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2/25/2004 1:59:54 PM UTC     

Once again, virus makers try use Microsoft identity to spead their stuff ...

Take a close look at the logo (lacks the cut on the "O" and the connecting line between the "O" and the "S") -- they could do better ...

Microsoft	All Products |  Support |  Search |  Microsoft.com Guide
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Microsoft Customer this is the latest version of security update, the "February 2004, Cumulative Patch" update which resolves all known security vulnerabilities affecting MS Internet Explorer, MS Outlook and MS Outlook Express as well as three new vulnerabilities. Install now to help protect your computer from these vulnerabilities, the most serious of which could allow an malicious user to run code on your computer. This update includes the functionality of all previously released patches.

System requirements	Windows 95/98/Me/2000/NT/XP
This update applies to	MS Internet Explorer, version 4.01 and later MS Outlook, version 8.00 and later MS Outlook Express, version 4.01 and later
Recommendation	Customers should install the patch at the earliest opportunity.
How to install	Run attached file. Choose Yes on displayed dialog box.
How to use	You don't need to do anything after installing this item.

Off course, the attached file is a W32.Swen.A@mm virus ... which is not even new ...

Off course this virus is speading because of our use of privileged accounts (the virus writes to the registry to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion  and many of its subkeys ... wich only an administrator can do ...

I had earlier today a kind of heated exchange in a newsgroup about setting the aspnet_wp to use the "System" account ... we really should be doing better than that ...

Just to make sure you understand the message : MICROSOFT NEVER SENDS UPDATES BY EMAIL... NOR SHOULD EVER ANY SENSIBLE VENDOR DO...

2/24/2004 3:39:59 AM UTC     

I really like it, but I hate Red Hat...

2/15/2004 1:36:50 AM UTC     

    Although I had followed the mono project (Ximian's implementation of the CLI), and even talked about it in short words many times, I finally made my mind to really see it...

    Actually, I didn't just think I should do it, but it was in preparation for a talk that Youness Habibi will do for the Morocco .Net User Group, and I had promised to assist him (as if I had any idea about it)...

   It was quite an experience, and actually we were helped by Mr. Lebbadi of Atrait for compiling and configuring mono(A nice Linux guy, who didn't even say anything harsh to me - except mybe saying something in this line : are you as open to others as Microsoft). That help was crucial, for neither I nor Youness had ever really touched a Linux beyond the user interface and maybe some "vi"...

   Well, how happy we were when the hello world "mono style" worked and we had that "mono:: is alive and well..." on the screen. That was only few minutes after Morocco's victory in the mid-final African Soccer Cup, and Casablanca was going wild ... Still, we almost topped the cround's noise when we were rejoicing after we copied the .exe to windows and it worked...

   Tomorrow, we are going to start doing some serious tests on mono : (Data, Web Wervices, WebForms, WinForms...)... Long live the world of portable .Net IL ...

2/12/2004 3:35:33 AM UTC     

    I was googling for blogs, trying to find some interesting info, when I stumbled on my name in the DevDays bloggers list...(For those that don't know what DevDays are, as it is the case for most people in North Africa, Dev Days are events like our Microsoft OpenDoor - one day event, traveling between cities/states/countries - but specialized on Dev).

    My first reaction was : "How the hell did I get in there, I am not speaking nor attending at any of those - there are none in my region anyway..." I click the link, and see my name among the first ones on the list (it helps having a first name that starts with an A). I go to the home page, and I'm puzzled when I see this :

Welcome to DevDays Bloggers!

That was before I looked at the site logo :

Well, that looks familiar, doesn't it?

Here is what I am hinting at :

Once again, the US guys just don't notice that there are other people on Earth...

When I try to get back to were my name was listed (not using the back buttons, just to see how visible I was on that site), I can't get to it... There is no menu item to take me there, no link inside any sub category... After spending a couple of minutes on it, I finally use the back button and find that the Url is not linkled to...

[Updated]

So, Those guys were not thinking every PDC guy is a US DevDays guy, but they are using the same app, with the same DataBase... Which is actually a great idea. The only way you find yourself in the part of the app irrelevant to US DevDays is using search engines like google... Sorry for the injustice I was guilty of in my earlier thoughts.

2/9/2004 5:57:17 AM UTC     

    Thanks to Carl Franklin  (.Net Rocks!), I now know that Nasa has been using Java for their Spirit rover mission to Mars ...

    Having been a J2EE guy until I was hit by the CLR truck (back in the early days of 1st beta), I am not keen on trashing Java (do you easily trash your older loves?), but I just can't fight it...

   Well, the story about the Mars mission goes like this (excerpts from MSNBC):

"NASA hoped communication with the six-wheeled rover would resume Friday morning after two days without receiving any significant data "

"Since Wednesday, its 19th day on Mars, the Spirit has sent back to Earth only meaningless radio noise or simple beeps acknowledging receipt of commands"

"Among the possible causes: a corruption of its software or computer memory. If the software is awry, NASA can fix it from Earth by beaming patches across more than 100 million miles of space or by rebooting the rover’s computer. But if the problem lies with the rover’s hardware, the situation would be far more grave — perhaps beyond repair"

"Preliminary indications suggested the rover’s radio was working, and it continued to generate power from the sun with its solar panels. Spirit’s internal clock also was running and had roused the rover several times on cue."

"Initially, engineers believed bad weather on Earth — a thunderstorm near a Deep Space Network antenna in Australia — had caused the communications glitch. But weather was later discounted as the source"

    Well, sounds like software is the the cause, and it is java stuff ... Could that be the cause? some IIOP ORB not doing it right (sounds like déja vu, doesn't it?)

    You would think they know better, haven't they heard of .Net?

    The credits of the idea of this entry goes to Carl (on IM, here is how he displayed his name : "Carl Franklin - NASA should've used .Net")

2/8/2004 9:51:11 PM UTC