
Don't forget to install the Service with the /interactive flag set to On if you want to see the
prompts yourself when you log in. Oh, and to check the Service is set to Automatic.
SEGA West boss Mike Hayes has said the company is already working on a Project Natal demo - and
will be showing it off at E3.
It's not just Microsoft's motion control technology SEGA is interested in, either. "All credit to
Microsoft and Sony, they've given us early development kits," Hayes told CVG.
"We asked our Japanese studio to create something for [Natal] which we'll show off at E3. They
had a brilliant prototype up and running within six weeks. I mean a genuinely entertaining
prototype you could just play."
Dans le pack mensuel des mises à jour proposées par Windows Update, une mise à
jour a tout particulièrement attiré notre attention. En effet suite à ses
déboires avec l'Union Européenne Microsoft propose la possibilité à
l'utilisateur de choisir quel navigateur WEB il désire installer sur son système.
Une fonctionnalité qui ne changera certainement pas grand chose dans les habitudes des
utilisateurs mais qui a le mérite de faire savoir au plus grand nombre qu'il existe d'autres
alternatives à Internet Explorer.
A quand la même chose sur les autres systèmes car s'il est bien aux yeux de certains
d'attaquer Microsoft pour abus de position dominante, dans certains domaines d'autres ont aussi une
position dominante dont ils abusent mais cette situation semble déranger beaucoup moins.
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A top executive for Microsoft Corp's MSN China will leave the joint venture,
Microsoft said on Thursday, in a setback as the firm struggles to compete in China's hotly
contested social networking space.
Comme chaque année, le Forum des Métiers de l'Informatique refait surface à
Lingolsheim, à proximité de la ville de Strasbourg, le 20 mars prochain. Dans la vie
courante, un forum est un lieu réservé au dialogue, à la communication entre
les personnes, au partage et à la mise en commun de l'expérience des uns et des
autres.
Édition 2010 du Forum des Métiers de l'Informatique
Cet évènement est une occasion unique pour toutes les personnes qui sont
intéressées par le domaine de l'emploi en informatique et qui se posent des
questions.
On entend souvent que le secteur de l'informatique est saturé, que l'innovation a disparu,
qu'il faut être brillant pour réussir etc. Vous pourrez discuter et débattre
sur ces interrogations, par exemple, avec des professionnels de l'informatique, durant ce
forum.
Cette année, ce sont les étudiants et les personnels de l’école
informatique Exia qui organisent cette 5e édition du Forum des Métiers de
l’informatique dans leurs propres locaux.
Il s'agit là d'une occasion rêvée pour vous de découvrir les
possibilités qui s'offrent à vous dans le domaine de l'informatique et vous aider
à faire vos choix pour l'avenir.
Quels professionnels participeront à ce forum ?
Bien que la liste ne soit encore exhaustive, voici quelques grands professionnels qui seront
présents.
Il est aussi à noter que la table Surface de Microsoft sera
présente en démonstration pour les férus de nouvelles technologies.
Informations
L'événement a été fixé pour la journée du samedi 20 mars,
de 10 à 16 heures.
D'autre part, un site internet dédié à
cette rencontre est disponible. Un plan d'accès et des informations plus amples y sont
donnés.
Pour plus de renseignements, vous pouvez aussi suivre ces quelques liens :
La firme de Redmond dresse un bilan positif de son opération b49 menée contre le
botnet Waledac mais reconnait cependant que le démantèlement de ce réseau n'a
pas fait baisser le niveau du spam mondial.
La firme de Redmond dresse un bilan positif de son opération b49 menée contre le
botnet Waledac mais reconnait cependant que le démantèlement de ce réseau n'a
pas fait baisser le niveau du spam mondial.
McBacon writes with this excerpt from Wired.co.uk: "Often dismissed as a failed venture, the Xbox
Indie Games programme has earned successful man-and-his-dog developers tens of thousands of pounds
from sales of their homebrew games. Wired explores the success stories of this hidden marketplace.
... now, more than a year since its launch, the Xbox Indie Games are seeing something of a revival.
Microsoft has made huge strides to improve the service, games are beginning to be taken more
seriously and success stories are becoming more and more common. Especially for [James] Silva, a
New York-based developer, who became an impromptu Indie celebrity after his game The Dishwasher won
Microsoft's Dream-Build-Play competition. He says he's 'absolutely thrilled' to have seen I Maed a
Gam3 w1th Zomb1es!!!1 — his latest game — become a cult hit, for gamers to flock to it
in record numbers and to have sold over 200,000 copies."
McBacon writes with this excerpt from Wired.co.uk: "Often dismissed as a failed venture, the Xbox
Indie Games programme has earned successful man-and-his-dog developers tens of thousands of pounds
from sales of their homebrew games. Wired explores the success stories of this hidden marketplace.
... now, more than a year since its launch, the Xbox Indie Games are seeing something of a revival.
Microsoft has made huge strides to improve the service, games are beginning to be taken more
seriously and success stories are becoming more and more common. Especially for [James] Silva, a
New York-based developer, who became an impromptu Indie celebrity after his game The Dishwasher won
Microsoft's Dream-Build-Play competition. He says he's 'absolutely thrilled' to have seen I Maed a
Gam3 w1th Zomb1es!!!1 — his latest game — become a cult hit, for gamers to flock to it
in record numbers and to have sold over 200,000 copies."
Aside from a very
small handful of points, it would seem there's a major disconnect between two ex-Ensemble Studio
employees over why the studio was shuttered
by Microsoft last year. Ian Fischer (an ex-lead designer at Ensemble, now at Robot Entertainment) details on his blog the many disagreements he has with (claimed)
ex-creative lead Paul Bettner's recent rant at the Game Developer's Conference in a panel called
"Fired
and Fired-up: Jobless Developer's Rant." We say "claimed," because even Bettner's job title is
called into question during the response. "Neither you, nor anyone else, was 'Creative Director' at
our studio," Fischer alleges.
Further, Fischer rebutes Bettner's claim that Ensemble shut down due to a "reliance on crunch" to
finish projects that got more and more expensive by the year, saying it had more to do with
"chasing after the MMOs and FPSs and RPGs and RTS-differents we constantly had in prototype." He
also says that the communication with Microsoft never broke down and that if the publisher had
wanted to lower the developer's operating costs, "they could have done so with a phone call ... ES
enjoyed a long relationship with Microsoft (as many ex-Studios people now at Robot or Bonfire still do), first as a partner and then as
part of the corporation after 2001."
So, according to Fisher, what was the reason that Ensemble shut down? "If you want to find mistakes
with what we did, I'd suggest that those trips into the weeds, looking for new territory, with a
partner who wasn't fond of being there, was more our error," he suggests, referencing the
aforementioned prototypes. We've followed up with Bettner to hear his side of the story and will
update this post if we hear back.
Aside from a very
small handful of points, it would seem there's a major disconnect between two ex-Ensemble Studio
employees over why the studio was shuttered
by Microsoft last year. Ian Fischer (an ex-lead designer at Ensemble, now at Robot Entertainment) details on his blog the many disagreements he has with (claimed)
ex-creative lead Paul Bettner's recent rant at the Game Developer's Conference in a panel called
"Fired
and Fired-up: Jobless Developer's Rant." We say "claimed," because even Bettner's job title is
called into question during the response. "Neither you, nor anyone else, was 'Creative Director' at
our studio," Fischer alleges.
Further, Fischer rebutes Bettner's claim that Ensemble shut down due to a "reliance on crunch" to
finish projects that got more and more expensive by the year, saying it had more to do with
"chasing after the MMOs and FPSs and RPGs and RTS-differents we constantly had in prototype." He
also says that the communication with Microsoft never broke down and that if the publisher had
wanted to lower the developer's operating costs, "they could have done so with a phone call ... ES
enjoyed a long relationship with Microsoft (as many ex-Studios people now at Robot or Bonfire still do), first as a partner and then as
part of the corporation after 2001."
So, according to Fisher, what was the reason that Ensemble shut down? "If you want to find mistakes
with what we did, I'd suggest that those trips into the weeds, looking for new territory, with a
partner who wasn't fond of being there, was more our error," he suggests, referencing the
aforementioned prototypes. We've followed up with Bettner to hear his side of the story and will
update this post if we hear back.
Microsoft a annoncé lors du MIX10 qu’il n’y aurait pas de copier-coller dans
Windows Phone 7, mais qu’il sera possible de manipuler des données entre plusieurs
applications.
Microsoft a annoncé lors du MIX10 qu’il n’y aurait pas de copier-coller dans
Windows Phone 7, mais qu’il sera possible de manipuler des données entre plusieurs
applications.
Every few weeks (and sometimes even more often than that), dozens of techies gather
together for regional Startup Weekends
— fast-paced code writing frenzies where entrepreneurs and
developers conceive of and build a new application in less than 60 hours (and lose quite a bit of
sleep in the process). Many of the apps die off soon thereafter, but some of them live on. And
now they’re becoming acquisition targets:Â Learn That Name, a game that uses your LinkedIn contacts to
help you remember the names of your business acquaintances, has been acquired by Gist. Terms of the deal aren’t being disclosed, but the LTN guys
say they’re “very, very happy” with the result.
Learn That Name was built last August at a Microsoft-sponsored Startup Weekend and
won top prize (which was amusing, because it was built for the decidedly non-Microsoft iPhone).
The app’s idea came from layer Eric Koester, who was inspired to create it after he failed
to remember someone’s name earlier during the event. A team of 14 people came together to
build the app that weekend, and since then, a subset of the original LTN team has continued
working on it, releasing an updated iPhone version, Palm WebOS app, and Flash app.
The deal is for LTN’s tech assets, and the proceeds are being split among the
14 original team members. Going forward, the standalone iPhone and Palm applications will still
be available, and the game is also integrated into Gist’s own iPhone application, which you
can find here.
 The Gist version will tap into Gist’s database of contacts (the original uses
LinkedIn).
For those that haven’t used it, Gist offers services that help you keep tabs on the people
in your professional network. The service’s web interface allows you to see past messages
and attachments from each contact, news about their company, and their recent messages on
services like Twitter. Gist also offers an Outlook plugin that shares similarities with Xobni. Given the business oriented nature of Learn That
Name, this seems like a good (and fun) fit.
Given the success of the Learn That Name team, it will be interesting to see if more Startup
Weekend teams continue working together following the conclusion of their events.
Interesting - remember the story on the Samsung Omnia HD with WP7S which
we covered earlier this morning? Well, in a surprising turn of events, this is a handset that
was created by Microsoft themselves for the demonstration, and not by the folks at Samsung. Now
how about that? We do wonder what other kinds of Frankenstein-like projects would Microsoft
indulge in in the near future to cater for the growing legion of Windows Phone 7 Series fans.
It's hard to argue that Windows Phone 7
Series' Metro UI concept isn't utterly unique in the mobile world, but it was wasn't the only
option Microsoft considered -- far from it, in fact. The company has published a bunch a design
concepts it churned through on its wild, wacky journey to finalizing Metro as we know it today, and
one thing's for certain: they'd clearly planned on simple, square lines, partially-obscured
typography, and in-your-face colors pretty much from day one. After careful consideration of
everything they've got here, we still think we like the production design best, but that's kind of
besides the point -- why, pray tell, couldn't these have just been user-selectable themes?
UE/Bruxelles Plus de 190 millions d'internautes européens utilisant Internet Explorer, le
navigateur de Microsoft, se voient désormais proposer un autre logiciel de navigation
Internet. Le groupe informatique américain Microsoft vient de mettre en place ce dispositif
convenu mi-décembre avec Bruxelles, afin d'échapper à une lourde amende pour
abus de position dominante. Montage RFI
Publication Date: 2010 Mar 15 PMID: 20230624Authors: Reuter, J. S. - Mathews, D. H.Journal: BMC
BioinformaticsABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: To understand an RNA sequence's mechanism of action, the
structure must be known. Furthermore, target RNA structure is an important consideration in the
design of small interfering RNAs and antisense DNA oligonucleotides. RNA secondary structure
prediction, using thermodynamics, can be used to develop hypotheses about the structure of an RNA
sequence. RESULTS: RNAstructure is a software package for RNA secondary structure prediction and
analysis. It uses thermodynamics and utilizes the most recent set of nearest neighbor parameters
from the Turner group. It includes methods for secondary structure prediction (using several
algorithms), prediction of base pair probabilities, bimolecular structure prediction, and
prediction of a structure common to two sequences. This contribution describes new extensions to
the package, including a library of C++ classes for incorporation into other programs, a
user-friendly graphical user interface written in JAVA, and new Unix-style text interfaces. The
original graphical user interface for Microsoft Windows is still maintained. CONCLUSION: The
extensions to RNAstructure serve to make RNA secondary structure prediction user-friendly. The
package is available for download from the Mathews lab homepage at
http://rna.urmc.rochester.edu/RNAstructure.html.post to:
CiteULike
Microsoft
certainly set off a firestorm of controversy yesterday with the revelation that Windows Phone 7
Series won't have
copy and paste, since it doesn't necessarily line up with what the company has said in private
before -- and the issue seems to have gotten even more clouded as people have started hacking
around the emulator. So let's set the record straight on what we were told, since it wasn't
ambiguous in any way: Microsoft says leaving clipboard operations out was a conscious design
decision based on user research showing that people don't actually use copy and paste very often,
and that instead 7 Series features a systemwide data detection service which recognizes things ike
phone numbers and addresses so you can take action on them. Third-party apps can hook into this
service, so that an email address can be routed to the email client of your choice, but there's no
copy and paste functionality. We specifically asked about Office and OneNote, and we were told that
Microsoft's research shows that people mostly want to view and comment on documents, not move
things around. We also specifically asked if copy and paste was coming later and were told no,
although we'd guess that it's at least being worked on for a future version. Don't take it from us,
though -- listen to Microsoft's Todd Brix for yourself:
VirnetX, a software corporation founded in 2005, has
prevailed in a patent-infringement lawsuit accusing Microsoft of willfully infringing on two
patents for automatic and secure Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology. The Texas jury
recommended an award of $105.75 million, which is less than half of the $242 million that
VirtnetX asked for. Still, the verdict was a very positive one for VirtnetX. "Our clients are
very happy with today's verdict," said VirnetX counsel Douglas Cawley in a statement. "We hope
this decision sends a clear message to patent infringers everywhere that they will be held
responsible for wrongly profiting off the hard work of others."
Microsoft is not happy with the decision and plans to fight on. "We are disappointed by the
jury's verdict," a Microsoft spokesperson told Ars. "We respect others' intellectual property,
and we believe the evidence demonstrated that we do not infringe and the patents are invalid. We
believe the award of damages is legally and factually unsupported, so we will ask the court to
overturn the verdict."
The case was tried in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, the favored venue
for patent infringement cases.
In its original lawsuit filed in
February 2007, VirnetX alleged that Microsoft Office Communicator included technology covered
by its patent
No. 6,502,135 and that Windows Meeting Space infringed its patent
No. 7,188,180. The $105.75 million breaks down as $71.75 million for the former and $34
million for the latter, according to the Scotts Valley, California company. VirnetX acquired the
rights to the patents from the government-contracting company Science Applications International
in 2006. Microsoft accused VirnetX of being a patent troll during the trial, and it was revealed
that the company's business model was based on winning the lawsuit, though it does have a
licensing agreement with VeriSign.
VirnetX, a software corporation founded in 2005, has
prevailed in a patent-infringement lawsuit accusing Microsoft of willfully infringing on two
patents for automatic and secure Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology. The Texas jury
recommended an award of $105.75 million, which is less than half of the $242 million that
VirtnetX asked for. Still, the verdict was a very positive one for VirtnetX. "Our clients are
very happy with today's verdict," said VirnetX counsel Douglas Cawley in a statement. "We hope
this decision sends a clear message to patent infringers everywhere that they will be held
responsible for wrongly profiting off the hard work of others."
Microsoft is not happy with the decision and plans to fight on. "We are disappointed by the
jury's verdict," a Microsoft spokesperson told Ars. "We respect others' intellectual property,
and we believe the evidence demonstrated that we do not infringe and the patents are invalid. We
believe the award of damages is legally and factually unsupported, so we will ask the court to
overturn the verdict."
The case was tried in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, the favored venue
for patent infringement cases.
In its original lawsuit filed in
February 2007, VirnetX alleged that Microsoft Office Communicator included technology covered
by its patent
No. 6,502,135 and that Windows Meeting Space infringed its patent
No. 7,188,180. The $105.75 million breaks down as $71.75 million for the former and $34
million for the latter, according to the Scotts Valley, California company. VirnetX acquired the
rights to the patents from the government-contracting company Science Applications International
in 2006. Microsoft accused VirnetX of being a patent troll during the trial, and it was revealed
that the company's business model was based on winning the lawsuit, though it does have a
licensing agreement with VeriSign.
UE/Bruxelles Plus de 190 millions d'internautes européens utilisant Internet Explorer, le
navigateur de Microsoft, se voient désormais proposer un autre logiciel de navigation
Internet. Le groupe informatique américain Microsoft vient de mettre en place ce
dispositif convenu mi-décembre avec Bruxelles, afin d'échapper à une lourde
amende pour abus de position dominante. Montage RFI
Una de las características más útiles que introdujo Windows Vista fue la
previsualización de ventanas en la barra de tareas. Luego, esta
función fue mejorada en Windows 7, haciendo que las miniaturas fueran más
funcionales al incorporar un botón para cerrar cada ventana directamente. Pero en ambas
versiones de Windows, Microsoft ha querido que las thumbnails mantengan un tamaño
reducido.
Pero aquellos usuarios que piensan que las miniaturas de la “superbarra” son
demasiado pequeñas tampoco están perdidos. Para ellos existe Taskbar
Thumbnail Customizer, una aplicación desarrollada por un niño de tan solo
12 años que permite cambiar el tamaño de las miniaturas
fácilmente. Además, nos deja ajustar el delay de tiempo que tardan en
aparecer las miniaturas, y también cambiar el borde que tienen las previsualizaciones. Al
presionar el botón “Apply Changes” se reiniciará el proceso
explorer.exe, para que así los cambios tengan efecto.
"With breaking news about the Windows 7 mobile apps from MIX10, Chris Hardwick talks to
Engadget's Joshua Topolsky about what Microsoft is bringing to the table, from Xbox gaming on
Windows 7 phones, a preview of their new apps and more."
Sure, there are more than a few things that some people aren't too happy about right now with
Windows phone 7, but there's one very important thing that Microsoft has done with the
announcement of this new version: they've put themselves on the map in a way that hasn't happened
in a very long time. More from me later on this topic, but I think it's really important to
acknowledge that fact.
A statement by Microsoft about the patent suit which Apple recently filed against mobile phone
manufacturer HTC has resulted in some rather alarmist commentary today.
Some rumors are swirling regarding a possible “slim” version of the Xbox 360. And why
not? The console being sold is largely the same as one they were selling… wow, is it more
than four years ago now? Of course, the ones they sell now run a little cooler, and
don’t have an enormous failure rate, so there’s that. And with the pressure
on from the PS3 Slim and… well,
a black version
of the Wii, Microsoft probably wants to be one of the cool kids with the console revisions.
The
pictures are purportedly of the new motherboard, and show a combined processor and graphics
unit, a generally smaller size, and a SATA connector instead of a proprietary one, suggesting the
new hard drive will be internal.
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Wer seine Mails nicht mehr auf dem
Microsoft Exchange Server hosten will, kann jetzt seine Daten einfacher auf Google-Anwendungen
umziehen.
Every few weeks (and sometimes even more often than that), dozens of techies gather
together for regional 
Montage RFI
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