Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Classic Windows Scripting

Saturday, September 29th, 2007
ancient script

Before .NET and PowerShell were dreamt of, VBScript and COM objects were the most powerful scripting tools available in a vanilla Windows install. Using Microsoft’s default facilities is worthwhile because it obviates the need to deploy additional software and cope with that software’s life cycle and incompatibilities. For instance, a script written for Windows 2000 is likely to continue working in Windows Server 2008 x64 Edition. I use PowerShell/.NET for Windows scripting now, but I still regularly use VBScripts which are several years old. Here are several of these simple scripts. (more…)

Laws of Red-Light Robotics

Thursday, May 3rd, 2007

Robocop warned us that the privatization of justice has a dark side. This week I was visited not by the Robocop’s bumbling would-be replacement, ED-209, but by his traffic citation analogue — a ticket from a Redflex red light camera with speed sensor. (more…)

Two small steps for Microsoft, one giant push towards convergence

Tuesday, October 31st, 2006

Today Microsoft released a major update to the X-Box 360 dashboard as well as Windows Media Player 11. In concert, these upgrades allow you to stream video to your X-Box 360 from your PC, flash drive, CD/DVD, or soon-to-be Zune! The 360 dashboard upgrade is rather exhaustive, but the video sharing features are the most compelling. (more…)