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August 11

QuickTime for Windows 8

Is it possible to have QuickTime at Windows 8.1?--79.129.213.27 (talk) 09:13, 11 August 2014 (UTC)

It is on the Windows Store. Haven't tried it myself. --  Gadget850 ^talk 11:13, 11 August 2014 (UTC)

Switching from .NET 3.5 to .NET 4.0

Regarding my earlier question about implementing a custom XML serialiser in .NET WCF code, I received a suggestion about extending DataContractResolver. Now, it turns out that this whole class doesn't exist in .NET 3.5, only in .NET 4.0 and later. Visual Studio 2008, which is the latest version I have on my work computer, doesn't support it. My company might allow me to upgrade to Visual Studio 2010 (after almost a decade of using only Linux and free software at home, I'm becoming unaccustomed to the whole idea of for-pay, proprietary software, but that is beside the point). But I've found out that this will also mean upgrading the .NET Runtime from version 2.0 to version 4.0. Will this cause problems with legacy .NET or ASP.NET applications? Will they still work with the newer runtime or will they break? This is not so much a problem for me but for our customers. They are still using the old 2.0 runtime for web applications supplied by us and possibly our competitors, and I would rather want to avoid making them to abandon them. JIP | Talk 19:27, 11 August 2014 (UTC)

It should not be an issue— the application should select the version of .NET required, but I recommend testing. 3.5 is included in Windows 7, but 4.0 would have to be installed. Windows 8 includes .NET 4.5 but not 3.5. --  Gadget850 ^talk 21:00, 11 August 2014 (UTC)

I had a similar problem. The solution is this: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/vstudio/a99txfy5%28v=vs.100%29.aspx In Win8.1 - Control panel - Program and Features - Turn Windows feature on/off - Enable .net 3.5 which includes 2.0 196.214.78.114 (talk) 07:20, 12 August 2014 (UTC)

August 12

'Smart' Screen

How to disable Smart Screen once and for all, without having Windows 8.1 informing me that it should be enabled? It prevents me from doing one of the most common tasks for computer users - installing software. KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (Chin Wag) 09:50, 12 August 2014 (UTC)

Win 8.1 Apps

Some apps won't start properly. They come on screen for a split second, then minimize themselves. Is there anything I can do about this? KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (Chin Wag) 18:04, 12 August 2014 (UTC)

August 13

Windows "namespaces" to fix PATH conflicts?

Are there any tools for Windows that make it easier to change the PATH variable for a specific command or session, by storing friendly names for the sometimes-PATH folders (similar to the programming concept of namespaces)? An example use of this would be to resolve the conflicts between Git Bash and Cygwin (which implement many of the same GNU commands), or to override the PowerShell builtin by invoking cygwin::ls. NeonMerlin 02:38, 13 August 2014 (UTC)

On Windows (like Unix!) the environment is composed from system-wide settings, user-settings, and per-process settings. You could add persistent PATH entries (or any other settings) that only apply to specific programs or sessions by setting them in your command prompt, or in a batch file, GUI shortcut link, and so on. Do you need help tracking down an implementation tutorial? Nimur (talk) 14:45, 13 August 2014 (UTC)

the portion of the path before the filename is the "namespace" for the shell/command interpreter to look up the executable. SCNR, Asmrulz (talk) 15:28, 14 August 2014 (UTC)

Searching reflist web pages

A certain article (this one, if it matters) currently has 131 entries in its reflist. My guess is that, given the amount of content overlap (mostly web-based news), 131 is about three times what it really needs to be.

The reason is that, when one needs to source a new fact, they search the entire web using a search engine, and they usually add a new ref. More times than not, the reflist already included one or more sources for the fact.

Is there a practical way to search only the URLs already in a reflist?   Mandruss |talk  20:14, 13 August 2014 (UTC)

testing upload/download speed

How can I test the upload/download speed on my laptop? FWIW, it's a Lenovo U310, which had notorious WiFi issues when it debuted two years ago. I bought mine about a month ago, and though I haven't experienced any particular problems, now I'm increasing my cable speed and I'd like to know. Thanks. --Halcatalyst (talk) 20:27, 13 August 2014 (UTC)

http://speedtest.net is often used for this purpose. The Article is here. 75.69.10.209 (talk) 01:45, 14 August 2014 (UTC)

• Thank you. I tried it twice, once from downstairs and once right up here next to the router. Results:

Downstairs: PNG 19ms, DNLD 0.90 Mbps, UPLD 3.13 Mbps

Next to the router: PNG 23ms, DNLD 15.79 Mbps, UPLD 6.41 Mbps

Even I can tell what that means. The signal strength dies out quickly over distance. That's the same thing Lenovo users were complaining about two years ago.

Hmmm. There are hundreds of complaints about this problem online at this very Lenovo "community "site, which doesn't appear to be monitored by customer support. The problem isn't fixed after two years. I guess it just got lost in the shuffle, as often happens with big companies after (not) all the 'kinks' are worked out after the roll out.

Otherwise, I'm quite happy with my new computer. Really. It's just that it's hard to watch Netflix steaming downstairs with Chromecast. --Halcatalyst (talk) 03:56, 14 August 2014 (UTC)

• Went back to the above site and looked at the tail end the complaints (June 2014). Most of the advice seemed to assume somebody really experienced with hardware (replace the bios???). But one guy had the idea of using a Usb wifi adapter and he said it worked. Do you think this one this one might work? Do I just plug it in the USB port? --Halcatalyst (talk) 04:11, 14 August 2014 (UTC)

To be perfectly honest, if you are trying to solve a signal issue, I would stay clear of the NANO style wifi adapters, can you see how big the antenna must be to fit in it? I would look for a wifi adapter that has an external antenna, maybe something like this?Vespine (talk) 04:23, 14 August 2014 (UTC)

I have a Netgear N600 router. Would this one, even though NANO style, actually work better for me? --Halcatalyst (talk) 10:28, 14 August 2014 (UTC)

That's not what I would call NANO, the NANO ones are the ones that stick out only 1/4 of an inch, like the TL-WN725N you linked earlier. This at least looks like it could have 2" antenna inside it. I haven't used either but the reviews seem decent, that's probably the one to go for if you have a N600 router. Vespine (talk) 00:32, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

It may be a problem unique to your laptop - but I kinda doubt it. Signal strength from WiFi does vary throughout a typical house - and for reasons related to the 'black art' of radio signal propagation, it's common to have dead areas. I have a couple of suggestions:

1. Try switching your WiFi router to a different frequency. There are around a dozen frequencies to choose from. I have an app on my cellphone ("WiFi Analyzer" - a free download for Android) that shows the signal strength for all of the WiFi channels - so you can see where your neighbors are transmitting and how much power they are putting out. Often, they have their routers set on whatever default channel they were delivered with - so there will probably be many channels that are either totally unoccupied - or only in use by someone far away with minimal signal strength. Switch to one of those, and I guarantee, things will get better.
2. Try changing the orientation of the antenna on your WiFi router. Again, if you have "WiFi Analyzer" on your phone, you can sit in your bedroom and have someone fiddle with the antenna orientation as you watch the signal strength change - it's hard to do it without a tool like that though.
3. If all else fails...(which it did for me)...you can add a second WiFi router upstairs. You'll either have to string a second Ethernet cable between the cable-modem (or whatever you use) and the bedroom - which may be a major pain...or you can do what I did which is to buy an "Ethernet over Power line" gadget which consists of two white boxes that plug into the wall sockets - one next to your cable modem - connected to it with a short ethernet cable - and the other in the bedroom. Then you can plug a second WiFi router in upstairs and you'll have perfect reception. You'll want to make sure it's on a different radio channel than the first one (see (1), above).

SteveBaker (talk) 15:36, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

August 14

Gmail App for Android

How do I change the order of messages in a conversation in the Gmail App for Android phones? The latest messages seem to appear at the bottom, meaning that in a long conversation of many emails, I have to scroll down. Slightly counter-intuitive..... KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (Chin Wag) 06:25, 14 August 2014 (UTC)

Safety Video

Hi, in the late 1980s,I was involved with a safety video concerning the delivery of high risk chemicals. The product was acid based, and collected by myself in a chemical tanker from Hayes chemical plant in Manchester. I delivered the load to the Wardle Site, Gt Manchester.A safety procedure was executed for the benefit of safety within the requirements for North West Water. Every part of the whole programme was filmed at the time. I have never seen the video, but would now like a copy if this is possible. The Company I worked for at the time was Brennan Tankers of Leeds.217.43.89.77 (talk) 11:22, 14 August 2014 (UTC) Thanks in anticipation, Andrew G. Ross. 217.43.89.77 (talk) 11:22, 14 August 2014 (UTC)

I fixed your formatting, as it was not in it's own section 217.158.236.14 (talk) 11:41, 14 August 2014 (UTC)

Have you tried contacting the company? If they still exist, they may have a copy in their archives somewhere. I very much doubt it would be publicly available, if it is a company training video. KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (Chin Wag) 17:24, 14 August 2014 (UTC)

Further custom XML serialisation question

After experimenting with the WCF service I'm supposed to develop a custom XML serialiser for, it has become apparent that the WCF service is actually constructing dynamic types for each WCF method, so that these custom types sort of "wrap up" all the method's parameters and its return values. After seeing an example, I wrote a custom IDataContractSurrogate implementation and assigned it to all the methods. It only sees these dynamic custom "wrap up" types, not the individual parameters directly. So I ended up thinking, what if all that is necessary is to replace System.Decimal with our own custom decimal class (call it MyDecimal) in these dynamically constructed "wrap up" types? But then I would to define how MyDecimal is serialised and deserialised, and I don't know how to do that.

Let's have an illustrative example. Say we have a WCF method called getPerson, which returns this kind of custom "wrap up" type (I'm writing this as if it were defined statically in the source code and not dynamically constructed, there might be some omissions I've not thought of):

[Serializable]
public class getPersonResponse
{
  [DataMember]
  public string name;
  [DataMember]
  public Decimal balance;
}

Let's then say it returns this kind of SOAP response body:

<getPersonResponse>
  <name>Joe Bloggs</name>
  <balance>0.123</balance>
</getPersonResponse>

Now let's say our custom decimal class is defined like this (it's actually more complex, but that is beside the point):

public class MyDecimal
{
  private int[] integerDigits;
  private int[] fractionDigits;
  // constructors and methods go here...
}

where integerDigits means the digits in the integer part, left to right, and likewise fractionDigits means the digits in the fraction part, left to right.

Let's then modify the dynamically constructed "wrap up" class like so:

[Serializable]
public class getPersonResponse
{
  [DataMember]
  public string name;
  [DataMember]
  public MyDecimal balance;
}

How do I wite the serialisation and deserialisation methods for MyDecimal to have the exact same SOAP output? JIP | Talk 17:53, 14 August 2014 (UTC)

I'm not quite sure what you are asking, but the DataContractSerializer already handles .Net Decimal objects. It would seem that using that as a base class would be a good start. How you serialize your MyDecimal objects is going to depend entirely on their design, but the ToString and Parse type methods in the Decimal class would be a start. --Mark viking (talk)

Perhaps my wording was a bit unclear or ambiguous. I'm not asking how to write the implementation for the serialisation and deserialisation for my MyDecimal class. I already know that. I'm asking where to write them so that the WCF service knows to use them when it's trying to serialise and deserialise the MyDecimal objects when it encounters them. JIP | Talk 19:11, 14 August 2014 (UTC)

Computer game development

Hello all, I couldn't sleep last night because I had an idea for a World War 2 RTS computer game rolling around in my head -- my idea is to make it the ultimate in realism (something along the line of Sudden Strike/Blitzkrieg, but with even more realistic gameplay -- for example, with units running away when demoralized, tanks stopping when out of fuel, and U-boats having to surface to recharge their batteries, among other elements of realism). However, I'm not a computer programmer, so I don't know how to translate my detailed concept into C++ code -- and in any case, I know that this project is beyond the ability of any one person, no matter how skilled. I definitely want to make some money off of this project if it's successful, and I also would prefer to have at least some part in the development, to make sure that realism is not compromised without great need. How do I go about doing it? Thanks in advance! (Also cross-posted to Entertainment desk.) 24.5.122.13 (talk) 19:14, 14 August 2014 (UTC)

I'm sorry if this is going to sound like shooting your idea down but the first thing you have to realize is that it IS actually the execution that is the hard part, not the “idea”. Just about anyone can come up with a good idea for game or an app, making it into reality is the hard part. Almost everyone who gets into game development has to start at step 1, which is learn how to make a very basic game, if you’ve never even done that before, you probably have years of learning before you can even contribute to anything that resembles the kind of game you are talking about. The OTHER way to make your game into a reality is of course to fund it yourself and hire people to make it for you, in which case you have to be pretty rich and take a considerable financial risk if your game does not work. If all you have is an idea, you can pretty much rule out the possibility of having your game funded by a studio or investors. Thinking someone ELSE will take the financial risk for YOUR idea is extremely unlikely, imagine you are a wealthy investor who wants to invest in a game, why would you give money to someone who has no track record in the industry, has never even made a game before, doesn’t know the 1st thing about developing or marketing? Have a look at sites like kickstarter where people are pitching their ideas for a game, you will quickly see that it takes a LOT more than just an idea to successfully fund a game. Vespine (talk) 00:22, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

What about trying to sell the idea to an indie game developer? I happen to know one that specializes in RTS games. And BTW, it's not "just" an idea -- I've already planned out the gameplay and user interface in quite a bit of detail. 24.5.122.13 (talk) 00:50, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

Regardless of how much you have "fleshed it out", I doubt ideas are what indie game developers are short on. I doubt any developer is looking for "ideas", unless you have a truly amazing and unique "break through" idea you could sell, like Fez_(video_game), Braid_(video_game) or world of goo, which frankly, no offense, it doesn't sound like you do. Like I said, the "idea" is the easy part. About your only chance is to develop it yourself, which like I said, is a LONG road of learning and dedication. This is how games like Super Meat Boy and the already mentioned FEZ were made, and those people had borderline autistic dedication to their idea. I can recommend Indie game the movie for an insight to the kind of effort and dedication it takes to make a successful game. It's certainly not impossible, but if you think all it takes is a good idea and people will shower you with money and resources to make your vision into reality, it doesn't work like that. I'm by no means saying your idea dies right here and now, I'm just trying to give you a more realistic expectation of how difficult it will be. Really, check out the movie I suggested and look at all the kickstarter video game campaigns you can find, the successful ones and the unsuccessful ones, and you might get a better idea of the kind of effort involved. Vespine (talk) 01:51, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

Again, apologies for being a wet blanket...but I think that you'd prefer to hear realistic answers than bland platitudes.

I've been a computer game developer for many years - both as an "indie" developer, making my own games from start-to-finish - and working for the big guys. I strongly agree with the previous posts. Ideas come relatively easily to developers. We usually have fifty seemingly good ideas for every one we have time to turn into an actual game. Just as you find your idea compelling, we find our ideas compelling too. Do you think we're likely to take your compelling idea rather than one of our own? Hell no!

It's actually even more extreme than that. Most game companies, most TV and movie houses (in fact, most tech companies of all kinds) have a policy of actively ignoring ideas sent to them from outside the company. The fear is that they'll be working hard on some WWII title (for example) and someone like you will send them an idea "I think a super-realistic WWII game would be a good idea"...which is probably nothing compared to what they're already doing - but kinda similar. Then, after millions of dollars of expenditure and 300 people have slaved over it over 70 hour weeks for three years or more and the game hits the shelves at WalMart - you'll pop up and say "Hey! You stole my idea! I want royalty payments!" This is such a common occurrence that almost every movie or AAA game title that hits the streets has to fend off several lawsuits from people who claim their ideas were plagiarized. It's so serious that at one game company I worked for, all unsolicited letters and emails would automatically be routed to an outside contractor who's job it was to check them to make 100% sure that no ideas from outside the company EVER reached the ears of our developers. In the event of law suits, this would make it easy for us to prove that some idea, no matter how similar to what's in a published game, didn't come from outside the company.

So, sadly, if you want to see your game happen, you'll probably have to learn to build it yourself. But therein lies a problem. Your idea is incredibly ambitious. I wasn't exaggerating when I said 300 guys for 3 years...that's what it takes to write a game like that. What even an expert in the field with 30 years of experience can take on is MUCH less than that - you'll be writing games like asteroid and pac-man clones for quite a while before you can move on to writing SuperMario types of games - and then more years before you'll get into anything that requires much realism.

For games of the depth that you're imagining, even the most experienced game designer is going to need a ton of help. The amount of 3D artwork alone would consume easily 100 to 200 man-years and require the very different talents of artists, animators, user interface designers, sound guys, programmers, AI scripters, lawyers, level designers, story authors, musicians, voice talents, motion capture actors, QA people, game testers and so forth. Some games are so sophisticated these days, that no one person can possibly have all the skills needed to put one together, even over multiple lifetimes.

Bottom line is that I guess that your idea isn't ever going to happen.

BUT, if that's the kind of thing you think you'd be good at, then the answer is to get educated as a game designer (not a programmer, not an artist) - which entails learning a bunch of skills like story planning, difficulty arcs, scenario development - and there are college courses for that kind of thing (check out, for example, "FullSail" - http://www.fullsail.edu/ - a university-level course provider for prospective game developers). Then you can try for a job with a company that makes games in the genre you have in mind - and after enough years of designing little parts of games, you'll eventually rise to the level in a big company when you can push ideas of your own - and the ponderous weight of a 300 man team will be behind you, turning every tiny detail of your plan into an actual playable game. I've never done that - but I'm told it's quite a rush! You'll eventually see it on the shelves at WalMart.

SteveBaker (talk) 15:19, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

Darn... so it's THAT much of a closed shop in the computer games industry, even worse than in publishing? So the bottom line is, if I'm to do this, I'll have to pretty much start my own studio, right? If so, then I'll see if that's something I can do -- but if not, I'll keep the idea in the back of my mind (along with a whole bunch of other ideas for all kinds of stuff) until I can. 24.5.122.13 (talk) 05:41, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

Using a Kobo Glo reader

When using this device to read a book, is there a way to know how far through the book you are? Such as, that you are 38% of the way through, or that you are in chapter 17 and there are 27 chapters in total?

Thanks, CBHA (talk) 20:27, 14 August 2014 (UTC)

Hmmm...the Kobo Glo has an incredibly stinky reputation! http://www.koboproblems.com lists many of them. It seems that Kobo's customer support and documentation is beyond useless - so you're unlikely to get help there. I suggest joining the www.koboproblems.com forums and posting your question there. There seem to be a lot of other users there - I'd hope that one of them has the answer you need. SteveBaker (talk) 14:38, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

I wouldn't exactly trust that site. It's linking to a 3 4 year old post [1] as if it represents something current, without even mentioning the post is 3 4 years old. (The fact that the site they linked to doesn't clearly list a year is little excuse. If the blog poster is going to link something as a big reveal they should at least read it a bit. And if they read the post they linked to, it should immediately occur to them that when it's talking about a non touch ereader as a new recently launched thing costing $149, it's probably not very recent, which a quick check of the comments will confirm.)

Also from what I can tell it has no forum, it's primarily a blog from one person with a small number of user comments. While there is one or two posts seemingly directed at helping people, most of the blog seems dedicated to telling people how bad the Kobo allegedly is. A far better place to seek help would be at [2] which I can attest from personal experience is quite useful.

And while this is mostly OT, the people I know who've used a Kobo (Aura HD and Glo) are happy with them. Frankly, if the price and specs were the same, I'd take an equivalent Kobo over a Kindle any day. Each has its strength and weakness and idiosyncrasies but the extremely closed ecosystem for the Kindle is just too annoying even if it's little different to me since I'll just use Calibre either way. (Most other epaper ereaders seem either very expensive, largely abandoned by their manufacturer, only really available in the US and perhaps a small number of places in Europe, lack a frontlight, or a combination of these. So for me the choice is usually between these two manufacturers.)

Nil Einne (talk) 15:57, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

Is this a book you bought from Kobo? Or one you got elsewhere?

As with most ePub ereader developers (except possibly Apple), Kobo appears to be waiting on the Readium SDK for proper/general ePub3 support. In the mean time, they've added the NetFront's ACCESS ePub3 rendering engine. But because it's more limited (I think) and probably also because it doesn't support the Adobe ADEPT DRM, it's only generally enabled for ebooks you get from Kobo (who use their own DRM), frequently called kePubs in Kobo circles. They use the Adobe RMSDK rendering engine most others use for everything else. (See [3] for more.)

This is important here because there are differences in the what is shown depending on which engine is used. I can't recall and don't have a Kobo with me to test at the current time, but I know this includes the stuff relating to pages etc. In fact there are even more detailed statistics for kePubs (but apparently not sideloaded kePubs) [4] [5].

BTW you can sideload DRM free books as kePub (with the earlier caveat that there may still be some differences in what is available even if the same renderer is used) by giving them the extension kepub.epub or by using management software like Calibre which can do this for you. (If you book isn't DRM free, you'll probably have to remove the DRM first. It's fairly easy but this isn't a good place to get help with that.) With appropriate plugins and stuff, the management tool can try and ensure the book will work properly with the kepub renderer and also make sure it's properly added to the library so I would suggest it. Personally, particularly if you're sideloading a lot of books, I recommend you use a good library management tool like Calibre no matter what your ereader. It makes things a lot simpler. (I've used it for both Kobos and Kindles and just general library management for phones.)

Nil Einne (talk) 15:57, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

Composing an email

When I copy paste text from some website into an email I am composing, it brings along the font size and colour. Can I stop that from happening? Anna Frodesiak (talk) 23:42, 14 August 2014 (UTC)

What OS and email client do you use? Some clients have a "erase formatting" button which you can click after pasting the text, that's what I normally use. Vespine (talk) 00:04, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

I first paste stuff into TextEdit, and then past it from TextEdit into the email. And when pasting stuff into TextEdit, I use "Paste and Match Style", which uses the default style (font, color, size) that I've set for TextEdit. I am using a Mac. Bus stop (talk) 00:09, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

Yahoo/Windows XP, and yes, I just found what you are referring to: "Switch to plain text" --> OK --> "Switch to Rich Text" and that does the trick. Thank you!! Anna Frodesiak (talk) 06:08, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

I make a habit of working in a text editor too, but for real shorty messages, I don't bother. Thank you also for the feedback. Anna Frodesiak (talk) 06:08, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

Anna Frodesiak, what I do is wait until after my last copy-and-paste, then use Ctrl+A to select everything, then use the email client's font and color controls to change everything to a single font and color. Basically, it's three easy steps no matter how many copy-and-pastes need to be corrected—and it gives me a nice warm fuzzy that I didn't miss anything. I'm using Windows Live Mail, but this should work for any email client that allows you to set font and color. You might find another method easier, I don't know.   Mandruss |talk  07:09, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

Good advice! My text editor (EditPad) seems to treat copy pastes well by making it the same as the rest of the text. I do like the whole text editor thing. We get a lot of power failures here, so working in edit mode anywhere is dicey. Many thanks. :) Anna Frodesiak (talk) 08:35, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

There should be an entry, either on the Edit Menu, or the Context Menu, to "Paste Without Formatting". CS Miller (talk) 10:26, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

... which is sometimes called "Paste Special". You will get a menu of formatting options for the paste operation, one of which should be "plain text" or similar. Gandalf61 (talk) 14:15, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

Some apps (browsers in particular) let you use the Ctrl+⇧ Shift+V shortcut to paste without formatting. —Noiratsi (talk) 15:50, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

If I want to kill the formatting I open up the notepad, paste the text there (Ctrl-V), it kills all the formatting and do Ctrl-A then Ctrl-C to copy the text back to the clipboard. --AboutFace 22 (talk) 16:48, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

August 15

Primary key

I have to design a series of tables for a database. One of the tables will look like this: (those are the fields): [1] numb_id int (11) AUTO_INCREMENT; [2] attribute-1 double; [3] attribute-2 double [3] attribute-3 double.

I make the first field a primary key.

My question is: will I gain in performance speed with the primary key vs. no primary key? My understanding is that there will be no gain in performance. Primary key is an index field, it means that DBMS will create a separate (index) table that will have this key in the first column but it is already in the first column. That column will be ordered but it is already ordered. It will then probably create pointers to each row in the first table to the row where the primary key is but it's not really needed. Once you get the row in the original table you can read this information directly. Is it all correct?

What could be the situation, what kind of structure the table should have to benefit from introduction of primary key in terms of improved performance. What could be the gain?

Thanks, - --AboutFace 22 (talk) 01:43, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

You don't mention the database system you are using, but the syntax looks like mysql. I don't know mysql specifically, but in general you get the first index for free - combined into the main table. This is called the clustered index. Typically the primary key will also be the clustered index unless you explicitly specify something different in your table definition. A database index is some variation of a tree data structure that allows for an efficient look-up of a specific key value or range of values. For secondary (non-clustered) indexes, the leaf node will be a reference to the record number of primary key value into the main table. After database system looks up the index record, a second look-up into the main table is performed to get the actual record. For a clustered index, the leaf node of the index is the record itself, so there is no extra work to retrieve the target record contents. How much performance gain that gives you depends on how often to access a record (or join to that table) using that primary key. -- Tom N talk/contrib 04:08, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

Thank you, Tom. I actually do not know the DBMS that is going to be used. I do not design the whole thing, only a conceptual framework so to speak. I do have some (fairly extensive actually but years ago) background in SQL server and dBase IV now defunct but this is not applicable here. Another person does the implementation. He mentioned a few options, MySql is one of them. The actual choice is still up in the air and will be apparently discussed at a later date but this is not something I can influence because I am not familiar with them.

This is also my impression that in order to be effective the primary key must be a clustered index, otherwise any advantage is not there. It sounds like you are saying that the primary key is always a clustered index even if not designed as such. Thanks, --AboutFace 22 (talk) 13:40, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

I believe each table normally has a hidden column, named something like ROW_ID, that sounds like it would be identical to your NUMB_ID column. So, you could possibly skip your column entirely. However, if you would ever want to change the numbering to be anything other than the order in which the rows are created, then you need to keep it in. Also, if you intend to display the column to the user, it might be easier to keep it in, than try to use the ROW_ID for that. StuRat (talk) 17:19, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

Thank you, StuRat, you are always helpful. Still one of my questions is unanswered: how much will I gain in speed of storage and retrieval with introduction of primary keys. --AboutFace 22 (talk) 17:59, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

It sounds like there would be no savings in speed by introduction of the primary key, if it's just redundant with the ROW_ID index which you get by default. It might actually slow things down by a slight amount, as there's some overhead in using it. However, as each DB management system is a bit different, I can't guarantee it. I'd do some benchmark testing to confirm it on your specific DB.

BTW, I don't think adding a primary key ever makes row creation faster, as there's now more info to store. It's designed to make retrieval faster. Deletes and updates may also be faster, as the first step there is retrieval of the desired record. And, of course, if you do a retrieval using some fields other than the primary key, it won't help the speed there, either. StuRat (talk) 22:28, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

Chili's credit card security

This restaurant chain has placed card readers on each table so you can pay by credit card there. However, they are wireless. What type of security precautions do they take so the credit card info can't be compromised ? (This is a practical Q, as I eat there myself, and want to know if it is safe to pay that way.) StuRat (talk) 22:21, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

Apparently it's a Ziosk. This on Chilis' website says it "meets the comprehensive PCI security standards". The Ziosk website doesn't say much at all about security considerations, except for mentions of "Secure payments" and "encrypted credit card reader". Rojomoke (talk) 07:28, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

Thanks. Of course everyone claims to have a secure system, but all the recent thefts of credit card info shows they were wrong. So, if they won't say how it is encrypted and secured, I guess I have my answer: don't trust it. I'll continue to pay with cash. StuRat (talk) 13:37, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

StuRat, your post last night made me thinking. What is the guarantee that cash registers at Sears, Macy's or other large department stores don't have wireless connections with their credit card readers. What would be a wired connection? A phone line which is perhaps much more expensive to operate in a long run. You also need lots of them to service a large store. The answer ultimately would be those credit cards with chips inside they are talking about now. Thanks for your note at my primary key post. --AboutFace 22 (talk) 14:52, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

I think the recent thefts show a more important point. Whether the connection is wired or wireless, how does it help anyone if the POS systems are hopelessly insecure? Also experience in Europe where chipped cards are the norm shows they help, but are no magic bullet. In other words, you can be pretty sure there will be breaches,a nd it may not be in the areas you think.

However I'm not recommending mass panic. People seem to worry about this sort of stuff too much when they are end users. Sure you should take reasonably protections like making sure you hide your pin entry, a cursory check for any skimming devices and not handing your credit card over to a dodgy looking person who disappears with it for minutes, but there's no need to analyse the security of every machine except for personal interest reasons. (And speaking of dodgy people, I wonder how many people willingly hand over their unchipped card to someone who disappears with it and yet are worried about the security of machines.)

Obviously it's annoying to have to replace your credit card or make reports and wait for your bank to cancel transactions you didn't make but if you're paying attention to your statements (which you should be), you should primary consider such credit card misuse fraud a concern of the banks and stores involved, not yours, unless you're in some weird jurisdiction or with some weird bank with totally crap credit card liability policies. (Identity theft is of course another issue.)

Nil Einne (talk) 15:58, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

Note that recent major thefts of credit card info have been either from the back office systems or from malware infected POS terminals (like that suspected in the Target#2013 Security Breach). The payment details were not snatched from the air while being transmitted from a card reader to the store's systems. Your card information is probably just as safe as if you were to go to the desk and pay there with your card. The added security provided by Chili or any other location with portable POS devices, is that you don't hand over your card to someone who disappears off into a back room and skims your card. In any case, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard mandates that information such as the PIN remain encrypted at all times. Unfortunately, not all information is required to be encrypted and that is how the thieves are able to get access to customer names, card numbers, expiration dates, etc, but not the PIN numbers. The thieves are then able to shop online, so long as they can avoid things like 3-D Secure, but can't produce a duplicate card and go shopping at regular stores, or retrieve cash from ATMs. Astronaut (talk) 15:58, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

August 16

JPEG color

I need to determine the HTML color code - #rrggbb - of part of an existing JPEG image. The color is consistent enough that any pixel will do within the resolution of my mouse. Is there a web tool that will do this?   Mandruss |talk  07:34, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

Pixlr - open image from URL, use the eyedropper, then click the colour palette to see the colour numbers. It won't work for every image, because some sites will check the HTTP referer and will refuse to send the image of they don't think it's an ordinary request (this is will be true for other web based services too). 80.189.67.91 (talk) 07:55, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

Thanks @80.189.67.91:. Perfect.   Mandruss |talk  08:45, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

<span> tag as template parameter

I'm trying to create my first userbox template, and I need it to support an HTML <span> tag as parameter 1. I can't get it to do the substitution, I guess because the tag is being resolved too early in the process and the result is not a valid template parameter.

The template is here and the transclusion is here. Correct answerer will have my eternal gratitude.   Mandruss |talk  08:55, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

I have cross-posted at Wikipedia:Village_pump_(technical) because it may be the better place for this type of question. Feel free to ignore if you agree.   Mandruss |talk  10:03, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

Does Firefox's about:config actually do anything?

When I go to about:config in Firefox, I get this supposed-to-be-scary warning that I might hose the whole thing up if I do something wrong. But lots of times, I just can't tell that it does anything at all.

For example, I just changed spellchecker.dictionary from en_GB to en_US, closed Firefox, and restarted. But in this window, it still puts a red wavy line under "color", but not under "colour".

Similarly, whether I have plugins.click_to_play set to true or false, it doesn't seem to matter: Either way, videos autoplay in Facebook without my consent, unless I actually disable Shockwave Flash.

This is really kind of frustrating. I've used Firefox for years, because they're open-source and because I thought they were committed to user control of the experience. Starting to wonder about switching. Maybe to Chrome? Anyone know whether you have better control there? (Don't suggest IE; I'm a Linux user.) --Trovatore (talk) 09:01, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

For disabling the autoplay on Facebook, you might want to look into F.B. Purity which has a few features including disabling the autoplay of videos on your news feed. Dismas|^(talk) 10:46, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

Since the release of Firefox 4 Mozilla has been desperately trying to emulate Google Chrome. Such "improvements" include habitually bumping the version number up and up (since apparently the great unwashed masses think Product 27 is better than Product 3 because its version number is bigger), introduction of frivolous "social features", and removable of user-changeable options as part of the process of dumbing the browser down for the Apple Generation. Many options that used to be available in the options dialog (for example, disabling javascript) are now only accessible via about:config. But it gets worse. Mozilla has decided that the user is too dumb to understand what they are doing and even if they have gone to the effort of delving into the bowels of the browser and explicitly setting an option in about:config, so Firefox will now override them whenever it wants because it's "better" for the user. This includes ignoring options to disable functions (javascript, flash, etc), ignoring options not to update the browser (the latest version is forced down your throat regardless of setting Firefox NEVER to update), ignoring cookie options, ignoring cache options, etc. Mozilla clearly yearn for the modern, empty-head hipster user base and have shunned the original power users. Time to change to Pale Moon (web browser), OP. 117.173.108.38 (talk) 11:16, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

Since 2012, 90% of Mozilla's royalty revenue is derived from "a search engine provider" (there's a good chance that is Google, because Google is the default search engine selected by Mozilla, and the two organizations have corporate offices literally down the street from Each other). Accounting for the Mozilla foundation's grants, corporate partnerships, assets, and history, at this time it's my opinion that Mozilla Foundation (and its profitable partner, the Mozilla Corporation) is almost a wholly-owned subsidiary of Google, though legally distinct for tax and accounting purposes. But it stands to reason that the creative choices made for the Firefox browser are heavily influenced by said "search engine" who sponsors its development and marketing.

If you actually care about free software, perhaps GNU IceCat is worth a shot. It's derived from the free software that goes into Mozilla's browser, but it does not include nonfree add-ons. It works on most GNU/Linux systems.

Nimur (talk) 14:08, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

As the Wikipedia article mentions, the Mozilla Foundation has been primarily funded by Google search revenue since 2005. Google presumably makes money from this arrangement as well. If Google ever decided to cut off Mozilla, Microsoft would probably be happy to get all the extra Bing users. Google management doesn't tell Mozilla management what to do. -- BenRG (talk) 19:43, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

Addressing Trovatore's original question: the "about:config interface is one of several backdoors that are built in to Firefox. I mean this term in the literal sense of the word - with and without its negative security connotations. Basically, "about:config" is one of several methods by which you can change the software's behavior, using feature sets that are built in, but for which no user-interface exists:

• Some such items have no UI because the creative directors do not want to expose such a UI. An infamous example that caused uproar a few years ago was the removal of certain popular "Disable Feature checkbox", which was widely discussed across the development and user-community.
• Other features have no UI because these features are temporary, experimental, or outright broken. Worse yet, most such features are undocumented anywhere - not on developer forums, not in source code, and certainly not on easy-to-digest tutorial blogs.
• Waxing conspiratorially: still other features have no UI because you aren't supposed to talk about them loudly or in public. For example, even when you visit a secure website using secure protocols, your traffic is reported to aforementioned search engine - but it's only monitoring your traffic to to keep you safe.

When you use "about:config" or any other method to modify the program's behavior, you are explicitly asked to accept responsibility for the outcome - which is a perfectly fine thing to do, as long as you understand it.

Now, as somebody who has attempted to compile Firefox from source, I can attest: nobody understands all the complex interactions in this very large piece of software. The program has several hundred thousand "moving parts." A handful - say, a few ten thousand of those - have "configuration options" that can be set by the "about:config", "prefs.js", or other methods. Such preferences allow you - the "power user" - a bit more flexibility without implying that you can (or want) to modify the software at the source-code level. Yet, by using these features, you are taking a few steps down the road towards "developer" - which means that you can (and want) to understand the complex interactions of your changes. Nimur (talk) 15:38, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

---

Editing about:config is like editing a textual configuration file, or the Windows registry. Any part of Firefox, or an extension, can put any information it wants in these configuration variables, and use it however it wants. It can be useful to edit it following instructions from someone who understands Firefox internals, but you shouldn't edit it based on your own guess about the meaning of a setting. I suspect the reason that changing the dictionary language didn't work is that you don't have the en_US dictionary installed, so it fell back on one that was installed. It could have downloaded the appropriate dictionary in the background, I suppose, but that would have required them to add code specifically to support changing the dictionary via mucking around in about:config. Instead you should do it through the UI, specifically the Languages submenu of the context menu for a text box. I don't know the status of plugins.click_to_play; it may be obsolete, or overridden by another setting. Check the per-plugin activation settings in about:addons, or search a Firefox-specific forum for help.

Firefox gives you far, far more control than Chrome over all kinds of things. I doubt that will ever change: Google has no apparent interest in adding that functionality to Chrome, and Mozilla would lose too many of its loyal supporters if it tried to remove it. -- BenRG (talk) 19:43, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

Disk Usage Analyzer has stopped working

I've used Disk Usage Analyzer (previously known as Baobab) on Fedora Linux to have a graphical view of how much space my folders are using on disk. But now it has suddenly stopped working. The process starts up, and keeps running, but doesn't seem to actually do anything. It never even opens a window. I don't see any error message either. The funny thing is, it used to work all OK on Fedora 20, but then just suddenly stopped working. I didn't even update or upgrade the operating system. How can I see what is the reason here? JIP | Talk 15:46, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

It probably exited before even getting to displaying a window and therefore might have writen someting in a logfile. Take a look at the files in /var/log/ If not, maybe running it from a terminal will be more enlightening. The program might still be 'baobab' (like it is on my system). Astronaut (talk) 16:33, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

The thing is, it doesn't exit. It just keeps running all OK, except it doesn't actually do anything. JIP | Talk 16:39, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

If you run it under ltrace, strace, or ptrace, then you might get some clues as to what it did before it locked up. CS Miller (talk) 21:34, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

Very large sets of permutations and their application in contemporary music theory

Twelve-tone music is based on an ordered set of 12, unique, pitch classes notated in music set theory as integers 0 … 11. Therefore there are 479,001,600 possible twelve tone rows (permutations of the ordered set). Even if it took just a millisecond to calculate each permutation it would still take about 326 days to perform that calculation, correct? Is there any hope at all that a searchable database of all twelve-tone rows can be constructed? --50.46.100.76 (talk) 00:31, 17 August 2014 (UTC)

Please help me buy the right wire

I want to connect my computer to my TV and be able to watch video/movies on it. I have no idea what connection/wire type I would need to do this or if it's even possible, so I was hoping someone here could be specific and tell me what I need: what type of wire/what type of connection/any adapters and so on.

My TV is a brand new Sony Bravia and it's specs including its ports are here. I want to run to it from my iMac (iMac11,3 Intel Core i5 2.8 GHz). After a bit of research, looking at the back and the searching for what they are, my iMac has four USB 3 ports, an ethernet port, a FireWire port, a mini DisplayPort, an audio out, an audio in and in fact is identical to this.

Thanks much in advance, even if the answer is that I can't.--108.46.97.218 (talk) 01:15, 17 August 2014 (UTC)

Hmm, it looks rather incompatible. The inputs to the TV include HDMI, composite, and component video. Both devices have USB ports, but I don't think you can send streaming video over that, it's used more for displaying stills, playing music, etc. (Although maybe USB 3.0 can handle video, I'm not sure on that.) I'd think your best bet would be to get a device to convert the mini display port output to HDMI format, but let's see what others have to say about it. StuRat (talk) 01:40, 17 August 2014 (UTC)

They could get a mini display to HDMI adaptor. Dismas|^(talk) 01:46, 17 August 2014 (UTC)

Cool. So if I got this, and ran an HDMI cable from my TV to it, would it be as simple as (after changing the input on the TV to that HDMI connection) just turning on AVI/Quicktime/Wondershare, and playing the movie?--108.46.97.218 (talk) 02:30, 17 August 2014 (UTC)