*SCREAMING BATTLE CRY*

The Incredible Hatboy · Thu Aug 02, 2001 12:28 am

Somewhere in Microsoft there is a person or persons who are responsible for Excel not responding to Visual Basic commands the way it's supposed to. Somewhere in Microsoft there is a person or persons who are responsible for my not being done with this program because Excel won't quit, even when I run the Quit command in *my* program, even though it works fine when I write dummy programs to test it. Somewhere in Microsoft there is a person or persons responsible for my wasting nearly my entire day working on a single problem that should not exist. Somewhere in Microsoft there is a person or persons who should fear for their life or lives.

Aleoi · Post by **Aleoi** » Fri Aug 03, 2001 4:49 am

You can rent my flamethrower for a mere $10 a day.------------------
There is no problem a flamethrower can't fix.

Peterh · Post by **Peterh** » Sat Aug 04, 2001 2:27 am

And this forum should care because?

DukeNuke · Post by **DukeNuke** » Sun Aug 05, 2001 7:02 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by peterh:
And this forum should care because?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Because it shows that Microsoft and Bill Gates suck. That's because.
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"I was not born a Pok

Kurt · Post by **Kurt** » Mon Aug 06, 2001 1:31 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by The Incredible Hatboy:
Sorry for the confusion, peterh. Yeah, this thing is REALLY pissing me off...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>If it's Office 97 try <A HREF="http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb ... 9/9/22.asp" TARGET=_blank>http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb ... /22.asp</A> If it's Office 2000 try <A HREF="http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb ... 0/4/62.asp" TARGET=_blank>http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb ... /62.asp</A> or <A HREF="http://ftp.slu.se/pub/pc/mirror/mirror- ... 6/0/88.asp" TARGET=_blank>http://ftp.slu.se/pub/pc/mirror/mirror- ... /88.asp</A>

DocMan · Post by **DocMan** » Mon Aug 06, 2001 1:47 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by peterh:
 By the way, Shannon's right -- Apple stole the GUI from Xerox, who had a graphical user interface with a mouse when I was 6 years old, and Linus wasn't even born -- and that was in 1963, buddy. And Xerox never intended to secure it to themselves anyway. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Actually, Apple didn't steal the GUI from Xerox. Yes, the idea was developed at the Xerox PARC, and Yes, Xerox was too stupid to see the commercial value in the system. Xerox *invited* Apple's folks in to see what they developed, and then compounded their stupidity by selling off the rights to the technology for a song.Justthefactsmaam...Doc

The Incredible Hatboy · Mon Aug 06, 2001 6:28 am

Sorry, peterh, I must have forgotten how dedicated this forum is to staying on-topic, how its discussions remain purely focused on the JF storyline, and how there are so many on-topic posts that every single vaguely inappropriate one, like this, prevents one of the dozens of active on-topic posts from getting attention.Jeez.

KiltedMan · Post by **KiltedMan** » Mon Aug 06, 2001 7:16 am

Have you tried searching Microsoft's site or Google for a fix?

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Duncan C T Holyoke, The Kilted ManBe forewarned, I what I wear underneath is my business but may be left up to speculation. <A HREF="http://www.duncanctholyoke.net" TARGET=_blank>www.duncanctholyoke.net</A> Visit it, you know you want to!

Peterh · Post by **Peterh** » Mon Aug 06, 2001 9:08 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by DukeNuke:
 Because it shows that Microsoft and Bill Gates suck. That's because.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>News flash: software sucks.
I can't for the life of me figure out why this only seems to be important when it's Microsoft software -- I've seen holes in Digital's and Sun's software big enough to drive a UPS truck through -- and it took Digital 10 and Sun 18 months! to fix it. It just seems very fashionable these days to flame Microsoft for it.To those of us who aren't old enough yet to store their teeth in a glass by the side of their bed at night:
There used to be a time when Novell was flamed for the very same reasons that today Microsoft is flamed for (no particular reason -- just because). And before that, it was Digital Research (CP/M, remember?), and before that, people used to torch IBM.Even Linux sucks on a regular basis. It's just fixed quicker than HP-UX or True64 Unix or Windows NT or whathaveyou.I guess it's just the nature of the beast. And as to your assessment of Bill Gates: I doubt if you've ever met the guy. If someone who has never met you tells you that YOU suck, surely you'll just shrug your shoulders and move on, right?I can remember the time when Bill Gates was looked upon in much the same way as Linus Torvalds was looked upon a few years ago.
I wonder when it will be Linus' turn to have to get on the whodunnit stand - the first signs are imminent already. I see the same pattern enfolding.Too bad. peter

Peterh · Post by **Peterh** » Mon Aug 06, 2001 9:13 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by The Incredible Hatboy:
Sorry, peterh, I must have forgotten how dedicated this forum is to staying on-topic, how its discussions remain purely focused on the JF storyline, and how there are so many on-topic posts that every single vaguely inappropriate one, like this, prevents one of the dozens of active on-topic posts from getting attention.Jeez.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Sometimes, I do get the impression that some people take my remarks waaaaaay tooooooo seriously!I have to admit that, while I was in fact intrigued by your rant, I wouldn't have thought of starting a similar thread on this forum, so I reckoned you were either VERILY pissed off, or you couldn't think of another place to vent your frustration. Since I couldn't think of a more appropriate response, I just thought I'd offer you an opportunity to relate the problem to this forum, taking the thread to new levels of absurdity. That would have been a real hoot.Too bad it made you feel insulted -- that wasn't my intent, and if so, I apologise for the inconvenience in a very British Rail sort of way.
We stoopit Europeans and our weird sense of humour... peter

Towr · Post by **Towr** » Mon Aug 06, 2001 10:24 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by peterh:
 I can remember the time when Bill Gates was looked upon in much the same way as Linus Torvalds was looked upon a few years ago.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
By whom?? Anyone in the programming community has known from the start he's a thieving little bastard..
He stole DOS from some poor sod who didn't think it necessary to slap a copyright on software, due to all geeks being nice and respectfull of each other till Gates showed up.. (and no GNU public license in sight)
And later on stole apples GUI and created windows..
Two documented facts that though not strickly illegal haven't made him very popular..Torvalds never did that, in any case..

Jackiesfridge · Post by **Jackiesfridge** » Mon Aug 06, 2001 10:33 am

Um, just wanted to point out a little-known fact - the GUI was actually pioneered by Xerox, not Apple.*end factoid*-Shannon

Peterh · Post by **Peterh** » Mon Aug 06, 2001 11:15 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by towr:
 <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
By whom?? Anyone in the programming community has known from the start he's a thieving little bastard..
He stole DOS from some poor sod who didn't think it necessary to slap a copyright on software, due to all geeks being nice and respectfull of each other till Gates showed up.. (and no GNU public license in sight)
And later on stole apples GUI and created windows..
Two documented facts that though not strickly illegal haven't made him very popular..Torvalds never did that, in any case..[/B][/QUOTE]Not by you -- you weren't around at the time.By the way, Shannon's right -- Apple stole the GUI from Xerox, who had a graphical user interface with a mouse when I was 6 years old, and Linus wasn't even born -- and that was in 1963, buddy. And Xerox never intended to secure it to themselves anyway. And Linus Torvalds stole his idea too -- it used to be called Minix. You remember that?The industry is a *lot* older than you think, buddy.peter

Peterh · Post by **Peterh** » Mon Aug 06, 2001 11:33 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by jackiesfridge:
Um, just wanted to point out a little-known fact - the GUI was actually pioneered by Xerox, not Apple.*end factoid*-Shannon<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Shannon, I think he's referring to Tim Patterson, who wrote QDOS at the end of the 70's and sold it to Bill Gates for $40.000Doesn't sound like stealing to me -- but then again, Towr, not even knowing "the poor sod's" name, probably never knew that "the poor sod" got more money out of it than he even thought possible -- and that everyone in the world thought it would be worth anyway. Everyone around at at that time, including me, thought that paying $40.000 for QDOS was madness anyway. I agree with you that most, if not all, of what towr is referring to is urban legend, but there's a factoid bit to that urban legend that shouldn't be ignored.Just as it took a stroke of genius to recognise the potential of Minix (for the idea of which Linus didn't pay one single Kroner), it took a stroke of genius to recognise the power of QDOS 10 years earlier.I think it's stupid that, 20 years after the event, the ones who had their lucid moment should be portrayed as The Devil.Linus's Lucifer Moment is only years away... and as much as I despise the current Microsloth bashing, I regret the future that Linus is currently showing to be unable to avoid. As I said, software is buggy by nature. If we cannot live with that, we should pursue a career in woodworking. I admit that I have a low tolerance for kids who are unable to accept that -- and who are hailing the current king, only to flametorch the same guy to death ten years later. Hamlet had a few interesting stories about that -- but who remembers Hamlet in this industry, in which 20 years is said to be more than eternity?
It may seem as if a lot has changed since the '60's software industry, but really -- the more things change, the more they stay the same.peter

The Incredible Hatboy · Mon Aug 06, 2001 11:39 am

Sorry for the confusion, peterh. Yeah, this thing is REALLY pissing me off. I posted this thread on thursday - and since then, I have made zero progress on fixing the problem, aside from finding out that every idea I had only works in dummy programs, and not when implemented where it matters. Microsoft's site's no help - or rather, it's very helpful, just not for this problem. I'm starting to suspect that whatever I've done to irritate the little gods who live in my compiler, it was *really* arcane.*goes back to slamming his head into this brick wall*

The Incredible Hatboy · Tue Aug 07, 2001 6:00 am

Actually, I worked around *that* problem - not fixed, but neutralized. It wasn't the Autoclose bug. I'm now working on a different but even more absurd problem, by which it refuses to run an cell.find() command I've used seven other times, inside a For Each loop I've used many other places. And the best part is that it actually *worked* until shortly after I fixed the previous head-smasher. I've tested every single scrap of code in the problematic area several times, testing every possible reason it might be unhappy. No dice. If it's not done by Wednesday night, I'll be even more pissed, since I work three-day weeks (It is but a mere summer job, and I didn't want to fall into the trap of having huge amounts of cash and no time to enjoy it) and was hoping to be totally done after this week. Grrrr.On the bright side once again, new JF tommorow! w00t w00t!------------------
Over-analyze events in a comic? Isn't that an oxymoron?

The Incredible Hatboy · Tue Aug 07, 2001 6:56 am

Thanks, Kurt, but I'm not *getting* an error message - the farking thing just isn't doing *anything*. But it's okay, because I just came up with a way to work around the problem and make it almost entirely irrelevant without actually solving it. In fact, I suspect that this pseudosolution may be the best I could possibly do, based on the program's requirements. Oh well. The problem's solved, the program's nearly done, Jackie's cute, and Matchbox 20 is great music to program by. Life Is Good.------------------
Over-analyze events in a comic? Isn't that an oxymoron?

Peterh · Post by **Peterh** » Tue Aug 07, 2001 8:42 am

Would it be an idea if your program would just call an external routine that does nothing else than the "quit" command?I know it's a kludge. But hey.peter

Kurt · Post by **Kurt** » Tue Aug 07, 2001 9:37 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by The Incredible Hatboy:
Thanks, Kurt, but I'm not *getting* an error message - the farking thing just isn't doing *anything*.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I take it from your comment then that you are using Office 97 (neither of the two for Office 2000 give errors, the quit doesn't happen because of the failure to properly do garbage collection).So, it could be the AutoClose bug. The solution is to loop through all workbooks and close them all individually before calling the quit function. Be sure to specify the SaveChanges parameter since this is the cause of the bug (hard to pick an option on those invisible "Do you want to save" dialogs).They call this behavior "by design" and, of course, suggest that if the workaround doesn't solve the problem you can send them lots of money so they can tell you "too bad" to your face instead of in writing.