Great Moments in Computer Programming

Video Game Discussions and general topics.

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Ice Cream Jonsey
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

(I just read that link I linked and I have to call this out, because Christ. The link was from 3 years ago, mind you.)
Some stupid asshole wrote: Unlikely, not having a QA department actually makes the developed more aware of their own bugs and become less careless
A reply was:
Perhaps, this is one of those things that hurt short-term but long-term pay off?
And the dumb asshole wrote:
Some stupid asshole wrote:yes, short term worse but long term it gets much better. The toss it over the fence mentality goes away
Hey guys, this is LONG TERM BETTER, releases going out that completely destroy the computer's ability to let people login. God damn every single person that ever posts to Reddit is a stupid, worthless choad.
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RealNC
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by RealNC »

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote: Thu Jun 13, 2019 8:48 pmWhy don't they create a restore point that recovery can use before they force these updates on people?
You would think this would help, but then it made it worse, ha ha:

https://www.pcgamer.com/a-windows-10-bu ... em-restore

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Ice Cream Jonsey
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

RealNC wrote: Fri Jun 14, 2019 11:43 pm
Ice Cream Jonsey wrote: Thu Jun 13, 2019 8:48 pmWhy don't they create a restore point that recovery can use before they force these updates on people?
You would think this would help, but then it made it worse, ha ha:

https://www.pcgamer.com/a-windows-10-bu ... em-restore
Incredible.
You install Windows 10 on a clean computer.
You turn on system protection, and then create a system restore point that is named "R1."
You install one or more Windows 10 updates.
After the updates have finished installing, you restore the system to the "R1" restore point.
How is that not the first thing they tested?
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The Happiness Engine
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by The Happiness Engine »

...Not seeing a reason to ever move off of Win7.

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Ice Cream Jonsey
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

Well, me either. They had to literally remove it from the digital store I bought it from which is what caused me to run it at home. I had some post somewhere on this BBS about it.

To be honest, aside from the picture rotation thing (which they fixed) and force feeding the updates (which I am trying to turn off) it doesn't seem any different than 7. Not recommending it, but the experience is largely the same.
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pinback
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by pinback »

Except it has virtual desktops. Oh, and comes with fuckin' Linux.
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Ice Cream Jonsey
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

I should use those features. I guess by not taking advantage of the stuff that is new with it, that's why I don't see it as much different. :/
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RealNC
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by RealNC »

LOL, Microsoft did a marketing video for their new terminal application (they just released a preview build for it).



This is just way too weird.

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Ice Cream Jonsey
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

I look forward to having it forced on me and losing a day trying to figure out how to get the old one back.
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RealNC
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by RealNC »

Well, the new one is clearly better and much closer to a proper one, like the ones you find on Linux. The current one is borderline useless. What I meant with "too weird" is that Microsoft did a marking video for a terminal.

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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by pinback »

And they're releasing a new Flight Simulator! Look at ol' Microsoft, gettin' their shit together finally.
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Flack »

I am working on a PowerShell script for work and I think I've gotten in over my head.

We have a utility written and maintained by a co-worker, but it's a compiled executable more than 400mb in size that has to be redistributed to hundreds/thousands of users each time it's updated, which is pretty frequently (multiple times a month). I suggested that we re-write it in PowerShell, and kind of took over from there.

The utility scans a computer and performs a bunch of tests to see if it is compliant. I started converting the tests the other guy has done into PowerShell and it was pretty easy going.

A new requirement is that the tests need to be stored in Excel, so that anyone can open a spreadsheet and see what is being tested. I kind of had to go back to the drawing board. Some of the tests look for registry keys and some look for existing files and some look for file versions so I had to make a column for each test type in the spreadsheet, import it, and then perform the specific test based on the type.

Another new requirement is that management would like the tool to run either on a local system or a remote system. This isn't insurmountable but it really changes everything. At least in PowerShell, reading a local registry and a remote registry is completely different.

I recently learned that some tests require two tests, and now I'm completely lost. For example, for a machine to be compliant with, oh, Microsoft Word, it would check to see if Word exists (test 1) and then what version it is (test 2). My whole structure is based on reading the spreadsheet and having each line be a single test, so I may have to start completely over. I was trying to code some sort of loop that would be triggered by two tests in a row with the same name or something, but didn't have any luck.

I have written lots and lots of PowerShell scripts, but most of them aren't more than a page or two in length. I may have bitten off more than I can chew on this one.
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Casual Observer »

Too bad this is for the federal government, otherwise you could spend a few hundred bucks and have it done by a Ukrainian on upwork.

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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Flack »

Yeah, this probably has too many internal references to outsource. There are some BIOS settings and updates that happen to frequently that it would be nice to be able to update the back end in one place instead of pushing out this giant app multiple times a month. One of the takeaways (my bad) is to get all the requirements up front and control scope crawl. Normally adding a feature isn't a big deal but two or three times in a row I've overlooked something or oversold something and those things are leading toward a total rewrite.
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Casual Observer »

Flack wrote: Mon Jun 24, 2019 1:29 pmget all the requirements up front and control scope crawl.
I hear this is a huge problem with federal projects.

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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by AArdvark »

What is scope crawl?

THE
NEW LANGUAGE
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Casual Observer »

AArdvark wrote: Mon Jun 24, 2019 4:58 pm What is scope crawl?

THE
NEW LANGUAGE
AARDVARK
That's when you agree to a certain set of project requirements and then the client asks for more shit. Kind of like you have a req for a certain machined piece and you make it then client says "yeah, great but could you make it twice the size".

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RealNC
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by RealNC »

Flack wrote: Mon Jun 24, 2019 11:38 amI have written lots and lots of PowerShell scripts, but most of them aren't more than a page or two in length. I may have bitten off more than I can chew on this one.
I do not envy you. 400MB though for the current solution? How? What the hell is in there?

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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by AArdvark »

So... let's say, for example the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority contracted a French train company to upgrade all their Purple Line cars. And we, as subcontractors, are halfway through the order of making Rev. A heat shields for them and they call us up and say: "Sac-ray Blue! Can you make zem all Rev. B heat shields?" (which involves two additional processes) "Shoop day-Lo! But see, zey cannot be late! Oh, and we will not pay you one franc more for le heat shields!"

(oh yes they will!)

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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Flack »

Pretty much... except the people usually pushing the scope creep have little technical knowledge. Usually they're idea people ("wouldn't it be great if...") without having the technical background to know how much work they are causing the other person. That's why, especially if you're contracting out a job, it's important to get the requirements up front and in writing.
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