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Why Do Login Dialogs Have a “User” Field?

security

Why Do Login Dialogs Have a “User” Field?

In The Humane Interface, the late Jef Raskin asks an intriguing question: why do login dialogs have a “User” field? Shouldn’t login dialogs look more like this? And you know what? He’s right. Your password alone should be enough information for the computer to know who you are.

By Jeff Atwood ·
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ALT+TAB Extreme*

windows

ALT+TAB Extreme*

When I see people using the default, crappy Windows ALT+TAB task switching behavior, I experience physical pain. TaskSwitchXP is completely free and so much better. It’s super small, totally elegant, lightning fast, and generally a massive improvement in task switching functionality. Friends don’t let friends suffer through

By Jeff Atwood ·
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C# implementation of ASCII85

c#

C# implementation of ASCII85

As promised, here is my C# implementation of the ASCII85 algorithm. This code is a loose port of the C sample referenced from the Wikipedia page. It’s too much code to paste into a single entry, so I packaged it as a VS.NET 2003 solution – using Clean Sources

By Jeff Atwood ·
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programming languages

Equipping our ASCII Armor

On one of our e-commerce web sites, we needed a unique transaction ID to pass to a third party reporting tool on the checkout pages. We already had a GUID on the page for internal use. And you know how much we love GUIDs! 22da5537-de54-459d-9b33-f40f2101143b A GUID is 128 bits,

By Jeff Atwood ·
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Avoiding “Blank Page Syndrome”

user experience

Avoiding “Blank Page Syndrome”

One thing I dislike about classic WIMP GUI applications is the way they typically present you with a blank page at startup. Here’s what Word 2003 looks like just after I launch it: This leads to Blank Page Syndrome: when presented with infinite choice, it’s sometimes hard to

By Jeff Atwood ·
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user experience

Comparing GUIs: OS X vs. Windows XP

This OS X versus Windows XP site contains an exhaustive, extensively illustrated 100-topic comparison of these two operating systems. The author tries to be objective, which is admirable, but the extremely detailed comparison is worth reading mostly because it highlights a lot of subtle design differences. For example, this little

By Jeff Atwood ·
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Configurability and Voiding Your Warranty

customization

Configurability and Voiding Your Warranty

In The Problem with Configurability, I noted the tenuous balance between the opposing goals of customization and convention. Kam VedBrat, one of the Microsoft Windows UI designers for Vista, riffs on a similar theme. Why isn’t Windows Vista completely skinnable out of the box? There is also the issue

By Jeff Atwood ·
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Changing the Windows XP Boot Screen

windows

Changing the Windows XP Boot Screen

We’re in the middle of an after-hours MAME arcade project at work.* As one of the final fit and finish steps, I did a bit of research on how to replace the default Windows XP boot screen with something a little more arcade-y. I came up with StarDock’s

By Jeff Atwood ·
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Wind, Angle, and Power

programming languages

Wind, Angle, and Power

One of the oldest computer games is Artillery. It’s all about going mano a mano with nothing but wind, angle, and power on your side: The origins of artillery games are unclear, but the first such games were probably played on mainframe computers in the 60s. The programmers of

By Jeff Atwood ·
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Revenge of Codename: Snowball

windows 95

Revenge of Codename: Snowball

What would the world be like if Windows 95 and Windows NT has been cancelled? You’d be surfing the web right now in Windows for Workgroups 3.11: I absolutely love the fact that we get a javascript error on the Google homepage. Not unreasonable, considering WFW 3.11

By Jeff Atwood ·
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Keyboarding: Microsoft Natural Ergonomic 4000

keyboard

Keyboarding: Microsoft Natural Ergonomic 4000

I was plenty excited when I saw Microsoft was releasing a new non-mangled ergonomic keyboard – the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000. Now that I own one, I’m not excited any more. I’m ecstatic! This keyboard is the natural heir to the obsolete but much loved Microsoft Natural Keyboard

By Jeff Atwood ·
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Mastering GUIDs with Occam's Razor

guids

Mastering GUIDs with Occam's Razor

Do you remember the scene from the movie Full Metal Jacket where the marines recite the USMC creed? It’s a little known fact, but programmers have a similar creed: This is my GUID. There are many like it but this one is mine. My GUID is my best friend.

By Jeff Atwood ·
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