storytelling – Page 5

My New Chromium Build PC

While I do most of my work in an office, from time to time I work on code changes to Chromium at home. With the recent deprecation of Jumbo Builds, building the browser on my cheap 2016-era Dell XPS 8900 (i7-6700K) went from unpleasant to impractical. While I pondered buying a high-end Threadripper, I couldn’tContinue reading “My New Chromium Build PC”

Retiring Internet Explorer

Prelude In late 2004, I was the Program Manager for Microsoft’s clipart website, delivering a million pieces of clipart to Microsoft Office customers every day. It was great fun. But there was a problem– our “Clip of the Day” feature, meant to spotlight a new and topical piece of clipart every day, wasn’t changing asContinue reading “Retiring Internet Explorer”

An Update on the Edge XSS Filter

In Windows 10 RS5 (aka the “October 2018 Update”), the venerable XSS Filter first introduced in 2008 with IE8 was removed from Microsoft Edge. The XSS Filter debuted in a time before Content Security Policy as a part of a basket of new mitigations designed to mitigate the growing exploitation of cross-site scripting attacks, joining older features like HTTPOnlyContinue reading “An Update on the Edge XSS Filter”

Back Home

I rejoined Microsoft as a Principal Program Manager for the web networking team on June 4th, 2018. I’m delighted to be back working with lots of old friends from my Internet Explorer days, as well as lots of new folks who’ve joined while I’ve been pursuing other adventures.

What If?

Spoiler alert If you haven’t read For a Lark yet, please go read that first. What If? I like to think. Well, actually, I’m not sure I like to think, but I find it really hard to relax and let my brain rest… given a few minutes of idle time, I usually find myself deep inContinue reading “What If?”

For a Lark

“Happy Holidays” David said as he poked his head into my office, handing me an unwrapped holiday card featuring a kitten in a Santa hat. As I took it, I nearly dropped a small white envelope that slipped out from inside. The inscription in the card read simply “Best wishes, David – 2010.” “Uh, thanks,Continue reading “For a Lark”

The Muse

There’s a writer living in my head, and he’s a genius. Or so he tries to convince me, as his prose flows freely day in and out, filling most idle moments– while I’m showering, driving, dining, taking out the trash, or performing any of the other mundane tasks of daily life. His prose is brilliant–Continue reading “The Muse”