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September 9

help me make my keyboard quiet please?

I live in a dorm and sometimes stay up late. I worry that my typing might bother my room mate. Is there a way to make my keyboard quieter without buying a new keyboard? (eg: would sticking paper between the keys soften the impact of the key on the back of the keyboard?)

I googled this and all i got were keyboards to buy and one ps3 forum that told the person asking my question to just buy a keyboard!

Any thoughts would be great! Thanks!

137.81.113.21 (talk) 06:03, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

I don't know about modifying your keyboard (I guess it depends on how the keyboard works), but there are a couple of free alternative ways to type. Windows has an On-Screen Keyboard included, which you can set up so that leaving the mouse over a button for a specified time will "press the key", and I'd be surprised if OSX and Linux didn't have something similar. There's also a free program called Dasher with which you can "type" by moving the mouse through a set of letters - it takes a bit of getting used to, but with a little practice you can get good speeds. Either of these would be almost silent. AJHW (talk) 10:56, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, I would also suggest to just buy a keyboard. If you have a thrift store in the area, you can probably get one for less than $5. The noise of a keyboard is caused by the mechanical switches under each key, and there's not much you can do about those. Maybe you could take off all the keys and put a layer of foam down, with holes cut for the keys. Sounds like a lot of trouble when you could buy a cheap quieter keyboard. ;) Indeterminate (talk) 04:49, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Installing Minitab

I needed to learn this statistical software in order to ace an interview so i rosorted to install the demo version which had expired (30 days) no as i still have the exe file but when i initate the install process aftrer i have uninstalled the previous one it pops a message, a version of minitab was alredy installed ,please call the customer service to buy the real version, i can't afford it, what do i do now? anyone please help....

Im afraid theres not alot you can do. Im not an expert but companies are pretty good at making sure you cant use their stuff after the trial period. Im sure you can do it anyway, but its usually complicated and illegal! sorry! :)

Try finding a free/open source program thats similar? thats all i can think of.

137.81.113.21 (talk) 07:32, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Disconnect from the Internet, set your system time back to when you still could install, then use a debugger or equivalent, eg strace, to see what files/other stuff the installer accesses and delete them (not blindly everything of course). It's nowhere near 100% guaranteed it will work even then. --194.197.235.240 (talk) 08:57, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Software to make image of contours from grid of data

What software, preferably freeware, can do this please? The data would be for regular x.y coordinates. Thanks 78.146.183.185 (talk) 09:29, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Gnuplot can do that. --Sean 16:17, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

So can GNU Octave: with the ContourScript extension (usually installed by default, I think). The image is graphically displayed with GnuPlot, but this method also gives you access to the contours data. Nimur (talk) 17:41, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

You may also want to look into the GNU Data Language (GDL) at [[1]], and in particular the CONTOUR routine. This is an open source clone of the popular IDL software developed and commercialized by ITT Visual Information Solutions [[2]] Michel M Verstraete (talk) 21:11, 9 September 2009 (UTC).

Overlaying semi-transparantly on another image to make final image

I anticipate having an image of contour lines that I want to use with a map image to create a map-with-contours image. The contour line image would need to become semi-transparant so that the map image shows through. Also the images would have to be moved around and enlarged and reduced so that they register correctly. What software could I use for this please - preferably freeware? Thanks. 78.146.183.185 (talk) 09:35, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Inkscape. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 10:43, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Or GIMP. --Sean 16:19, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Archive request script

Would it be possible to write a script in php that could take the url of a webpage and download the complete page (.hmtl, images, css etc) onto the server where the script is hosted? The url would be entered via a submission form by the end user, they'd click submit and the page would be saved. Something like that. I'm absolutely clueless with php, so if anyone's feeling really kind I certainly wouldn't say no to someone writing the script for me ^_^ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.43.88.99 (talk) 16:16, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes, but why use PHP for this? There are lots of server-archiving programs out there already. See e.g. HTTrack. If you wanted to do it with PHP, I'd recommend using a pre-developed spidering class library (like Snoopy), it will save you a lot of trouble. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 16:53, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I know, but I would like this script to enable someone viewing my site to enter a single url and have the script save it, server side —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.43.88.99 (talk) 17:23, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Maybe you could shell out a call to wget -r. Note it is getting harder and harder to archive stuff as the user sees it, due to javascript/AJAX, flash, streaming media, etc. on the pages 70.90.174.101 (talk) 18:06, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Live Player

What is "Live Player"? An ad for it says "Watch over 1,000 TV channels for free on your PC". The FAQ on its website says it is "ad supported" and uses something called "Favorit Advertising Component". Is there a catch to this? The name reminds me of some common video player software, cannot quite remember the name - quickplayer perhaps? - that is too intrusive when used. I have been using something called Freez online tv - I laugh at the shameless hard selling of very overpriced rubbish on the shopping channels. 84.13.49.79 (talk) 16:58, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Realplayer was notoriously intrusive. My anti-viral software will not let me see the Live Player home page. Not sure what that tells us :) --Tagishsimon (talk) 17:33, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Are there any free programs which would do the same thing please? YouTuibe does not do "live" streaming video as far as I know. 89.242.155.121 (talk) 11:57, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I watch Justin.tv sometimes. Calling what they have "TV channels" might be a bit of a stretch, but it's live. There used to be some software that I used for a while where you could watch all sorts of weird stuff like ESPN China, semi-legally, for free, but it wasn't very reliable and I don't remember the name. Recury (talk) 17:00, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

There are a lot of P2P TV programmes, mostly from China which allow you to watch live TV. They usually aren't that reliable. Most commonly they're used for sporting programmes. There's a website which can help give channels on the live P2P TV programmes for specific events and which should also help you find and use the live P2P TV programmes, I won't mention it here but it should be easy to find with Google. In many jurisdictions you'd probably be infringing copyrights if you are using them particularly as they are P2P Nil Einne (talk) 19:36, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

This webpage lists a number of equivalent freewares: http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-online-tv-viewer.htm 92.24.114.172 (talk) 15:02, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Make a touch screen using a webcam.

I've seen some software that can use a projector and a webcam to make a makeshift touch screen... but that isn't feasible for me, since I don't have a projector. Is it possible to use a webcam to turn an ordinary LCD monitor into a makeshift touch screen? Until It Sleeps ^alternate 17:05, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

I don't think it'd work very well - crappy VGA webcams like mine are low resolution, have slow refresh rate and quite a noticeable lag. If it's feasible I don't think it'd be a very pleasant experience. --antilived^{T | C | G} 02:15, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

...and add to that, ordinary LCDs are probably not meant to be touched all the time. I imagine that would degrade them pretty quick. My understand is that most touch-screens have specialized coatings on them to reduce wear-and-tear. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 16:56, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Delete file - access denied windows XP

See title - probably familiar to those skilled in the craft..

Specifics - downloaded video file .mp4 , using a downloading program - downloading terminated (using program - usually not a problem) - additional - file type not supported, attempted to play partial file using separate program - successful - probably this sequence of events cause the issue. Fixed using cmd.exe + task manager , terminated processes until cmd.exe allowed deletion - probably not a good way to do it.

My question is: is there a way to find out exactly what program still thinks it is using a file, and then to persuade it that it is not?83.100.250.79 (talk) 18:08, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

As far as I'm aware, the answer to that is 'no', but it's possible I'm wrong. Ale_Jrb^talk 18:36, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

I find this link useful Unlocker by Cedrick Coulomb. Jan1nad (talk) 19:18, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Thanks, I'll bear that in mind in the future.83.100.250.79 (talk) 21:06, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

There actually are ways to do that. SysInternals' Process Explorer has a function to search all open handles (including but not limited to open files). You can use it to close those handles too. --grawity 12:49, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Torrent problem

I am using uTorrent on Vista-64 Home Premium, over my home's wireless network. On my old laptop (Vista-32) I had no problems with torrents, especially after I set a static IP and had uTorrent port forwarded. Since I got my new laptop, I got through most of a torrent, but then after ten minutes or so (sometimes less), my whole internet connection goes down, and my network is set to local only. I have to disconnect and reconnect to connect to the internet again. Since that first torrent that worked, I have had to connect to the router with an ethernet cable if I want to download any torrent. When I am connected with the cable, I never get kicked like that. What is going on, and what can I do to fix it? Thanks —Akrabbim^talk 18:33, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

If you can connect your computer to the router directly, I'd have to ask why you are using wireless in the first place. Strong electromagnetic signals are damaging to health and should be avoided if possible. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.43.88.99 (talk) 22:02, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Tin foil hats are great as far as reducing damage to health is concerned. To the OP, I doubt that the router is the problem for you. Also, you do NOT need to have your port forwarded in order for uTorrent to work. I would assume it is a configuration issue somewhere. I have never tried uTorrent on wireless myself, (or on Windows Vista)so I cannot say anything for a fact ... Kushal (talk) 22:55, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

You imply that there is zero health risks from electromagnetic radiation. I suggest you read this and this —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.43.88.99 (talk) 23:33, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Those articles, incidentally, don't actually describe much if any actual health threat being found. On a scale of threats, your proximity to a local McDonald's is probably worse for you. Anyway, this has nothing to do with the OP's question. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 16:58, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Thank you 82 for sidetracking my question (how can artificial EM radiation be any more harmful than light?). Kushal, what kind of configurations would it be? I have the exact same wireless settings as I did on my old computer, for all I can tell. And the uTorrent website advises users to forward the port for best performance, and I have observed better connections with it forwarded (but the router etc. doesn't seem to be the problem). I guess it rests with my wireless. —Akrabbim^talk 00:26, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Do forgive me for being concerned for your well being. Feel free to microwave your brain if you like.

I had one issue a couple years ago where my wireless would drop out whenever I tried to transfer a lot of data over an encrypted connection. I eventually figured out it was the drivers - I updated them and the problem went away. It's possible that the 64 bit drivers for your wifi card are just less stable than the 32 bit drivers you were using previously. You could try getting the most recent drivers, but aside from that, I dunno. hrm. Indeterminate (talk) 04:35, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I know Akrabbim might be angry at me for this but I will start with the obvious... Does resetting the power supply in the wireless router when your computer drops dead out of the network help? I know that my uncle has a Linksys that just dies every once in a while. All we needed to do was to press the yellow wi-fi soft button and it would flicker white for a couple of seconds and restart. (I know I am backtracking from my previous position but I want to make sure that we cover all our bases before going into 64-bit driver zone. There is little we can do if the 64-bit drivers are finicky and the lazy programmers have not bothered to write updates so far but let us stay optimistic for now.) Kushal (talk) 07:53, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

If I reset the router, I get reconnected when it comes back up, but then the connection drops out again if the torrent is still running. I am pretty sure that it is not the router though, because all the time that I am losing and gaining the connection, the rest of my family is happily connected without a problem. I'll check the drivers, see what's up, Indeterminate. 11:46, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Blue area moving

I copy and paste a lot. When I move my mouse while holding down the button, with Explorer, sometimes the area that is blue changes in a way that I don't want it to. The text has turned blue, but that's misleading.

On one computer with Firefox, sometimes the text is gray when I've selected the text to copy, but when I do copy, that gray text didn't get copied. It should, of course, have been blue.

If it's doing that and I enter Ctrl-C, I get nothing when I enter Ctrl-V.

I'm trying to duplicate what happened so I can explain it, and I'm not having any luck.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 19:30, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

In Firefox, selected text is highlighted in blue when Firefox is the active window, but highlighted in gray when another window is active. Try clicking on the Firefox button in the taskbar to activate Firefox, then see if the selected text highlight turns blue and the copy works correctly. --Bavi H (talk) 23:34, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

These color descriptions only apply to default color settings for certain operating systems. In general, though, most modern window-managers use a modal selection-mechanism (for all selection behavior, including copy/paste). This means that "highlight" and "select" behavior depends on which window is active. Nimur (talk) 00:21, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

It's not the actual color so much as what it represents. I've been on some computers when it's gray when it works. I still haven't figured out how to explain my problem.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 14:17, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Success! I experienced the phenomenon. I was not holding the mouse button down at the time, but somehow part of a box like this was blue, and as I moved the mouse the part that was blue changed. That's not really the situation I was experiencing, but however it usually happens, that's what it's like.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 22:35, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Boolean addition/subtraction in C++

As some have guessed in emails sent to me... I have been posting questions here from my class. My intention is to allow the class to get answers from many intelligent people rather just my answer. If this offends anyone, I will stop doing it.

In C++, there is a bool type that can only hold the value 0 or 1. By rule, any integer besides 0 becomes 1 when represented as a bool. Therefore, bool x=1+1; will result in x=1. Does this mean that if I have three boolean variables (x=1, y=1, and z=1) and add them together, it will do special boolean arithmetic? For example, (1+1)-1 in boolean will be 1-1 which becomes 0. However, when I put that in a C++ program I get 1, not 0. It seems like it is casting the bool to an int during all math and back to a bool when I grab the result. -- kainaw™ 21:05, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

(clarifying) If x, y, and z are all bool types and set to 1, (x+y)-z comes out as 1, not 0. -- kainaw™ 21:25, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

small-ify since question clarified It's almost certainly what the compiler decides to do. It will evaluate the right hand side first (which is 1), and then apply that to the assignment (in your case to a boolean), this is all almost certainly because despite being binary logic machines, processors are set up to handle strings of binary..

In fact it makes sense not to treat (1+1) as a boolean , because "true+true" is meaningless, or undefined (does + mean or or and or concantentate ?)

If you try

boolean keith = 1+1
boolean george = keith-1

It will probably do what you want. It's certainly a very good idea to test this stuff out (avoids being caught out later on with mysterious bugs") Similar things to try is to see if the compiler allows int chris="a" , or char mike=89 . Many do.

I've no idea if the compiler has infered an integer type because of the "+" sign, but would guess that's the case.

Also note that 1 (or 0) isn't a boolean value, "true" and "false" are, of course many compilers make no distinction, some will even swap the representations round.

Far better to write somrthing, like "bool susan = (true AND true) AND false", or whatever the logical meaning you had in mind was.83.100.250.79 (talk) 21:17, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Sorry, but this and your followup below are incorrect. It is not undefined behavior to do math on bools: section [expr.9] of the 2003 standard ("usual arithmetic conversions") says, "operands of type bool, wchar_t, or an enumerated type are converted to some integral type". That promotion makes bools into ints. What's happening with "bool w = (x + y) - z; assert(w);" is that x and y get promoted to ints with value 1, added up to 2, then z gets promoted to an int with value 1, and subtracted from 2, leaving an int with value 1, which then gets converted back to bool and stored as true in w. --Sean 21:37, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

I meant undefined in a mathemtical sense - hence the necessity for the compiler specifications to decide how to treat with them.83.100.250.79 (talk) 21:47, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

respond to clarification If a,b,c are boolean (eg bool d=(a+b)-c ) then the basic error here is to try to add them, this will have to be typecase to an integer, or it will result in an error, since, as mentioned above "true plus true" has no defined meaning, since 'plus' is a numerical operator, not a boolean one.

As an aside I recommend the birch for your class, they learn much quicker and tend not to make as many simple mistakes, in my experience..83.100.250.79 (talk) 21:34, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

d=(a XOR b) XOR (a XOR c) might be an answer here, depending on what was originally intended, it might even be faster.83.100.250.79 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 22:00, 9 September 2009 (UTC).

or (a OR b) XOR c for the intended but unobtained result.83.100.250.79 (talk) 22:10, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

You'd probably want an AND 1 , after these results to truncate.83.100.250.79 (talk) 22:13, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

I'm not sure this is clear from the thread so far, so let me reiterate: the C and C++ standards require all compilers to convert booleans to an integer type before doing arithmetic. It's not something that some compilers decide to do, it's something that you can rely on all of them doing—not that there's much use for it in this case. Likewise, int chris='a' and char mike=89 will work on all compilers, not just some. -- BenRG (talk) 14:05, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Not much to add here, except that example given above, int chris = "a"; is always ill-formed. There is no standard conversion sequence from "array of const char" to int. If int chris = 'a'; was intended, it should work as expected. decltype (talk) 12:48, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Replacing a macbook hard drive

Is it possible to remove the T screw that is on the hard disk sleeve without a T screwdriver? If not, where would I find a screwdriver of that particular dimension? I think the 2006 Intel Macbook takes a T-2 but I am not entirely sure. Could you help me find the cheapest way to replace the drive? Thank you... Kushal (talk) 22:47, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Did you mean Torx ? (you can file down a flat head screwdriver if you want) - but torx screw sets, including the security type are soo cheap - somewhere like http://www.conrad.com/ will have them, try your local hardware store - the bits are cheapest - they are literally £2 for 50 different types. eg [[3]]search term = "screwdriver bit sets" 83.100.250.79 (talk) 22:57, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

I have been able to work them off in the past using a pair of needle-nose pliers (to get past their initial tightness) and then just my fingers. It's probably a better idea to get a torx one... though I was never patient enough to do that. It can be done, but it takes some work. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 23:53, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for the help guys. I guess I could check at Walmart. The problem is that I read on some website that it is a T2 and I don't see T2 in those lists. T6 seems to be the smallest that these sets contain... I am tempted to try the pliers ... Kushal (talk) 07:23, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

The only downside to the plies is you end up stripping the paint from them. I don't think that makes a whole lot of difference, though (it hasn't in my case, anyway, some years later). --98.217.14.211 (talk) 12:46, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I have a nice set of the small size Torx drivers in a factor like jewelers screwdrivers. Picked them up at a local hardware store. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 13:25, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Why not try searching for "torx t2" in the US the price seems to be ~$1083.100.250.79 (talk) 13:28, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

The driver you'll need on the macbook hard drive screws is a T8 or T9 iirc. If you get a set that has as many as bits as you can find, one of them will work, and it's a fairly standard bit too.Caltsar (talk) 17:29, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

That makes a lot of sense. the T20/T15 was too big but I could not find a T2 online. ... :( sadly, the lutz 13 in one is the only thing that I have http://www.flickr.com/photos/hadakushal/3873472539/ . It would be really sweet if I could find a bit that works on it. :) I think I should stay away from anything magnetic as the bolt seems to be plastic anyways and the hard disk may notlike magnetic tips ... any ideas? Kushal (talk) 02:19, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Buy a T8 and a T9 then - which puts you back in 2$ territory.83.100.250.79 (talk) 12:42, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Thanks, 83. I guess that is the best thing to do. My only complaint is that it will be one more piece of clutter that I will not use for anything else... oh well, I am complaining over a non-issue now. It would be great to hear from someone who has replaced a macbook hard disk before. :) Kushal (talk) 02:26, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Mac v. PC

So, I have a HP G60t-200, and I like it pretty well. However, I have the opportunity to get a new laptop soon, so I thought I would ask for some input. I've heard several things about macs, some of which are probably myth, so please dispel any misconceptions, and help me out. I checked out the Apple site and I think I'm leaning toward the MacBook Pro 15" if I go Mac. Some things I've heard:

• Macs are more physically durable
• Macs have better built-in protection from viruses
• Macs generally outperform PC in computing
• Macs are NOT as easily compatible when it comes to presentations and word documents

Also, what's the situation with the "unmoving" hard drives or whatever. Pros? Cons? Have at it. Hubydane (talk) 23:42, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

I have recently been through this road too and I'll write up some of my thoughts at the time. The MacBook Pros are made of out a single block of aluminium so yes they are quite durable - the reason that didn't sway me too much though is that what good is a durable case when the insides will be outdated in 3-4 years? My laptop is almost 1000 NZD cheaper than the equivalent MacBook - and all the difference I'll get is the a working piece of junk instead of a broken piece of junk after say 5 years, so the Apple tax wasn't worth it for me. Mac OS X is more secure than Windows, but as long as you don't be stupid and have antivirus it's quite rare to catch a virus (this point was irrelevant to me since I'm going to put Ubuntu on it either way). Outperform PC? No. Just No. Compatibility? Microsoft makes Office for Mac so it should work quite well, but there probably will be some tiny incompatibilities that will only affect 1% of the users. The unmoving hard drive you referred to is SSD, which is faster, less sensitive from shock, but still outrageously expensive even if you buy a small one (especially if you get it from Apple). Unless money's no object for you you're probably better off saving the difference. --antilived^{T | C | G} 02:11, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Antilived seems to have covered most stuff but i'd just add

• I have 2 Macs (a maybe 7 year old iBook and a Macbook that's a couple of years old). Both boot up and run pretty much exactly the same as they always have. They have not slowly ground to halt like many PCs my family and friends own. I know (because I have a PC too) that a lot of the grinding-to-a-haltness is not the PCs fault, but the fault of the end-user, but it does seem to be a general thing that PCs grind to a halt more quickly than Apples do (I suspect due to the sheer volume of malware/software that gets installed and never fully gets removed). 194.221.133.226 (talk) 08:26, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

1. Macs are LESS secure than PCs. I don't know about Leopard, but Tiger Macs came with their firewalls turned off. They all have web servers pre-installed (Apache). They come with the least-secure web browser on the Internet (Safari). There's an annual "hacking" competition called PWN 2 OWN. Macs have been the first to be taken over the last few years because of Safari. I find it strange that people see Windows as insecure. One of the biggest complaints about Windows Vista is that it is too secure! You need to read up on Windows Vista, Windows XP Service Pack 2, and the large number of security innovations they have brought. Windows Vista was a complete rewrite of Windows XP to improve security. Microsoft releases security patches every week for Windows. And most of the "vulnerabilities" they find were discovered by employees at Microsoft--not criminals. By contrast, Apple took many months to patch the vulnerabilities discovered at PWN 2 OWN. Microsoft does a much better job than Apple at securing their operating systems.
2. I don't know what you mean by "Macs generally outperform PC in computing" but Macs have a lot of eye-candy and services that run automatically. I've seen speed comparisons between Mac OS X and Windows XP, where Windows XP greatly outperformed Mac OS X in terms of speed.
3. In response to your first point, Apple is both a computer manufacturer and a software maker. Microsoft just makes the software. So, Apples are durable, but so are Sonys, and so are Toshibas. If you buy a counterfeit Chinese netbook with Windows installed, you're technically also buying a PC, so it's hard to generalize. I could probably write a book comparing Macs and "PCs," but suffice to say that I think they're over-priced and OS X is not nearly as sophisticated as Windows 7.--24.9.113.111 (talk) 09:12, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Adding to the comments above, whether Macs or PCs are more secure depends greatly on the behaviour of the user, it's hard to make a blanket statement "Macs are more/less secure than PCs". The same goes for robustness, there are very solid PCs and there are PCs that will fall apart when you look at them wrong, it's hard to generalise, although you mostly get what you pay for. As, for Macs, the software and hardware is built by a single company, they tend to be more tightly integrated, but at the cost of less choice in software. I should also note that, most software (games are particularly bad at this) tends to get written for PCs, but thanks to Boot Camp and Parallels, Macs can (mostly) run it as well. — QuantumEleven 09:57, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

It's worth noting that whether a computer is theoretically more secure (e.g. can hold up under sustained attack by full-time hackers) or practically has less security issues is a different thing. The reason Mac users don't worry about viruses, spyware, or other malware, is not because the OS is so rigorous, but because nobody really bothers making malware for the Mac. If the market share gets large enough, this will certainly change. But at the moment, a Mac user doesn't even generally need to run anti-virus to stay uninfected, no matter what kinds of crazy programs they download. (Has there ever been a case of a Mac user with spyware they couldn't get rid of on the Ref Desk? I see at least one PC case now.) When I recommend to my parents that they get Macs, it's not because I have some unending faith in the strength of Macs, it's because on a day to day level, if they have Windows, they will quickly lose the ability to use their computer (because they are not so hot at avoiding spyware, because they are old), but if they have a Mac, it will still be fine for the next few years. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 14:10, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Whether you choose to get a Mac or a PC, you will need to know which one is right for you. Off the bat, I'm going to say that when buying a PC right now, it will be easiest for you to wait until Windows 7 comes out in roughly a month, so you don't have to deal with claiming the upgrade and installing it. That said, all the "unibody" mac laptops are very durable compared to most PC laptops. However, Dell and many companies also offer laptops with comparible strength, but the price will be similar to a Mac. Mac OS X is in fact more secure against viruses due to the fact that it's built like many unix operating systems where everything is a file, and to oversimplify what this means, things can't run unless you tell them to. This doesn't mean that OS X is immune from viruses, but it means that all attempts at malware so far are those that require you to enter an admin password and manually install (usually bundled with a pirated installer). This doesn't have a lot to do with marketshare, but with the default security settings that OS X ships with. These settings are much better with the newer OS versions than those that came with Tiger. As far as Microsoft Office is concerned, almost complete compatibility is available, and you should be able to open almost any office document you want. I know many people who prefer Office for Mac 2008 over the latest Windows Office suite. I personally get a lot of Publisher documents and it is very difficult to open these on a Mac, but I find that to be the exception to the rule. If you do a lot of gaming, all of the above if moot, and you will want a Windows computer unless you wish to use boot camp. Modern Macs have pretty good graphics, and can run games quite well when you boot into windows, but they are not high end gaming machines by any means. A Mac laptop will cost you about the same as a comparable Windows laptop (taking into account build quality and features like multitouch), so the ultimate factor in deciding whether or not you want a Mac laptop is if you want t run OS X or not. GO to an Apple store and play around to see if you like it. If you don't, go and search for an appropriate Windows machine Caltsar (talk) 17:45, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I don't think multitouch costs too much extra money - my friend's old Toshiba laptop (came out before unibody MacBooks) has two-finger scrolling out of the box on newer Ubuntu releases, and probably on Windows too with the appropriate driver. --antilived^{T | C | G} 12:05, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

The hardware doesn't cost too much, but it's one of those features that is marked up on all laptops. Also keep in mind that most laptops can't support more than two fingers. Most of the extra cost on macbooks is probably in the case for the current generationCaltsar (talk) 15:13, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Web emails

How come on most web emails, there's no way to preview your mail besides saving it as a draft then sending it? I find it quite annoying, and I would've thought that a preview function would be pretty basic.

Also, is there anyway to embed (not attach) images on Yahoo mail? Thanks. 24.6.46.106 (talk) 23:32, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Because e-mails are usually WYSIWYG. There's not need for a preview when it's just a body of text. Darrenhusted (talk) 23:37, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Back up my computer

My keyboard messed up, so I need to send my computer back. I need to -completely- back up -everything- from my computer--files, applications, bookmarks, pictures, etc.-- before sending it off. So 2 questions. 1) How do I find out how much space (and therefore how big a flash drive) I need to perform this total backup? 2) How do I perform this total backup? (I'm using Vista x64 on an HP G60t-200)

Thanks Hubydane (talk) 23:41, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Why don't you just replace your keyboard? Intelligentsium 00:46, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I'm assuming it's a portable which does not invite casual tinkering. --Tagishsimon (talk) 00:54, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Right click on your hard drive icon and select properties, and that will tell you how much space is being used by all your files. Check out this website for information on free hard drive imaging software, which would be the easiest way to back up your entire hard drive, files, applications, settings, and all. —Akrabbim^talk 01:12, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

If this is a warranty repair, you should send them as little hardware as possible. If the hard drive isn't part of the problem, remove it. You can remove the hard drive from any laptop without voiding the warranty. On my laptop the keyboard is also easy to remove, but I don't know whether that voids the warranty. Call them and ask; you might save a lot of money on shipping. -- BenRG (talk) 11:11, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

This is a warranty repair, so I might take out the hard drive, but to check the space needed... I opened my computer (I'm running the latest version of vista x64) and held my mouse over the "Recovery" icon, and it said something along the lines of 1.95 free of 12.2 available. Is this what I need? Do I need my Local Disk (C: drive?)? Hubydane (talk) 01:09, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

If you are running vista then if you just click the "new start button" and then click on computer you should be able to see a "Blue Bar" underneath the hard drive, or C drive that you wanna check, and it will tell you something like this... "x GB free of X GB" meaning you have x number of GB free out of x number of GB. For me it's like "144 GB free of 1000 GB". To answer your second question you can use an external hard drive for your back up. If you have one then that would be easiest. If you don't have one i'm sure that you can get one from walmart or best buy. also check out [4]

--Jdswebservice (talk) 16:35, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

September 10

Youtube

On Youtube, why do some users post replies saying "Oh" or "Thanks" or any other word that shows they understand? It's pointless to do that. Jc iindyysgvxc (talk) 05:42, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Oh. Zunaid 09:15, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I don't think this is unique to youtube. On the internet, it's not easy to tell whether the person you're talking to understands what you're saying. So it's a courtesy to let you know that they do. Zain Ebrahim (talk) 09:27, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Expressing gratitude is a normal part of social behaviour in many cultures. Indeed it's often expected behaviour in some situations. Saying 'thanks' is a common way to express gratitude and it may not be intended simply to convey that they understand what was said. Nil Einne (talk) 19:25, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

realistic images

I have seen a 40 minute section of the last film made by Marilyn Monroe that stops halfway because she died. Isnt technology able to finish the rest of the film off realisticlly? that would be great —Preceding unsigned comment added by Payneham (talk • contribs) 06:29, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

No, technology is not yet that far advanced to create a photorealistic moving image with virtual human characters.83.100.250.79 (talk) 16:43, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

The uncanny valley is even worse for performers we already "know" than for a generic person. Of course, you don't actually need high technology to finish a movie when the star has died, if you're willing to make a few artistic compromises. --Sean 19:50, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

The hardest part at this juncture is not that Monroe is dead, but that probably everybody else is as well. If it is just one person, you can get pretty creative. A whole cast is a lot harder, though. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 03:51, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Not even Crysis or that tech demo from Naturalmotion can do such a convincing portrayal of Monroe. It'll take years before we see such effects, as CGI technology is still a bit far from perfect. Blake Gripling (talk) 06:09, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

As Plan 9 from Outer Space shows, finishing a film after an actor's death can wind up in uncanny valley even without technical help. -- Q Chris (talk) 12:42, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

There have been films in which deceased actors have appeared. One was a film starring a comedian playing a private eye, which simply edited in bits of old film with film sets constructed to match them. A Woody Allen film had his character appearing in old film clips - might have been called Zelig - I'm not sure. There may have been others. When fully realistic animated characters do appear, it will be interesting to see what happens to the star system and 'star' remuneration. 89.243.184.30 (talk) 19:58, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Mobile dictionary

I have Nokia 6630. I want a free English dictionary for it. Also, it doesn't have reminders, stop watch, and countdown timer. Where can I get these? Thanks. --Siddhant (talk) 07:05, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Website Hosting Provider

Hi, How can I find out who the Hosting Provider for www.rvis.edu.bh is? Thank you. 80.88.241.94 (talk) 09:13, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Whois services don't seem to work for .bh, but a traceroute says cox.net --Tagishsimon (talk) 12:49, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Looking for a paper forms designer

I'm looking for some freeware that can design paper forms that can be printed out. I have found one or two programs to do on-screen computer forms, but that is not what I want. Does anyone know what software can be used to easily design paper forms please? 89.242.155.121 (talk) 11:54, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

How about OpenOffice Word Processor or Spreadsheet? Nimur (talk) 14:16, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Which side of printer paper best to print on - shiny side or matt side?

The printer paper I've used has one side which is somewhat smoother or shinier than the other side. Which is best to print on? Thanks 89.242.155.121 (talk) 11:55, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Depends on the type of printer and the paper. The paper packaging usually has an arrow or other instructions to show the printed side or first printed side. Since the sides are not the same, this appears to be other than plain bond. Or; you can use the empirical method and try both sides. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 12:21, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

If it's photo paper, you want to print on the side which has been treated to reduce ink absorption and bleeding. Usually this is the smoother, glossier side (the surface treatment fills in cracks in the paper, and photos normally have a slightly glossy sheen), but as Gadget850 says, you want to look at the packaging for your specific paper. -- 128.104.112.179 (talk) 15:57, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

You are making the assumption this is an inkjet printer. I have special paper with a glossy side for my color laser for high quality printing. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 17:46, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

The paper is just cheap paper mostly used for black and white printing of text, on an inkjet. I rarely print in colour. I've never seen an arrow on the packaging. The difference between each side is only moderate. The two or three different brands of paper I've used all have this difference between sides. 78.145.31.35 (talk) 12:06, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

BASIC-like languages to use on a PDA and a PC

I anticipate buying a PDA. Which BASIC-like languages will run on a PDA and a PC also please? (BASIC = Beginners All purpose Symbolic Instruction Code). Which PDA I buy depends upon which languages and software will run on it - I know nothing about PDA operating systems. Thanks. 89.242.155.121 (talk) 12:02, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

If I recall correctly, Windows Mobile devices (including cell phones and PDAs) support almost the full set of Microsoft's Visual Basic (which, as you may know, is derived from the original BASIC architecture, with some significant changes). Most Visual Basic designed for the mobile platform can be seamlessly ported to the PC (you may need to recompile or slightly modify your code, depending on features you use). You can download a free version of the Visual Basic compiler from Microsoft here. Microsoft's MSDN Developer Network also hosts a portal with a bunch of tutorials and help for Windows Mobile Development with Visual Basic. Nimur (talk) 14:00, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Cheap and safe batteries for my TI_89 Titanium

I just saw the BATT sign in light letters over a dark background. It only appears when doing calculations but I guess it is a warning that I should replace batteries (hopefully only the AAA cells). I would normally just buy non-rechargeable alkaline cells but I wanted to know what you guys suggest? Should I even consider rechargeables instead? Are my batteries supposed to die within a year? I have Duracell pile alkaline right now (the ones I got with the calculator). I also have another calculator that I use. The older Casio fx-991MS that I had since about five years ago has not had a battery change for the last three years. (Oops, forgot to sign.) Kushal (talk) 12:30, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

You're seeing a dynamic power load - which means that when the calculator's microprocessor is operating for an intense calculation, it consumes more power than when it is idle. During calculation, more parts of the CPU's internal circuit are on; this typically means a larger current is drawn from the batteries. Normally, that's not a problem, but as batteries age, they are less able to deliver their full dynamic range of current at a constant voltage; so as the CPU demands more current, the battery starts lowering its voltage. The warning indicator is exactly that - an early warning. The next failure-mode is hopefully a LDO - a circuit protection mechanism that sense the voltages are too low, and shuts down the CPU entirely. In the literal sense, the batteries are not dead - there is still chemical energy in them, and there is still a voltage and a capacity to drive a current - but digital devices prefer to operate only if the voltage is guaranteed to be high enough for a guaranteed correct answer. So, if your calculator refuses to turn on, you might still measure voltage on the batteries - but they still need replacement. Usually, LDOs exist to prevent any permanent damage to the circuitry, so in general, it's possible to run that calculator until it simply refuses to turn on anymore without any risk of damage. From the reviews I'm seeing online, it looks like TI added a backlight to the calculator, and a lot of people are saying that it reduced the battery life. My old TI-85 ran for some ten years on 4 AA cells; my TI89 ran for about 2 years or so; and they keep releasing new models with beefed-up processors and memory each year, probably at the expense of battery life. I now use my TI calculators fairly intermittently; I haven't needed to replace their batteries in at least four years. Nimur (talk) 14:12, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I guess the calculator tries to avoid using the backup battery as much as possible so is using the AAA batteries for pretty much everything, if possible. Kushal (talk) 11:21, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

The button cells are to power the NVRAM, which stores things like your last-entered commands, stored variables, certain programs, etc. However, the button cell doesn't ever power the CPU on the calculator. Nimur (talk) 13:22, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

I suggest Energizer L92 lithium cells (non-rechargeable). They are expensive and in this situation the extra energy they hold isn't important. The reason to use them is that alkalines are more likely to leak goo all over the insides of your calculator if you leave the same set in place for a whole year. If you use rechargeables, get the kind that are already charged when you buy them (Sanyo Eneloop is the best known brand like that). The pre-charged cells have lower capacity than the non-pre-charged ones, because they use a different formulation that stops the charge from leaking out ("self-discharge") within a few months. In general they are more reliable than the non-pre-charged cells too, and they cost about the same. Their only disadvantage is you have to recharge them a little more often. 70.90.174.101 (talk) 18:12, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Thank you for the response. My big brother eBay has http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Ultra-AAA-850-mAh-Rechargeable-Battery-4-Pack_W0QQitemZ230376349954QQcategoryZ48621QQcmdZViewItem as a daily deal. These are five dollars and free shipping. Kushal (talk) 20:01, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

PC problems

I downloaded something a few weeks ago an now every time I switch on my computer I have to close several windows that are asking my to clean my registry. There is nothing wrong with my registry. I have tried to delete every file I can fin concerning Winferno, but to no avail. Any sugestions? also, I have pretty much filled both of my hard drives. Mostly with music, so now I want to buy an external harddrive and move all the music there, how will this affect Itunes? can I just move Itunes to the new drive? how will I do this? Any sugetsions? Thanks alot, you people are great! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.18.35.133 (talk) 13:01, 10 September 2009 (UTC) This query transferred from Misc. Desk.86.4.181.14 (talk) 13:12, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Try Superantispyware— it gets the highest ratings in several tests, it has a free version and it has killed some very bad rootkits for me. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 13:21, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

TVs as Monitors

How well do modern flat-screen TVs function as computer monitors? Years ago we had a TV out card for our computer hooked to a CRT television, and while graphical programs like games looked decent, text which was legible on the monitor was unreadable on the CRT. I'm assuming this was due to the low resolution and the analog nature of the CRT TV. However, HDTVs are much higher resolution, and are intrinsically digital. If you hook up an HDTV to a computer with a DVI->HDMI converter, how well does it work? Would it be possible to use an HDTV as a computer monitor, or would you still have unreadable text, fuzzy resolutions, etc.? -- 128.104.112.179 (talk) 16:06, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes it works, minimum resolution is ~768 x 1024 , which is fine for the destop. Using a digital connection will mean that the signal has no problems.83.100.250.79 (talk) 16:23, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

It looks fine, just like a monitor, more or less. You can usually set the computer output to be the same as the TV's native resolution, so it looks just like a regular LCD screen. Many new LCDs come with VGA and DVI ports on them to plug into computers. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 16:37, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes, it works. Couple of things to keep in mind - most HDTVs are widescreen, so you'll need to adjust your aspect ratio (Windows does do this semi-automatically, but you'll need to select what resolution etc. you want). Also, TVs are generally a lot brighter than monitors are. That makes sense as you typically sit much further away from a TV. The solution there will depend on where you plan to sit - if you're going to use it just like your old monitor, you'll need to adjust your brightness settings or risk some eyestrain. Matt Deres (talk) 16:53, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

98 is correct, but you will find that the vertical dimension of the TV will be frustratingly small. When viewing Web pages you'll be scrolling up an down a lot more than you did when you used a monitor. Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:15, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I have a PC connected via HDMI to a 50" flat screen in the family room. Works great for music, videos, games, webcam conferencing, internet video like Hulu and YouTube. The resolution is great, but it is too large for continued comfortable use in word processing and the like. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 17:35, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I set up a PVR for a friend. They use it with their 42 inch Samsung LCD true HDTV (i.e. 1080p native resolution) as their sole computer, including internet access and whatever wordprocessing needed. While they've only had it for about 1.5 months I haven't heard any complaints yet and have even used Google Sketchup with it to sketch their garage and other things. Obviously a decent wireless mouse and keyboard are needed. You may also need to increase the font size. Note that even with a SDTV you can get acceptable results (I wouldn't recommend it for continuous use but acceptable for some browsing etc) if you use component ideally with the thing closest to the TV's native resolution (720x576 or 720x480) and a larger font size. Nil Einne (talk) 19:20, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

My experience from setting my wife's computer up on our 42" HDTV is that the pixels on the television are not crisp. They bleed into each other just a bit - which is outstanding for watching movies. It makes it hard to read small text. My monitors on my computer are different. If I look closely, I can clearly see each pixel. That makes reading text much easier. I believe it to be by design. Televisions are designed to optimize movies. Monitors are designed to optimize text. -- kainaw™ 04:02, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

I don't think it's supposed to do that. PC inputs on TVs should bypass all the post-processing (at least it does on mine), perhaps your resolution is wrong or there's overscanning? --antilived^{T | C | G} 11:47, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Agreed is the 42" a real HDTV i.e. 1920x1080? From my experience when looking for HDTVs for a friend many older so called HDTVs especially plasmas are not and are usually only 1372 or something (here in NZ they call them HDTV ready). If you plan to use your HDTV with a computer and text I would strongly recommend a real HDTV with 1920x1080 native resolution and not one with a lower resolution Nil Einne (talk) 12:30, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Darkening a PDF file

Is there anyway to darken a PDF file? The way in which the text was initially scanned resulted in the PDF text being too light to read when printed. DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 16:47, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

There should be and option in adobe...if not there should be a program that can help.Accdude92 (talk) (sign) 17:03, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Update: Try photoshop.Accdude92 (talk) (sign) 17:05, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Alternatively, when you print, check the printer settings in those printing dialog boxes. Most printer manufacturers' drivers have a "darken" setting where you can darken the printout by a certain percentage. Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:34, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

It is unfortunately harder to edit the PDF images that one would imagine; the tools are all there but few can do more than one page at a time. If you have access to OS X, you can save PDFs with a number of quartz filters, including one that is "lightness decrease", which can help improve contrast. But I don't know of any Windows software that lets you do the same thing in one easy step. Photoshop will work if it is only one page, it doesn't handle multi-page well (it doesn't really handle one page well, either). --98.217.14.211 (talk) 03:47, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Partitioning and dual-booting

Okay, I know this is kind of a long and detailed question so I'll give a quick summary here so people will know straight off if they can just skip this. I'm getting a new computer with no OS installed. I have a legal Windows XP disc and I have an Ubuntu disc. In the end, what I would like is a dual-boot system with, if possible, equal access to the various files (mp3s, pictures, etc.). I have a variety of questions about how best to achieve this.

First, which comes first - Linux or XP? Does it matter? I assume that I'll need an OS running before I try partitioning, etc. I'm leaning toward XP first because it's what I'm familiar with.

Second, what is the most reliable/best way to partition? In the past, I've used PowerQuest Partition Magic without any complaints, but I've heard grumblings here that it's no good. If it's no good, what's a better choice?

Third, PowerQuest also makes a program for setting up dual-boot systems called Boot Magic. My default plan was to try that, but if PowerQuest is shaky, what's a better option for setting up the boot options? Upon start-up, I'd just like a screen presenting me with the choice of OS or something equally simple.

On my previous computers, I had made up three partitions: one for Windows, one for applications and games, and one for files. That's always worked fine for me and I believe that setup has reduced the amount of fragmentation. With two OSes, I assume I'll need a fourth partition for Ubuntu. With this setup I've described, would both Windows and Ubuntu have access to the "files" partition? If not, is there a better way?

I know this is a lot of questions. If there's a website that walks me through this stuff, please just direct me there. My access to the web is very touch and go right now, so combing through a lot of sites is not really an option at this point. Very many thanks in advance. Matt Deres (talk) 17:45, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Assuming your computer can boot from CD (which if you bought it from any reputable manufacturer it should), then I would boot from the XP CD and install that first. Don't bother partitioning or installing a bootloader, as Ubuntu will take care of that during the install. The Ubuntu installer has a built-in partitioner. By default, it takes up the whole hard drive, but it's very easy to enter manual mode, leave the XP partition in place, then create additional partitions for Ubuntu. You need at least two (and probably 3) separate partitions: a partition mounted as /, a swap partition, and (recommended, but not necessary) a partition for /home. You can also mount the Windows partition in Ubuntu as (for example) /windows, making for easy access to Windows files. Be sure, however, that you are not formatting the Windows partition. It's recognizable as the one with a file system of NTFS, so triple-check that you are leaving that partition alone (there should be a box option to format it, you should untick it if it's ticked, then mount it if you would like). Once Ubuntu is finished installing, it will install the GRUB boot loader which will automatically detect XP and configure everything in that area. Then everything should be set up - just remember that GRUB settings (default wait time, default OS, etc.) can only be changed from Ubuntu. Xenon54 / talk / 19:38, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

first: xp first, then ubuntu. XP has a bad habit of thinking it owns the whole disk, and is prone to overrighting the boot sector (and so hiding ubuntu's boot option). While you can do it the other way around (which often involves changing windows' boot.ini) it's easier to go XP then ubuntu

second: ubuntu has its own partitioner; it'll safely resize the XP partition, create its own two partitions (a normal partition and a swap partition), and will set the boot sector up correctly

third: stick with what ubuntu installs

fourth: ubuntu will read and write to ntfs and fat32 partitions as well as many unix-flavour type partitions (ext2, ext3, reiser, etc.) XP will only read and write ntfs and fat32. So a shared partition between the two has to be either fat32 or ntfs. NTFS is mostly the better option (better pathnames, better filename-charset, more efficient and less fragmentation) but occasionally I've had XP complain about NTFS volumes that linux touched last. FAT32 is safe, but a bit dumb.

I don't think you'll need a tutorial for this; ubuntu will do the install and things will just work. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 19:41, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Wow, thanks very much for those detailed (and reassuring!) replies. A couple of follow-up questions: Will the partitions Ubuntu creates show as different logical drives? That's the definition of "partition" that I'm familiar with, but the use above of / has me thinking that these are just directories. On my current machine (before dying), I had C: for Windows, D: for the various programs, and E: for the files. If Ubuntu works best with three partitions, am I looking at C: through H: kind of thing? Or is it more like C: through F:, with, say, the E: drive for Ubuntu being split into the home, swap, etc. I'm completely okay with multiple logical drives; I just want to make sure I'm not misunderstanding the situation. Along that same vein... if Ubuntu can simply make the partitions as needed, will it be okay to use it to create the partition for the Windows-based applications and games, or will XP not like that? Thanks again! Matt Deres (talk) 20:51, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

The drives ubuntu creates won't be visible (as drive letters) in Windows at all (they're visible in the disk admin plugin, which helpfully calls them "unknown"). When you're booted into ubuntu, drives aren't given drive letters at all; there's only one big disk heirarchy, and different disks are mounted into it. So / is the root of the heirarchy, and will be where your main ubuntu disk will be mounted. A CDROM will be mounted (as needed) somewhere like /media/cdrom, a usb stick as something like /media/disk, and the windows partition as something like /media/localdisk (I can't remember the last one specifically). Ubuntu should set all these mounts up automatically. I don't agree with Xenon54 on one point; I don't think that you, as a beginner, should create a special /home partition, just stick with a regular / only. I don't understand your last question - XP will make its own partition, and ubuntu will just resize XP's partition (making it smaller, so that there's space for ubuntu). Personally I'd recommend you do just the basic XP install, then the ubuntu install, and verify both are okay and bootable before you install lots of apps and stuff in XP (so that way if you somehow mess up entirely, you've not zapped lots of work). -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 21:07, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I'm probably not using the correct terms. On my previous systems, I split my physical hard-drive into three logical drives. So, while my old floppy drive was the A: drive, and Windows was on its customary C: drive, I also had a partition to make a D: drive, which is where I installed all my games and applications, and a partition to make an E: drive, which is where the media files (music, video, pictures) were. My DVD-RW was mounted as the F: drive. By default, I believe it was lettered as the E: drive, but got automatically reassigned when I used PartitionMagic to remap the other two drives. (For that matter, and this is besides the point, I also had drives F: through J:, which were DVD images created using Daemon Tools). What's slowly sinking through my skull is that this is all just Windows-based thinking and that I'm probably best off to take your advice to not install too much and just try using it for a bit and see how things operate. Should I mess it up entirely, a wipe can always be done. :-) Matt Deres (talk) 00:15, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Here's a couple things to keep in mind: disk partitions are the same in Windows and Linux. But they put different file systems on the partitions: Windows uses NTFS these days, and Ubuntu usually uses Ext3 by default. Each OS can only boot from its own partition type, so the Linux system partition should probably be ext3. But if you're dual-booting, you'll be able to open up your NTFS partitions in Ubuntu as if they were just another folder. (On my computer, my Windows "C:\" drive shows up in Ubuntu as "/media/disk") You can even use an NTFS partition as your Home directory. But Windows doesn't have very good support for other filesystems besides NTFS and FAT32. You can give ext3 partitions a drive letter in Windows and open them normally, but you need to install some software. Anyway, if you're going to create a partition that both OSes will use (like one for Windows apps and media), I'd recommend formatting it as NTFS. Indeterminate (talk) 11:19, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

You can also install ext3 filesystem drivers so you can access your ubuntu files in XP. But you need to do this *AFTER* you are happy with ubuntu, cause most of them don't like it if you repartition after you install the drivers. http://www.fs-driver.org/ has a download for it, and it's free. if you do this, then Windows can "see" the partitions, and they WILL become D:, F: etc.Rbmj (talk) 18:57, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

Software diversity and the spread of malware

Have any studies been done, with real networks or simulations, on how using a mix of different software configurations with different immunities and vulnerabilities affects the spread of malware through e.g. a large corporate office or a college campus? NeonMerlin[5] 18:18, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Here's one: Key Factors Influencing Worm Infection in Enterprise Networks. Is that the sort of thing you're looking for? Indeterminate (talk) 10:36, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

A worm can only spread if it can run on both the source computer (an infected computer that is trying to spread the worm) and the destination computer (a vulnerable computer that the worm is trying to infect). If the source and destination computers are running different OSes, or different processor architectures, this is difficult.

However, it can be done. Some security vulnerabilities can be exploited without knowledge of the underlying machine architecture: for instance, if a Web app has a bug that allows an attacker to execute a shell command with the Web server's privileges, you don't need to use a buffer overflow to break in. In such a case it would be possible to write a worm entirely in a high-level language (such as Perl, Python, or shell) which would affect any compatible OS regardless of processor.

That said, in the real world, most worms are non-portable, and writing portable worms is much harder than just writing a worm for the most prevalent OS and architecture (which is to say, Windows on x86). This means that diversity is a practical security benefit, even though theoretically it can be defeated. Of course, in the real world there is pretty much only one processor architecture these days (even Macs are x86 now!) and only three OSes (Windows, MacOS, and Linux). So anyone running on something different benefits from security-by-unpopularity. --FOo (talk) 06:01, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Spinning and spinning

I am on an computer with Internet Explorer. I copied and pasted a URL that just left the circle spinning and spinning. I tried clicking on "Back" because I wanted to go back and look at something I was looking at before. Nothing. I tried copying and pasting a new URL. It's still spinning. I copied and pasted the URL that was there to begin with and tried it somewhere else, using a search function, and that worked. I went back to the other screen and typed hotmail.com, and got "http://hotmail.com is currently unavailable."

Now, if I do that here ... Okay, now this one is spinning.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 21:01, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

This is a typical symptom of a bad Internet connection. Try disconnecting and reconnecting. Comet Tuttle (talk) 21:06, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Nothing wrong with the connection. I got here just fine on this screen.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 21:09, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Now the circle is rotating more slowly on the two screens. The text above is still on that other screen. Copying and pasting the addresses the computer is trying to go to on those other screens gets me the result I did with hotmail. I got there, though, on another screen.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 21:11, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I decided just to click on the red X in the upper right corner. I got a message saying "busy" and that closing might cause problems. Do I want to anyway? I did. No problems. Everything is normal. I'm going home.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 21:20, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

OK, the "Busy" message indicates that Internet Explorer is, well, busy. I have seen this occur a lot on computers that don't have enough RAM memory and the machine basically sits and spins for a while as the hard disk thrashes. Have you tried installing more RAM? Try running with fewer Internet Explorer windows - each one consumes memory and makes less memory available for the system. Comet Tuttle (talk) 22:37, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I'm running 64-bit IE on 64-bit Vista with 6 Gigs of RAM and some very long pages still give me this. I normally have to kill the process. I think it's just a problems with IE sometimes. --Phil Holmes (talk) 08:37, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

The computer is fairly new, but it's not mine. I am aware I should have fewer windows, but I'm doing a lot of different things at once and I need them all. In one case, I had a PDF version of a magazine article from the library databases, and then I discovered I could get to the same article on the magazine's web site (meaning my citation of that article on Wikipedia could be made more useful; I was also contributing to Wikipedia at the time), so that's where I was when I decided to try a web site I hadn't seen before. My guess is there was something wrong with the site, and next time I figure out how to get there, I'll tell you.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 15:41, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

September 11

Camera Angles on Company Of Heroes

Does anyone know how to control the camera angles on Company Of Heroes (the first one)? TIA! --KageTora - (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 00:09, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Dun't matter. Dunnit! --KageTora - (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 01:19, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Win on Mac is ok, Mac on PC = lawsuit, why?

What are the legal reasons behind it being ok to run Windows on Mac hardware, but not run Apple OS on PC hardware? They seem to be the same situation to me, but Apple will slap you in the face with a lawsuit if you try it... what gives? 218.25.32.210 (talk) 01:24, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

The EULA for Mac OS (here, section 2, subsection A), which you must agree to to install the software, says it cannot be run on "non-Apple-labeled hardware". Meanwhile, the Windows EULA has no such clause, because it isn't tied to one specific type of hardware. So even though it's possible to install Mac OS on a non-Apple machine, it's illegal to run it, because by violating the EULA, you lose the privilege of running the software. Xenon54 / talk / 01:35, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Not "illegal". In the US, and I assume in most countries, it is not actually a violation of any law to breach a contract. (You could get sued, but not sent to prison.) Also see our EULA article for a brief list of how the different federal appeals courts have ruled different ways on how enforceable EULAs are in the first place. Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:16, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

The difference is because the two companies take different legal stances on the control of their intellectual property. They do so as part of different business strategies—with Apple you are roped into buying their specific hardware, which subsidizes the price of the software, while Windows primarily sells the software and allows any hardware vendor to use it, aiming for a higher overall market share. The distinction between the apparent legality is just based on the respective company policies (as expressed in their EULAs), nothing else. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 03:44, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

It makes a big difference in development and support costs for the companies. Apple know fairly well what they are developing for and have to support. Microsoft is lumbered with weird hardware and users aren't always content with them saying it's a vendors problem. It's apples and oranges, erm no strike that, well you know what I mean. 12:14, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Apple makes it's money out of hardware, they don't want you to get the benefit of Mac OS without paying, microsoft makes it money out of licences, they don't really give a monkeys what you put Windows XP on as long as you have paid for a licence. --Cameron Scott (talk) 17:18, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Note that certain Vista and Windows 7 EULAs do prevent you from running it on a virtual machine [6] [7] Nil Einne (talk) 03:38, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

Yahoo homepage

The new yahoo homepage is god-awful. Is there any way for me to get the old one back? 76.211.105.155 (talk) 03:24, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

You can switch to compact view (in the options on the right) or make your own layout using the My Yahoo option on the left. -- kainaw™ 03:59, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

DNS servers needed

I'm in a bind here. My ISP's DNS servers are out and I'm only connected to Wikipedia because I added WP's IP address to my hosts file (happily, I have the ShowIP extension on Firefox and was able to get it from that). Could someone possibly be kind enough to post the IPs of two public DNS servers for me? I have no clue as to when my ISP will get this fixed. Thanks in advance. howcheng {chat} 04:24, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Here's a list of public DNS servers. [8] I've never used them so I don't know how well they work but it's worth a try if you're in a bind. RxS (talk) 04:29, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Something like OpenDNS? --Spoon! (talk) 04:35, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for that, but the problem is because I have no DNS, I can't actually view that site because my computer can't resolve the domain name. :( I'm asking for some kind soul to look up some DNS server IP addresses and post them here... howcheng {chat} 04:37, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

lol....doh, of course. Glad it worked out! RxS (talk) 04:43, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Oh yes, OpenDNS should work. Let me try that. howcheng {chat} 04:38, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Sweet sweet DNS! Thanks so much Spoon!! (there are two exclamation points because your username already has one) howcheng {chat} 04:40, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Sounds like this is already resolved, but 4.2.2.1 through 4.2.2.6 are useful DNS servers and ping targets. --67.171.37.222 (talk) 03:17, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

Mobile phone colour

How common are mobile phones that support downloaded apps but aren't capable of at least 15-bit colour? NeonMerlin[9] 05:30, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Um... not terribly common. In the US, PhoneScoop only lists 1 currently available phone without a color screen that also supports "games". There are more discontinued b&w/grayscale phones still in use, but their number is dwindling. Looking for something specific? Indeterminate (talk) 09:03, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

I wasn't talking about being without colour altogether. Haven't there been, at some point in the past, phones with 8-bit colour? NeonMerlin[10] 20:37, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Sure, there are phones with 4096 colours (and probably others). Look at phones produced in the early 2000's, most of the better ones have colour screen and support Java apps. --antilived^{T | C | G} 01:05, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

cmmi level 3

what are the processes we should implement to go in for cmmi level 3 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Radsri 2006 (talk • contribs) 06:24, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia has a useful page on Capability Maturity Model Integration that should get you started on this. --Phil Holmes (talk) 08:34, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Matlab function input query

Hi there all,

I'm new to Matlab so I hope the answer isn't too complicated, but I was wondering whether it's possible to define a function within another function. I want have a function f(g,a,b) where g is something like 2*x-7*sin(x), for example, and then evaluate the given function g at various points in the code of f - for which I gather I need to use feval(~,a) to evaluate at x=a, with ~ the appropriate function. However, as far as I can surmise, ~ needs to be a function name or function handle (whatever that is) but when I input 'g' into f, it is treated as a variable. If I input g as something like 'sin' (with the apostrophes) then it works, but I want to be able to input 'unnamed' functions like the one above without having to define them separately in a new M-file every time I want to use f for a different function - so is there a way I can input a function like 2*x-7*sin(x) into another function and have it evaluated at points a, b and c, say, or alternatively define a function name for g 'within' f so it works with feval, or any workaround of somesort which isn't too complicated for a beginner?

Hopefully that makes sense, and many thanks!

Spamalert101 (talk) 06:56, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes, you want to learn about and use function handles. Function handles are used to pass a function as an argument, i.e. to dynamically switch which function is called by your code. If you are interested in background theory, function pointer is a useful article (but it is written for/by C-programmers, and much terminology will be unfamiliar to a MATLAB programmer). Fortunately, there is no shortage of MATLAB documentation. Here is the official Mathworks documentation for MATLAB Function Handles. This will give you some options; but in general, you will need to define your function somewhere (otherwise, how can you pass it as an argument?) This typically means a separate .m source file defining each function, but there are other options for defining different types of functions, including anonymous functions. You might want to really read these documentation pages very well, because different types of function declarations in MATLAB have subtle effects on behavior, variable scoping, and function handles. You may find anonymous function handles the most suitable for your needs. Nimur (talk) 11:40, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Excel printing problem

In Excel 2003, how do I get the text in a worksheet to print out on successive pages so that no text is suppressed and I don't have to glue extra pages to the right hand edge?

This tip from the Web turned out not to be what I was looking for. It made text so tiny even a magnifying glass would not have made it legible.

What I want is for text in each cell to be wrapped, if necessary, to show as several lines right below each other in the cell. That way the entire row would fit onto a single sheet of paper. In other words, instead of

Title	Director	Actors	Gen
1960
Los Acusados	Antonio Cunill Jr.	Mario Soffici, Silvia Legrand, Guillermo Battaglia, Alita Román, Julián Bourges , Mario Danesi ,Osvaldo Terranova	Crime REST CUT OFF

I want this

Title	Director	Actors	Genre	Notability
1960
Los Acusados	Antonio Cunill Jr.	Mario Soffici, Silvia Legrand, Guillermo Battaglia, Alita Román, Julián Bourges , Mario Danesi,Osvaldo Terranova	Crime drama	Based on Marco Denevi play, March 10

where everything fits onto the width of the page due to text in cell no. 3 being wrapped.

--Goodmorningworld (talk) 07:45, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Format... Cells... Alignment... Wrap Text. --Phil Holmes (talk) 08:32, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Thank you! It is an improvement... text is in normal size now... But the row with the most text is only a few characters wide and that makes each of its cells impossibly narrow and tall... Wish I could somehow convert the worksheet into a Word file. In Word I am comfortable fiddling with column widths and point sizes to make stuff fit and look good. However when I tried to copy the content and paste it into Word using the Office Clipboard I got only a jumbled mess. :( --Goodmorningworld (talk) 09:37, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Just increase the column width of that column in Excel. Then you can decrease the row size. Zain Ebrahim (talk) 10:08, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Thank you! --Goodmorningworld (talk) 11:01, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Another option you may find useful is on the page setup dialog. If you select the option "fit to 1 page(s) wide" and then blank out the "by () tall" option, Excel will fit the content to fit the available page width, but will still use whatever pages are needed to hold the length of the spreadsheet. -- Tcncv (talk) 01:43, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

MIDs, tablets, android...

What I can't quite figure out is how an 'internet tablet', one with Android OS for example, connects to a 3G network? It's not a phone, does it use a simcard? Does it require a 3G modem dongle? Does it require a fee based subscription of some kind? I realise there are few of these devices out yet, but several are pending (SMiT MID-560, Archos A5S). Thanks if you can inform...

3G modems have a SIM card, just like a 3G phone. The difference between a 3G phone and a 3G internet device is rather blurry (things like the iPhone are a bit of both, as are Android tablets). How the connection is paid for just depends on the calling and data plan that you buy for (or that is packaged with) the device - you can already get unlimited-data, metered data, and pay-as-you-go data packages. The only difference between a phone and an internet device is voice calling, and it's a somewhat artificial distinction; carriers for high-end phones are trying desperately to prevent VoIP applications being run on them, but I guess sooner or later they'll fail to keep that partitioning, at which point all that's different between the devices is how big they (and their screens) are. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 12:26, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

All Keys

Is there any computer program for windows that has an assigned function for every key on the standard microsoft keyboard and the combinations of ctrl, alt, and shift? TheFutureAwaits (talk) 14:33, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

No. I believe Ctrl-Alt-Delete is a secure attention key and can not be intercepted by an application. There may be other combinations that are reserved to Windows. As for the ones you can map, no practical application is likely to have that many user-oriented functions (around 800), but it would be straightforward to write a program that detects each and says "you pressed Ctrl-Alt-Q" or whatever for each one. --Sean 15:10, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Nethack takes a good shot at it, though: it uses the entire alphanumeric area of the keyboard both with and without "shift", and has a variety of control-key sequences. --Carnildo (talk) 22:29, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

about absolute decoding technique

Could you please give me the theoretical explanations regardng the interfacing of 74138 decoder with absolute decding technique —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.161.69.211 (talk) 14:41, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

This Google search gives links to pages on Google Books where you can read about it. They're all bizarrely similar. --Sean 15:20, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Is there anyway to get Google to do a literal search?

If I search on ": IEnumerator" (with the quotes), Google strips the leading colon and space from the search string. But I want to do the colon and space as part of the search string. Is there a way to get Google to do this? If not, does anyone know of another search engine that will actually search on what you want to search. Bing and Yahoo have the same problem (at least with default settings). 204.2.252.254 (talk) 15:31, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Google (and I guess the other two) discard punctuation (with a couple of odd computer-guy exceptions) when they index pages. As this page notes, colons are one of those things they discard (the table on that page is slightly complicated to read, because colons have special meanings in Google's interface, but aren't recognised parts of search terms). So no. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 15:37, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

I just tried 20 (or so) search engines listed on our Web search engine article and all behaved the same way (with default settings). However, the following will work: "Implements IEnumerator". ;) Anyway, if anyone does know of a way to do a literal search, please post a reply here. 204.2.252.254 (talk) 16:07, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

code.google.com may handle that differently--try there. 70.90.174.101 (talk) 18:17, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

(EC) Google Code Search allows full regular expression searches on a large body of source code. It might be suitable for you. Here are the results of your query. --Sean 18:27, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

CAD-TV channels

I live in Carrollton, GA outside of Atlanta. Some of my digital television channels are what they should be on the RF channels. ABC is channel 39-1 and cw is 43-1. Others are way off: Fox is 103-2, NBC is 101-2, CBS is 103-1. Why do some conform and others not? Is there anyplace I can get an accurate listing on the HD broadcast channels in my area? 160.10.98.106 (talk) 15:41, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

It appears you are receiving your digital channels via cable. The list you linked to is for over-the-air RF channels. Digital channels over the air and over cable use different sets of RF channels and different modulation types, so RF channel lists will be different. A cable company usually doesn't provide its RF channel mapping to the public, but you may find other people in your area have documented the mapping and posted it in an online forum or website. --Bavi H (talk) 03:42, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Intel Pentium Dual Core compared to Intel Core 2 ?

which one is the best of the Intel Pentium Dual Core and the Intel Core? If a program/game's minimum specs are a Intel Core 2 with 1,6 Ghz (or equivalent) and the recommended specs are Intel Core 2 with 2,4 Ghz (or equivalent) will my Intel Pentium Dual core 2,5 Ghz computer be good enough to run it satisfactory?

Of course, there are other deciding factors too, but if one only compares the two Intel systems how will I fare?

=)

What's the game? But since *most* games now use the graphics card to do the majority of the processing/gameplay I would think your computer would be just fine as far as raw processor goes and I'd worry more about your graphics card. ZX81 ^talk 16:38, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

A Core 2 Duo processor will outperform a Pentium Dual Core processor of the same clock rate. That is, a 2.0Ghz Core 2 Duo is faster than a 2.0GHz Pentium Dual Core. However, with many new games, the processor is used far less than the graphics card, and if you have a sufficiently powerful graphics card for the game, you should be able to get away with using a processor below the minimum requirements. Keep in mind this varies depending on the game, so if there's a demo available, try it before investing money into the game. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Caltsar (talk • contribs) 16:59, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Thank you :) The game I'm waiting for is "Dragon Age: Origins".

VISTA MINIMUM SPECS OS: Windows Vista with SP1 CPU: Intel Core 2 (or equivalent) running at 1.6Ghz or greater RAM: 1.5 GB or more VIDEO: ATI Radeon X1550 256MB or greater NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT 256MB or greater DVD ROM (Physical copy) 20 GB HD space

RECOMMENDED SPECS CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4Ghz Processor or equivalent RAM: 4 GB (Vista) or 2 GB (XP) VIDEO: ATI 3850 512 MB or greater NVIDIA 8800GTS 512 MB or greater AMD Phenom II X3 Triple-Core 2.8 GHz or greater DVD ROM (Physical copy) 20 GB HD space

What graphics card I have, I do not know... however, going to the control panel, then "system" there is something called "clasification" (at least in my language, directly translated) and there the computer have a computer-performanceindex of 5,3 which seems to be quite high from what I read and understand. The computer's game-graphics score have a 5,9 score though, even better, and the only thing that drags the score down is RAM(memory) which is 5,3. The average of all the underscores is probly around 5,75. It seems good, but I've been wondering if I need to invest further to improve my computer a little bit. But from what you tell me it is probably no need to worry because I think I have a good graphics card even though I know not the name of it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.49.182.144 (talk) 17:24, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

If vista gives you a 5.9 score on graphics, your system should be at or above the reccomended requirements for graphics on that game. The CPU should also perform well enough to play as well. You may not be able to hit the maximum settings, but you should have no problem with that particular game, and your computer probably doesn't need an upgrade for quite a while yet.Caltsar (talk) 17:45, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Thank you ! :D I'm not playing that much but when I do find a game like Dragon Age which I've been looking forward to for a long time I want my computer to be up to date so that's nice to hear. You've been very helpful :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.49.182.144 (talk) 18:09, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

BIOS Password

I recently read my BIOS password can be removed just by moving a jumper on the motherboard. I don't want that to be an option. Is there a way to prevent this from changing anything at the software level? Or could I just throw some solder on top of the jumper? TheFutureAwaits (talk) 17:47, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

In the old days (1990's) that trick usually worked, but I think in recent years its gotten less common. Anyway, the low tech solution is probably to put a physical lock on the computer (desktop enclosures often have little clips that you can put a padlock through), and if possible, lock up the whole computer (e.g. if it's a laptop, lock it in a desk drawer). If your security requirements are higher than that, you probably want to move to a class of hardware that's much less generic and more expensive than PC's. 70.90.174.101 (talk) 18:21, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Resetting the BIOS password using the jumper on the motherboard will also clear all BIOS settings. This jumper is there to "reverse" any changes you may have made that can't otherwise be reversed (overclocking the CPU far too much seems to be the most common issue I've come across for this). Clearing the BIOS password is just a side effect. If you don't want people accessing your motherboard, using tamper-resistant screws or otherwise preventing the case from being opened will do just as much as soldering the jumpers together without the risk of damage to your motherboard. This will provide the additional benefit of securing your computer physically, especially if it has no way to padlock it shut.Caltsar (talk) 18:28, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

If you are worried about your privacy and not about making a thief's life harder, then imo the best way to be secure for sure is to encrypt your whole hard-drive. Unless you run a lot of both processor and hard-drive intensive programs the performance hit should be unnoticeable. --194.197.235.240 (talk) 18:38, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Windows 7

Is Microsoft having trouble counting or is Windows 7 supposed to be called Windows 7? The way I work it out, after Win 3, the next one was Win 95 (which would be Win 4), then Win 98 (which would be Win 5), followed by Win XP (let's call this one Win 6) and then Vista (which would be Win 7) - and all this after leaving out Millenium and NT and 2000.... How did Win 7 get to be called Win 7? --KageTora - (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 18:28, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

No, they have no trouble counting. The consumer versions of Windows (and Windows 2000, based on the old Windows NT versions, and upon which XP, Vista and 7.0 Windows 7 are based), have the following numbers. Windows 95, 98 and Me were very similar to each other, and all share the 4.x version numbers. It is a bit of a surprise, though, that only the minor version number is changed between 2000 and XP.

Windows 1x

Windows 2x

Windows 3x

Windows 95 (4.0)

Windows 98 (4.10)

Windows Me (4.90)

Windows 2000 (5.0)

Windows XP (5.1)

Windows Vista (6.0)

Windows 7

--Andreas Rejbrand (talk) 18:38, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

(e/c) It has to do with Windows' internal version number. After Windows 3.1, Windows 95 was version 4.0, 98 was 4.1, Me was 4.9, 2K was 5.0, XP was 5.1 and Vista is 6.0. As with any other software product, version 6 of Windows would naturally be followed by version 7, hence Windows 7. Xenon54 / talk / 18:42, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Actually, Microsoft does have trouble counting, but this isn't one of those times. 204.2.252.254 (talk) 19:09, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

The list above isn't quite right. Windows 7 is descended from the NT series of Windows, so it goes as follows:

Windows 1.x

Windows 2.x

Windows 3.0

Windows 3.1

• At this point, Windows split into two versions: Windows 95 (based on Windows 3.1), and Windows NT (a new product). Vista is derived from Windows NT, while the 3.1 line ended with Windows ME.

Windows NT 3.1

Windows NT 3.5

Windows NT 4.0

Windows 2000 (5.0)

Windows XP (5.1)

Windows Vista (6.0)

Windows 7 (6.1)

So yes, Microsoft is having a bit of trouble counting. --Carnildo (talk) 22:43, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

My list is correct. I explicity wrote "The consumer versions of Windows (and Windows 2000, based on the old Windows NT versions, and upon which XP, Vista and 7.0 Windows 7 are based), have the following numbers.". --Andreas Rejbrand (talk) 11:43, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

But you overlooked the most important part, which is that Windows 7's internal version number is 6.1, not 7.0. -- BenRG (talk) 13:32, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

OK, I give you that. Indeed, it is strange to call Windows 6.1 "Windows 7". --Andreas Rejbrand (talk) 14:28, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Official counting here. NT 4.0 isn't in the list and at a guess it's because it was the "NT" version of Windows 95 (Windows 4). ZX81 ^talk 23:28, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Hmm, so I was right, but for the wrong reasons? Or was I not? Thanks for the clarification (and subsequent declarification), guys! I'm sure we'll come to a consensus soon. --KageTora - (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 11:56, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

The problem is Windows 6.1 is a decidely unappealing name (and would also convey the association with Vista). They could call it Windows 6 I guess since Vista is not known as 6 but that has other issues including the association with Vista which MS is trying to avoid. Technically they could have made Windows 7 having the internal version of 7 but that would go against the point of the internal version numbers, since Windows 6.1 is indeed just a refined version of Windows Vista despite what MS may like to claim otherwise publicly (this isn't a bad thing BTW but it's obviously not something MS likes to acknowledge). Incidentally, it's basically the same for XP and 2k, the only major difference was the modified GUI otherwise XP was basically just an improved 2k and used the same drivers etc. The vast majority of applications designed for XP, including games, could work on 2k fine, even if it wasn't officially supported. Nil Einne (talk) 12:20, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Copying large files without overloading the processor

I often have to copy large files to removable flash memory. It always grabs 70-80 per cent of processor resources and brings all other running programs to a standstill. How is it possible to copy large files without overloading the processor? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.8.52.98 (talk) 19:56, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

That should not happen in a modern OS, such as Windows Vista. What is your OS? --Andreas Rejbrand (talk) 20:40, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

It's Windows XP SP2 and it's not strictly speaking my computer so I cannot change the hardware ( 213.8.52.97 (talk)

Try TeraCopy —Preceding unsigned comment added by Avrillyria (talk • contribs) 20:58, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

No, unfortunately TeraCopy does nothing to unload the processor, though it does help to reduce copying time to a certain extent. Thank you anyway - TeraCopy seems to be a useful program. 213.8.52.97 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 16:00, 12 September 2009 (UTC).

September 12

Producing an optimal route on Google Maps

I'm planning to visit a specific group of locations in the near future, but as I've never visited most of them before, I don't know the shortest order in which to visit them. I have coordinates (all are National Register of Historic Places sites, with coordinates taken from lists such as National Register of Historic Places listings in Mercer County, Ohio), so I'm interested in a way to put coords into Google to produce a route map. I know how to put coords into Google and get a route between them, but is it possible to give it coordinates for all sites and have it give me an order in which to visit them? If not, are there any free websites that have this option? Nyttend (talk) 03:38, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

In case it's at all helpful — I've put together a list here, and Toolserver is working fast enough that the geogrouptemplate is plotting everything properly on Google Maps. Locations, but not the shortest roads between them. Nyttend (talk) 05:19, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

What you're asking for -- an optimal route to visit n different destinations -- is an instance of the Traveling Salesman problem, which is one of the classic examples of an NP-complete computation problem. These problems become intractable fast as n increases. However, they can frequently be approximated efficiently. I would be astounded if anyone is offering a service to find the optimal route between n points, but there may be someone out there finding reasonably-good ones. --FOo (talk) 05:42, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

On modern computers solving the problem for up to something like 20 points can actually be done by a relatively simple dynamic programming algorithm. As long as we're talking about actual traveling between cities, a limit of 20 cities should be enough for just about anyone. Unfortunately user-friendly implementations of optimisation algorithms are a lot more expensive and rare than many other applications of computers. 84.239.160.214 (talk) 11:19, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Country Specific Versions of MSN

My mate in the Gulf wants to download the Japanese version of MSN, with all of its emoticons and winks that are specific to the Japanese version. How does he do this? I already have the Japanese version, but the reason I do not know how to download it, is because I actually had no choice. I got it automatically, even though I am using a British PC, downloaded it from the UK, and used an email address that was created in the UK. Anyway, I don't mind, but my mate really wants to get it. How can he do this? --KageTora - (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 11:19, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Have you tried downloading from the Japanese messenger website? --antilived^{T | C | G} 11:32, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Thanks. He just tried that (after I told him your advice), and after a successful download and installation, he can't login. Does he need to make a new account? --KageTora - (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 13:20, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

I don't know but Microsoft might have a IP restriction for the Japanese Messenger. I, for example, can't use the mobile MSN available in China in NZ. --antilived^{T | C | G} 05:47, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

That can't be the problem, because I am in the UK now and I am having no problem with using the Japanese version, unless the Japanese version is specifically putting restrictions on IP addresses in the Middle East. I know what you mean, though, because I had trouble at first using MSN on my mobile (as it was only available in China and Taiwan) for a while, but that mysteriously cleared itself up. --KageTora - (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 17:12, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

MIDI playback in Python with real time MIDI events?

I'm trying to code a MIDI visualizer in Python (on Windows) using pygame, but I can't find anything helpful out there. There are a bunch of MIDI classes, but they're pretty damn old, very undocumented and as far as I can tell they're pretty much meant for dealing with controllers and synths. What I want is to get a local MIDI file, play it and have the means to "get" the events as they happen in sync with the music.

Am I asking for too much? I'm almost trying to code it myself using two different MIDI libraries I found, but that won't be much fun. Any light on this topic is much appreciated. Thanks! — Kieff | Talk 13:01, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

What does writing 'this' mean?

Often when I make a comment in an online forum someone replies with a "this". Only "this". I don't know what it means. What does it mean? From the context it seems like a good thing but I can't be sure. ReluctantPhilosopher (talk) 15:07, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Can you link to an example? --KageTora - (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 15:10, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

I think something like

UserA: "We should all be worshipped as gods"
UserB: this

Yes they are complimenting or agreeing with you, - similar to QFR "Quoted for truth". At least that what I think it means.83.100.250.79 (talk) 15:16, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

clarify Actually I think it's used to draw attention to a post - so if you said something really stupid they might use "this" too.. 83.100.250.79 (talk) 15:18, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Ah OK that's probably the right explanation - I was expecting something like that. Thanks! :) ReluctantPhilosopher (talk) 16:15, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

I have frequently seen it used to mean "I agree", and never to mean "look at this stupid post", but usage is likely to vary between forums, what with them being worlds unto themselves. 213.122.35.3 (talk) 17:02, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

How strange and not straightforward... I haven't seen that before, though, I guess there's a lot one doesn't see... --98.217.14.211 (talk) 18:01, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

According to this, it means "I agree". It might come from this - is this used often as a keyword? Zain Ebrahim (talk) 18:51, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes, I think javascript (the 'language of the internet') also has a 'this' word [11], so I wouldn't be suprised that that is its origin.83.100.250.79 (talk) 19:00, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Though that doesn't make much sense to me, as someone who has used it... You always do something with "this", you never use it alone. It would be one thing if they did something like this->awesome, or this.agree();, which would be dorky enough, but just "this"? Meaningless... --98.217.14.211 (talk) 19:24, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Haha that is dorky for sure (I've done C programming). Anyways here is the latest thread on which 'this' was used and which led me here if you are curious: "this" in use ReluctantPhilosopher (talk) 20:56, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

I'm guessing this is simply an abbreviation of this is true. --70.253.156.55 (talk) 22:02, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Disc CleanUp

Disc clean up in windows XP 'compresses old files'.What does this mean ? and does this in any way harm or remove the said file? Shraktu (talk) 20:24, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

It finds files that it thinks you don't access often and uses data compression on them to make them smaller. This has the downside of making accessing them slower and requiring more CPU activity than otherwise. Disk space is very cheap, so I wouldn't recommend doing this unless you're really short of space. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 20:27, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

As a sidenote, compression doesn't always make access slower because it might be the hd and not the cpu that is the bottleneck. Anyway in a general case like this it probably will. --194.197.235.240 (talk) 21:31, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

September 13

Combat Flight Simulator

Is there any 3D combat flight simulator with modern airplanes and high-end graphics? --81.227.70.149 (talk) 00:09, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

There are a lot of examples in combat flight simulator. Take your pick. Intelligentsium 00:22, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

If you want realism, I'm going to suggest Allied Force. - Akamad (talk) 18:28, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Make a sound play every time a key is pressed.

Is there any programs that can play a sound every time a key on the keyboard is pressed? Until It Sleeps 01:24, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Probably quite a few. Here's one that might work. (I assume you're using Windows.) There might also be some way to set this sort of thing up through the Windows Accessibility settings. Indeterminate (talk) 04:54, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Easy Itertive Fractals For Windows

Is there any easy to use fractal software that can be used to demonstrate iterative as well as the usual madelbrot fractals with 9 & 10 year old children? I am especially looking for something that can demonstrate fractal forms in nature; snowflakes, fern leaves, coast lines etc. If it is freeware, even better. Looked at Chaoscope, Apophysis and ultrafractal. They all have their strengths but are not the most straightforward to use. Kirk UK —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.82.79.175 (talk) 09:31, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Have you tried ChaosPro? It's my personal favorite from the free ones. — Kieff | Talk 10:15, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

MacBook Pro Charging

Hi. When I connect my MacBook Pro to the power adapter, often this just has the effect of keeping the remaining battery life constant rather than actually charging it (I have been on 38% for nearly a day now). Does anyone know how to sort this out? Thanks 92.4.190.210 (talk) 13:09, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Unless this is typical for macbooks (idk), it sounds like you have a failing battery. If warranty hasn't yet expired it's time to use it. --194.197.235.240 (talk) 13:43, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Sounds like a bad battery. Take it to an Apple store and they should be able to diagnose, potentially replace. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 15:23, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

MyWebSearch - how to get rid of it?

Recently, Firefox on my Vista machine has been redirecting to search.mywebsearch.com whenever it doesn't recognize a search in my address bar. I have set Firefox to be able to search from the address bar (like in Chrome), but I'm just getting this site. Ad-Aware reported to me yesterday that I had a bunch of files associated with this thing and it removed them for me, but it's still happening. I have looked on some websites to find out how to remove it completely, but they all tell me to remove it from Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel. However, when I try to do that, I can't find the software listed there (nor any of its aliases). Is there any other way to do it? (A bit more info: my machine is a HP, and I just read the wikipedia article about this issue and it says that it is very often bundled in with the preinstalled software - whether this is the case with my machine or not, I cannot be sure, but what I can say is that I have only noticed this recently, say, over the past few months). TIA. --KageTora - (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 16:23, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

It is part of MyWay Searchbar. Try Superantispyware and Spybot - Search & Destroy. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 16:43, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Cheers! Spybot seems to have worked. --KageTora - (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 18:38, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Displaying sound

I want to display the sound on my computer like the old stereos used to with an LED display. But not a real one, a virtual one. That lights up at all sounds on my computer., suggestion program for this. many thank yous —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.44.54.46 (talk) 17:00, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

That thing is called a VU meter, incidentally. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 17:26, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

And so searching for "windows vm meter" or something similar will find any number of programs that do this. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 17:28, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Many media players have a 'VU meter' in their 'visualisations' settings - go to help (in your media player) and search for that.

Windows media player, real player definately have them, I imagine most others do too.77.86.47.174 (talk) 18:16, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

I tied searching but i can't find anything. media plaer not good because i need all computer sounds to work not only just the mediua being played —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.44.54.46 (talk) 20:21, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Name of PCB material?

I'm trying to remember the name of a possible future material for PCBs but my mind has gone blank. I know it started with either H or Hex? Can someone help me out here? I know it's still in development. --Glaesisvellir (talk) 17:31, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

You definately mean Printed_circuit_board#Materials and not part of the chip itself - eg "Hi-K dielectric"?77.86.47.174 (talk) 18:18, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Could it be HF - meaning halogen free - this are not in developement though - they exist.77.86.47.174 (talk) 18:24, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

How about "Hi modulus carbon fibre"?77.86.47.174 (talk) 18:26, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Ok, I'm sorry, it didn't start with H. It didn't even really have to do with PCBs. Turns out I was looking for Graphene. Again, very sorry. --Glaesisvellir (talk) 21:21, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Financial functions in excel

In Excel, how would you find the present value of principal payments of a bond and the present value of interest payments if you know the rate, the loan amount remaining and the principal payment? 71.229.144.57 (talk) 20:24, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

I think you will have to manually set up some of the equations. There are some built-in functions to help you, such as PMT (payment) calculation, PPMT (principle payment), and others linked on these documentation pages. Depending on your needs, they may be exactly suitable for your calculations. Nimur (talk) 21:51, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

There is a built in function PV, about which the help file says: Returns the present value of an investment. The present value is the total amount that a series of future payments is worth now. For example, when you borrow money, the loan amount is the present value to the lender. Mitch Ames (talk) 11:49, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

CSS Image Fade

(I don't have Windows - so no IE) Does any IE version support CSS image fading in any way? I want to load two images, one over the other, and decrease the opacity of the top one until it is 0% and only the bottom one is visible. I would like this to work in Windows. I know it works on my Linux versions of Firefox and Konqueror (and supposedly, the Konqueror support is already in Safari). -- kainaw™ 23:48, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Quirksmode discusses opacity, including the support in different versions of IE. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 23:59, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

I found this set of scripts to be pretty easy and designed with multiple browsers in mind (including IE). You might give it a spin. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 11:40, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Rather than wasting your beautiful mind on browser incompatibilities, consider getting a toolkit that will handle them for you. The following, which uses Prototype and Scriptaculous, works on both IE and standards-based browsers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd">
<html>
    <head>
        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" >
        <title>Fader</title>
        <script type="text/javascript" src="/javascript/prototype.js"></script>
        <script type="text/javascript" src="/javascript/scriptaculous/scriptaculous.js"></script>
        <script type="text/javascript" src="/javascript/scriptaculous/effects.js"></script>
        <style type="text/css">
            #pics img { position: absolute; left: 10px; top 100px; }
            div#ctrl { position: absolute;  top: 450px; }
        </style>
    </head>
    <body>
        <div id="pics">
            <img src="http://theinternetisterrible.com/wp-content/things/happycat.jpg" alt="meow">
            <img id="fade_demo" src="http://www.killsometime.com/Pictures/images/Tired-Dog.jpg" alt="snore">
        </div>

        <div id="ctrl">
            <a href="#" onclick="$('fade_demo').fade(); return false;">Click here for a demo!</a><br>
            <a href="#" onclick="$('fade_demo').show(); return false;">Reset</a>
        </div>
    </body>
</html>

--Sean 18:40, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Before posting HTML code please make sure you are posting the WHOLE code so other people can try out the code and see if it works. Second if you look online you can get free programs to help you fade the images without the use of CSS. The problem with CSS is browser compatibility. If you have one user running IE and another running Firefox, Chrome, Opera, and some other no name browser then you have problems... it's called "Cross-browser compatibility". I would suggest using Photoshop. If you don't have Photoshop Flash will do the same thing.

--Jdswebservice (talk) 16:48, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

Hrm. So when I post C code, I should include all of stdio.h? --Sean 20:29, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

September 14

FRACTALS

210.212.239.181 (talk) 04:55, 14 September 2009 (UTC)harshagg

I am a begginer and know only few things on fractals.How can i know about them including how to programme.I tried on wiki itself but i am unable to understand that.

I assume that you have seen our article on fractal software. If you are a competent mathematician, artist and programmer, I suppose you could "re-invent the wheel". Dbfirs 11:58, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

To get you started, the "Escape time algorithm" is probably the easiest to code. Dbfirs 06:24, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

Is a really old Webroot Spy Sweeper of any use?

i still the above and Trend Micro Anti-Virus on my Windows XP machine, though the subscriptions for each ended last summer. (Can't afford to purchase updates) I'm using free AVG and also McAfee from AOL, which update regularly, and seem to be getting pretty good results. McAfee seems able to catch any programt hat want to get into my system. I surf the Web little, except for half a dozen familiar places, and almost never watch anything on YouTube, though I will very rarely. Is my spyware protection too redundant?209.244.187.155 (talk) 15:48, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

It is usually a bad idea to have more than one antivirus program installed. My advice is to uninstall all of the antivirus programs that are no longer valid as well as AVG (it has a pretty poor detection rate). McAfee isn't bad, but there are several good and free anti-virus programs out there for you to consider if McAfee runs out. I know Microsoft has a new program coming out soon that is getting good reviews.Caltsar (talk) 17:36, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Printing Hotmail emails: tiny text, no word wrapping

When I want to print a Hotmail email a bare window appears with tiny text and no word wrapping. How can I increase the text size and get the text to wrap please? 78.146.163.118 (talk) 16:48, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

What browser and operating system are you using? — QuantumEleven 18:48, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Internet Explorer 8, Windows XP Sp3. 89.243.184.30 (talk) 19:41, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Single character key doesn't work

Hello! I have a really strange PC problem, for which I have no idea how to start diagnosing it. My closing-parenthese symbol (shift-0) doesn't work. 0 works fine, as do all the other capital keys (shift-someotherkey), so it's not a hardware problem with either the 0 key or the shift key. I have checked, my keyboard layout is set correctly (English-UK). The behaviour is identical in all programs and doesn't go away after a reboot. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I might narrow down the culprit? Thanks in advance! — QuantumEleven 18:43, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Do you have a different keyboard you could try? Perhaps you could borrow a friend's keyboard to see if the problem is on the keyboard or on your computer (either hardware or the OS). That would help to diagnose the problem. Caltsar (talk) 19:12, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

If you are using windows, go to start, run, and type charmap.Accdude92 (talk) (sign) 19:26, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Perhaps a background program is "trapping" the keystroke. For example, I often have XNote Stopwatch running in the background while I'm working. Although it's a great program, it has one flaw - if you happen to press one of its keys (S, N, or R) while the stopwatch is running, the action assigned to those keys happens whether the stopwatch window is active or not. It was quite annoying, until I found out how to disable keyboard shortcuts. If you use Windows, you might want to check if this is the case. If all else fails, you can always try reinstalling the driver (KB258826, step 3). Basically it's going into Device Manager (devmgmt.msc), uninstalling the keyboard, rebooting, then letting Windows automatically detect and reinstall. Xenon54 / talk / 19:43, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Caltsar is correct; it is probably a hardware problem with that one key on your keyboard, and the way to diagnose this is to try a different keyboard for a few seconds. Comet Tuttle (talk) 21:12, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Or as Xenon54 suggested, it might be a software problem trapping the Shift+0 combination. You could try the keyboard at another computer and see if works or not. If possible, both tests (try a new keyboard at the computer with the problem; try the keyboard with the problem at another computer) should help you narrow the problem down and decide how to further investigate. --Bavi H (talk) 23:48, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Cursor turns into spinning circle on top of Geejo's name

I'm not sure whether this goes on the village pump or not. Here [12] I was moving the cursor across Geejo's name and it turned into a spinning circle. I was dealing with a slow web site on another screen, but the problem continued even after that site came up there--though that site's URL was on the top of the screen where I was on Wikipedia!Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 20:08, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

It does that on my computer too. (Ubuntu 9.04, Firefox 3.5.2) GeeJo is still around, so it might be interesting to ask him how and why it does that (if he did it deliberately). Xenon54 / talk / 20:12, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

He has CSS style that read "cursor: wait;" which does that (on modern browsers). 87.113.10.108 (talk) 20:23, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

I have Explorer 8 and Vista. I can never remember where all this information is to say what my computer is, but that's probably enough in these cases.

I've asked this person to respond.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 20:43, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Surely his CSS style has nothing to do with the symptoms you see on other web pages. I recommend getting more RAM for the computer, and you should close Adobe's PDF reader whenever possible. I regularly see annoying slowdowns when PDF files are open (whether in the reader or in the browser). Comet Tuttle (talk) 00:00, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes,I had that effect (changing cursor style while hovering over my name) on my signature for a while for a laugh. The effect is only a mouseover, it shouldn't change how the cursor works when it's not pointed at the word GeeJo on some of my old comments. It wasn't long before I decided that the effect was fairly annoying, and I switched to my current signature. I'm not planning on going back through every archived talk page to retrofit my old comments, though. GeeJo ^(t)⁄_(c) • 07:05, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

Java References

Basically, I am trying to program something like this...

private Object[] myArray;

public E get(int i)
{
return((E) myArray[i]);
}

public T next(int i)
{
return((T) get(i));
}

...and I expect next(int i) to return a reference to the original Object, but it doesn't. It just gives me a copy. Is there anyway that I can make it pass me a reference? Furthermore, I am perplexed why this is happening in the first place. I am pretty sure I have passed references to class objects before. Does the array or casts have something to do with it? By the way, this isn't a homework assignment or anything; I'm just trying to familiarize myself with the language. 199.111.182.231 (talk) 23:53, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Hmm... I think I may have answered my own question. In my implementation, I was using Integers, which do not have the mutator methods necessary to adjust the original value. 199.111.182.231 (talk) 00:08, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

September 15

Scalability of two-tier versus three-tier architectures

I'd be grateful for insight into the relative merits of a two-tier versus a three-tier architecture, from the point of view of the scalability of an IT application. Why might one approach be superior to the other? Consider, for instance, an Oracle Application Express (two-tier) versus J2EE or .Net three-tier architectures, for an application which might today serve 1,000 concurrent users, but next year 2,000 or 10,000.

I can (at least intuitively) understand the benefits of logical separation of elements of the application, per Multitier architecture, both in terms of modularisation of code and in the ability to provide distinct platforms for each of the tiers. And so I can see that there is some benefit, from the scalability perspective, in being able to ramp up the hardware provided to a distinct layer, based on an understanding of the pinch points in the system. But as a general proposition, can one approach be thought to be better than the other in its ability to scale, measured, I guess, in terms of cost of hardware deployed?

And - whilst we're on the subject - would I be right or wrong in postulating that a three-tier architecture will tend to need more tin than a two-tier architecture, all other things being equal?

I assure you this is not a homework question: I'm struggling to get an insight into what are for me rather abstract concepts, and I have an obscure interest which needs to be satisfied. thanks. --62.49.21.172 (talk) 00:23, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

It's really going to vary based on the application and the use-case. The real benefits of a three-tiered architecture come more from a project-management and logistics standpoint, rather than a purely hardware/software consideration. By separating the different predicted bottlenecks, it's possible to assign teams to work on independently optimizing those cases. However, the actual bottleneck in a given application is going to depend on the precise interplay of each transaction with each tier of the software architecture. And, it's possible to measure the cost per unit of hardware in each sub-area, which can be evaluated by the budgeting people as a tradeoff against end-user experience and overall system performance. As far as the "most tin", it's again going to be a case-by-case situation; but the system which uses the least number of nodes is also going to be the most tightly-knit, hardest to maintain, and least redundant system. Modularity is useful in these deployed platforms for maintainability, more than performance; in truth, if it were possible, the entire system could be most efficient as a single layer application. (The challenges of scaling then strictly rely on whether a single node can clone all the required data, and whether data hazards result from this). But, the single standalone-node is the penultimate in pure parallelization - every single unit of the deployed system is a miniature, exact replica of the rest of the system. "Scaling" simply means duplicating these units. Upgrading or modifying, however, becomes a near-impossible task, propagating changes dynamically to n independent nodes. Nimur (talk) 02:21, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

Installing Pygame on Ubuntu Hardy Heron

Hi,

I've been given a laptop with a fresh install of Ubuntu (8.04, Hardy Heron) I'm a total linux newbie, but have spent a few days getting a feel for Ubuntu (and liking it a lot, I might add), and wanted to try doing some game dev on it. Python + pygame seems like a good way to go, and the system came with Python 2.5.2 installed. I've been reading through the docs on the pygame site on how to install it, and mostly it seems to come down to doing a "sudo apt-get install python-pygame", but whenever I do that I just get 'package not found'

As I said, I'm very new to the whole Linux thing, so I might be looking in the wrong repositories or something (I don't really know how to change that yet, but I get that you can) I tried using Ubuntu's add/remove software manager, and searching the 'all apps' category, but nothing came up for pygame.

Any help would be appreciated!

--67.171.37.222 (talk) 03:09, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

You're probably not going to like this answer, but one friend of mine tried getting started with Pygame, struggled for a day, switched to XNA Game Studio with Windows, and was immediately far happier. Tempshill (talk) 04:35, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

Is this a new install? The package is in fact called python-pygame (at least in 9.04) so the problem probably that you don't have the repository (universe) enabled. Open System/Admin/Software Sources and tick the first 4 checkboxes in the dialog, then press close and then reload. It should find the python-pygame package now. BTW, Synaptics (System/Admin) is a lot better at searching for packages than Add/Remove software. --antilived^{T | C | G} 06:42, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

You, sir or madam, as the case may be, are a genius. Thank you! Worked like a charm, and pointed me to a great package manager I wasn't even aware of --67.171.37.222 (talk) 07:05, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

Escrow for virtual items either items from games or computer code?

I have been searching for days and google only turns up garbage. Does anyone know or know how to find escrow systems that would be good for selling virtual items over the internet such as item from games or source code for freelance coding? Normal escrow sites only deal with physical items or domain names and have $25 minimum escrow fees, and then source code escrow sites charge about $1000 minimum fees and are designed for only working with large companies and enslaving them with long-term contracts. Are you ready for IPv6? (talk) 05:18, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

Converting between SVY21 and WGS84 Coordination system

hello. Im on this project currently. To convert between the 2 coordinate system (SVY21 and WGS84) i found quite a bit of information. But just cant figure out how does SVY21 work. Any kind soul can help me with that? your aid will be greatly appreciated. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Razorsaber (talk • contribs) 05:56, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

SVY21 is a transverse Mercator projection. Our article on the subject may be of help. decltype (talk) 06:03, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

SVY21 is a geodetic datum (EPSG 6757), a geographic coordinate system (EPSG 4757) and SVY21 / Singapore TM (EPSG 3414) is the projected coordinate system decltype mentioned. The EPSG registry seems to be down at the moment, but here are the well-known text representations for the geographic and projected systems. What is it that you can't figure out? If you'd just like an introduction to coordinate systems, i'd recommend EPSG's Geodetic awareness guidance note.—eric 18:35, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

Oh, sorry for giving an inaccurate answer. decltype (talk) 19:25, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

db2 and sql

is there any difference between db2 and sql?if its there then please help me.... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kc28kc (talk • contribs) 10:35, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

IBM DB2 is a Relational DataBase Management System (DBMS, a software package to handle databases) whereas SQL is a query language (a set of comands for extracting and manipulating data through a DBMS, unless you are talking about the Microsoft SQL Server - which is another DBMS). I know that's not very helpful but I don't know much more --ReluctantPhilosopher (talk) 13:28, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

"SQL was developed at IBM by Andrew Richardson, Donald C. Messerly and Raymond F. Boyce in the early 1970s" from Structured Query Language. --Jc3s5h (talk) 17:03, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

Do you mean mysql? Rbmj (talk) 19:07, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

The history and architecture of the ARM microprocessors

I would like learn about the ARM processors, how and when they began, including the architecture of the processor. A lengthy and detailed response will do. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.2.2.228 (talk) 15:34, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

Have you read ARM Holdings and ARM architecture? You can then start on some of thge people mentioned like Furber and Wilson. Dmcq (talk)

History glitch in Internet Explorer 8?

I have the problem at home, and apparently it's here at the library too.

I figure this computer must have the new version because the URL is gray except "wikipedia.org" is black.

I use the back button a lot but it seems that history repeats itself. Instead of going back, the back button seems to go forward before going back. I'm pretty sure I'm not clicking on the forward button by mistake.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 17:53, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

Does this happen with one particular URL, or every URL you have seen? Do you end up, in fact, at the same page you started with, or do you end up one page back in the history? Comet Tuttle (talk) 21:58, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

JAVA repaint problem

This JAVA program works fine, except that the repaint() method doesn't work. Why is this and how can I fix it?

Massive amount of code collapsed. Tim Song (talk) 19:31, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

package towerdefense; import java.io.*; import java.awt.*; import java.awt.event.*; import javax.swing.*; public class TowerDefense extends JFrame implements ActionListener { public static void main(String[] args) { new TowerDefense(); } JFrame game; JPanel panel; Image dbImage; Graphics dbg; Timer timer = new Timer(1, this); JFileChooser openDialog; int boardWidth; int boardHeight; int tileSize; int pathLength; int[][] coordinates; int[][] directions; boolean[][] board; int maxHealth = 20; int health = maxHealth; Enemy enemy; public TowerDefense() { openDialog = new JFileChooser(); openDialog.addChoosableFileFilter(new MapFilter()); try { int returnVal = openDialog.showOpenDialog(null); if (returnVal == JFileChooser.APPROVE_OPTION) { String filename = openDialog.getSelectedFile().toString(); FileReader reader = new FileReader(filename); String text = ""; boolean keepGoing = true; while (keepGoing) { int character = reader.read(); if (character == -1) { keepGoing = false; } else { text += (char) character; } } String[] array = text.split("x"); String[] coordinateArray = array[2].split(";"); pathLength = coordinateArray.length; coordinates = new int[pathLength][2]; directions = new int[pathLength][2]; for (int i = 0; i < pathLength; i++) { coordinates[i][0] = Integer.parseInt(coordinateArray[i].split(",")[0]); coordinates[i][1] = Integer.parseInt(coordinateArray[i].split(",")[1]); directions[i][0] = Integer.parseInt(coordinateArray[i].split(",")[2]); directions[i][1] = Integer.parseInt(coordinateArray[i].split(",")[3]); } boardWidth = Integer.parseInt(array[0]); boardHeight = Integer.parseInt(array[1]); tileSize = Math.min(getToolkit().getScreenSize().height / boardHeight, (getToolkit().getScreenSize().width - 300) / boardWidth); board = new boolean[boardWidth][boardHeight]; for (int i = 0; i < boardWidth; i++) { for (int j = 0; j < boardHeight; j++) { board[i][j] = false; } } for (int i = 0; i < pathLength; i++) { board[coordinates[i][0]][coordinates[i][1]] = true; } enemy = new Enemy(coordinates[0][0], coordinates[0][1], 100, 0, directions, -tileSize / 2, 0, tileSize / 2); } } catch (Exception e) { showErrorMessage(e); } game = new JFrame("Tower Defense"); panel = new JPanel(); game.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(getToolkit().getScreenSize().width, getToolkit().getScreenSize().height)); game.add(panel); game.setExtendedState(MAXIMIZED_BOTH); game.setDefaultCloseOperation(EXIT_ON_CLOSE); game.setVisible(true); game.add(new JCanvas()); timer.start(); } public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) { if(enemy.move()) { health--; } repaint(); } public void showErrorMessage(Exception e) { JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "An error has occurred.\n\nDescription:\n" + e.toString(), "Error!", JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE); System.exit(0); } class JCanvas extends Canvas { public void paint(Graphics g) { for (int i = 0; i < boardWidth; i++) { for (int j = 0; j < boardHeight; j++) { if (board[i][j]) { g.setColor(Color.orange); } else { g.setColor(Color.black); } g.fillRect(i * tileSize, j * tileSize, tileSize, tileSize); } } g.setColor(Color.blue); if (enemy.isAlive) { g.fillOval(enemy.x * tileSize + enemy.xOffset + tileSize / 2, enemy.y * tileSize + enemy.yOffset + tileSize / 2, tileSize / 4, tileSize / 4); } g.setColor(Color.black); g.setFont(new Font("Courier", Font.BOLD, 50)); g.drawString("HP", getToolkit().getScreenSize().width - 300, 50); if (health > maxHealth / 2) { g.setColor(Color.green); } else if (health > maxHealth / 4) { g.setColor(Color.yellow); } else { g.setColor(Color.red); } g.fillRect(getToolkit().getScreenSize().width - 240, 0, health * 240 / maxHealth, 50); if (health > maxHealth / 2) { g.setColor(Color.magenta); } else if (health > maxHealth / 4) { g.setColor(Color.blue); } else { g.setColor(Color.cyan); } g.setFont(new Font("Helvetica", Font.PLAIN, 25)); g.drawString(health + "/" + maxHealth, getToolkit().getScreenSize().width - 240, 50); } } }

--204.184.214.2 (talk) 19:01, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

While you're waiting, you might like to take a peek at Wikipedia:Reference desk/How to ask a software question. --Sean 20:34, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

Websites That Will Translate Letters -- Not Just Text From The Internet

Hello,

I've recently come across a few letters in a family archive that are in Dutch, Polish and Italian. Are there any places I can post scans of these to have them translated?

Thanks in advance for any help,

--Grey1618 (talk) 22:58, 15 September 2009 (UTC)