What goes on when an app crashes

Ever wonder where that Windows Mobile error report screen comes from, and what information you're actually sending back to Microsoft if you still have the thing turned on? OK, us, either. But it's nice to learn that the reports actually do go somewhere and are read by someone, as the Windows Mobile blog details:

What you might not know is that this window is generated by Watson, which is a component of Windows Error Reporting (WER). Specifically, Watson is the client-side executable that is activated when an unhandled exception occurs on your phone. Watson is responsible for preparing an error report (stack details, system information, variable information, etc), notifying the user about the error (happy window), and with the users consent sending the file to Microsoft (via data or ActiveSync). Assuming the user chooses to send the report, these encrypted files are then added to a WER database where they can be reviewed by Microsoft technical support personnel and Microsoft developers.

There's plenty more developer mumbo jumbo to be had in the full post, but it is an interesting look behind the curtain.