Windows XP SP2: The Inside Story

Read the conversation on the SP2 Project between the development team members.

I Sent Out a Fake Alert

I received an SMS similar to the following this morning and forwarded it to another person.

Do not go to seaside or cross the Penang bridge between 7pm to 8pm. EARTHQUAKE may happen again... fr ASTRO News Pls. inform others

Astro refuted this SMS. PLUS said the Penang Bridge was structurally sound and was not affected by the tremors on Sunday.

Don't take the risk to cross the bridge unless it is necessary. Drive slowly.

Season's Greetings

To all readers,

MERRY CHRISTMAS

&

HAPPY NEW YEAR

!!!

(Just in case your browser can't render properly, it reads "Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!!" in Webdings font face. I don't know why the IE I'm using can't render it properly.)

Kung Fu Hustle

Kung Fu Hustle is a good movie worth watching for more than twice. This movie uses a lot of visual effects (more than Shaolin Soccer) and has a better storyline than Shaolin Soccer. However, it does contain some violent scenes, which makes it inappropriate for children.

In this movie, you'll see strong people appear one after another, like there is always someone stronger out there.

Microsoft White Paper Library

• Detailed Financials Show Total Linux Costs Higher Than Windows Costs by 5 to 20 Percent
• Linux TCO Is Increased by Higher Expenses for Application Software and Ongoing Support
• Windows Users Have Fewer Vulnerabilities
• ....

Today as It Is

Met an old friend, Kok Leng, at Carrefour Seberang Jaya. He was working at an optometry shop. He was still as bright as before. We talked about our lives in the recent past, then about the other old friends. He was poor, so he had to work to pay his own school fees. He certainly has more working experience than I do. He told me that he had even tried reporter's job, like he had too much to share with me! Looked like he was doing everything well. We will meet again at sometime later.

I think, before I met that old friend, I saw Matrix-style sunglasses at a booth there. But I didn't buy them. What is the big deal? Wear it. You can see everything in green codes, like Neo.

Before I went to Carrefour, my dad bought me a Christmas gift -- too early. Guess what it was? A new pair of spectacles! Didn't know that I wore specs? Now you know. Thanks, dad, for the Christmas gift.

I got a phone call yesterday. I knew that I would have to take up six subjects -- one project-based and five exam-based -- in the coming semester. Seven days in a week. One day for one subject, and sunday for my own interests. It isn't many, is it?

No Title

Heard of The Theory of Everything? If no, then get some ideas about what it is from The Final Theory, a science book that discusses the flaws in the current theory (Standard Theory) and a new scientific understanding known as Theory of Everything. You can read the chapter-one sample in Adobe Reader or Microsoft Word.

I'm starting to like Firefox. It's nice to use after using it for a few weeks. But I just won't leave Internet Explorer yet because there are some features that cannot be found in any other browsers other than IE. IE is not safe, so for normal browsing, I prefer using Firefox. Until I find a replacement for IE unique features, I won't stop using IE.

Re: Fine, Meaningful Calligraphy

Remember that "Nan De Hu Tu" calligraphic work by Zheng Ban-Qiao? I actually had a similar one in my house, but I couldn't find it.

December 18, 2004. 4:55PM
I found it! Heh. Painted by another calligraphist, Zeng Zhi Hao.

A Bird in The Morning

This happened yesterday morning...

I don't know why that bird wanted to go through a small hole on the wall into my kitchen. When I noticed her, she tried to fly away from me. I thought she just wanted to come in to have some fun and knew how to get out like many others, so I sat down and had my breakfast. Then I saw her flying around the kitchen. "Maybe just another bird who wanted to discover what was within a human house," I thought. But she didn't look as if she would go out so soon; she was flying round the toilet, round and round! It looked like she was somehow trapped. With my sympathy, I opened a few windows to make it easier for her to get out. After a few more rounds at the toilet, she finally made her way to the outside... through a barely opened window beside those I just opened.

She was not trapped.

Surprising Facts of Linux

Read: Linux: Fewer Bugs Than Rivals

Points of the article:

• Open-source development results in less-bugs, thus better and secure software
• Linux 2.6 kernel contains 5.7 million lines of code
• Windows XP contains 40 million lines of code
• Linux 2.6 kernel contains approximately 0.17 bug in every 1000 lines of code (985 bugs in 5.7 million lines of code. 627 were in critical parts of the kernel; 569 could cause a system crash; 100 were security holes; and 33 could result in less-than-optimal system performance)
• Typical commercial software has 20 to 30 bugs in every 1000 lines of code

What a big difference of size between Linux and Windows. Did they mean Windows XP kernel alone or the entire OS? That Linux has less bugs and is more secure is not a surprise. But the size difference and number of bugs in Linux are a surprise to me.

Net Phones

Previously, I discovered Skype. Now, I discover a few more PC/net phones. Skype is still the top-rated and most popular among all. Here is a small guide to internet phones.

The Genesis

I'm talking about the genesis of my blogging life.

So, this year is the blogging year and also the bloggers' year, and also is a year when blogging grows significantly into another stage of its "life". I admit I was late, because blogging existed long time ago, and I only started to know about blogging in the middle of this year. And as you can see from my Story Archives, I only started blogging in September this year. Now it's a part of my life. I started to love it. If there is someone who initiated this, then it has to be her.

Dear Internet Explorer,

How have you been lately? You hangs and crashes so frequently recently; I'm kinda frustrated because once you crash, all the opened IE windows will be closed with data unsaved, and I have to re-open all of them and restore them to their previous states all by myself. And the most recent crash even caused the "Send Error Report" to crash also! Huh~ At this point, it's not wrong for me to suspect that my own system was the cause for the crash. It's not all your fault.

Holiday!!!

The exam is finally over. Everyone can relax now. The exam loads and pressure that were long endured by the students before the exam were all gone at the moment the students walked out of the exam rooms. I'm feeling a bit gloomy because my gut tells me that I will see my grade deteriorate when I get my results a few weeks later. I know this because there were so many questions I was not sure of how to answer. When I was sitting in the exam room, my mind almost went blank, and my spirit seemed to split from my body to another space. No matter how hard I thought, I could only make up my own answers that were possibly wrong. As the clock ticked, soon, two hours past just like that. I could only helplessly let the examiner collect my unfinished paper. If I could get a good grade for that subject, then I would really thank god for his love. But I know he won't; how would he love such a lazy boy? Therefore, I must still hinge on my own efforts to earn a success in exam. "Amount of hard work for amount of rewards," this saying is true, but sometimes I disagree because talent is also an important factor, and it is what makes me who I am now. Therefore, I tell myself: "Since self is not smarter than others, self must be more hardworking than others." Lacking that 30% talent, I still have that 70% diligence. However, I have evidently been somewhat lazier in this semester than the previous semester. "Self must not keep on being like this," I tell myself, "must not disappoint the people around me. So, self must take full advantage of this holiday to improve the overall standard of self." I hope I can make it.


Anyway...


Again, the exam is over, so, follow me and say: "HIP HOP HOORAY!"

Tuesday Trivia

I'm comparing the LRT systems of Sistem Transit Aliran Ringan Sdn Bhd (STAR) and Projek Usahasama Transit Ringan Automatik Sdn Bhd (PUTRA). The difference between STAR and PUTRA is that STAR LRT is semi-automatic and PUTRA LRT is fully-automatic. And PUTRA does have an official website, but STAR doesn't. From my observation at certain stations, you have more choices in paying for their tickets at PUTRA -- you can give a big RM50 bill to buy a RM3.20 ticket, and that's no problem; while at STAR, you'd better prepare some small money, otherwise, you might run into a little trouble of not-enough-money-at-the-counter-to-give-you-change or hesitation of whether to accept your big money. As I observed, I would say PUTRA personnel woke up ealier than STAR personnel. Perhaps it was because there were not as many passengers at STAR as at PUTRA in the early morning. Sometimes I had to tell the ticket-seller at STAR my destination for a few times for him/her to hear it clearly, and he/she still looked sleepy; but I usually said my destination once, and the PUTRA ticket-seller would get it immediately and respond with a smile. These are just some differences between STAR and PUTRA; of course there are more, but it is just a trivia.

(Disclaimer: My "observation" refers to my observation at only a few stations and on a certain number of personnel and passengers.)

Purpose

It is purpose that created us.
It is purpose that drives us.
It is purpose that guides us.
It is purpose that defines.

What is your purpose of life?


:-)

Kiosk Mode in MSIE

There is an old little hidden feature in Microsoft Internet Explorer called Kiosk Mode, which was available since the version 2.0 of MSIE.

• How to Use Kiosk Mode in Microsoft Internet Explorer
• kioskmode

Wanted: The Aymara Bridge

The Aymara Bridge is a novel written by Roger Pressman in year 2001. He is the author of the ever-popular software engineering textbook, "Software Engineering: A Practitioner's Approach", which is also a book recently used in my study of the subject. I've read some sample chapters of this novel, and it really gains my interest, at least at the moment, to continue the reading in knowing how the three forces -- the archaeologist, the entrepreneur, and the revolutionary -- actually collide with each other, and of course, what is inside the mysterious object. I'm interested in this novel partly because of the involvement of technological wonders in its story. I wish I could have a chance to read The Aymara Bridge. Wouldn't it be nice if this novel was a present given to me for the coming Christmas to fill up my holiday? I just wish...