D-Link and MSN, Desktop XML Metadata

According to D-Link, the DSL-500 ADSL Router/Modem does not work too well with MSN Messenger. The release information for the upgrade is rather cryptic – “Revision info: MSN Messenger 6 fix “. There is a bit more information for the DSL-604 – “4. Fix MSN 5.0/6.0 cause device get into debug mode. 5. Add MSN messenger File Transfer when two pc’s behind the router”.

Looking at Sentry.Org I found a page on the D-Link. There is also a link on Whirlpool dealing with lockups of the modem. What I have been able to work out is that the current version of MSN Messenger kills the modem when you try to do a file transfer. This could be related to the DNS Proxy, but I doubt it. I suspect that it is more likely to be related to weird microsoft packets.

There is some more information on an iiNet site about how to upgrade. I should note that the DSL-500 is one of the most reliable pieces of hardware I have found. It just goes and goes and goes. It needs an occasional restart I think, but looking back now I suspect that it didnt really need anything. It just works.

Desktop XML

Useful Inc has an interesting article on using XML to store MetaData, or data about data. In this case it is data about files, including sizes, application type, icon, manufacturer. All the useful stuff that microsoft would have included in the file itself, so that it did not get lost. Whilst I like this idea, there are certain advantages to me with this system. I could use this data format as part of my document software as a standard for when I have drilled down to files from folders. It might make the XML file large, but I dont need to use all the tags when I am creating a file. And it provides expandability.

The article goes onto speak about RDF, and this is a technology I need to look more at too.