Why You Can't Name A File CON In Windows
Tom Scott0 HN recommenders · 2020–2026
7.8M views · explainer · evergreen · Uploaded 2020-04-20
Tom Scott explains why Windows does not let you name a file CON, tracing the reserved device names back to backwards compatibility with DOS.
Linked as a relevant explainer in threads about Windows quirks and reserved names.
28:03AT&T Archives: Similiarities of Wave Behavior (Bonus Edition)
AT&T Tech Channel
1:24:13Micro Men - 720p (2009)
gimpymoo
47:18The Tragedy of systemd
linux.conf.au
1:21:22Light Years Ahead | The 1969 Apollo Guidance Computer
TNMoC
41:53Mechanical Computer (All Parts) - Basic Mechanisms In Fire Control Computers
Excelsior10000
56:09Project Code Rush - The Beginnings of Netscape / Mozilla Documentary
The Documentary Network
32:56Bret Victor The Future of Programming
Joey Reid
1:07:26Alan Kay - Normal Considered Harmful
powerfuloutlet
4 comments from Hacker News
Excel also has a deliberate bug where it thinks 1900 is a leap year because they wanted compatibility with Lotus 123, where the bug was actually a bug! [0] [0] [VIDEO]
can't speak about the very recent updates, but windows have been consistent and adamant on keeping the backward compatibility. they still use reserved file names for io devices so that 30+ year old printers can still work, and you can still open a 2000s doc file in office 365. (I'm looking at you Apple, who made many of the 32 bit apps I loved useless) relevant video: [VIDEO] (Tom Scott: Why you can't use CON as filename in windows)
It's wild to me some of the things I never knew, even though I've been using Windows or DOS for probably 35 years. For example, I recently learned you can't name a file CON. Try it. Somehow over all those decades, I've never tried to do this until Tom Scott made a video about it: [VIDEO]
Don't think this will ever happen, especially since this is Microsoft you are talking about [0] [0] [VIDEO]