"1 known issues found"

Here's another area MS could put some thoughts behind. I had a problem connecting my Windows Mobile device to the desktop ActiveSync. ActiveSync automatically brought up a troubleshooting tool for me. Which was really cool.

Although, this diagnosis that was given to me 10 minutes later could have been more helpful.


I got very hopeful reading "1 known issues found". Here is the full text of the diagnosis:

Unable to establish a connection between the PC and the device. [Well, I already knew this] Get up-to-date solutions to common connection problems. Please click the following link:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=65257
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
No additional known issues have been found. [So where's the known issue?]
If you are still experiencing problems please send the results to Microsoft to help improve future versions.

I know how this type of contradicting messages get generated. You concatenate the counter with a static string and then concatenate it with the error message that comes from a separate method or something. The trouble is, the concatenation happens regardless of what the error message means. This type of code is quite typical. I am OK with such messages being presented to developers or IT admins. This particular diagnosis is being presented to the end-user, a consumer, in some cases.

Getting to voicemail on Tilt

To me a touch-screen is about having the ability to get right to the information that I see on the screen. That's the minimum a touch-screen device has to offer. Of course, it is possible to get a lot more creative with touch-screen interface as demonstrated by various iPhone apps.

I am not sure why I am not able to tap open the voice mail on my AT&T Tilt. Every other item on the top row is interactive. Nothing happens when I tap on the voice mail icon.


Hopefully the upcoming version of Windows Mobile will address several such glitches that exist in the current version of this OS.

EU fine on Microsoft

It is time EU caught up with rest of the world. MS was evil. It deserved all kinds of fines years ago. Why now? There was a time MS websites looked funky on FireFox. But these days, MS prefers FireFox browser over IE. This morning I have been trying to open Microsoft Connect website in IE without any luck. When it comes to computers, people do some things for no good reason. I am no different. In this case I tried opening the same URL using FireFox. Even though it made no sense to try an MS website after IE itself gave up. You see the result in this picture. I immediately realized how ludicrous was the EU fine. Way to fund welfare for the public that would like spend 15 hours/week working.

System.Data.OracleClient requires Oracle client software version 8.1.7 or greater

99.99% chances are that the user account under which the application or service is running does not have sufficient privileges to access ORACLE_HOME directory. Either add the user to local administrators group or follow the instructions provided on this link:
http://dotnetjunkies.com/WebLog/rtgurskevik/archive/2005/01/19/45958.aspx

When I tried this, there was no 'Authenticated Users' in the name list by default. I simply clicked 'Add' button and typed 'authenticated users' to add it to the list.