Microsoft finally has a decent desktop search: http://toolbar.msn.com/desktop/results.aspx?FORM=PCHP

First impression: Why MSN? Why oh why? I really dislike MSN. They insist on sticking their damn butterfly all over the place, and feel the need to add tons of links to useless content I don't want to see (while still no equivalent of Google Groups, as far as I can tell). I don't wanna see a damn butterfly and links to dating inside of Outlook! I hope this just a temporary fix until Windows/Office get their search fixed up. And, the place you'd really expect and hope for integration is not there: Searching IM history. Duh.

Microsoft's using the usual tactic to promote their lame offerings by forcing them along with something you actually want. I won't say it's wrong. It's probably good for business. But I sure as hell hate it. But, I guess that's the price you pay when another division cleans up for someone else.

Oh yea, they ignore guidelines, and put a bloody shortcut on your desktop without permission. I guess they thought that even with having it automatically added everywhere else, you might *still* have problems starting it. Sigh. Even MS can't listen to MS guidelines. Oh wait, this is MSN, nevermind.

The deskbar is a nice idea, but unfortunately, having another band on my desktop really sucks (since it takes the full verticle space, wasting lots of precious taskbar space). And, unfortunately, the hotkey to start search doesn't work if the band is closed. Sucky. 

A workaround is to simply disable the MSN Toolbar (lameness incorporated), Outlook integration, and deskbar. Then, go into your start menu, right click the MSN Desktop Search, and assign a shortcut. Enjoy searching without cluttering up your apps.

Apart from MSN's spam-like tendencies, it's a good solid offering. MSN shows some of it's MS-ness here:

   - Awesome UI. The deskbar is really cool. Not worth the space loss, but almost. The search results go right the program -- no browser nonsense.

  - Network indexing!!! YEA. Now I can search the source on my Linux development machine easily. 

  - Outlook-integrated search (right where I need it).

I'm really happy with it. What I really want is Office and Windows to integrate this into their products, rather than having it be a big MSN orgy.

At any rate, I've already said goodbye to Google Desktop. Yey!

Christmas is quite a bit of fun down here. Contrary to what some believe, it does get somewhat cold here, since we're at an elevation of around 2000 metres. However, what makes it *cold* is that the idea of insulation is a foreign concept to most houses. Thus, even though it's only “rather cold“ out, you can feel the coldness right through the house. I've got a little electric heater in my computer room (2 Pentium IVs and four routers aren't enough) to keep my hands from freezing.

Apparently there is a legal issue with selling real trees (”Pinabete” -- Fir or Spruce I'm guessing), some kind of ban. But that doesn't stop people from selling them. Instead, to get around the law, they cut up the tree, and then staple the branches to a piece of wood to get around the law (since they're no longer selling a “tree”). It's done quite well, and besides the fact that they get a bit dry after a while (even so, we had ours up for 4+ months last year), you'd never notice.

Some people are surprised to find that fireworks are used (almost exclusively) during the Christmas season. Christmas Eve, at exactly midnight (well, then it's be Christmas Day) everyone lights off tons of firecrackers and fireworks of all sizes. Then the do the same thing 12 hours later. The amount of firepower you can buy for pennies is quite impressive. Seriously, with a few cents, you can buy something big enough to blow a hole in a block wall. For about a dollar, you can get a pack of whistlers: small (8cm?) hollow plastic tubes filled with gunpowder that scream off as mini-rockets -- or blow up in your hand. Fun for the whole family.

This year, it seems as if a lot more people are buying aerial shells, the kinds you'd expect to see at a “serious” firework display. I've bought them every year I've been here. Playing with that kinda firepower is so much fun, since getting ahold of that stuff in u.s. or Canada is a bit of a challenge (well, if you come from any decent state :P). At any rate, pretty much every night we've been treated to some fantastic aerial display by some neighbours. Some of them are really quite huge, and I've heard more than a few car alarms go off because of the explosions.

With all this commotion, some people might think that Christmas would be quite a bit different, and surely it is. It's certainly a much more festive affair than in other places. However, the fireworks aren't as distracting as they might sound like at first. Indeed, hearing the deep sounds of the shells going off, the whistlers and firecrackers in the streets just reminds you that there's a lot more people around you, celebrating too.

Sometimes people talk of diversity as if striving for the utmost diversity is somehow going to bring a huge benefit. Somehow, the “higher” the diversity, the “better” things get. Sure, there's obviously some value into having different points of view, different methods, etc. And perhaps, more times than not, valuable information is not discovered because of too closed a point of view. OTOH, extreme diversity is not a boon. It's incompatibility.

Every now and then, I'll read about how Guatemala is so culturally rich because there's 20+ dialects of the Mayan language. I've seen a lot of people say this is a beautiful, positive thing. Yes, some people actually try to justify 20+ mutually intelligible dialects in a small country as a GOOD thing. Of course, most of the times they don't actually know any of the languages.

In fact, it gets taken even further. The government down here pushes “bilingual” education. At first, I thought that was great -- teach the kids Spanish and English so they'll have valuable skills. Nope. Instead, they're teaching math in Mayan. Thus, they'll have a hard time finding better jobs, working with society, etc. In fact, some of the indigenous people in the villages where my parents work think that their kids are being taught this on purpose to keep them back. I.e., they *want* to learn in Spanish (and other popular languages), since they know it'll help them. So, this kind of thinking does indeed limit them from getting ahead. I suppose proponents will take pride in noting that their “culturally rich”. Sigh.

Bill writes about his bad experience with Activision. So, Activision loses a customer. Not only that, but they turn their real (and anti-piracy) customer to “illegal” methods of cracking their games. So, basically they're telling Bill that he's not valuable enough to offer a decent experience to, and that again, the pirates and cracking groups (always portrayed as evil thieves) are the only ones who can help him.

I'm putting XSP into production this week (yey, right on time for Mono 1.0.5). For those who don't know, XSP is a lightweight ASP.NET webserver for Mono (.NET). I have a few webservices that need to run on Linux, and XSP seemed like the easiest way to do it.

One of the things I ran across was how to start up XSP automatically. I'm not that familiar with Linux yet, so I wasn't sure how to go about it. The only site I found with anything on it is here, but it didn't work correctly (shutdown) for me. So after playing around with other scripts made for mod_mono (didn't work), I decided to figure out how init.d scripts work. After a bit of learning and lots of copy and paste from the other init.d files, I came up with the following. I'm pretty sure it's not that great, so please correct me.

Steps: 
  1 - Create /etc/init.d/xsp and paste the contents in (from below). Be sure the permissions are right (chmod 755 /etc/init.d/xsp).
  2 - Create /etc/xsp.conf and add the command-line args. Example:
            --port 8080 --root /path/to/site/
  3 - Run chkconfig --add chkconfig
  4 - service xsp start

/etc/init.d/xsp:
#!/bin/bash
#
# Startup script for xsp server
#
# chkconfig: 3 84 16
# description: xsp is a asp.net server
#
 
ARGS=`cat /etc/xsp.conf | grep -v \# `

. /etc/init.d/functions

start() {
 echo -n $"Starting xsp: "
 
 # Check PID/existence
 pid=""
 if [ -f /var/run/xsp.pid ] ; then
         read pid < /var/run/xsp.pid
         if [ -n "$pid" ]; then
   rm /var/run/xsp.pid
  else
   echo -n $"xsp is already running."
   failure
   echo
   return 1
         fi
 fi

 mono /usr/bin/xsp.exe --nonstop $ARGS > /dev/null &
 RETVAL=$?
 if [ $RETVAL != 0 ]; then
  failure
  echo
  return $RETVAL
  fi
 PID=$!
 echo $PID > /var/run/xsp.pid
 success
 echo
 return 0
} 

stop() {
 echo -n $"Shutting down xsp: "

 if [ ! -f /var/run/xsp.pid ]; then
  echo -n $"xsp not running"
  failure
  echo
  return 1
 fi

 kill -15 `cat /var/run/xsp.pid`
 RETVAL=$?

 if [ $RETVAL = 0 ]; then
  rm /var/run/xsp.pid
  success
  echo
  return 0
 else
  failure
  echo
  return $RETVAL
 fi 
} 

restart() {
 stop
 start
} 

case "$1" in
  start)
   start
 ;;
  stop)
   stop
 ;;
  restart)
   restart
 ;;
  *)
 echo $"Usage: $0 {start|stop|restart}"
 exit 1
esac

exit $?

MVP Valery just wrote a cool little utility to assist people running as non-admin. A little key icon that sits in your notification area, and allows you to escalate your privs. Similar (in some ways) to how Gnome handles running admin things. Very nice.

I think this is a joke, but it looks like a somewhat serious question. If so, this guy is an idiot. And not just a common idiot, but a truly moronic person who shouldn't be allowed near a computer. Thank you, www.thedailywtf.com.

My brother Alan (the same one doing Christmas gifts for orphans in Guatemala) now has his own blog at MSN Spaces: http://spaces.msn.com/members/alang/ -- cool! He also has his own photo site at www.photoartgallery.net, and I must admit, he's doing a great job. He's got some great pictures of Guatemala too, so go ahead and check it out.

Today I was in a chat with some members of the C# team. Usually, I can go on an on about how the product can be improved. But today, apart from some questions, I really couldn't think of anything great to ask. I use VS2005 all day for all my projects, and it is so much better than VS 7.

Things just rock, and as far as I know, all my major complaints have been fixed or will be fixed. This might not be true, and perhaps I throw a fit when Beta 2 drops :). But seeing that MS has done huge changes and 180s (i.e., C# E-n-C, data diagrams), I feel pretty confident that I'll be exceendingly pleased.

I came across this program, called “Hector Protector”, created by the NetSafe Programme of New Zealand. It's to “help keep kids safe online”. What does this program actually do? It puts an image of a dolphin on-screen. Kids who run into materials that frighten them should click the dolphin. At that point, a congratulations message and picture of a dolphin fill the screen, protecting the poor child. The idea is that kids can do this and then run and find their parents or teacher to help them with the bad things on the computer.

Are kids these days really so helpless that they need a bloody dedicated program just to hide a window? I've been using computers since before I can remember. I never needed a system to hide stuff from me. I was on BBSs since I was 8 or 9 or something. Hell, when I was 13, my friend and I ran a BBS, complete with an “elite” section of programs, images, etc. He even worked as a sysop for other places, checking out all uploads and adding descriptions. He didn't need a stupid program to keep him safe. Why is it that kids now have turned into (or people think they are) such wussies when it comes to computers and networks?

Also, what's wrong with “If you see something wrong, minimize the window and go get help.”? Are kids going into such a bloody panic they need a damn dolphin there to click on? They're so offended and frightened they can't hit the minimize button? Also seems like a missed opportunity to teach keyboard shortcuts (say, Win+D). Or, what's wrong with just standing up and going to get help?

I'm not against helping kids deal with things. But technology isn't the answer. That's what parents and teachers are there for. Providing crutches like this? Please.

And... what happens when kids stuble across bad animations of Hector doing things he shouldn't? Won't this confuse and scar kids even more? Or what happens if kids happen to stumble upon some dolphin + redhead footage? Just think how many kids' lives are been wrecked by trusting hector, only to find he scares them later!

MSN just released a beta of MSN Messenger 7. I got it ASAP, installed and rebooted. I was really hopeful that there'd be some nice new features. Instead, I found that the MSN folks decided to take all the lameness of Yahoo messenger, and up it a notch.

First, the actually cool stuff, to get it out of the way:
  More ink support. Now there are tabs when you send a message, switching between “Handwrite” and “Type”. I don't use ink, so not that cool. Can't find out how to disable it. So it just adds more clutter (a recurring theme), but when I get a tablet, I'm sure I'll love it.

  Message history. Here's an awesome feature. In fact, probably the coolest thing about the new client. When you start a new conversation, it shows you the last few lines of conversation. That'll save a lot of “oh damn, I closed the window” problems.

  Nudges. Actually, I don't know what this is. I THINK it's a way to make the window beep or move or something to draw people's attention. Has the possibility to be helpful, and unlike many other features, can be easily disabled.

OK, and that does it for the useful new features. Now, lets turn to all the load of crap they crammed into the new client:

  Winks. There's winks here and there. There's even a “My Winks” option, which sounds like some kind of gay porn thing. And what is this? Stupid animations that take over the window and annoy the heck out of everyone except 13-year-old girls. Fortunately, reception of them can be disabled. BUT, you still get a whole ~50 pixels devoted to this feature in every IM window. 

  More clutter. Almost every feature is now cluttered with junk. The emoticon window, for instance, now has a “What's Hot” section, featuring random sets of ugly icons. “Packs”. Now, in EVERY IM window, you have another ~50px devoted to downloading new packs of backgrounds, display pictures and icons. This should be in the options or main window, not each conversation window. A “Click here to customize MSN Messenger” link that takes you to an MSN page, and again, something that belongs inside the main window, not each conversation. Sigh. “Get over it, you don't need to use those things!“ people might say. That's not the point. Up until now, MSN Messenger was a clean, slick, useful tool. Now the UI is busy with all sorts of junk. It's visually annoying.

  “Billing Information”. At first I got scared, thinking everything was going to be charged. But it doesn't seem that way. Instead, you have Blue Mountain (the people who sued MS over Outlook Express's Junk Mail feature and got it removed from the product), selling you... you guessed it: More useless icons and pictures for MSN Messenger. Wow! As if the free stuff wasn't craptastic enough, now you get the pleasure of paying for lame icons.

Finally, all the usefull stuff they still haven't done:

 Sign in with status. You still can't sign in as away or so on.

 Status for group or contact. AFAIK, there's no way to appear as Offline or Away to a certain group, while Online to others. 

 Search history. Self explanatory.

So, I guess in MSN (which is at least as strange as marketing divisions), features that appealed to 13-year-olds, infants, and lemmings, were rated as more important than improveing usability or usefulness of the product. The only excuse I see is “MSN Messenger is for l4m3rz and for serious people you should get Istanbul and LCS and whatever integration product MS sees fit.” I suppose you get what you pay for. I hope Microsoft aquires MSN and fixes their products.

Anyways, I'm going to uninstall this thing now. I just hope they don't try a protocol switch and forced upgrade anytime soon.

Security sells quite now, and lots of companies like to cash in by making up fake security threats, and then selling a “solution“. One such company is the “Internet Security Foundation“ which is just a clever marketing name for “Some Lame Company Trying to Sell Free Tools“.

When you goto the site (InternetSecurityFoundation.org), they make a big deal and a fake security alert from Sept. 2004 that you can see the text in a textbox, even if Windows renders it as asterisks. Anyone who programs understands this. These people pretend it's some kind of new threat and that terrorists are using it over the Internet to rob bank acounts. What a load of crap!

Why do they do this? They want to sell you “SeePassword“ (SeePassword.com), a $20 utility to do the same thing as the free Glow Password Recovery Util (download: Glow.exe (14.5 KB)) -- or similar programs, which have been around for YEARS.

The REAL issue lies in each individual program passing around passwords in plaintext. If a password is sitting in a user's memory space, in plain text, then why is it a surprise that it can be seen? Oh wait, it's not a surprise. This company is just using security for marketing.

Oh, and interesting info on their domain name registration. Perhaps I shall give them a call.

Registrant:
   KMGI Corp.
   119 72 St., 339
   New York, New York 10023
   United States

   Registered through: GoDaddy.com (http://www.godaddy.com)
   Domain Name: INTERNETSECURITYFOUNDATION.ORG
      Created on: 29-Oct-04
      Expires on: 29-Oct-05
      Last Updated on: 29-Oct-04

   Administrative Contact:
      Corp., KMGI  ak@kmgi.com
      119 72 St., 339
      New York, New York 10023
      United States
      17032427114      Fax -- 12122024982
   Technical Contact:
      Corp., KMGI  ak@kmgi.com
      119 72 St., 339
      New York, New York 10023
      United States
      17032427114      Fax -- 12122024982

   Domain servers in listed order:
      NS2.KMGI.BIZ
      NS3.KMGI.BIZ

Edit: Fix .com to .org (Although both appeared to be registered by the same thing).

Well, today Convergence (Cybernet) in Guatemala installed my cable line. They use a REALLY OLD Zenith modem. At first, they could not configure it, since it requires, get this, a Win3.0 program (ZUDUSR.EXE) to configure. Plus, they have to connect via serial using this old Win16 program. So, they had to go out somewhere else, configure the box, and bring it here.

Well, they assigned me this IP: 192.10.18.76, telling me it was a public IP with no filters at all. It struck me odd they'd have a class B assigned to them, especially 192.10.0.0/16. So, I called support.

He tells me, “Oh, you have a private IP.” I said that 192.10.18.76 was not private and actually fully routable. He disagrees and says that 192.* is private. I'm sure people who own other IPs in that netblock would be surprised to hear this.

So, it turns out Convergence is using else's (Symbolics, Inc.) netblock for now reason, other than that they are clueless. He says it's perfectly correct to route like this. I think ARIN and IANA might beg to differ. So I'm going to send him to ARIN's whois, so he can see for himself that he's 100% incorrect. My past experience with Convergence / Cybernet was pretty much the same: utterly clueless people for the most part.

Oh, and they filter ICMP, for reasons unknown. My guess is to prevent customers from easily seeing how bad their lag / packet loss is. Sigh... why is so hard to find people here who know what they're doing? As if basic TCP/IP routing was so incredibly difficult...