Is there a service pack out yet, if so where? I thought there was but can't find it.

Roy Lambert

ps wouldn't it have been nice if they'd spent a few more pennies on cases for the cd's rather than innovative design for the box?

I've found the service pack - now does anyone know how to turn the welcome page off

Roy Lambert

Roy Lambert wrote:
> I've found the service pack - now does anyone know how to turn the
> welcome page off

Are you being serious?  What's wrong with the Welcome Page?  I've found it
useful in helping me keep up to date with goings-on at Borland without
having to wade through newsgroups or go to their web site.  I just set the
default headlines to show Main Aggregated Feed and I see all the recent
blogs right there.  Plus I really like the resources on the left.  And
getting to the updates is SOOO much easier than remembering where it is on
their web site.

Well, just in case you ARE serious, you could just delete or rename the
Welcomepage directory.  A better idea is to edit default.htm in the
Welcomepage directory to make it display what you want instead of an error
that you would see if you go with the first option.  


--
David Cornelius
dev@corneliusconcepts.com
Software Development and Web Site Design
Cornelius Concepts, Inc.   http://CorneliusConcepts.com

David

>Are you being serious? What's wrong with the Welcome Page? I've found it >
>useful in helping me keep up to date with goings-on at Borland without >
>having to wade through newsgroups or go to their web site. I just set the >
>default headlines to show Main Aggregated Feed and I see all the recent >
>blogs right there. Plus I really like the resources on the left. And >
>getting to the updates is SOOO much easier than remembering where it is on >
>their web site. >


Deadly serious

1. I'm paranoid about what accesses the internet
2. I often work unconnected
3. Although I'm on ADSL now on occasions I do have to go back to dial up
4. I'd prefer to check when I want not when THEY want

But your last point is so right - I'd never have found SP1 if that hadn't been there.

Roy Lambert

Roy,

> 1. I'm paranoid about what accesses the internet

It's just a web page built in to the application--you can even look at the
source!

> 2. I often work unconnected

Wow--I can't even remember what that is like anymore.  I start feeling out
of touch if I'm *not* connected!

> 3. Although I'm on ADSL now on occasions I do have to go back to dial
> up
> 4. I'd prefer to check when I want not when THEY want

I guess I'm on the other end of the spectrum--I like being connected and
getting information as soon as it's available.  I'm not being critical, but
it just surprises me to hear your point of view.  But it's also important to
me to remember, as a developer, there are still many people out there who do
not have a constant or high-speed internet connection.

Regards,


--
David Cornelius
dev@corneliusconcepts.com
Software Development and Web Site Design
Cornelius Concepts, Inc.   http://CorneliusConcepts.com

David,

I'll be opening my summer residence soon where dial-up is
the only thing available.  What makes it worse is that the
rural lines are poor so that I don't even get full speed
dial-up.

"Life is a challenge for the disconnected!"

Jon

David Cornelius wrote:
> Roy,
>
>> 1. I'm paranoid about what accesses the internet
>
> It's just a web page built in to the application--you can even look at the
> source!
>
>> 2. I often work unconnected
>
> Wow--I can't even remember what that is like anymore.  I start feeling out
> of touch if I'm *not* connected!
>
>> 3. Although I'm on ADSL now on occasions I do have to go back to dial
>> up
>> 4. I'd prefer to check when I want not when THEY want
>
> I guess I'm on the other end of the spectrum--I like being connected and
> getting information as soon as it's available.  I'm not being critical, but
> it just surprises me to hear your point of view.  But it's also important to
> me to remember, as a developer, there are still many people out there who do
> not have a constant or high-speed internet connection.
>
> Regards,
>
>

David


>It's just a web page built in to the application--you can even look at the
>source!

Interesting viewpoint - mine is

some program outside of my control is accessing the internet, it can upload or download anything it likes and I have no say in what its doing or the fact that its doing it

I can start and close my web browser, or email client as and when I want. With this I have no idea what its doing, and frankly I see no need to be connected to the internet when programming. I know that makes me a luddite but I don't care

I'd still like to turn it off if anyone knows how.

Roy Lambert

> I'd still like to turn it off if anyone knows how.

Roy,

In my first reply, I told you how to turn it off: simply rename or delete
the "Webpage" directory in \Program Files\Borland\BDS\4.0.  Or, if you don't
want to see the subsequent error, simply edit default.htm in that directory
down to a very simple "Hello World" base of HTML so it won't go out and pull
in those dangerous RSS feeds for you.

David.

David


Doesn't altering / deleting default.htm simply mean that it no longer accesses that web page? What I want is to stop it accessing the web at all.

RSS feeds are very dangerous - I sit and read them rather than getting on with work

On a more serious note doesn't this blow a dirty great big hole in any security strategy. Do you know what has been built into BDS2006 in the way of back doors or potentially malicious code?

Roy Lambert

> Doesn't altering / deleting default.htm simply mean that it no longer
> accesses that web page? What I want is to stop it accessing the web
> at all.

Yes--exactly!  That's what you want isn't it?  BDS simply has a web browser
built in.  No big deal--more and more programs do these days.  But that
doesn't mean it has a security hole in it (unless IE itself is considered a
security hole).  It also doesn't mean that it's going out onto the internet.
It simply means it's parsing a file and displaying it for you.  Have you
ever wondered how come it still shows up when you're not connected?  The
"web page" is just a local file, default.htm.  The browser is simply showing
you the contents of that file.  If you click on a link, it goes to that
link--whether it be a help file on your computer, a PDF on your computer, or
calls a JavaScript function (also on your computer) to open a BDS project
(on your computer).  There are links to connect to the Borland web site and
check for updates and it can pull in RSS feeds for you as well, but I
believe it's main purpose is to give the programmer resources, whether they
be local or remote, not to give Borland a back door.  If they wanted a back
door, they certainly wouldn't have to resort to using a web browser--there
are many other more tricky ways to accomplish that.

> RSS feeds are very dangerous - I sit and read them rather than
> getting on with work

Very good point!  So do I...  

> On a more serious note doesn't this blow a dirty great big hole in
> any security strategy. Do you know what has been built into BDS2006
> in the way of back doors or potentially malicious code?

I don't think it opens a security hole at all.  Do you use Internet
Explorer?  That's all BDS is doing (they've just embedded it into their
application for seamless interaction).  I use Firefox most of the time, but
I also use IE ocassionally as well.  I believe IE is less secure than
Firefox, but I'm only worried about security when I visit a site I'm not
sure about.  I have a virus scanner and WinPatrol running to help watch for
things being run and loaded that I have not authorized.

Of course we don't know all that is built into BDS, but I don't know all the
code behind Word or QuickBooks or the plethora of other applications I use
either.  I have reasonable confidence that personal information is not being
shared and seeing a web browser built into an application is not a warning
sign to me, but rather a technological advancement.  I actually think it's
great that they use an HTML file, because that means I can easily customize
it for my purposes if I so desire.

I'n much more worried about the Windows operating system!  But there are
many people around the world being paid to help keep that in check.



--
David Cornelius