Posts Tagged ‘microsoft’

Hotmail now open for POP3

Sunday, February 28th, 2010

微软被人诟病得比较多的地方,一是卖得贵,二是不开放。我觉得卖什么价是微软的事情,只要它觉得有市场,谋求利润最大化不该受到指责;但我深恶痛绝不开放的行为。

用户在选择一个产品前,不会了解这个产品的所有功能和限制。只有在使用产品的过程中,不停地发掘它的功能也了解到它的限制。如果发掘了一项功能是意料之外的,那就是惊喜,如果了解到一项限制是卖方强加的(不是因为成本高昂或技术不成熟),那就是不给用户自由——希望用“不开放”去限制用户不去选择竞争对手的产品?那是不可能的。我更甚之,如果哪个卖方敢这样干,我立马改投它竞争对手的环抱。

所以,我说 Google mail 比 Hotmail 好,主要是因为 Google 远比微软开放。

今天发现,有人博文说 Hotmail 支持 POP3 了。很久没用 Hotmail 了,我也不晓得它什么时候开始支持 POP3。我赶紧试了一下,果然,Google mail 里很轻松地把 Hotmail 帐号添加了进来,而且 Google mail 一见到是 Hotmail 帐号,直接把参数给设置好了。

Gmail add another account from Hotmail

Gmail add another account from Hotmail

看来微软也在进步,不过是不是太迟了点?我从不用 Hotmail 作邮箱 (only as IM),不过还是很高兴看到它支持了开放协议。

Connect to mdb under Linux

Friday, November 27th, 2009

虽然没有实际意义,只想挑战一下自己,在 centos 下尝试连接 Access 数据库。装好了 unixodbc (原先就在 centos 里,可能是默认被安装的) 和 mdbtools、mdbtools-odbc,搞定了一切设置,可就是出不来。

我是用 php odbc_connect 去连接 ActinicCatalog.mdb,页面一片空白,连个错误提示也没有,刚开始我还以为 web server 出问题。折腾了好久,最后,自己新建了一个很简单的 mdb 文件,终于在页面上显示出来了。

总结经验,centos 连接 mdb 需要关闭 selinux,然后,如果页面空白(连跟数据库无关的内容也不显示)不要怪自己,要么怪 mdb 里的结构太复杂,要么怪 mdbtools 能力太弱,读不出来。

大概只有微软自己知道怎么连接 mdb,第三方是不可能完全读懂它的了。

How to open an mdb exclusively opened by others

Monday, July 20th, 2009

Do not be over excited – my solution is not about how to open an mdb which is truly exclusively opened by others, but to cope with the situation when you can not open the mdb over the network.

For example, from time to time, Actinic crashes. And sometimes after crash, you see this message:

There was a problem with the database

Operation: Opening the table

The Microsoft Jet database engine cannot open the file ‘\\(netbios name)\Actinic v8\Sites\Site1\ActinicCatalog.mdb’. It is already opened exclusively by another user, or you need permission to view its data.

Action: Contact your Actinic reseller or Actinic Support as appropriate

The problem is caused by mdb, not Actinic specific. You may have seen something similar.

microsoft jet database cannot open file

microsoft jet database cannot open file

If you are sure no one else has opened the mdb file, you know Access is talking nonsense. To solve the problem, copy this file, delete the source file (you may have to operate on the local computer), move the copied file to the original place, and that’s it.

Do not ask me why this kind of problem happens, or why an duplicated file can solve the problem. I don’t know. That is one of the reason I do not like microsoft – too many times I do not know where problems come, and where they go.

Format date in merge field

Sunday, February 22nd, 2009

Formating date correctly is one of the troublesome work in all computer languages because remembering how to format is difficult.

In Microsoft Word, the formatting process is -

  1. Press Alt+F9 to show the merge field code
  2. Add the format string to {MERGEFIELD mydate }
  3. The code looks like {MERGEFIELD mydate \@ “dd/MM/yyyy” }

Solution to chm file error of navigation cancelled or invalid address

Friday, February 13th, 2009

最近我又对 plobe 起了兴趣,找来了一个说明文档竟然是 chm 格式。我这里用了“竟然”,因为 plobe 不是微软的技术,文档编写者却用了微软的 html help。用了微软 html help 也罢了,可它竟然打开后读不了。提示信息是:已取消到该网页的导航,或无效地址。

我试了很多办法,但都不切中要害:

  • 修改区域和语言为中国和中文
  • 注册文件关联
  • regsvr32 某些控件
  • 从微软网站下载 hhupd.exe 来安装
  • 降低 IE 安全级别

结果我的电脑搞得一团糟,还是没解决问题。Google 了好久(google 这回不聪明了,把好的答案藏起来了)最后解决问题的方法是:

在 CHM 文档上右键查看属性 -> 常规 -> 在下面有一个和属性相邻的安全:此文件来自其他计算机,可能被阻止以帮助保护该计算机。 右边有一个解除锁定的按钮。

单击一下 解除锁定 -> 应用 就可以了!

BTW, I found this chm file is not worth opening and reading at all. Does it imply whoever compiles documentation in chm for a non-microsoft technology is silly, and whoever tries to open such a chm is silly as well? I must admit I am silly.

How to get rid of annoying Windows Live ID popup

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009

不知 Windows update 在我计算机上改了什么,最近发现浏览某些目录时,会跳出烦人的”Sign in With Windows Live ID”窗口。我 google 了一下,此症状的起因不明,但解决办法还是有的,在网上邻居或者 Documents and Settings/(username)/NetHood 里删掉 My website on MSN 就可以了。

Microsoft 因为审视一下这个问题了,这个”Sign in With Windows Live ID”弹出窗口的手法跟冒牌杀毒软件的病毒何其相似。

Microsoftware is getting less usable

Saturday, December 20th, 2008

今天要不是为了和msn上的联系人通话,我也不会去安装msn messenger。The process of installing msn messenger turned out very frustrating.

It did not take me to Msn messenger download page straightly. Only after 5 clicks then could I find the link of download. However, because I was in a hurry, I clicked the link before I read it carefully. Only after I installed it, I found what I installed was a shortcut to Live Home. What the hell they are doing! Then I spent a few more seconds to find another link to download. And this time I installed msn messenger. After installation, there were two icon in Windows Live program group, Windows Live Call and Windows Live Messenger, but they were both pointing to the same program! Is microsoft mad?

Moreover, all I wanted was msn messenger, but I had been asked 3 questions 3 times:

  • Search from any browser address bar using Live Search
  • Set my browser home page to MSN.com (if your homepage isn’t already set to a Live or MSN page)
  • Help us improve our software by allowing Microsoft to collect data about your installation. If you have chosen to install Windows Live Toolbar, we will also collect data about your system, how you use our software, and the web sites you visit.

How bad the marketing it is! Of course I say No, no, no 3 times.

Last but the most important, after I installed msn messenger and run it, it would not let me voice chat and file transfer to my contact. I got the error messages like these:

  • (contact nickname) is using a version of Messenger that does not have improvements to support a Computer Call.  Please ask your contact to upgrade to the latest version of Messenger and try your call again.
  • The invitation to start File Transfer could not be sent because (contact nickname) is using an older version of Windows Live Messenger.

Terrible! How can all my contacts use the same version as mine? Backwards compatible – does microsoft know it?

Finally, I had to finish the conversion with my contact using Gtalk – a far better program leaving msn messenger behind.

我们放弃了微软,还是微软放弃了我们

Friday, October 24th, 2008

我们指的是有较高的计算机操作能力,但不是专业的IT从业人员。

微软有很好的产品,比如 Windows (不包括Vista)和 Office 。微软产品好就好在细微之处,比如双击普通文件,如.doc, .xls,打开的是文件本身;双击模板文件,如.dot, .xlt,打开的是模板的空白文档。因为.doc, .xls的默认操作是open,而.dot, .xlt的默认操作是new,要打开模板本身(编辑模板),得右击、从context menu里选择一个非默认操作open。

微软还有很多好的产品,可惜,我们都不熟悉。不知从什么时候开始,在很多应用上,我们想当然地决定不用微软的东西。真的很可惜,其实,平心而论,这是因为我们除了 Windows 和 Office,其他的微软产品都玩不转。

是我们放弃了微软,还是微软放弃了我们?

我离微软而去

Tuesday, December 18th, 2007

曾几何时,我是那么地崇拜Microsoft,崇拜Bill Gates,崇拜Windows, Office, Exchange,崇拜Desktop 1000/2000/4000/8000…

现在,Windows仍然每天用,MS Office也是我用得最熟练的Office软件,vba我虽不精通,但编几个小function满足一下所谓的办公自动化的要求还是可以的。但是,考虑到将来,我今天正式作出一个痛苦的决定,不再投资时间在vba上,不再钻研Microsoft其他高深的产品,比如Microsoft Dynamics, SBS, SitePoint, etc.
省下来的时间我要全面拥抱微软产品的替代方案。对于像我这样已经被微软洗过脑的人,可能要花较长的时间来熟悉其它产品的设计思维,那就从现在开始吧。我想从最近的一个项目入手,用OpenOffice Basic替代以前的VBA,但今天玩了一整天的OpenOffice Basic, 连个对话框也没搞出来,万事开头难啊。

可能有些人早认为微软不是以后的主流,但我还没有100%确信这一点,现在退出我心里也忐忑,有点像赌博。我希望我的选择顺应了一种趋势, 我希望微软少了我就不行了,呵呵。