Great coding, Microsoft



  • Not a huge WTF in the grand scheme of things, but...

    Here is part of an e-mail I got regarding activating a volume licensing agreement through Microsoft.

    OK, so I click on the link, and I get:

    That inspires a lot of confidence, Microsoft. Thanks. At least they didn't have customErrors turned off.

    Edit: the link works in IE, just not in Chrome. How surprising.


  • Considered Harmful

    @corgimonster said:

    Edit: the link works in IE, just not in Chrome. How surprising.

    You have to fail hard to make a server-side error result from using the wrong browser.

    My guess is that the redacted portion contains a GUID, complete with brackets, and that Chrome URL-encodes these while IE does not. That would imply a couple more layers of fail, including unsantized user input and possibly even DIY query parsing.


  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    @corgimonster said:

    <stuff>
    Could you not have chosen wider screenshots with more whitespace beneath them with which to demonstrate this WTF? I ask merely as a newbie to receiving grotesquely formatted emails via Gmail from this forum, though I note the forum itself has the same problem. Alternatively you could have specified 'width="5000%"' in the <img> tag...


  • Considered Harmful

    @PJH said:

    @corgimonster said:
    <stuff>
    Could you not have chosen wider screenshots with more whitespace beneath them with which to demonstrate this WTF? I ask merely as a newbie to receiving grotesquely formatted emails via Gmail from this forum, though I note the forum itself has the same problem. Alternatively you could have specified 'width="5000%"' in the <img> tag...

    This might inadvertently shrink images that are already that wide or wider. What you want is min-width:5000% to ensure that it will only cause the image to grow, and never to shrink.


  • Trolleybus Mechanic

    @joe.edwards said:

    What you want is min-width:5000%
     

    min-width isn't supported in IE. Which gets back to the OP's original point.



  • What screenshot tool doesn't hide the mouse? WTF.



  • @blakeyrat said:

    What screenshot tool doesn't hide the mouse? WTF.

    Cell phone?



  • @joe.edwards said:

    @corgimonster said:
    Edit: the link works in IE, just not in Chrome. How surprising.

    You have to fail hard to make a server-side error result from using the wrong browser.

    The most common use I've seen that sites work with Firefox/IE but create 500 errors with Opera is different referer handling (Opera can be configured to include referer only if the domain name matches. So, in case of load balancing to a different server name, the referer is "lost" and some crappy webapp on the server shits its pants...). No idea about Chrome, though.

    But URL encoding might be another reason, although it gets usually decoded by the web server already so that the webapp won't see it.


  • Trolleybus Mechanic

    @bridget99 said:

    @blakeyrat said:
    What screenshot tool doesn't hide the mouse? WTF.

    Cell phone?

     

    Ha!

    Back to Blakey: I can't speak for all, but most have the option to allow it or not. I use PickPic and it has that option. I often leave it enabled. When I take shots for step-by-step instructions, I like to show the cursor position.  "To start a new process, click on the New Process button".  The screenshot will show the new process button. I will often circle the button is red. I leave the cursor there as yet another indicator.



  • You are a bad person who I hate.

    Nothing is worse than having TWO cursors on the screen and not knowing which one moves. Nothing. Ok maybe the Hundred Years' War. But other than that, nothing.


  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    @blakeyrat said:

    What screenshot tool doesn't hide the mouse? WTF.
    The sort that acutally gives you that option? Don't you get that under Windows?





  • guyz lunix is superior because its screenshot utilities have a feature nobody wants switching os now brb



  • @blakeyrat said:

    guyz lunix is superior because its screenshot utilities have a feature nobody wants switching os now brb



  • @joe.edwards said:

    My guess is that the redacted portion contains a GUID, complete with brackets, and that Chrome URL-encodes these while IE does not

    Actually, two GUIDs, but no brackets. I wasn't paying much attention, thereby redacting the second GET parameter's name as well.

    @PJH said:

    Could you not have chosen wider screenshots with more whitespace beneath them with which to demonstrate this WTF?

    I'll try to remember that next time. I know everyone loves broken layouts. More specifically, I was just too lazy to edit the screenshots. Yes, I am TRWTF.

    @blakeyrat said:

    What screenshot tool doesn't hide the mouse? WTF.

    In this case, Greenshot. It's for Windows, and it's open-source, so I know you'll be headed right over to patch the source to get rid of the cursor. Also:

    @blakeyrat said:

    guyz lunix is superior because its screenshot utilities have a feature nobody wants switching os now brb

    @nobody said:

    ahppy to hav Capture Mouspointur opshun fur my teknicul riting

    And, finally, it's possible that the error was due to Chrome having Windows Live credentials saved already, but for a different account. Not a guarantee, just a possibility, and still a WTF. Having multiple Windows Live accounts is TRWTF (the other is for managing MSDN for a different organization).

    Oh, except that TRWTF is Microsoft Volume Licensing.



  • @corgimonster said:

    At least the error message was greater than 512 bytes.
     

    FTFY.

    @PJH said:

    Could you not have chosen wider screenshots with more whitespace beneath them with which to demonstrate this WTF? I

    +1.

    At least you're not as bad as some people who post a screen shot of a maximised window with a few tiny sentences at the top.

     



  • @Cassidy said:

    @corgimonster said:

    At least the error message was greater than 512 bytes.
     

    FTFY.

    In case you weren't aware, it's the default ASP.NET 500 error page (well, the version that doesn't provide the stack trace). You'd think MS marketing would at least want something more "pleasant-looking," which is great because the error message specifies one way to make that happen. The developer of the Website This Fine failed to use Microsoft's web platform to create a custom error page and to set Web.config to use it. Yes, there are other ways to make the custom error page happen, but the error message specifies a pretty easy one.



  • @corgimonster said:

    In case you weren't aware, it's the default ASP.NET 500 error page
     

    Zzzzooommmmmm....

    Okay, you're new around here so I'll tone the snark back a bit.

    Actually, I was aware it's a server error page - just didn't know it was the actual 500. I've encountered it several times before, as well  as the typical embed-sql-svr-error-into-default.asp thrown back at a cinfused user.@corgimonster said:

    You'd think MS marketing would at least want something more "pleasant-looking," which is great because the error message specifies one way to make that happen.

    No.

    Them making something pleasant-looking doesn't discourage the dev from thinking "that'll do" and letting it pass through. Error pages and non-error pages are all site pages displayed to the end-user, so the dev ought to have a consistent approach to their structure and presentation no matter if it's reporting success or failure.

    MS making the error messages more geeky purely for nerd troubleshooting value encourages the dev towards trapping those details then translating them into a suitable violin-laden prose to display errors in a non-alarming manner.

    @corgimonster said:

    The developer of the Website This Fine failed to use Microsoft's web platform to create a custom error page and to set Web.config to use it.

    They failed to bother with decent error-handling, full stop - irrespective of the tools at their disposal. But yah, still lax on their part.



  • @blakeyrat said:

    What screenshot tool doesn't hide the mouse? WTF.

    @blakeyrat said:

    guyz lunix is superior because its screenshot utilities have a feature nobody wants switching os now brb
     

    And it's a spectacular new world record for Blakey in the 100m back-pedal!

     

    This space intentionally left blank for Blakey to admit that by "nobody" he meant "me, actually, just two posts ago".

     



  • @blakeyrat said:

    guyz lunix is superior [...] switching os now brb

    SCORE! blakey got himself a new rig!



  • @DaveK said:

    @blakeyrat said:

    What screenshot tool doesn't hide the mouse? WTF.

    @blakeyrat said:

    guyz lunix is superior because its screenshot utilities have a feature nobody wants switching os now brb
     

    And it's a spectacular new world record for Blakey in the 100m back-pedal!

    Is your reading comprehension really that abysmal?



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    @DaveK said:

    @blakeyrat said:

    What screenshot tool doesn't hide the mouse? WTF.

    @blakeyrat said:

    guyz lunix is superior because its screenshot utilities have a feature nobody wants switching os now brb
     

    And it's a spectacular new world record for Blakey in the 100m back-pedal!

    Is your reading comprehension really that abysmal?

    Related:



  • @Ben L. said:

    Hey! How the hell did you get ahold of one of my comics!?



  • WTF? How did you manage to make your cursor get captured in the screenshots?



  • @Lorne Kates said:

    min-width isn't supported in IE.
     

    ...but but... it's supported... and... but... why would you say this... there's no joke here... I... I am... I...



  • @Cassidy said:

    Okay, you're new around here
     

    Pssst.. He registered a year before you did.



  • @corgimonster said:

    In this case, Greenshot. It's for Windows, and it's open-source, so I know you'll be headed right over to patch the source to get rid of the cursor. Also:

     

    That preferences dialog looks clean and well-formatted.

     


  • ♿ (Parody)

    @morbiuswilters said:

    @DaveK said:

    @blakeyrat said:

    What screenshot tool doesn't hide the mouse? WTF.

    @blakeyrat said:

    guyz lunix is superior because its screenshot utilities have a feature nobody wants switching os now brb
     

    And it's a spectacular new world record for Blakey in the 100m back-pedal!

    Is your reading comprehension really that abysmal?

    Seriously. Blakey never back pedals, he either stops posting after he's wrong, vehemently denies the obvious or changes the subject.



  • @boomzilla said:

    Seriously. Blakey never back pedals, he either stops posting after he's wrong, vehemently denies the obvious or changes the subject.

    Well, if you are going to be wrong about something, you might as well do it properly and commit wholeheartedly. How else will you get a square peg into a round hole?



  • @boomzilla said:

    @morbiuswilters said:
    @DaveK said:

    @blakeyrat said:

    What screenshot tool doesn't hide the mouse? WTF.

    @blakeyrat said:

    guyz lunix is superior because its screenshot utilities have a feature nobody wants switching os now brb
     

    And it's a spectacular new world record for Blakey in the 100m back-pedal!

     

    Is your reading comprehension really that abysmal?

    Seriously. Blakey never back pedals, he either stops posting after he's wrong, vehemently denies the obvious or changes the subject.

     

    Now you're just strawmanning all over the place. And who's gonna clean up that mess?

     


  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    @eViLegion said:

    How else will you get a square peg into a round hole?
    Come now - you're not even trying. That one will even fit a triangular hole. As well.



  • @bridget99 said:

    @blakeyrat said:
    What screenshot tool doesn't hide the mouse? WTF.

    Cell phone?

    Your cell phone has a mouse pointer? What else does it have, a light pen?



  • I'd like Windows to be able to capture the mouse. I've needed it a few times, and copying and pasting a mouse manually on the image just feels stupid.



  • @Severity One said:

    @bridget99 said:

    @blakeyrat said:
    What screenshot tool doesn't hide the mouse? WTF.

    Cell phone?

    Your cell phone has a mouse pointer? What else does it have, a light pen?

     

    Hey light pens are cool.

     



  • @Lorne Kates said:

    @joe.edwards said:

    What you want is min-width:5000%
     

    min-width isn't supported in IE. Which gets back to the OP's original point.

    It's been supported since 2006. You literally cannot have IE not support min-width on images without running Windows XP or earlier.


  • Trolleybus Mechanic

    @MiffTheFox said:

    @Lorne Kates said:

    @joe.edwards said:

    What you want is min-width:5000%
     

    min-width isn't supported in IE. Which gets back to the OP's original point.

    It's been supported since 2006. You literally cannot have IE not support min-width on images without running Windows XP or earlier.

     

    For some definition of "supported".  From that very same page:

    IE8 has some bugs with max-width/height combined with overflow: auto/scroll.

    So it might work, sortof, if you discount this bug. And any other bugs. And not expect it to work the same way as other browsers. And as long as you ensure that everything else on your page is running 100% perfect so IE doesn't fall into some Compatability/Quirks mode.

    Supported!

     



  • @dhromed said:

    Pssst.. He registered a year before you did.
     

    Yeah, I was going against post count.

    And I would have got away with it if it hadn't been for you pesky chrome-dhrome.



  • It's not uncommon in screen capture programs to have an option to capture the cursor. Here's the settings from RoboScreenCapture (where this is on by default - seriously, I turn this off, but it is on by default):




  • @Lorne Kates said:

    For some definition of "supported".  From that very same page:

    IE8 has some bugs with max-width/height combined with overflow: auto/scroll.

    So it might work, sortof, if you discount this bug. And any other bugs. And not expect it to work the same way as other browsers. And as long as you ensure that everything else on your page is running 100% perfect so IE doesn't fall into some Compatability/Quirks mode.

    Supported!

    If web developers took "works differently in this one browser" to mean "unsupported, don't use it", we wouldn't be seeing all the -webkit-CSS3 crap.

    MS is just worried people would start crying monopoly if they started adding proprietary features to IE like Mozilla and Google are doing.



  • @spamcourt said:

    @Severity One said:
    Your cell phone has a mouse pointer? What else does it have, a light pen?
    Hey light pens are cool.
    On a Fairlight CMI, yes, they're cool. On a cell phone, theyre not.

     



  • @dhromed said:

    That preferences dialog looks clean and well-formatted.

    Well copy-written too. (What the hell is a "mousepointer"?)



  • @blakeyrat said:

    What screenshot tool doesn't hide the mouse? WTF.
    It is possibly the screenshot of a Remote Desktop session.



  • @blakeyrat said:

    @dhromed said:
    That preferences dialog looks clean and well-formatted.

    Well copy-written too. (What the hell is a "mousepointer"?)

    My best guess is a mistranslation of the German mauszeiger.


  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    @blakeyrat said:

    @dhromed said:
    That preferences dialog looks clean and well-formatted.

    Well copy-written too. (What the hell is a "mousepointer"?)

    ItsprobablyGerman.


  • Trolleybus Mechanic

    @Rick said:

    @blakeyrat said:

    What screenshot tool doesn't hide the mouse? WTF.
    It is possibly the screenshot of a Remote Desktop session.

     

    That has a RDP open.

     



  • @Rick said:

    @blakeyrat said:

    What screenshot tool doesn't hide the mouse? WTF.
    It is possibly the screenshot of a Remote Desktop session.

     

    Impossible. Two others were probably already logged in.

     



  • @Lorne Kates said:

    @joe.edwards said:

    What you want is min-width:5000%
     

    min-width isn't supported in IE. Which gets back to the OP's original point.

    It has been since IE7. If you're still devving for IE6, my condolences.

    [edit]
    Okay, sorry. Someone already said that. Should've read all of the posts very carefully. I'll be in my corner of shame now
    [/edit]



  • @dhromed said:

    @Rick said:

    @blakeyrat said:

    What screenshot tool doesn't hide the mouse? WTF.
    It is possibly the screenshot of a Remote Desktop session.

     

    Impossible. Two others were probably already logged in.

    No, he clearly has the Windows Voltron license pack, so he'd be limited to 13 simultaneous RDP sessions.



  • @PJH said:

    @blakeyrat said:
    What screenshot tool doesn't hide the mouse? WTF.
    The sort that acutally gives you that option? Don't you get that under Windows?
    Yes we do, provided it's a third-party capture utility like FastStone's, or the one in Paint Shop Pro. Only the built-in MS shortcuts like PrtSc and Shift+PrtSc include the pointer (it's not a cursor, it's a pointer, like it says in your screenshot) without an option to exclude it.



  • @Cad Delworth said:

    Only the built-in MS shortcuts like PrtSc and Shift+PrtSc include the pointer
     

    Weird.. I use those keyboard shortcuts specifically because they exclude the pointer during a screen dump.



  • @Cad Delworth said:

    Only the built-in MS shortcuts like PrtSc and Shift+PrtSc include the pointer
     

    Those don't show the pointer.


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