In this post, I talk a lot about Microsoft, but it’s not only applicable to Microsoft. It’s once again “Connect Season” at Microsoft, a biannual-ish period when Microsoft employees are tasked with filling out a document about their core priorities, key deliverables, and accomplishments over the past year, concluding with a look ahead to theirContinue reading “Thoughts on Impact”
Author Archives: ericlaw
Unexpectedly HTTPS?
While I’m a firm believer that every site should be using HTTPS, sadly, not every site is yet doing so. Looking at Chrome data, today around 92% of navigations are HTTPS: …and the pages loaded account for around 95% of browsing time: Browsers are working hard to get these numbers up, by locking down non-secureContinue reading “Unexpectedly HTTPS?”
Chromium Internals: PAK Files
Web browsers are made up of much more than the native code (mostly compiled C++) that makes up their .exe and .dll files. A significant portion of the browser’s functionality (and bulk) is what we’d call “resources”, which include things like: Images (at two resolutions, regular and “high-DPI”) Localized UI Strings HTML, JavaScript, and CSSContinue reading “Chromium Internals: PAK Files”
Real-World Running
Yesterday, I ran my first 10K in “the real world”, my first real world run in a long time. Almost eleven years ago I ran a 5K, and 3.5 years ago, I ran a non-competitive 5 miler onThanksgiving. I was a bit worried about how my treadmill training would map to real world running, butContinue reading “Real-World Running”
End of Q1 Check-in
tl;dr: On track. Back in January, I wrote about my New Years’ Resolutions. I’m now 90 days in, and things are continuing to go well. Health and Finance: A dry January. Exceeded. I stopped drinking alcohol on any sort of regular basis; over spring break, I peaked at two drinks per day. Health: Track my weight andContinue reading “End of Q1 Check-in”
Chromium’s DNS Cache
From the mailbag: Q: How long does Chromium cache hostnames? I know a user can clear the hostname cache using the Clear host cache button on about://net-internals/#dns, but how long it will take for the cache to be removed if no manual action is taken? After changing DNS records on my server, nslookup from aContinue reading “Chromium’s DNS Cache”
The “Magical” Back Button
From the mailbag: Eric, when I am on bing.com in Edge or Chrome and I type https://portal.microsoft.com in the address bar, I go through some authentication redirections and end up on the Office website. If I then click the browser’s Back button, I go back to bing.com. But if I try the same thing inContinue reading “The “Magical” Back Button”
Edge/Chrome Policy Registry Entries
One of the more common problems reported by Enterprises is that certain Edge/Chrome policies do not seem to work properly when the values are written to the registry. For instance, when using the about:policy page to examine the browser’s view of the applied policy, the customer might complain that a policy value they’ve entered inContinue reading “Edge/Chrome Policy Registry Entries”
Smarter Defaults by Paying Attention
As a part of every page load, browsers have to make dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of decisions of varying levels of importance: should a particular API be available? Should a resource load be permitted? Should script be allowed to run? Should video be allowed to start playing automatically? Should cookies or credentials be sentContinue reading “Smarter Defaults by Paying Attention”
Mid-February Checkin
tl;dr: On track. Back in January, I wrote about my New Years’ Resolutions. I’m now 45 days in, and things are going pretty well. Health and Finance: A dry January. Dry January has turned into dry February. Beyond idle thoughts “What should I do right now? In the old days, I’d pour myself a drink”Continue reading “Mid-February Checkin”
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