Windows may update unexpectedly

By Scott Spanbauer

Dozens of Windows Secrets readers confirm that Windows sometimes installs updates without displaying a list of patches that a user can accept or decline.

If Automatic Updates were set to install patches without user intervention, no notice would be expected, but a bug appears to be installing patches upon shutdown in certain cases, even though Windows is configured to require user approval.

In my June 25 Top Story, I reported that several Windows Secrets readers and editors had experienced a disturbing problem involving Automatic Updates (AU). Users who had configured AU to prompt them before downloading or installing updates found that Windows installed updates at the next shutdown without notification, review, or approval.

The day after the story appeared, the Microsoft Update blog tacitly acknowledged the problem in a blog post. The comment said the company was "investigating the reports and trying to clarify with the community exactly what people are experiencing."

The blog post went on to describe the behavior that should be expected when users select option 2 or 3 of AU's four alternatives:

• Option 1. Automatically download and install updates;
  
• Option 2. Download updates but prompt for review before installing them;
  
• Option 3. Check for updates but prompt before downloading or installing them;
  
• Option 4. Turn off Automatic Updates.
  

When either option 2 or 3 is chosen, users should see an icon in the notification area alerting them that updates are available. This should be true whether the updates are already downloaded and ready for installation (option 2) or merely available for download from a Microsoft server (option 3).

As I reported last week, Knowledge Base article 910340, last revised on Dec. 5, 2007, confirms that notification to users may fail if a patch was partially downloaded but interrupted before the download was completed.

Incomplete downloads can occur when Microsoft publishes several updates at once and the company "throttles" its bandwidth to prevent server overload. This happened on June 9, Microsoft's regular Patch Tuesday, when 10 major security bulletins were released.

The throttling of updates from Microsoft's servers can cause some updates to be downloaded but others to be postponed. In such instances, the notification icon may not appear as expected because Windows waits until all pending updates are downloaded before showing a notification icon.

Unfortunately, when a user shuts down an affected PC before all updates have downloaded, other updates may be installed with no opportunity to review and select them.

In this situation, the only way a user can review the updates before installing them is to cancel the shutdown, open Microsoft Update or Windows Update manually, and select View available updates in Vista or Custom in XP. (Note that in XP, this feature requires Windows Genuine Advantage, so if you want to keep WGA off your system, you must use a third-party update service, as described below.)

Microsoft calls this behavior a "feature," but as WS contributing editor Susan Bradley puts it, "This is a bug, sir."

Since the problem involves patch downloads, you'd think that people who select option 3 — notify but do not download or install — would be immune to the surprise installs. However, several readers who chose option 3 report that Windows updates were downloaded and installed automatically anyway. They consider themselves to be victims of forced updates, perhaps more so than users who downloaded everything (option 2) but received no notice prior to installation.

Forced updates can result in headaches

Last week's story struck a nerve with Windows Secrets readers. Scores of you wrote in to say that you had experienced the same issue, and not just on an extra-large Patch Tuesday such as June 9. According to dozens of Windows XP and Vista users, the problem has been happening for months. (See this week's Known Issues column for more reader comments on the bug.)

The overwhelming majority of readers I heard from report the exact behavior that Microsoft describes in KB 910340: when downloads are being throttled by the Redmond company, "The Automatic Updates icon does not display the status of downloads that are in progress."

That bland statement fails to adequately describe a flaw that has a profound impact on many Windows users. As many readers note from personal experience, updates can sometimes disable software or hardware on production systems. Hours of work can be required to restore these machines to full functionality. Even if every patch is wanted, the unexpected installation of updates without notice can surprise you precisely when you really need your PC to shut down or reboot in a hurry.

A handful of readers reported more disturbing Automatic Updates bugginess. The expected behavior is that Windows' shutdown icon and shutdown dialog box should show that updates will be installed when the system is powered down or rebooted. Seeing no such notice, many readers who had selected Automatic Updates' option 2 had no reason to think updates would be installed. After clicking the shutdown icon on the Start menu, however, these users found that updates were being installed unexpectedly.

Several readers who'd selected option 3 (notify but do not download) found updates being installed when they shut down their systems, with no notice that any patches were even available for download.

Some readers who had deselected one or more updates — indicating that these updates should not be applied — reported that Windows installed the updates at the next shutdown anyway.

Finally, many readers who selected a menu option to "shut down without installing updates" found that updates were installed despite their wishes.

(Some readers reported that they'd originally selected AU option 2 or 3, but their systems had somehow been changed to option 1 so AU would download and install updates automatically. This can be caused by such programs as Microsoft Live OneCare and Norton Internet Security, as described by WS contributing editor Scott Dunn on Oct. 25, 2007, and editorial director Brian Livingston on May 25, 2006.)

Microsoft isn't saying exactly what's going on

Last week's column stated that the large number of patches released on June 9 could have triggered the forced-update behavior. It's still not certain precisely why update notifications are failing to appear in Windows systems around the world. But this much is clear: the phenomenon has definitely occurred both before and after June 9.

One workaround to prevent surprise downloads was recommended last week: every time you plan to shut down or reboot a PC, first run Microsoft Update (a superset of Windows Update) and select each patch you wish to install or not install. This should download and apply whatever you selected, leaving no files to be installed without notice.

For some Windows users, however, their machines must be protected against any changes before each new patch is researched for side-effects. These extra-cautious users are disabling Automatic Updates entirely and then running Microsoft Update or a third-party update service manually, as often as needed.

Disabling AU causes an irritating red warning to be displayed repeatedly. If shutting off AU appeals to you, the right way to implement it (and avoid the constant nagging) is as follows:

• Step 1: Disable Automatic Updates. In XP, open the Automatic Updates Control Panel applet and select Turn off Automatic Updates. In Vista, open the Windows Update Control Panel applet, choose Change settings in the left pane, and select Never check for updates (not recommended).
  
  
• Step 2: Turn off the red warning. Open the Security Center Control Panel applet, click Change the way Security Center alerts me, and choose Don't notify me and don't display the icon (not recommended).
  
  
• Step 3: Check for updates manually. Run Microsoft Update or an independent update service at least once a month (preferably just after reading the analysis that Windows Secrets publishes two days after every Patch Tuesday). Third-party update tools such as the Secunia Personal Software Inspector and the Shavlik Google Patch Gadget can identify critical updates that both Windows and your major applications require.
  

It should be noted that corporate IT administrators can avoid forced updates by using Microsoft's WSUS (Windows Server Update Services) or a competing server-level patch-management program. Such services allow admins to centrally control the deployment of patches, bypassing Automatic Updates entirely.

See the Windows Secrets Security Baseline and Susan Bradley's May 28 Top Story for more on third-party Windows update services.

Although the precise workings of the bug are still unclear, it's obvious that AU is downloading and installing some updates without the required notification. Even when a user manually runs a download tool before a shutdown occurs, it's been reported to me that, in rare instances, even this failed to prevent an unwanted update from being installed.

Abrams invented Friendster and failed

Now he started another web site called Socializr , but this time he has a different view.

"...The idea is to grow slowly, have fun--and, above all, avoid hot-shot venture capitalists. "I'm hoping it'll be like 2002 and 2003, when I didn't have a lot of money and I got a lot done,"

if he's not building a traditional VC-backed start-up, what is he building? Is it a hobby project or an IPO in the making? Here Abrams is less clear. Abrams has put none of his own money into Socializr. He is cagey on his timetables and plans for growth. When I ask him what Socializr might look like in three years, he laughs: "That's a long time for me." Coming as it does from the guy who invented social networking, the statement seems curiously unambitious. And then there's the question of why an active Internet entrepreneur would start a nightclub in the first place. Abrams says that Slide is neither a distraction nor a major financial risk. "As you can tell"--he gestures at the posh lighting, the attractive waitress, the abstract art--"I'm doing fine."

Abrams is alluding to his personal wealth, but his almost perky tone suggests his mental state, a hard-fought detachment that has allowed him to recover from failure. Abrams may be a cynic, but it's easy to forgive his cynicism--even if you blame him for the biggest tech flop since the bubble burst. After all, it's not often you encounter a visionary who has decided it's okay not to be one.

source :http://www.inc.com/magazine/20070601/features-how-to-kill-a-great-idea_pagen_7.html

Know and optimize your bandwidth

start monitoring the bandwidth you use, it will help you make the best decision where there are more than 1 service providers eventually.

First of all, monitor your bandwidth using this FREEware called ShaPlus

then read these tips from millionclues

• Always use Firefox and Opera to browse the web: Both FF and Opera are faster than IE and have got lots of Bandwidth saving features. I use Opera 9.24; since it’s not the latest version available, it doesn’t support some of the newest features in many web applications. For instance, the new version of Gmail pre-fetches the emails for faster performance which is a bandwidth sucker. It loads all emails including those which you have no intention reading at that time.
• Block unwanted Images: Opera can block images via a button on the View bar. A Firefox Add-on ImgLikeOpera does the same on Firefox. Most websites usually contain lots of animations and images which we don’t even notice. If you need any images, you can always load specific images (Right click > View image on Opera and Right click > Load image on FF). For sites that I frequently visit, I load all the images once and then select the option to ‘load cached images only’ so that the reading experience is not compromised.
• Block Flash and Adsense: Use the Adblock Plus Firefox Add-on to block Adsense Ads and Flash animations. A flash ad can be as big as 200 kb or even more! This add-on makes pages load faster and saves on bandwidth. If you have ever been to Digg, you might have noticed the number of Ads per page. How fast would the pages load if there were no ads?
• Remove the Bandwidth Intensive Plugins: Some Firefox Add-on’s like those that bring you the Alexa ranks or Google PR, connect with their server to bring you the stats. If you don’t need those stats, disable those plugins. If you need the stats sometimes, but not every now and then, then create a different Firefox Profile with those plugins.
• Hibernate Windows instead of Shutting Down: Hibernation saves your desktop the way you left it (Microsoft says that even the mouse location is saved). I save my windows and continue work from last days end. That’s saves a lot of unnecessary pageloads and saves bandwidth!
• Use Desktop Clients like Pidgin and TweetDeck: Pidgin is an open source chat client that can connect to multiple chat networks at the same time. I use it to connect with my Yahoo and Gtalk friends and clients. Moreover it’s a very light client that doesn’t suck bandwidth the way Gtalk does. TweetDeck is a must have for twitter addicts. It makes the twitter experience more enjoyable by fetching the tweets so that you don’t have to refresh your pages to see if you have new tweets. Saves bandwidth and saves time!
• Use a Download Manager: A download manager is a definite time saver. I use the Free Download Manger to keep track and organize downloads. Usually I save the download links and videos with FDM and download all of them towards month’s end when you exactly know how much free bandwidth remains. Also you can export the download lists and send it to your ‘Lucky’ friends with unlimited bandwidth and ask them to download it for you!
• Block Automatic Updates: Most software have the automatic updates enabled by default. The software detects when you are connected to the internet and checks and downloads updates. So you loose control on your bandwidth. Instead, I have disabled all automatic updates and I update all my softwares towards the end of the month, when I know how much usage remains. (Thanks Anish for reminding me!)
• Disable Opening of Files inline: Browsers open PDF files and Video files inline. It might open a PDF without telling you how big the file is. Worst part, the browser becomes non-responsive until it completes loading the file. Result: You waste bandwidth on a large PDF which you have no intention reading. You can disable that in Firefox Options. Learn how. (Thanks Quakeboy)
• Monitor your usage: Use a Network monitor to know how much you use and how much bandwidth remains. It helps in planning things better. I use a Free Bandwidth meter from ShaPlus. It’s a good one and has the necessary options. Read the review and download it free.

Basic elements in a good design

written by Moonrise Productions in EntireWeb

Classic components Think of the elements of design as the basic building blocks. These elements will be part of everything you design, from consumer products and furniture to magazine pages and billboards, whether you know that or not. (For now, we will restrict our discussion to the layouts that are common to print and web publishing.) It should go without saying, but very little does anymore, that understanding these basic elements will enable you to create more powerful pages for your packaging, ad, magazine or website. At the most basic level, there are five elements in any design: 1. Lines and linework These terms do not refer to pen-and-ink or pencil sketches, but to borders, frames and rules. Horizontal or vertical, thick or thin, regular or irregular, they help define and delimit spaces around various elements on your pages. Good linework increases both the readability and "directionality" (see #5, below) of the design as a whole. 2. Shape Any enclosed area, form or contour in your design is a shape. Shapes in most layouts are square or rectangular, but nothing says they must be, and circles are useful, too. You can also use images to create other, regular or irregular shapes. 3. Texture Texture imparts a "surface" feeling, and is tactile in printed matter, so choosing the paper stock-matte, weave, coated-is a design decision, too. Textures on layouts meant for broadcast or the Internet are visual only, but still key. 4. Color Color is probably the element that most designers are at least acutely aware of, if not schooled in. However, color is not required in many designs, and some art educators suggest creating designs without any color first. The artist, in this view, should then add only as much color as needed to enhance or complete the design. Another school of thought holds that color should be one of the first elements determined. Experience and experimentation will help every artist develop a good color sense and strategy. 5. Direction Effectively designed layouts, in magazines or on your computer screen, usually have a sense of motion. A good design will lead the reader's eyes through the design deliberately, using color changes, shapes, linework and copy placement direct viewers' attention to what the designer wants them to see.

Balance and interest Other considerations enter in to the process of making good design choices, such as the feelings of space, balance, action and even excitement. The important thing for young, inexperienced designers to remember is that "less is more". One can often identify the design work of a beginner by a lack of open (or "negative") space, an overdose of motion or color contrast, the proliferation of different typefaces and conflicting directionality. Rather than pull every tool and trick out of the bag, the designer needs to remember the ultimate aim of the layout, which for pages in print or on the web is quite simple: Draw the reader in so you can deliver your message. It seems much simpler after, say, three or four years in a fast-paced, high quality, well-managed design studio. One of the simpler ways of judging a page design is to ask, Does it say "read me" when you look at it? Frankly, some print and web pages look like the backside of a rental agreement, while others seem designed to confuse the readers or test their reactions to optical illusions. The bottom line of good design is, quite simply, to attract readers' attention, direct it in a particular way and, in concert with the copywriting, make a positive impression. It is, after all, "commercial art" at which most artists work. It becomes much easier for them to do as they learn to leave their egos out of it and simply do what is necessary, proper and effective. If they are unable to do so, perhaps they should go get one of Picasso's paintbrushes and be a different kind of artist entirely.

Object Oriented Programming is not OO Designing

A lot of talented programmer nowadays claim that Object Oriented is such a yesteryear concept.

While they may be correct in some sense, they may also be opened to a century old software development mistake.

While the new programming languages are already adhere to Object Oriented Programming rules so that when you are programming using Java for example, you don't really need to worry too much about OOP concepts.

However, OO Programming is NOT OO Designing.  So if you didn't really design an application and went straight to the programming, you would still eventually end up with a system that is not reusable and not expandable.

OO Architect is another meta level to OO Designing, which is even more conceptual and generalisation that can cater for multiple different design shifts.

It is unfortunate to see that the new generation of programmers have been hidden away from all these fundamental concepts.

We cann't blame all on college education alone.  The fact that software development industry is still rather immature, it is not easy for the academic world to stick to any fundamentals.  A good school's target is not to help you learn the truth, they are paid so that the students can get better jobs in future.  So school systems are tuned toward the possibility of helping you get a job.

In real life, more and more people are asking for cosmetic features in software development until the cosmetic effect is much bigger than a good architecture or a good software design.  The business owners themselves cann't predict what they will face in future.  Worse still, they don't even WANT TO think about future.  How would the programmer guess what to prepare for ?  And hence no good design nor architecture can be drawn at all, even if the skill is around.  As time passes by, this skill disappear in the market and no longer a requirement to survive in Software Development industry.  Like wise, school does not need to teach you then ...

This is also exactly the dilema of the gap between IT and the real world.  Most of the IT applications are less usable than it was hoped to be.  Because when a good boss specify what he wants and what to prepare for the future, the IT folks no longer able to come up with a good design for it.  Simply because IT refuses to take initiative to move a few more steps toward the business environment, "You are responsible to tell me what you want."

While the business owner knows what he wants but he is not well verse with IT jargons.  He would not be able to describe his goal in a way that IT programmer would understand.  Hence miss understanding always happen.

Then there are these so called business analysts who are suppose to help this situation.  It did help to some extend.  But unfortunately these so called analysts are too emerge with marketing terms and talks until the fact that the gap between them and the hard core programmers isn't exactly small either.

Anyway, OOP means almost nothing if you don't have a OO design to work on.  And your business IT systems will cost you more in long term than bringing value if you don't have the right OO architecture in place.  To achieve all these, you will need a truly independant consultant who can sometimes confront your business ideas.

Friendster Coffee Internet - Damansara Perdana

April fool virus kicks in ...

Darn ... a lot of web sites are affected and I couldn't complete a lot of overdue tasks... godaddy is down, my stock trading site is down ...  I heard Microsoft, Symantec are out of actions too.

I am quite surprise google is quite ok indeed.  Did the solve the April fool virus or are they not infected ?

I was just preparing to write how internet world has changed and its no longer about sharing, where the rich and powerful start to monopoly internet like everything else they want to lay hand on.  And I was about to tell in the story that by then, comes to the rescue are the hackers whom we used to hate.

... but this temporary of no access really piss me off and I don't feel like making them heroes now ... so I put off that article temporary. :p