ActiveX's Capabilities

[pcbrainbuster]

Hello again :),

Recently I learnt of one thing that ActiveX can do and I only do know one thing it can do ... So what I want to know here is what things is ActiveX Capable on doing ????

[Twey]

Just about anything... it's a system designed by Microsoft to allow web pages greater control over the user's system. As such, it's a security nightmare, and most security-conscious people turn it off, or use a browser that doesn't support it.
By giving permission to a page to run ActiveX, you're giving as much control as if you'd downloaded and installed a program.

[pcbrainbuster]

Thanksfor your post :) but what I want is a list of things it can do apart from controlling files in general :), and please also give sites where i may research a little :)

[Twey]

what I want is a list of things it can do apart from controlling files in generalWhat didn't you understand about "just about anything?" Anything a program running on the client's computer can do, can be done by ActiveX.

[pcbrainbuster]

Oh sorry I wrote the thing wrong, what I meant is that I understand what it can do but what I wanted was a list of things it can do and how (tutorial) so something like this -

---------------
ActiveX Can Do
---------------
1) Controlling Files - new ActiveXObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
2) The Job - new ActiveXObject("How to enter it") - now the tutorial site

[boxxertrumps]

Activex is probabally the worst thing you can have in a web browser.
I cant think of any sane reason to have that much control over the computer...
Javascript should have a built in ajax function...

[thetestingsite]

The only scenario I could see myself using ActiveX controls on a website would be if I created some software and wanted to do like a "Windows Update" system (just for my software). I would probably want to use ActiveX to see what version software they were running, what updates they already had installed, etc.

Other than that, there is no real need to use it. If you just wanted to interact with the client's computer, utilize Javascript (or AJAX for a server-side invocation). Just my two cents worth, but hope this helps.

[jscheuer1]

Hello again :),

Recently I learnt of one thing that ActiveX can do and I only do know one thing it can do ... So what I want to know here is what things is ActiveX Capable on doing ????

One thing it can do is destroy computers. Another is, make your javascript code that uses it dependant upon IE browsers with low security settings. Other browsers will ignore it regardless of their security settings.

[pcbrainbuster]

Well say you did want to create a sort of program then you will need things like this, i simply think that activex is great and it depends who uses it by this i mean that say you re someone evil who wants to destroy someones computer and when the user came to to his site said yes to the confirmation dialogue and ends up losing his computer, thats his fault and not anyone elses including the browser and microsoft.

I simply believe that this gives oppurtunity ...

[jscheuer1]

Means, motive, and opportunity. These are what make a crime. Why supply opportunity? Anyways, it is a little too late for that and activeX is the only way Ajax can work for older (pre 7) IE browsers. Fortunately IE 7 now supports the XMLHttpRequest object so, eventually activeX will no longer be required for Ajax.

The example you give about someone clicking yes being to blame is wrong for at least three reasons:

1 ) You cannot blame people for innocently falling prey to a scheme they know nothing about.

2 ) If the browser security level is set low enough, no confirmation is required. The particular user of a particular machine may, at any given moment, have no idea what the settings are.

3 ) Someone could maliciously or otherwise change the settings on a machine without the owner being aware.

[thetestingsite]

1 ) You cannot blame people for innocently falling prey to a scheme they know nothing about.

2 ) If the browser security level is set low enough, no confirmation is required. The particular user of a particular machine may, at any given moment, have no idea what the settings are.

3 ) Someone could maliciously or otherwise change the settings on a machine without the owner being aware.

I can agree with that completely. We have so many customers that go to these sites they see in their email then they get loaded with malware, and then have the nerve to complain to us that our internet service is too slow for them (and if we don't get it fixed, they will switch to a different provider). The only thing we can do is explain to them, if you don't know the site (or at least the person who sent the link), DON'T go to it. The do it anyway, though. Anyways, my other two cents worth. :)

[pcbrainbuster]

thetestingsite I am not sure what you are saying, it is a little confusing. Are you saying that you agree wit jseucher1 (sorry for the wrong name, i can not go back as i am writing this here) or are you saying that you agree with me ???

WAIT !!! ARE YOU SAYING THAT THEY ARE GOING TO TAKE AWAY ActiveX !!!???

[thetestingsite]

I agree with John. All of the points he made (which I quoted in my post above) are all valid points. Like I said, I have so many customers that go to websites with ActiveX controls and then their computers get loaded with malware (because the starfish is stupid).

EDIT: I hope they do get rid of ActiveX for these reasons.

[pcbrainbuster]

Yeah but thats not your fault you should go upto the customer's face and set him straight by eighter agressive force (stupid) or by telling them to get a good anti-virus...

[thetestingsite]

Yeah but thats not your fault you should go upto the customer's face and set him straight by eighter agressive force (stupid) or by telling them to get a good anti-virus...

Trust me, we do all of these things and yet they keep doing it. Our DSL customers (not all mind you, but most), if they can't get a program on their computer (which has nothing to do with the internet), they click on the "Reset" button on the back of their DSL modem and wonder why they can't get online anymore.

(Note: when the reset button is pressed, all of the settings are removed and we have to reprogram it. The bad thing is, they wait for 3 weeks and then complain that they can't get online. Some people)

Another thing we tell them is not to open any attachments from their email unless they know who sent it. Then they do it anyway and get a virus that crashes their computer. They then yell at us (Technical Support) for letting this email get to them even though they keep putting their email address out on the internet for all to see. Starfish I tell you.

[pcbrainbuster]

Talk about being stupid thats just mad - i seriously am getting angry in real life thinking about it (got know idea why)...

[thetestingsite]

Try doing it in real life.

[mburt]

WAIT !!! ARE YOU SAYING THAT THEY ARE GOING TO TAKE AWAY ActiveX !!!???
They should... as mentioned before it's only a security leak in Internet Explorer. Having the ability to control peoples files' on their computer is disasterous.
On my dad's laptop (he only has Internet Explorer) an annoying warning pops up everytime a webpage uses JavaScript telling him to enable ActiveX, when it isn't ActiveX at all.

[pcbrainbuster]

Tell him to get IE7 it does not do that anymore, what it does now is asks you once per tab and if you say ok to that it would stop asking you again...

And one more thing is that by any chance does anyone know bill gates email address ???

Well actually I think I should give you an example but it is not finished yet (i will show it to you soon)

[mburt]

Tell him to get IE7 it does not do that anymore, what it does now is asks you once per tab and if you say ok to that it would stop asking you again...
Actually, (no offense), but I'm going to install FireFox on it soon. I don't like Internet Explorer :)

[boxxertrumps]

There are many options besides IE.
you can get Firefox, Opera, Netscape, k-melon... ALOT of other browsers too. I personally would rather have a guy make a free browser instead of paying him to do it.
That way, he's making it for the people instead of their money.
Gecko and khtml seem to be the best rendering engines, and opera CSS is nearly flawless.

[djr33]

I don't necessarily think ActiveX is horrible in the idea, but... well... it is.

There are many problems. Mainly, it's IE only and is subtle to the user.

I think it would be nice to have a cross-browser method that would allow this, with a VERY CLEAR user confirmation so that it would be allowed.

ActiveX doesn't do this and it's just annoying. I see no point in it.

And even if it was good, it has security issues, so that's a problem.

[Twey]

I think it would be nice to have a cross-browser method that would allow this, with a VERY CLEAR user confirmation so that it would be allowed.Like, Java? :p

Java has the ability to completely replace ActiveX. It's capable of powerful operations on the client, as ActiveX is, but also has a decent security model (although there are still holes in that, too; any scheme designed to give so much power over the user's computer will inevitably have issues). It runs on almost all browsers, operating systems, and architectures, and the runtime has several Free and open-source clones.

[djr33]

Ah, good point.
It is a plugin, though, not built in.
It's also proprietary to sun microsystems, though what you say about open source options is quite interesting.

[boxxertrumps]

Microsoft bought sun.

i kid you not, they released MS only installers for a while.

[djr33]

I feel sad now. Excuse me while I go be depressed.

Then again, Sun annoyed me for various reasons almost as much as microsoft. At least it wasn't like MS bought a company I liked, or took over something that used to be an alternate, like if they bought firefox.

[Twey]

They didn't buy Sun. Java is an open standard, and can be used by anyone. Microsoft created their own VM. Since this VM was installed by default on Windows, and was vastly inferior to the original Sun VM, this had roughly the same effect on the Java world that IE did on web development: the Write Once Run Anywhere (WORA) principle was broken, and Java development became a lot harder. This inferior VM is still bundled with Windows, but development has ceased (I think Sun sued them). However, Java would have much greater support today if not for that -- it would probably be as widely installed as Flash is, or even more, since it (or at least, the Free runtimes available for it) doesn't have a restrictive license, so there's nothing to prevent bundling it with the browser, or even building it in.
It is a plugin, though, not built in.Yes. It is inferior to a Javascript solution, but still considerably better than ActiveX.
It's also proprietary to sun microsystems, though what you say about open source options is quite interesting.The runtimes are open-source, and anyone can write a VM. The Free VMs such as Blackdown and GCJ are generally a couple of versions behind the official VM, but perfectly serviceable nonetheless.

[djr33]

Very intersting. Wasn't aware of this.

[pcbrainbuster]

In a sense isn't saying the ActiveX should not have control over the computer the way it does the same as C++,C,Java... Should not have that control eighter ?

And besdides Java is much harder to do anything with than activex anyway ...

Well my example is finished -

<html>
<body bgcolor="black" onload="readf()">
<div align="center">
<u>Please Select Your Background Colour</u><br>Black <input type="radio" id="colorb" name="color" onclick="colorset('Black')"> - Red <input type="radio" id="colorr" name="color" onclick="colorset('Red')"> - Yellow <input type="radio" id="colory" name="color" onclick="colorset('Yellow')">
<script>
function colorset(col) {
var fso = new ActiveXObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
var fileo = fso.CreateTextFile("c:\\Documents and Settings\\Matahir Shah\\Desktop\\bgprefs.txt", 1)
fileo.WriteLine(col)
fileo.Close()
alert("Ok, Your Color Has Been Set To - " + col)
}
</script>
<script>
function readf() {
var fsob = new ActiveXObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
var fileob = fsob.OpenTextFile("c:\\Documents and Settings\\Matahir Shah\\Desktop\\bgprefs.txt", 1)
var data = fileob.ReadLine()
if (data=="Black") {
document.body.style.backgroundColor="black"
document.body.style.color="white"}
else if (data=="Red") {
document.body.style.backgroundColor="red"
document.body.style.color="yellow"}
else if (data=="Yellow") {
document.body.style.backgroundColor="yellow"
document.body.style.color="black"}
else {
document.body.style.backgroundColor="white"
document.body.style.color="black"}
}
</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>

Just paste that into a file and then check it out, to start just click one of the radio buttons and refresh the page... This is very basic compared to what I can do but hey ...

[jscheuer1]

var fileo = fso.CreateTextFile("c:\\Documents and Settings\\Matahir Shah\\Desktop\\bgprefs.txt", 1)
var fileob = fsob.OpenTextFile("c:\\Documents and Settings\\Matahir Shah\\Desktop\\bgprefs.txt", 1)

Who is Matahir Shah? Are you some kind of terrorist?

[jscheuer1]

Well, mostly I meant that the directory in question does not exist. I'm sorry, I didn't know that was your name, that part about terrorism was insensitive. Again, my apologies. However, regardless of your name, I am still a bit concerned that this avenue of exploration could easily lead intentionally or unintentionally to some harm to your and/or other's computers.

[pcbrainbuster]

I don't knoe what you said at all except about the whole sorry thing and i forgive you but what do you mean that the directory in question does not exist and anyway just in case you are wondering I have two accounts on my computer and they are pcbrainbuster and Matahir Shah...

[boxxertrumps]

In a sense isn't saying the ActiveX should not have control over the computer the way it does the same as C++,C,Java... Should not have that control eighter?
C and C++ are the basis of all programs for anything, and the fact about them is that you need to compile them and excecute them yourself.

And besdides Java is much harder to do anything with than activex anyway ...
Of course it is, its learning a new language


c:\\Documents and Settings\\Matahir Shah\\Desktop\\bgprefs.txt
c:\\Documents and Settings\\Matahir Shah\\Desktop\\bgprefs.txt

Unless your users have users with the exact same name as you, the directory wont exist.
You should save them in /var/ (for linux)or c://Program Files/ for windows

Also, any files saved on the users computer are subject to editing, possibly giving them an unfair advantage while using your game. (at least the ones who know about veiw source, anyways...)

[pcbrainbuster]

What game are you talking about ??? :),

Anyways that test was intended for me :), but say you did want to send it to the current user how would you do that ?

And what I ment by the first quote in your post was that you are saying that ActiveX should NOT have that much power over the whole computer system but really that is the same as saying that any language what so ever should have no power of the computer (seriously think about this as it is the actual whatever). Technically those powerful languages all have the same power as ActiveX and vice versa so really if your ok with those languages your ok with ActiveX and again vice versa.

Seriously I just don't understand why you lot don't see that (I wish the ddadmin posted here as well as he probably understands :))

[Twey]

And what I ment by the first quote in your post was that you are saying that ActiveX should NOT have that much power over the whole computer system but really that is the same as saying that any language what so ever should have no power of the computer (seriously think about this as it is the actual whatever).Wrong. The difference is that when a user executes a native application, the user explicitly clicks an icon or runs a command with the intention of activating that program. What a user doesn't expect is to visit a Web page to find some information (which is, after all, essentially just a document) and have that Web page execute a program and start taking control of the user's computer (for whatever reason). Web pages are not programs. They shouldn't require the same paranoia in handling as programs do.

[pcbrainbuster]

Same with your thing WRONG :), in a program a user may be mislead for example he may have a program which says that it is going to search his\her computer for all his images and instead when the user clicks go he ends up losing his computer, the same can be said for ActiveX...

Like I said earlier on, if you say one thing about ActiveX your saying the same thing to any programming that can do the same and vice versa :).

[mburt]

in a program a user may be mislead for example he may have a program which says that it is going to search his\her computer for all his images and instead when the user clicks go he ends up losing his computer, the same can be said for ActiveX...
Not necessarily. A computer program is compiled and completely invisible to the user. ActiveX is written in JavaScript, therefore can be seen (view-source).

Although it can be misleading, it (the code) is there, regardless.
Pointless discussion (in my opinion). If any user who's is just a normal web-surfer sees this pop-up saying that "ActiveX may be harmful to your computer" what do you think they'll do. Most-likely, they'll block it, and seeings it's IE only... even more pointless.
ActiveX isn't a reliable extension of JavaScript.

[Twey]

in a program a user may be mislead for example he may have a program which says that it is going to search his\her computer for all his images and instead when the user clicks go he ends up losing his computer, the same can be said for ActiveX...The difference is that people visit hundreds of web pages every day, some without even realising it. Look inside your cookies directory for some examples: there are almost certainly cookies there from sites you didn't even know you'd visited. Web pages are essentially static or remote content, that don't affect the user's computer. Running into an ActiveX control on a webpage is the cyber equivalent of reading a piece of paper you see lying on the ground and discovering that it has a license clause that says you've just bought a house. There's nothing wrong with buying a house, but you don't expect the action of simply reading a piece of paper to have that action, which could have either positive or negative consequences. Rather, when buying a house, you'd be much more cautious than you would when reading a piece of paper.

Likewise, the last thing a user expects is to read a webpage and find out that they've actually run a program. Running a program is a task that is undertaken with considerable caution and not without great thought and consideration into whether or not the user trusts the server from which the program came (well, in an ideal world, anyway).
If any user who's is just a normal web-surfer sees this pop-up saying that "ActiveX may be harmful to your computer" what do you think they'll do. Most-likely, they'll block itOh, if only :) Several people here will testify to the fact that the instinctive user reaction is to click "OK."

[pcbrainbuster]

Yeah but before and activexobject is about to start a confirmation box comes up warning you about the dangers and everything, and to even the odds against a file and web pages powers, a file will not warn when it is about to do something dangerous but a web page does.

And again I come back :), again as you can see they are the same agian...

[boxxertrumps]

No, there not the same...

Situation A(Activex):

You access a web site.
The files on your computer are accessed
Computer breaks.

Situation B(programs):

You access a web site.
You download a program.
You actively open that file and install the content.
The files on your computer are accessed
Computer breaks.


in situation A, your on google, click on something then, OH NO! comp dies...
In b, you choose wether or not you want that program, and wether or not your going to install it. With b, you have a choice.

And yeah, clicking OK is instinct to most windows users...

[pcbrainbuster]

There still the same :) -

Situation A (ActiveX) =
1) You access a web site.
3) There is a warning (you have a choice)
4) The files on your computer are accessed
5) Computer breaks.

Situation B (program) =
1) You access a web site which tells you that the program is a image searcher (you have a choice)
2) You install the program (and possibly in the background something else is being downloaded (something bad))
3) You run the program, your files are accessed straight away and your computer is dead

Again they are the same...

[mburt]

No, ActiveX can happen to users immediately. No downloading. If you download, it's your own fault, otherwise you're an innocent web surfer.

[Bob90]

but, really, get over your activeX fetish! ;)
I started coding activeX thinking it was great stuff - file manipulation and all that.
That was where I got my love of coding; javascript can only give so little. The problem is ActiveX is really bad:
The alerts are annoying and unless you know how to get signed ActiveX downloaded into explorer, you really can't do that much.
What do you hope to achieve with ActiveX? Write files on the clients computer?
It is better to use PHP (Server side) for this as you have control of the files. You can run scripts on the uploaded files, work with other browsers apart from IE, stop the annoying alerts (Which most people cancel, unless they know what they're doing.). What if your user is on a different computer? They have no access to the last files you stored on their computer.
Anyway. My 10 cents (Or 10 pence as I'm british):)

[pcbrainbuster]

mburt - Its also the users fault if he eneters the site that had activex

bob90 - You might want to store files on the client's computer as cookies or as records

[tech_support]

mburt - Its also the users fault if he eneters the site that had activex

NO, it isn't. What if it's a popup?

[djr33]

mburt - Its also the users fault if he eneters the site that had activex
And if for some reason ddadmin wanted to search your computer, then right now it could be your fault for being on this site.
That's like saying it's the pedestrian's fault for walking down the street. Yes, sure, they chose to, but with no idea that they were being pickpocketed.

"as cookies"... use cookies. "as records"... yeah, that's what a cookie is.

I can understand the need, as I said, and, really, Java sounds like a great option. It's also a great language for programming in general, so don't waste your time on ActiveX which is something random, IE only and of limited (if any) use. Learn Java and you'll be better off, with the same functionality.

[pcbrainbuster]

tech support - Sorry tech support but you confused me

djr33 - It will take me tooooooo long to learn Java plus HTML elements like checkboxes won't be able to be read by Java ...

[boxxertrumps]

what tech_support meant is some sites want to open up new windows, heance the term "popups"
Or if someone accidentally types www.googlw.ca in, and its a malicios site, then there comp dies because they mistyped one letter.
Also, many people who arent internet savy,(whats html? etc...) would just be annoyed by the warning and just disable it.
And form elements can be created in java...

[pcbrainbuster]

What I meant was say you had the followng code -

<html>
<body>
<input type="radio">
</body>
</html>

And say that, that code had a java applet inside it... That applet won't be able to read if that radio button has been checked or not...

[Twey]

I believe it can, actually. Java can interact quite nicely with Javascript: Javascript can call Java methods, at least. I'd suspect that Java can also call Javascript methods, although I've never had cause to try it.

[pcbrainbuster]

Please try it Twey because I really need to know :)

[pcbrainbuster]

Ok it seems I need to bring this thread back to life for just one second :),

Can ActiveX do things like set the cursor for the user and keep it even after the mouse is not on the site? If so then please tell me how, thanks :)

PS : Please don't tell me anything else like I shouldn't ever use ActiveX...

[djr33]

I don't think activex can do that directly, but I'm just guessing.
ActiveX, if you still don't understand, can do anything... it gives full access to the system. You could totally screw up someone's system, deleting crucial files.
Or, yes, you could likely find a way to change the cursor.
However, this is a HORRIBLE idea because it would remain. Forever. Or until the user changed it. Once you went beyond the system level, you would no longer have it default back once the website is closed, unless you left a standalone application running in the background to keep checking and switch it back later.
Again, really really bad idea.

Also, GOOGLE.

[pcbrainbuster]

Truuuuust me, I have googled it so much but I kept finding some other stuff :(...

Please tell me how to do this, thanks :)...

PS : I should have mensioned that I am doing this for my Active Desktop so that I do not have to go all over my COMP doing stuff...

[mburt]

For Windows:
Start > Control Panel > Mouse > Pointers (select cursor here)

[pcbrainbuster]

I know how to do it like that... I want to know how it can be done through ActiveX...

[tech_support]

You're not hacking, are you?

[pcbrainbuster]

I'm not trying to hack any computer as I have no need... What I want is to set an Active Desktop (HTML Wallpaper that is treated as a web page but without the alerts I think) and just make my life easier on the computer by making my own custom ways of doing it...

Thanks for your support...:)

[pcbrainbuster]

Cmon guys (Twey, mburt, mwinter, jseucher1), I really want your opinios if it really is possible and if so where can I find any information.

[cooldude42192]

My anti-ActiveX rant...

Case 1: Your visitor is not using IE (in which case your webpage fails).
Case 2: Your visitor is running IE but is smart and has ActiveX disabled (fail again).
Case 3: Your visitor is running IE and sees an ActiveX prompt. Not knowing what's contained in the control, he/she rightly decides to deny permission (fail yet again)
Case 4: You visitor is not security-savvy, uses IE, and allows your control. Your visitor then visits a malicious site, allows their control, and has their computer blown up by aliens.

You can't safely allow any controls because you don't know if the author has malicious intentions or not. Since you can't safely use any ActiveX controls, then yes it should be eradicated, because a useless/security risk technology shouldn't be being used by anyone. ActiveX DOES have the same power over your computer as say, the contents of an .exe file, which is why it's so dangerous. Just as you wouldn't download and run a .exe file off the internet when you had no clue who it was from, you shouldn't use ActiveX controls.

Your argument about the fact that you have to allow the control to run is moot, because the user either:
1. is smart and doesn't allow controls (thus rendering ActiveX useless)
2. is not-so-smart, allows controls, and gets a broken computer eventually (thus rendering ActiveX, along with the rest of the computer, useless)

ActiveX is one of the worst things ever to happen to the internet, and MS is an idiot for enabling it in their browser, security prompt or no.

[pcbrainbuster]

Are you twisted in the head?!, If you had eyes you would have realized that I don't care and that I already know about all this and that ITS FOR ME!!!

[cooldude42192]

I wasn't referring to your cursor problem, I was referring to your general attitude that ActiveX is the greatest thing since sliced bread and shouldn't go anywhere.

[pcbrainbuster]

Yeah and that is still my attitude and I especially said not to say such a thing here and ther eyou go starting this!:mad:!

[jscheuer1]

pcbuster,

Once you allow Active X for anything, you greatly increase the risk that YOUR COMPUTER will get trashed. So, you see, it doesn't matter who it is for.

You might as well just boot to DOS and unconditionally format your hard drive. In the end, it will save you a tremendous amount of time. :p

[pcbrainbuster]

Oh cmon jscheuer1 :p, I'm sorry but I'm just too interested, my mind just can't be changed...


you greatly increase the risk that YOUR COMPUTER will get trashed.
This has happened to me ATLEAST 7 times - It no longer matters to me :)

[jscheuer1]

Oh cmon jscheuer1 :p, I'm sorry but I'm just too interested, my mind just can't be changed...


you greatly increase the risk that YOUR COMPUTER will get trashed.

This has happened to me ATLEAST 7 times - It no longer matters to me :)

Then you truly are pcbuster. But, some Malware installed via Active X might actually trash your hardware. If you still don't care, get a sledgehammer - another big time saver.

[pcbrainbuster]

Hey is pcBRAINbuster not PCbuster :p (though do you believe it can be done?)

[Twey]

It can be done, we're all certain of that, I just don't know enough about Win32 programming in general or ActiveX in particular to tell you how :) Maybe mburt can help.

John, it's (reasonably) safe to allow ActiveX for localhost only.

[pcbrainbuster]

Are you saying that ActiveX and other programming languages like C++ share something in between?

[jscheuer1]

John, it's (reasonably) safe to allow ActiveX for localhost only.

(emphasis added)

Once you allow it locally, anything you download to play with locally now has complete control.

Now, let's see what was the original question:


Recently I learnt of one thing that ActiveX can do and I only do know one thing it can do ... So what I want to know here is what things is ActiveX Capable on doing ????

Wreck your PC is the right answer and has already been given. If there is something else in particular that you want to do locally, for your own use/enjoyment, why not open a new thread here in Other on that topic and just forget about Active X. Most likely anything that Active X can do locally can more safely be accomplished via other methods.

[pcbrainbuster]

It can't be done any other way, for the the way I want it...

[boxxertrumps]

use a page with java embedded.
There's also the fact that we don't know how to use activeX because we never learned it because it is the scourge of the internet.
so go learn Java or C++.

[tech_support]

Err....
NO
You Can't control the mouse using ActiveX.

[boxxertrumps]

really? i'd expect that you are able to use html pages the same way for your background and IE...
I shall read up on this.

[pcbrainbuster]

Learning Java or C++ is not as easy as eating pie...


i'd expect that you are able to use html pages the same way for your background and IE...
What do you mean by this? (if you meen that you can use a html page as a background for your dekstop then yes you can, thats what active desktop is (if your running windows then right click on the desktop and then go to the wallpaper tab then click browse then find you html/htm page...))

[boxxertrumps]

i was pointing out whether or not you can embed a working applet into the html for your desktop.
i asked on the sun forum here:
http://forum.java.sun.com/thread.jspa?threadID=5163473

[pcbrainbuster]

Another thing is that with ActiveX I want to set the cursor in general (I mean that I want the cursor to be of my cjhoice even when the cursor is not on the desktop, so to do this I must change it through the page on my desktop which shall edit the registry where it defines the uri/url of the location of the new cursor...)

Whats the difference between uri and url?

[pcbrainbuster]

I guess the question now becomes how do I edit the registry throguh ActiveX...

[boxxertrumps]

We Don't Know.

There's also the fact that we don't know how to use activeX because we never learned it because it is the scourge of the internet.
I already told you...

[pcbrainbuster]

I wan't asking... I was just rephrasing the question because its now changed...

I guess I'm gonna have to go hard core on the internet and spend alot of time looking for the answer...

[Twey]

Whats the difference between uri and url?Read the Wikipedia article: Uniform Resource Identifier (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Resource_Identifier).

[pcbrainbuster]

Hmm, OK.

[pcbrainbuster]

I see that mwinter is here (logged in) and am wondering if he knows anything about ActiveX :p, please don't post anything evil and please tell me where I may find any info on registry editing...

[mwinter]

I see that mwinter is here (logged in) and am wondering if he knows anything about ActiveX :p

No, not really. Sorry.



please don't post anything evil

Would I do that?



and please tell me where I may find any info on registry editing...

Aside from the MSDN references for RegKeyOpenEx, and the like?

Mike

[pcbrainbuster]

Well atleast you posted :) -


Would I do that?
Alot of things have changed my friend, maybe you should check some posts and see the new history of people...


Aside from the MSDN references for RegKeyOpenEx, and the like?
I heard you know alot of things (this and another number of posts you made proves that), and not direct editing from the regedit file but rather ActiveX, though I think I should explain why -

I plan on making an ActiveX Active Desktop for my self to make doing certain things easier (eg cursor changing, options... But to do that I need to know how to edit the registry through ActiveX)...

[mburt]

You could do that, which I very highly don't enforce. Or you could try to pick up a programming language with a form of wxWidgets (to make life easier) and create your own program.

[pcbrainbuster]

Just to get things straight, what is a wxWidget? And isn't learning a PL gonna be very hard...

[mburt]

what is a wxWidget?
Like I said, it makes life easier.
It could be as simple as a compilation of functions.
For example, if I made a JavaScript function writeloop();

function writeloop(start,finish,increment) {
for (var i = start;i < finish;i = i + increment) {
document.write(i);
}
};
and put it in a seperate file, say "external.js". All I would have to do is:

<script src="external.js"></script> Which you may consider to be a header file in programming languages.
Then call the function, say writeloop(20,100,10);
Makes it easier to do certain things.


And isn't learning a PL gonna be very hard...
Well, time-consuming maybe, but not hard.

[mwinter]

Alot of things have changed my friend, maybe you should check some posts and see the new history of people...

Erm, you'll have to be a little more explicit.



I plan on making an ActiveX Active Desktop for my self to make doing certain things easier (eg cursor changing, options... But to do that I need to know how to edit the registry through ActiveX)...

The registry would be edited using the Win32 registry functions, or wrappers for them, just as one would use when writing Windows software.



Just to get things straight, what is a wxWidget?

Google is a wonderful thing, you know (hint :p), but wxWidgets is a cross-platform toolkit for developing GUIs.



And isn't learning a PL gonna be very hard...

Depends on the language. Time is usually the bigger issue.

Mike

[pcbrainbuster]

Well I did not think anyone was going to understand what PL was so congrats on that, plus mwinter the funny thing is everone says the same thing about google :) (can't blame 'em)...


The registry would be edited using the Win32 registry functions, or wrappers for them, just as one would when writing Windows software.

You lost me here but mainly with the win32 part (its been repeated so many times but I guess I'll google it now :p)... While then explain what you mean :)

[pcbrainbuster]

Ok I have googled it and came up with -

An API for running 32-bit Windows applications under Windows NT and Windows 95. The Win32 APIs of Windows NT and Windows 95 vary. To use Microsoft's "Designed for Windows NT" logo, applications must run under Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 95...

And obviously am confused :p, and by that line did you mean that... errr...what did you mean? -

me+that_line=confused+:confused:

[mwinter]

[...] everone says the same thing about google

It only a takes a moment to have a look and see if anything helpful turns up, and at least you can say you tried. :)



You lost me here but mainly with the win32 part (its been repeated so many times but I guess I'll google it now :p)... While then explain what you mean :)

Win32 is a reference to the 32-bit versions of Windows OS: any of them from '95 onwards. Each of these versions share a common API, though obviously each new version added new features to the programming interface. The API includes many different categories, from managing memory and threads, to I/O and graphics. Registry handling functions are included as one of those categories.

A summary: you'd have to use the same functions that application programmers use when writing to the registry.

Mike

[pcbrainbuster]

Hmmm OK Thanks :), anyway I sent an email to Microsoft regarding this and expect there email in two days :p and obviously I asked where I may find info :)...

Here is a script I found while surfing the net about this -

var snap = new ActiveXObject("HTMLSNAP2.HtmlSnap.1");
snap.SetTimeOut(200000);

snap.SnapUrl("http://www.google.com/", "google.jpg");
snap.GetThumbnailImage("google.jpg", "gs.jpg", 100, 100, 1);
snap = null

Except it takes a screenshot of the site set in the SnapUrl part... This is just a file called simple.js and when you double click it, it starts taking the screenshot of the url mensioned and then creates a thumbnail size...

Then I deleted the software and this stopped working... It was called HTML snapshot I think... Heres the help file which has more info -

[djr33]

Have you considered using Linux?

Windows isn't designed for what you want.... go make your own customizations to a linux distribution and there ya go.

[pcbrainbuster]

I'm sorry but I think I am going to stick to IE and Windows for life :) I think I trust you lot enough to tell you that I work in Microsoft's Vista Development Team and am not 13 but rather 25 and am the best C++/Java/Python programmer there ...

Have I took you by suprise? / Was there suspision?


go make your own customizations to a linux distribution and there ya go
Trust me on this, everything I really do need is on windows and I like being able to do things on my own eg programming without another program or windows part to do it for me if you know what I mean...

You lot have to check this out-
http://4umi.com/web/javascript/filewrite.htm

How de he/she do it! It didn't even give me a prompt...

Intead of a file upload it has a save as thing goin on!

[Twey]

That is your prompt.

The script basically calls the "save as" function, as when you click File -> Save As.
I think I trust you lot enough to tell you that I work in Microsoft's Vista Development Team and am not 13 but rather 25 and am the best C++/Java/Python programmer there ...I'd believe it.

[jscheuer1]

I'm sorry but I think I am going to stick to IE and Windows for life :) I think I trust you lot enough to tell you that I work in Microsoft's Vista Development Team and am not 13 but rather 25 and am the best C++/Java/Python programmer there ...

Have I took you by suprise? / Was there suspision?

Then ask someone at work about Active X and stop bothering us.

[pcbrainbuster]

I thought no one was going to believe that - lol :p, I am 13 and do not work for Microsoft and am not good at those languages :p

[mburt]

No one said that you worked at Microsoft. And now we know you're 13, so we won't ask. But seriously, how import is ActiveX? If all you need to do is change the cursor, that' not really necessary.

[boxxertrumps]

pcbrainbuster, Don't lie anymore. It's not helping other people's perception of you.

[pcbrainbuster]

Uh, fine...

But its not just a matter of changing the cursor but making tasks easier (theres more to just this)...

WooHoo I can now program the registry ! And some other stuff :)...

But there is one thing, to be able to do something as simple as changing the mouse cursor you have to have the knowlegde of the following -

1. Knowledge of how to program registry through coding, check
2. Knowledge of where the registry key is located, check

As you can see I know how to do both the things except when you do set the location of the cursor in the key it does not update until you restart but when you do it through the maon control in the control panel and set the cursor from there it updates straight away...

Its obvious that it is registry related and I need to know what has happened...

And by the way the key is located at - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Cursors\Arrow

[tech_support]

Good for you. You can destroy your computer by damaging the registry etc.

The registry is a very dangerous thing. It can destroy your computer. It can void your computer's warranty. It can corrupt your Windows.

If you think that editing the registry is a breeze, well, IT'S NOT.
Using ActiveX can delete your whole registry.

Whatever you do, make sure you don't destroy your computer in the process.


I think I trust you lot enough to tell you that I work in Microsoft's Vista Development Team and am not 13 but rather 25 and am the best C++/Java/Python programmer there ...

Have I took you by suprise? / Was there suspision?

Then shut up. You should know about ActiveX better then we do :p We know that you don't work in Microsoft's Vista Development Team because there isn't a such thing. Stop lying.



But its not just a matter of changing the cursor but making tasks easier (theres more to just this)...

What's the point of changing the cursor? You're just annoying people.

//And, stop posting multiple times. Use the "Edit" button.

EDIT: And, I'm not trying to slap you in the face or anything, but it just must be said :)

[mwinter]

But there is one thing, to be able to do something as simple as changing the mouse cursor you have to have the knowlegde of the following -

1. Knowledge of how to program registry through coding, check
2. Knowledge of where the registry key is located, check

That would seem a rather round-about way, but it depends why you're changing the cursor. A permanent system-wide change may require editing the registry (it depends how, exactly, the SetSystemCursor (http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/winui/winui/windowsuserinterface/resources/cursors/cursorreference/cursorfunctions/setsystemcursor.asp) function works - I've never used it), but changing it for some specific purpose can be achieved using the SetCursor (http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/winui/winui/windowsuserinterface/resources/cursors/cursorreference/cursorfunctions/setcursor.asp) function.



The registry is a very dangerous thing.

It can be, but I think you're being a little melodramatic.



It can destroy your computer.

No, it can't.



It can void your computer's warranty.

Doubtful. Opening the case and clear negligence (cleaning the case by pouring a bucket of water over it) are ways to void the warranty.



It can corrupt your Windows.

Most certainly.



If you think that editing the registry is a breeze, well, IT'S NOT.

It is, but you do need to understand the consequences of any actions.



Using ActiveX can delete your whole registry.

ActiveX is irrelevant with regard to that statement, and again, you're being melodramatic.





I think I trust you lot enough to tell you that I work in Microsoft's Vista Development Team and am not 13 but rather 25 and am the best C++/Java/Python programmer there ...

[...] Stop lying.

He wasn't. He was joking.



What's the point of changing the cursor? You're just annoying people.

People as in "us" because no-one here can offer real help, or people in general?

Mike

[tech_support]

No, it can't.
It's possible.

People as in "us" because no-one here can offer real help, or people in general?
People in general.

He wasn't. He was joking.
I knew that :)

Doubtful. Opening the case and clear negligence (cleaning the case by pouring a bucket of water over it) are ways to void the warranty.
If your buying your computer from Dell/HP, and you mess up your registry, it isn't covered by the warranty. They'll most certainly charge you for fixing it.

It is, but you do need to understand the consequences of any actions.
It's quite complicated (editing the registry), and it does require some certain level of intelligence.

It can be, but I think you're being a little melodramatic.
I might be, but it's just a precaution so he doesn't come back saying "I killed my computer!" :p

Anyways, it is up to him whether he wants to play around with the registry or not.

[mwinter]

[Editing the registry] can destroy your computer.

No, it can't.

It's possible.

Destroying a computer implies physical damage. Ruining the registry may render it unbootable without remedial action, but that's not the same as taking a hammer to the motherboard.







What's the point of changing the cursor? You're just annoying people.

People as in "us" because no-one here can offer real help, or people in general?

People in general.

As I understand it, this is for his own use, so don't see how.





He was joking.

I knew that :)

It didn't come across that way, and he seems to be taking a lot of flak at the moment as it is.



If your buying your computer from Dell/HP, and you mess up your registry, it isn't covered by the warranty. They'll most certainly charge you for fixing it.

That's not the same as voiding a warranty. It's also hard for them to prove that the user's at fault without an admission of guilt.

Mike

[jscheuer1]

I'm not certain about this 'editing the registry can destroy your computer' thing. It certainly can make it unusable. However, we weren't simply discussing changing the registry in this thread. Active X can install programs. Changing the registry is simply a possible part of this process. With or without a registry change, a program can destroy your computer.

[boogyman]

computer ?? dunno about the computer as a whole

but yes it can mess up your harddrive

[jscheuer1]

A program that is specifically written to wreck your computer can do so by seeking out times when the computer is idle and likely unattended and using those opportunities to churn the hard drive and any other drives available. Enough of that will kill the drive(s). There may be other components that can be similarly abused.

[pcbrainbuster]

I am confused at one little thing so I will ask that question -
Is the registry a part of Windows or the computer ?

By this I mean if I completely wipe out the registry, would my computer DIE for life and I never will be able to re-install windows?

Because as long as it allows me to re-install all is alright...


It's quite complicated (editing the registry), and it does require some certain level of intelligence.
So not true... Its completely easy, which idiot would want to edit the registry without knowing how it works , I basically understand it...


It didn't come across that way, and he seems to be taking a lot of flak at the moment as it is.

Are yo saying I'm being shot? (flak is a gun/ammo (not sure))...

And while then I will be checkin out mwinter's link :)

\\edit- I checked it out and am confused if it is a program code or script code and if it is a script code then, me+that_code=huh :p

[boogyman]

Registry is part of the computer itself. it is a sequence of commands that tells what to boot and allow access to. Altering your registry directly affects the computer itself, therefore it alters your OS. and your computer wouldn't die for life itself, but you would need to replace the damaged component(s).


which idiot would want to edit the registry without knowing how it works
you would be surprised what people do

[pcbrainbuster]

So... I now seem to understand what you all ment by "DESTROY YOU COMPUTER" but my mind still has not changed :)...

I still don't understand how the system can change the cursor in a second and when I do it manually it is after a reboot! Guess I'll look it up...

[Twey]

Wow, there's a lot of misinformation in this thread.
I'm not certain about this 'editing the registry can destroy your computer' thing. It certainly can make it unusable. However, we weren't simply discussing changing the registry in this thread. Active X can install programs. Changing the registry is simply a possible part of this process. With or without a registry change, a program can destroy your computer.Well yes, but being as this is a local page, with no Internet access, written by its user, I don't think it's likely to do anything untoward.
computer ?? dunno about the computer as a whole

but yes it can mess up your harddriveIt can mess up the Windows installation, if you're unlucky. Usually it will just break whatever used the altered key. The registry is just a conglomeration of configuration information (now there's a tongue twister) for applications on the system. It's basically just a "neater" place to store data than in files. If you enter invalid data for something, then the next time an application tries to read it, it'll get confused and break. This includes Windows. There's also the added risk that if the structure of the registry as a whole is corrupted, Windows will simply refuse to boot. However,
Registry is part of the computer itself. it is a sequence of commands that tells what to boot and allow access to. Altering your registry directly affects the computer itself, therefore it alters your OS. and your computer wouldn't die for life itself, but you would need to replace the damaged component(s).No it doesn't. The registry is nothing more than a structured place to store data, and it's just a file on the hard drive (on Win9x, this was called something like system.dat; in NT versions, it's stored in the regedit.exe executable itself). The worst you can do is cause Windows to read silly values from it (or refuse to read it at all due to corruption), in which case a reinstall of the OS is all that's necessary. In fact, fixing the corrupted data is all that's necessary, but quite often it's not possible to determine exactly where this is.
Are yo saying I'm being shot? (flak is a gun/ammo (not sure))...Metaphorically, yes. "To take flak" means to be the butt of scorn, insults or negative opinions, usually as the result of an action.
I still don't understand how the system can change the cursor in a second and when I do it manually it is after a reboot! Guess I'll look it up...Try the SetSystemCursor() call that Mike/mwinter described.

[pcbrainbuster]

No it doesn't. The registry is nothing more than a structured place to store data, and it's just a file on the hard drive (on Win9x, this was called something like system.dat; in NT versions, it's stored in the regedit.exe executable itself). The worst you can do is cause Windows to read silly values from it (or refuse to read it at all due to corruption), in which case a reinstall of the OS is all that's necessary. In fact, fixing the corrupted data is all that's necessary, but quite often it's not possible to determine exactly where this is.
So it can't damage my computer beyond re-installation (so I can still re-install my windows if say the registry is completely gone)?


Try the SetSystemCursor() call that Mike/mwinter described.

At this point I am confused as I don't know how to use it in any way (eg how to call it, need examples) and I guess I should have mad the question more general, how does ANY configuration get set in a second and take affect immediatly while manual gets configured also in a second but reuiqres a reboot to take affect?

Thanks guys, I really appreciate your help and the stop-age of flak :p

[boogyman]

yes you can just re-install your OS. technically speaking you could just create a new partition, however it would be better if you just started all over and delete your current partition and just write over it, thus deleting all your previously stored data

and guess I need to look more into the inner workings of a computer before I open my mouth like that again :| thanks for the clarification Twey. good thing im going back to school for electrical engineering next fall

[pcbrainbuster]

Well thanks :)

[jscheuer1]

I'm not certain about this 'editing the registry can destroy your computer' thing. It certainly can make it unusable. However, we weren't simply discussing changing the registry in this thread. Active X can install programs. Changing the registry is simply a possible part of this process. With or without a registry change, a program can destroy your computer.

Well yes, but being as this is a local page, with no Internet access, written by its user, I don't think it's likely to do anything untoward.

Once you allow local access for Active X, anything you might download to try out locally could have free reign. If you are in the habit of doing this sort of thing (using Active X locally) in the first place, you are just a stone's throw away from downloading or cutting and pasting code to run locally that could destroy the machine.

Also, constantly reinstalling the OS is a real pain and cannot be all that good for the hardware, let alone what can happen to the hardware if a truly malicious program gets activated.

If your idea of using your machine is to see how you can mess it up and then reinstalling the OS each time, you are not really doing much else than learning how to mess up computers.

To really learn all that much about a usable language or program, your OS must be stable enough for you to be able to keep around the results of your work and to build upon them.

[boogyman]

OS is a real pain and cannot be all that good for the hardware
on average I do 3 formats a year just to clean out my system and I have never had a problem with it.

[jscheuer1]

on average I do 3 formats a year just to clean out my system and I have never had a problem with it.

That's not excessive, I wouldn't expect much trouble doing that. Doing it three times a week, that's another story. But, most folks prefer keeping their data and installed programs intact without having to restore from backup periodically, even if only three times a year.

[Twey]

Reinstalling Windows is fairly painless and necessary to keep running at peak performance. After installation, performance steadily decreases, due to the crud that accumulates in hidden places. Most power users reinstall their Windows systems once or twice a year, more often if the system is compromised by a human or a particularly nasty piece of malware. It has no negative effect on the hardware, other than that of normal heavy use.
Once you allow local access for Active X, anything you might download to try out locally could have free reign. If you are in the habit of doing this sort of thing (using Active X locally) in the first place, you are just a stone's throw away from downloading or cutting and pasting code to run locally that could destroy the machine.Well yes, but in order to give a web page the same local access that this page enjoys, it would be necessary to save it, manually edit it and remove the Mark of the Web, then open it up. I don't see a great likelihood of this happening.
If your idea of using your machine is to see how you can mess it up and then reinstalling the OS each time, you are not really doing much else than learning how to mess up computers.I don't know, quite a lot can be learnt from mistakes. Virtual machines such as VMWare, VirtualPC, or qemu save a lot of reinstallation here, though.
To really learn all that much about a usable language or program, your OS must be stable enough for you to be able to keep around the results of your work and to build upon them.Perhaps pcbrainbuster has a spare machine (physical or virtual) set aside for tinkering with? It would be the logical path.
So it can't damage my computer beyond re-installation (so I can still re-install my windows if say the registry is completely gone)? Correct.
At this point I am confused as I don't know how to use it in any way (eg how to call it, need examples)Nor do we, from JScript.
and I guess I should have mad the question more general, how does ANY configuration get set in a second and take affect immediatly while manual gets configured also in a second but reuiqres a reboot to take affect?The answer's the same.

I'd suspect that what happens is that Windows reads that value from the registry when it starts, and uses SetSystemCursor() to set the cursor. When you simply updated the registry value, nothing happened until you restarted, because SetSystemCursor() wasn't called until you restarted.

[mburt]

Reinstalling Windows is fairly painless and necessary to keep running at peak performance. After installation, performance steadily decreases, due to the crud that accumulates in hidden places. Most power users reinstall their Windows systems once or twice a year, more often if the system is compromised by a human or a particularly nasty piece of malware. It has no negative effect on the hardware, other than that of normal heavy use.
Necessary? It's more than necessary. Windows XP gets so full of crap (excuse the vulgar term) that it's performance actually slows down. It makes it hard to uninstall programs as well, sometimes giving you a "this program already has an open handle" error.
Right now I have two drives, which I use the second one as a slave and copy all my data. If I need to format, it's easy: just format, and then get the files from my HD (which by the way is for only storing files, and has no OS). Formatting Windows operating systems works really well if you know what you're doing. I did it once last year, and plan to do it again soon.

//EDIT: I'm installing Ubuntu today, and I've had enough of this Windows garbage :p

Back to the ActiveX question. Personally I think messing with your registry is plain stupidity, which is why I like FireFox even more. Internet Explorer shouldn't be allowed to use ActiveX. The only thing I've ever seen it useful for is xml/http requests, when you need to do a browser check for AJAX.

[boogyman]

//EDIT: I'm installing Ubuntu today, and I've had enough of this Windows garbage
HAHA :-p

[pcbrainbuster]

If your idea of using your machine is to see how you can mess it up and then reinstalling the OS each time, you are not really doing much else than learning how to mess up computers.

To really learn all that much about a usable language or program, your OS must be stable enough for you to be able to keep around the results of your work and to build upon them.
Well... To tell the truth I came to being good at computers because of destroying it, and thats why I have my external 300GB hard drive (to keep all my work on)...


Reinstalling Windows is fairly painless and necessary to keep running at peak performance. After installation, performance steadily decreases, due to the crud that accumulates in hidden places.
Thats why Windows has a Disk Defragment program...


Perhaps pcbrainbuster has a spare machine (physical or virtual) set aside for tinkering with? It would be the logical path.
Well... Not really :), as mensioned I simply backup my work on my 300GB-HD...


I'd suspect that what happens is that Windows reads that value from the registry when it starts, and uses SetSystemCursor() to set the cursor. When you simply updated the registry value, nothing happened until you restarted, because SetSystemCursor() wasn't called until you restarted.
I'm sure this is not completely true as Windows would need hundreds of functions in the ready to run WIndows smoothly...


//EDIT: I'm installing Ubuntu today, and I've had enough of this Windows garbage

Well technically saying this makes ALOT of 'propper' coders lesser then garbage...


Back to the ActiveX question. Personally I think messing with your registry is plain stupidity, which is why I like FireFox even more. Internet Explorer shouldn't be allowed to use ActiveX. The only thing I've ever seen it useful for is xml/http requests, when you need to do a browser check for AJAX.
Compared to C++, Java etc... ActiveX is a way easier thing to learn while having around the same power... And I am not messing with my registry as long as I do know what I am doing...

[djr33]

Thats why Windows has a Disk Defragment program...No. Defragmenting is a process by which you rearrange the actual data written on the drive to be in the right order, so that you don't have a lot of random chunks of files in hard to reach places, so that it's faster to find all bits of info... imagine a drawer full of papers that suddenly was organized by class. Etc.
This does not get rid of any files or clean any files... etc.


I'm sure this is not completely true as Windows would need hundreds of functions in the ready to run WIndows smoothly...Haha. Are you kidding? You must be.
I've written scripts with dozens of functions.... windows must have thousands, perhaps millions.


Well technically saying this makes ALOT of 'propper' coders lesser then garbage...
Let's see.... you mean 'proper', and 'less than'... but I still can't figure out what you are trying to say.


Compared to C++, Java etc... ActiveX is a way easier thing to learn while having around the same power... And I am not messing with my registry as long as I do know what I am doing...Easier? Maybe easier, yet none of us know it, and some of us know the others. ActiveX is not meant for this... you could also compile PHP as an exe, but that's not it's job, so it would be annoying to deal with.
With ActiveX, you run into security problems.
Just like C++ or Java, running ActiveX on your system gives it full control, just like an .exe of either of those.
And it isn't as good, in that if you want to control your system you should use something stable, like a .exe, so you can do it the right way rather than the easy way.
<center> is easier, but <div style="align: center;"> is better.
Programming is not for the lazy, though I'm lazy... I just am not so lazy that I won't do things the right way... in most cases.

And... huh? Editing your registry is changing it... the end. Right or wrong, it IS manipulating it. Your second sentence makes no sense. If I know what I'm doing and I jump off a bridge, that is still bad. Or if I know what I'm doing and I stand up, that is still doing something.... it's still messing with my current position. Same with messing with your registry.

[Twey]

Thats why Windows has a Disk Defragment program...There are other issues than fragmentation (which, by the way, happens only with FAT and NTFS, not any other filesystems I know of).
Well... Not really :), as mensioned I simply backup my work on my 300GB-HD...That works somewhat, although you still have to reinstall when things go wrong. I'd definitely suggest a virtual machine.
I'm sure this is not completely true as Windows would need hundreds of functions in the ready to run WIndows smoothly...This is a computer. I daresay there are thousands of functions called at startup to set everything right.
Compared to C++, Java etc... ActiveX is a way easier thing to learn while having around the same power...You're not learning ActiveX. ActiveX controls are written natively, which probably means C or C++. What you are learning to do is use existing ActiveX controls through a binding provided to the JScript engine by the Windows Scripting Host.

[pcbrainbuster]

Thats why Windows has a Disk Defragment program...
I ment thats used to speed up the computer...


I'm sure this is not completely true as Windows would need hundreds of functions in the ready to run WIndows smoothly...
Got a little confused here but I was ment to say that the registry would need hundreds of seperate functions to do what I am looking for (eg to make the cursor update you got to use that ste cursor thing)...


You're not learning ActiveX. ActiveX controls are written natively, which probably means C or C++. What you are learning to do is use existing ActiveX controls through a binding provided to the JScript engine by the Windows Scripting Host.
This suggests that ActiveX is something different then what I do... Please explain...


Easier? Maybe easier, yet none of us know it, and some of us know the others.
You don't have to know it to know if it is complicated or not, you can compare its use to JavaScript as JavaScript uses methods, properties and what not which is how ActiveX works (with JS)...


Well technically saying this makes ALOT of 'propper' coders lesser then garbage...
I meant that if mburt or anyone calls Windows garbage in general or any other OS then they are in a sense suggesting that any coder who can not build an OS is something worth less then garbage (eg you, me, Twey...)...

[Twey]

I meant that if mburt or anyone calls Windows garbage in general or any other OS then they are in a sense suggesting that any coder who can not build an OS is something worth less then garbage (eg you, me, Twey...)...Huh? I don't have the slightest clue about, for example, motorbikes. If I were to build a motorbike with what I know, it would be garbage. That doesn't mean I'm useless.
If I were to build said garbage motorbike, however, I would notice that it's garbage, and I certainly wouldn't release it to the general public as if it were a finished product. I'd build it again, probably learning more first this time around.
This suggests that ActiveX is something different then what I do... Please explain..."Learning ActiveX" suggests you're actually learning to build ActiveX controls, with all the intricacies involved. What you're doing is using existing ActiveX controls, via an interface that means you don't really have to touch ActiveX itself.
Got a little confused here but I was ment to say that the registry would need hundreds of seperate functions to do what I am looking for (eg to make the cursor update you got to use that ste cursor thing)...The registry doesn't have any functions at all (although there are functions stored elsewhere to access the registry). As I said before, it's just somewhere to store data. I don't understand what you're getting at here.
I ment thats used to speed up the computer...No, it's used to combat one factor in the decline in Windows' performance that results from steady usage. There are others.

[pcbrainbuster]

I meant that if mburt or anyone calls Windows garbage in general or any other OS then they are in a sense suggesting that any coder who can not build an OS is something worth less then garbage (eg you, me, Twey...)...
Garbage in terms of coding and not garbage in general...


Got a little confused here but I was ment to say that the registry would need hundreds of seperate functions to do what I am looking for (eg to make the cursor update you got to use that ste cursor thing)...
I meant that functions to use at the registry and not functions the registry uses (eg that seCursor thing is one function used in scripting at the registry)...

[boxxertrumps]

The fact is that many coders know that windows IS garbage.
If i had the same resources as MS, and the same team of coders (plus twey and mburt, they know how to program...) I would be able to manage the creation of the OS better than windows, easily.
The company is predatory, MS devotes millions to ads instead of making the product better, hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of virus', overpriced for the quality, horrible quality...
Need i go on?

[pcbrainbuster]

Its not that easy what so ever (there is a reason for why there are around 20 OSs)...

[Twey]

I meant that functions to use at the registry and not functions the registry uses (eg that seCursor thing is one function used in scripting at the registry)...Er, yes, the registry is used by lots of things. I'm not sure what you mean by "at the registry" though.

[boxxertrumps]

Windows, Mac, Solaris, Many many linux distros, BSD... 20?
I dont get it...
EDIT: major ones.
All BSD, mac and windows varients count as bsd, Mac and windows.
AIX, AmigaOS, HP-UX, i5/OS, IRIX, Inferno, Linux, Mac OS X, NetWare, OpenVMS, OS/2, BSD, Plan 9, Solaris, Windows, RISC OS, ZETA, STOP 6 / XTS-400, ReactOS.
I'd guess this is a list of most, if not all.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_operating_systems

[pcbrainbuster]

Oh crud thats a lot, but still...


I meant that functions to use at the registry and not functions the registry uses (eg that seCursor thing is one function used in scripting at the registry)...

I meant functions that are used to manipulate the registry...

[mwinter]

I'm sure this is not completely true as Windows would need hundreds of functions in the ready to run WIndows smoothly...

I don't know the number offhand, but the Windows API does have hundreds of entry points.





I'm installing Ubuntu today, and I've had enough of this Windows garbage

Well technically saying this makes ALOT of 'propper' coders lesser then garbage...

No, it doesn't. It's a comment on the product, not necessarily the programmers. I'm sure the authors are very talented, but that doesn't mean much if management forces them to release a product early.



Compared to C++, Java etc... ActiveX is a way easier thing to learn while having around the same power...

Given that you'd have to learn a programming language (C, C++, VB, and possibly .NET languages) before "learning" ActiveX, you've got a steep hill to climb to get that power.



Got a little confused here but I was ment to say that the registry would need hundreds of seperate functions to do what I am looking for (eg to make the cursor update you got to use that ste cursor thing)...

The SetSystemCursor function doesn't alter the registry (as far as I know). It should alter the cursor directly, though as I wrote earlier, I've not used it.



I meant functions that are used to manipulate the registry...

The only functions used to manipulate the registry are the Reg* family, like RegDeleteTree, RegKeyOpenEx, etc.

Mike

[pcbrainbuster]

I don't know the number offhand, but the Windows API does have hundreds of entry points.
Not sure what an entry point is but I will look it up and at the same time would appreciate it if you tell me what it is as I may not have time to look it up...


Given that you'd have to learn a programming language (C, C++, VB, and possibly .NET languages) before "learning" ActiveX, you've got a steep hill to climb to get that power.

I sort of figured that out when Twey told me that I was working with existing controls and not with ActiveX directly (if you know what I mean) :)...


The SetSystemCursor function doesn't alter the registry (as far as I know). It should alter the cursor directly, though as I wrote earlier, I've not used it.
This would not make sense in any way if it ws true as there is not any other location for all the possible edits you can make to the registry...

And I have to ask - whats your age and are the few days you have been posting your first after 2005/6?

[mwinter]

Not sure what an entry point is but I will look it up and at the same time would appreciate it if you tell me what it is as I may not have time to look it up...

An entry point is exactly what it sounds like.





The SetSystemCursor function doesn't alter the registry (as far as I know). It should alter the cursor directly, though as I wrote earlier, I've not used it.

This would not make sense in any way if it ws true as there is not any other location for all the possible edits you can make to the registry...

Perhaps you should read the first sentence again more carefully.



And I have to ask - whats your age and are the few days you have been posting your first after 2005/6?

Irrelevant, and you can check my post history yourself.

Mike

[pcbrainbuster]

Perhaps you should read the first sentence again more carefully.
Guess I should put it more generally, it does not make sense for you to edit something like the cursor if there isn't anywhere to store the new data, basically the directory for the cursor is put in the reigistry sp editing it directly wou;d be editing it through the directory...

[mburt]

I assume the function inadvertently edits the registry, it has to be saved somewhere.

[Twey]

It can be stored in RAM for the duration of the session. Only when rebooting need it be saved to the registry. Thus, I doubt the SetSystemCursor() function modifies the registry.

[pcbrainbuster]

Ok now that makes sense :), and for those who don't know -

RAM stands for Random-Access-Memory...
Its data is accessed randomly just as its name suggests...

Other drives like a simple Hard Drive has an order of which it's data is accessed...

Well thats all I know :), Probably wrong though but its close to that...

[boxxertrumps]

I have a book on micros that describe what ram is...
It also describes the apple2 as new.
(i always leave the R out of describe for some reason...)

[mburt]

Its data is accessed randomly just as its name suggests...
Not necessarily randomely, but when it is needed, or when a process is called.

[pcbrainbuster]

No ... I ment how its accessed and not when it is...

[mwinter]

Other drives like a simple Hard Drive has an order of which it's data is accessed...

A hard disk is not really any more ordered than volatile memory. However, solid state devices have an advantage over disks in that there are no waiting times imposed by moving parts. To read a particular piece of data, the read/write heads must be rotated to the correct cylinder (which takes time), and then the controller must wait until the appropriate sector is under the heads before reading.

Mike

[pcbrainbuster]

Holy crud, how do you even know things like that?...

[tech_support]

It's something called "learning" :)

[pcbrainbuster]

I knew that...Yeah, yeah...I did... :p

[Shotgun Ninja]

Hey, can anyone here tell me if it's possible to use any web coding language to make a page that can display 3D model files (*.x or *.obj, ASCII-based industry standard) in a frame or other container? And possibly give the user the ability to edit model files? Just asking.

[boxxertrumps]

vector graphics manipulated with JS.
but for anything complex, you need a program/java applett to do the work...
Im positive that java can render 3d objects, like in the game runescape.

[djr33]

You've been here long enough to know not to double post.
http://www.dynamicdrive.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20274