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August 22

is it possible to spoof someone on Ashley Madison

Given that you know someone's email address, is it possible to spoof someone on Ashley Madison? Using a pre paid debit card and their email address? 220.239.43.253 (talk) 06:14, 22 August 2015 (UTC)

It depends on how much effort they put into validating the email address. 75.139.70.50 (talk) 15:47, 22 August 2015 (UTC)

Somehow I doubt if that web site will be around for long. The one thing most important to their clients was secrecy, and they have failed to provide that. Maybe other, better protected, sites for adulterers will pop up to replace it. StuRat (talk) 17:51, 22 August 2015 (UTC)

I don't know about that particular website, but the usual procedure is that you have to reply to an email sent to the email address you give the website. If you used your main email address, you are hosed. --Guy Macon (talk) 19:59, 22 August 2015 (UTC)

There are reports that addresses purporting to be various high officials, such as Tony Blair, were found. However, anyone can create a web mail profile that uses the name of a real person, provided that that particular person has not registered that particular form of their name on that particular web site. The person who has created the false account can then register the Ashley Madison profile, and will receive the email requesting the confirmation, and will confirm it. Payment will be required, but verification is only of the card used to pay the fee, not to verify that the name on the card (whether prepaid debit or good-standing credit card) is that of the profile being created. If a good-standing credit card in the true name of the registrant claiming to be a famous person is used, their name will be on file and will be billed. However, at this point, whether someone used their true name on a credit card and then claimed to be Tony Blair seeking a girlfriend, is not high on Scotland Yard's To Do list. So: You do have to reply to the email. But the email account can be one that was created for the purpose. You almost certainly can't spoof someone by knowing their true email address, but you can spoof someone by creating an email address that looks like them. Robert McClenon (talk) 20:11, 22 August 2015 (UTC)

Of note: It is even easier to get a list of email addresses and names and tell everyone that it is a list of users for some website. Then, I could also use it as a political statement by putting politicians that I don't like on the list. 75.139.70.50 (talk) 17:28, 23 August 2015 (UTC)

Ashley Madison did not verify email addresses [1], so you could register with any address you wished, even one you didn't have access to. According to a reddit thread I saw last week, there are several emails from government domains which don't host email (@whitehouse.gov), or entirely fictional government agencies (@XCOM.gov) MChesterMC (talk) 08:17, 24 August 2015 (UTC)

There are also court cases and interviews with past employees (who I would define as "disgruntled") who claim that they created thousands of fake accounts on Ashley Madison. Overall, we have people claiming that accounts on the site are fake. We have evidence that anyone could use anyone else's email address. And the only proof we have that the account dump is real and not generated by an email address harvester is that the person behind the "hack" says it is real. The public wants it to be real. The public wants famous people to get hurt by it. So, there isn't even an ounce of critical thinking taking place. Then, in a month, nobody will have a clue what Ashley Madison was because something else will fill the void. 209.149.113.150 (talk) 11:41, 24 August 2015 (UTC)

Wow. I had never really looked into Ashley Madison other than seeing mentions of them in the press. I just did, and was aghast. The site allows anyone to register any name with zero verification (not even the usual conformation email) then charges money to delete accounts. That sounds like fraud and extortion to me. I suppose that I should check to see if my name is listed. Is there an easy way to do that without downloading gigabytes of data from the slow web dark web? --Guy Macon (talk) 15:32, 24 August 2015 (UTC)

Worse than that actually, they charged money to delete accounts - and then didn't actually delete them. SteveBaker (talk) 18:52, 24 August 2015 (UTC)

See my comment below.

Note in particular that we already have real people who have appeared in the list who have publicly admitted they really did use the site. It's possible these people aren't telling the truth for some reason, or may be whoever faked it could get lucky, but some of these people aren't really that well known so it would seem to be lucky indeed. Sadly there have also been reports of suicides linked to the release.

Then there are the CEO's emails. I imagine some senders will confirm that they did indeed send those emails to the CEO. Plus generating fake accounts is one thing (although fake accounts with matching birthdates and the like is probably not easy), generating a whole bunch of emails which make sense is another.

The credit card records are another, while they only have the last 4 (and first 6?) numbers that are allowed to be stored, they also have the name and billing address, so if you find this matches the person's credit card, it would at least imply it was stolen from some database, if not the Ashley Madison one. And if the transactions match bank records, well that's terrible suspicious. (I don't know what the transactions show up as in bank records, but even if there are non descript names I suspect once the person has good reason to suspect it's Ashley Madison, finding some evidence it was wouldn't be impossible.)

Perhaps the best evidence is that competent people who have looked in to it believe it appears to be at least partially genuine (i.e. it was really at least in part from the Ashley Madison database). [2] [3] [4] [5]

As I said below, this doesn't mean all the data is genuine. And even if the data is really from the Ashley Madison database, in some cases it could be someone else made the profile and it may not always be clear when the profile was created, what it was used for, and whether the person was in a committed relationship in the time. Still, depending on what is there, it may be enough to give a spouse/partner reason to ask difficult questions.

Nil Einne (talk) 15:05, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

Font coverage

I use BabelMap for such things, but is there a site where I could check fonts if they have some particular symbol(s)? Pay attention, I mean not Unicode ranges (it could be easily found at the Microsoft Typography page), but exact symbols. Especially I want to check font versions. For example, even basic Windows fonts like Times New Roman are beeing expanded with new symbols each new version, but I do not know what exact characters were added in which version.--Lüboslóv Yęzýkin (talk) 06:28, 22 August 2015 (UTC)

I have a little Python program which uses FontTools to read a font file (the docs says "TrueType, OpenType, AFM and to an extent Type 1" - I've only tried it with a TTF) and displays the contents of the CMAP table, so it shows the individual external code points (usually Unicode code points) supported. Its ouput (e.g. for the Ubuntu-B font) has a bunch of stuff like this:

   U+1fb3 : uni1FB3 : GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH YPOGEGRAMMENI
   U+1fb4 : uni1FB4 : GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH OXIA AND YPOGEGRAMMENI
   U+2039 : guilsinglleft : SINGLE LEFT-POINTING ANGLE QUOTATION MARK
   U+1fb6 : uni1FB6 : GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PERISPOMENI
   U+1fb7 : uni1FB7 : GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PERISPOMENI AND YPOGEGRAMMENI
   U+1fb8 : uni1FB8 : GREEK CAPITAL LETTER ALPHA WITH VRACHY

If that's what you're after, I can post the source somewhere. To compare two different versions of a font, you'll need to get two local copies of the TTF, run this script on both, and diff the result. -- Finlay McWalterᚠTalk 10:57, 22 August 2015 (UTC)

The problem is this would work if I had a font file. But if I had a font file I could use BabelMap. I don't have such files. But I have, for example, only one font file of Times New Roman version 6.80 and I have no idea what was in that font before and if there is any new additions (seems it's the last version by now). The site, I'm looking for, ideally should do this: I want to know in what fonts, that I don't have in my computer, there are ӻ ӽ ӿ (just examples), in what versions these symbols were added (they already are in TNR 6.80).--Lüboslóv Yęzýkin (talk) 12:34, 22 August 2015 (UTC)

While I was finishing writing my previous answer I found this site that partially does what I want, but still it cannot compare font versions.--Lüboslóv Yęzýkin (talk) 12:39, 22 August 2015 (UTC)

Using python interactively, show output on another window

How can I use Python interactively, and for example show the result of:

>>> 2 + 2
4

on a separate window? Right now, it outputs 4 immediately below the expression, as shown above. I am thinking on the R Studio system, where you input the expressions on one window, and it show the output in text form on another. If you plot something in R studio, it will also show the plot on a different window. Is this possible for python?--YX-1000A (talk) 21:12, 22 August 2015 (UTC)

This should help. →Σσς. (Sigma) 08:16, 23 August 2015 (UTC)

August 23

What is it called?

Is there a name for a real-time system with several independent components where the objects operate entirely independently? An example would be a bank of elevators. --Halcatalyst (talk) 15:15, 23 August 2015 (UTC)

Perhaps a JBOD (Just A Bunch of Disks) is what you are looking for? This architecture has multiple independent hard drives that can be accessed independently from one another. If this is not what you are looking for could you provide a little bit more context to your question? Thanks! --Stabila711 (talk) 15:45, 23 August 2015 (UTC)

I think op looks for a more general term for a group of (similar) embedded systems which operate independently. And I guess it depends on the actual context... as example "array" for "multiple individual components to create a single system". In another context like the upcoming self-driving cars (or industrial manufacturing robots etc.) one would probably refer to it as a "fleet" instead due to the implied mobility. Then there's "cluster" for computing, but the computers don't really "operate entirely independently" there. Rh73 (talk) 16:02, 23 August 2015 (UTC)

Maybe I made it sound like too much of a technical question. The example is the key: I'm thinking of what is running rather than what makes it run. What makes it run (the software, with all its levels) results in a working system in which the components do the same sorts of things over period of time, but otherwise they are unrelated to one another. Probably I used the word "real-time" wrong. I heard somebody long ago refer to something similar as a "state system." The elevators are in different states (at different floors, going up or down, etc.) But a professor of computer science I asked had never heard the term. --Halcatalyst (talk) 16:39, 23 August 2015 (UTC)

"Real-time" is alright. While the article real-time computing focusses on the computing aspects it's common to refer to motor/brake control systems in elevators and other machinery as real-time as well (at least here in Germany). And you probably mean State machine... the execution logic behind elevator controls is a classic example for FSMs and like the first or second thing taught in programming, so it's strange your prof didn't make the connection :) Rh73 (talk) 17:13, 23 August 2015 (UTC)

Thanks, that's it! --Halcatalyst (talk) 21:26, 23 August 2015 (UTC)

The state machine – A virtual camshaft built with software. --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 15:34, 24 August 2015 (UTC)

I don't think that is it. State machines can be either completely independent and run asynchronously or, as in the GPU's within graphics chip, be either completely synchronous or grouped together into synchronous clusters where the clusters are asychronous with each other. I think the key here is whether these identical systems are running synchronously or asynchronously. I think your question relates more closely to ideas like SIMD, MIMD, etc. In a bank of elevator controllers, they are all running the exact same program - but they each have different data (the buttons people are pressing in the elevator) and they are all in different states for much of the time (door-opening, door-closing, moving upwards, moving downwards, etc) - this is a classic "MIMD" (multiple instruction stream, multiple data stream) setup. But in the GPU of a SIMD graphics chip (Single instruction stream, multiple data streams), the individual fragment processors are all running the same instruction from the same program in perfect lock-step - albeit with different data relating to the pixel on the screen that they are each working on. Then there is the possibility of having a bunch of computers in a server farm, where they may all be running entirely different programs, and I suppose one could imagine systems where different programs operated on the same data - but in different ways (MISD maybe). We'd see that (for example) in a hurricane prediction system, where several programs, each based on different mathematical models of the atmosphere - are fed the same stream of realtime satellite data in an effort to gain a consensus result from several less-than-perfect mathematical models. The space shuttle used the concept of having multiple computers run the exact same software on the exact same data which then 'voted' on the correct course of action so that a glitch in one computer would not cause the entire launch to fail. SteveBaker (talk) 15:39, 24 August 2015 (UTC)

Verifying the Ashley Madison data

Wikipedia policy is not likely to allow us to link to the Ashley Madison leak data. However, it is desirable for us to come up with a way to verify for the future which version of the data is authentic, i.e. to have a reliably sourced record of the Impact Team public key. I was trying to deduce this back from a news source that published a signed message at Talk:Ashley Madison... but I could use some help here. Wnt (talk) 19:23, 23 August 2015 (UTC)

Ashley Madison allows anyone to register any name with zero verification (not even the usual conformation email) then charges money to delete accounts.[6] This makes the alleged list of users completely unreliable. I don't see any point in differentiating the cryptographically signed Impact Team data dump from any other, possibly-modified data dump. Both have the exact same reliability: zero. --Guy Macon (talk) 15:51, 24 August 2015 (UTC)

I'm not sure I agree. One is an authentic dump from a major hack, notable in its own right. The other would be a forgery. 74.113.53.42 (talk) 22:14, 24 August 2015 (UTC)

Right, this is perhaps the distinction between WP:RS and WP:Verifiability. With crypto-signed data dump, we can at least verify that the data is consistent with a certain published set. The source can be reliable at reporting something ("This is the data we collected"), even if the details of what they are reporting make the data set itself unreliable for the reasons Guy discusses above (e.g. this email occurring on this list does not imply a specific person used a specific service). SemanticMantis (talk) 22:32, 24 August 2015 (UTC)

It's perhaps also worth remembering that there are multiple levels of data from the hack. For example, there are the CEOs emails. Then there is the credit card transaction data (which could be compared to banks records). Even within the user information data, there's an obvious difference between an email which doesn't even exist attached to the name of a famous person [7], and some random person no one has ever heard of with a real email, name, birth date and whatever else all matching being found in the released data set. While it's impossible to know if the Impact Team has tampered with any of the data, and there could in some scenarios be reasons someone else made a fake profile with all the real data or even misused a credit card, what's there may be in some cases something a person would consider sufficiently suspicious to have a serious talk with their partner. And if it comes to a court case, showing that the data was that released by the Impact Team would probably be useful. Nil Einne (talk) 14:29, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

Can School WiFi block VPNs?

I am living on campus in a US university and using the school's WiFi system. I apologize, but I have only an elementary understanding of how VPNs work. I am looking to play Xbox Live games and PC games online, but am having trouble connecting to online servers.

On the Xbox, I have a "Strict NAT" setting and can play certain games without problems, while other games I have a hard time connecting to certain servers. While on the PC, I am unable to play Battlefield 4 or RuneScape.

I tried downloading a VPN to see if I can play online games through the VPN, but the 3 VPNs that I've tried all have been unable to connect to their VPN servers.

Does this mean that the school is blocking access to the VPNs?

Would trying other VPN services be fruitful? Or is there likely a "blanket ban" on all VPNs?

Does anyone have any other suggestions as to how I can play online games on the Wifi?

Thanks. Acceptable (talk) 23:56, 23 August 2015 (UTC)

It is likely that your university has blocked the ports used for VPN. It is unlikely that any VPN will work if the ports are blocked. My university did the same thing and banned all online console gaming from their network as it slows down the network for people using it for educational purposes. --Stabila711 (talk) 00:03, 24 August 2015 (UTC)

Ultimately this is a question for your service provider. If you aren't supposed to be playing games on the service, then you shouldn't be trying to bypass the security which is in place. But if that's where you actually live, are you not allowed to use it for some personal use? That seems pretty harsh in this day and age. Online gaming doesn't actually use that much bandwidth, certainly not much as watching youtube videos. Vespine (talk) 06:23, 24 August 2015 (UTC)

It is actually pretty common for universities around mine to block online console gaming. They also throttled youtube down to an unbearable level during "peak hours." It might not take up a lot of bandwidth individually but multiple that tiny amount thousands of times and it can become a massive problem. Since the university owns the network and provides the service they can limit it however they want. They probably block the consoles by looking at the host data that is naturally sent with each Internet packet request. When it sees a gaming console identifier it blocks the request. --Stabila711 (talk) 06:43, 24 August 2015 (UTC)

Change the port of Your VPN server, if You are the administrator. If the VPN was not blocked intensionally, the MTU of the affected network adapters needs to be increased. --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 15:31, 24 August 2015 (UTC)

(FYI - "Intentional" and "Intensional" are very different things in English :) SemanticMantis (talk) 22:27, 24 August 2015 (UTC)

We recently had a question about VPNs in China here. While it's unlikely any school or university in the Western world employs such advanced techniques as the Great Firewall, the article linked by BenRG in reply to that question gives some tips that will be applicable to your situation as well. In short: there is virtually nothing your university can do to stop you from accessing a VPN without otherwise crippling your internet access (though the overhead may simply be too large to allow gaming); there's a wide array of tricks you can employ to obfuscate a VPN connection. The most effective thing your university could do is to simply make the use of a VPN against their terms of service; that would allow them to just cut you off from their network entirely or even expel you if they catch you using a VPN anyway. --Link ^(t•c•m) 11:41, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

Upgrade vs Clean Install to Win10

I recently purchased a dell XPS laptop that shipped with Win8.1. When I turned on the laptop, the first thing I did was to download and install Win10. I did not change any setting or download anything prior to the installation of Win10.

I recently found out that this is considered an "upgrade" whereas a clean install would require me to use something like Windows Media Creator Tool to boot off a USB/hard drive and re-install Win10.

So far, Win10 has been working well for me. Is it worth to re-install Win10 cleanly? Will I see battery or performance benefits? I plan on using the laptop for gaming. Thanks. Acceptable (talk) 23:59, 23 August 2015 (UTC)

As long as you do it right, a clean install wouldn't hurt. However, in this instance I doubt it would help much either. Upgrades really only present a problem if you have a lot of programs or drivers that may have compatibility issues. Since you upgraded right away those issues are moot. As for the performance issues, I wasn't able to find specific benchmarks for windows 8.1 upgrade to 10 vs. clean install to 10. However, I did find one regarding XP to Vista (here) and their tests showed that it didn't make a significant difference either way. I will keep looking for more recent benchmarks but in the meantime I wanted to post what I found. --Stabila711 (talk) 00:18, 24 August 2015 (UTC)

As long as it is working right, I wouldn't do a clean install. The problem with doing a clean install is that you have to reinstall practically everything. That means tracking down installation CDs or finding the original download. Then finding registration codes, getting the updates, and setting your your settings. It generally takes me about 2 weeks working a xcouple of hours a day to get a new computer or a clean install working like I want it. I had problems with a Win10 upgrade (it could no longer get to the network.) I tried everything I could think of, to the point of trying a USB wireless and a USB-to-ethernet cable adapter. Nothing worked. I took it to a repair shop and they couldn't figure it out either. It looked like I was to the point of rolling back to Win 8.1, which they said would mean reinstalling everything, or buying a new computer. If I have to reinstall everything, I might as well buy a new computer with Win10 on it, which is what I did. I've had it 5+ days and I'm still quite a way from getting it like I want it. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 04:15, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

This sounds like a driver issue. As stated before upgrades have a known issue when drivers are involved. You could have used a computer that could connect, go to the website for you computer, download the Ethernet driver, put it on a flash drive, and import it to the one that wasn't working (not that that matters anymore since you got a new one). Also, you may want to look for a new place to bring your computer for troubleshooting. The first thing they should have done was try to reinstall the driver. --Stabila711 (talk) 04:21, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

They are about the only place in town. I thought of the driver - I told it to update the driver but it said that I had the best one. I uninstalled the ethernet adapter in device manager and rebooted to Win10 would see it. It did and said that it was functioning normally. And for about 8-10 hours after I went to Win10 - no such problem. Then Win came up and said that the network adapter was disabled. I checked that it was enabled. Also, rebooting fixed the problem. I think it happened twice that first day, starting after several hours. Then the next day it started happening more and more frequently - about 10-12 times. Finally it happened just a couple of minutes after rebooting, and then rebooting would no longer fix it. (nor would full shutdowns or unplugging the power.) Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 05:11, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

(OR ahead) I had some issues with the wireless adapter after upgrading to Win10, but only when I was running the laptop on battery. Turns out there was a setting to let the system turn off the adapter to save power when the laptop was not plugged in, which is a pretty freaking stupid setting for a wifi device on a laptop, but anyway... I don't recall if that was in the settings for the wireless or the settings for power modes, and I'm not near that laptop now, but it's something you can check. --LarryMac | Talk 13:56, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

And I think there must be a whole lot of junk on the old one. On both computers I basically have the C drive for Windows and installed programs. On the old one it occupies 408MB but only 101MB on the new one. I don't have everything installed on the new one yet, but there certainly isn't 300+ MB more.Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 05:19, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

August 25

Unable to remove program from Windows 7 Startup List

Hi, when I use 'msconfig' to remove a certain program from the Windows Startup list, it just reappears when the computer restarts. What is causing this to happen, and what can I do to prevent it? This is a legitimate program, not any kind of virus or malware. Actually it is "ABBYY FineReader", which is an OCR program. However, it keeps generating random spurious error messages, so I want to stop it running automatically, but not actually uninstall it. There are no other related programs in the Startup list. 109.145.19.55 (talk) 02:15, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

First, look in the application's preferences for a "start on startup" option. It is possible that this is checked. The program will just keep recreating the startup listing as long as this option is clicked. If it is already unchecked or the option isn't there let me know and we can move onto the next step. --Stabila711 (talk) 02:19, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for the rapid response. I don't see any option like that. Also, I am a bit confused. How can the program re-add itself to the startup list if it is not running in the first place? What process actually does the re-adding? 109.145.19.55 (talk) 02:32, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

It is part of the registry. Editing this would be step 2. Uncheck the item in msconfig and then run regedit.exe. This needs to be run as an administrator. Navigate to the following folder HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run and look for the program on the right side of the window. Right-click on it and click delete. This will remove the registry instructions for that program to start on startup. Restart, see what happens and let me know. --Stabila711 (talk) 02:36, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

Thank you. There is nothing in that list related to the ABBYY program. However, I am unable now to reproduce the problem. Previously, several times I unchecked the item in 'msconfig', restarted, and it reappeared. Now it is not doing this, even though I am doing nothing different. Even if I start the program manually it does not reactivate its startup entry. So I am a bit baffled right now. But anyway, for my benefit could you shed any light on why there are these two lists (registry and msconfig)? I would expect the 'msconfig' screen merely to be another interface to the registry. Why isn't 'msconfig' just reflecting the contents of that registry screen? 109.145.19.55 (talk) 02:58, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

There are actually three lists. MSConfig, and two in the registry. One under the file path listed above (which holds startup programs for all users) and one under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run (which holds startup programs for individual accounts). MSConfig was never designed to be used as a startup listing service. The startup list was more of an add-on that eventually overtook the original purpose of the program (system configuration). MSConfig was designed as a troubleshooting tool, not as a preference setting tool. The registry is the location where all program preferences are saved. Since some items in the registry are absolutely critical to the operation of the system it is much easier to add to it than to delete from it. For example, the registry will maintain options for programs that were uninstalled. Oftentimes when times go haywire it is because of an errant registry entry that has to be taken care of. Also, MSConfig does not require admin level access to change options. Regedit does. So, if there is a listing in the registry for a startup program and someone tries to uncheck it in MSConfig as a regular user the action won't carry over since the user does not have the proper privileges (this is a protection for the really important entries). --Stabila711 (talk) 03:09, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

Thank you for your very helpful advice. I will try your suggestions again if the problem recurs or I manage to reproduce it again. 109.145.19.55 (talk) 03:16, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

No problem and if it happens again please post again. The registry vs. MSConfig is one of the quirks of the Microsoft OS environment. --Stabila711 (talk) 03:19, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

Resolved

Turboboost on Intel 4790K

Last week I got a new computer from a major maker. It has an Intel 4790K CPU (the "K" means that it can be overclocked). According to the Intel spec sheet, it can run at 4.0GHZ and has turbo boost to 4.4GHz (4/4/3/2, I think). However, according to Intel's Turbo Boost monitor program, it always runs at 4.0 - whether one, two, three, or four cores are being used.

So why wouldn't I be getting any of the turbo boost? Would it require more than the stock cooling, so the maker disabled it? Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 07:14, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

Computers are designed to only use the power they need. No computer will run at full power all the time. That would put an enormous amount of stress on the components and lead to early failure. It is likely that your computer is just not being taxed enough to hit overclocked levels. For example, my computer is rated at 2.9GHz but is overclocked to 4.0. It has never gotten to 4.0 with normal use. Even running multiple high intensity games at the same time only got it to 3.2. To run a true stress test you need a really good program. May I suggest Prime95. The program calculates prime numbers to infinity. Unzip the file and run it. Click Just Stress Testing and then OK on the next options screen. The program will run and your computer will be pressed to its limits. That is the only true way to know your maximum overclocked speed. --Stabila711 (talk) 07:35, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

More information: Make sure your computer is set to high performance mode. This is under your battery settings (Control Panel -> System and Security -> Power Options). If it is set to balanced it will stop full power from being reached. Also, once you are done stress testing, I had to force stop the Prime95 program in the task manager to delete it. Just a warning if you have the same issue. --Stabila711 (talk) 07:38, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

I have the power option set for high performance. I regularly use Prime95, and Intel's program that monitors TurboBoost shows no change, either in stress test or 1, 2, 3, or 4 workers. I've run other CPU-intensive things too and it never changes from 4.0GHz. I've watched TurboBoost on an older i7 and two i5s, and if the CPU is doing anything at all, they boost 0.2 to 0.4 GHz. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 17:22, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

Perhaps it is the Intel monitoring program. Try the task manager. Under the Performance tab there should be a real-time graph of your CPU with speed. Run the program while watching that and see if your speed increases. If it doesn't then I don't think your computer was ever overclocked. --Stabila711 (talk) 21:13, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

Microsoft Wi-Fi Sense tracking wi-fi devices globally?

I am not really that knowledgeable about Wi-Fi, but [8] concerns me. An image of the control settings says that Wi-Fi Sense requires releasing the user's location data to Microsoft. And Microsoft holds passwords to various devices that come into contact with it on their servers. Am I right to infer that Microsoft gets some kind of identifying code from every Wi-Fi device within range, and stores it to their servers? Because this would mean that any Wi-Fi device can be searched by NSA/Microsoft (if there's a difference) and they can watch everywhere it turns up that is within range of a wi-fi module - which in certain 'connected cities' is essentially everywhere, and even on an ordinary road is likely to include key commercial intersections. Wnt (talk) 11:07, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

From what I understand about WiFi Sense you have to physically permit the sharing of your connection with individuals. So "connected cities" would never really use this feature as their connection would be unprotected anyways so anyone can connect at anytime. As for tracking, if the NSA (or any government agency) really wanted to there is a much easier way to identify a particular device. It is called the MAC address and it is specific to each device. I can connect from my home or I can bring my laptop to the library and use their network, my MAC address would be the same. In any case, the WiFi Sense feature is designed to make the connection to your home network by guests easier. Like a temporary unblock on an otherwise secure network. Also, they say that the information sent to them is encrypted and as long as they are using the latest AES-256 bit encryption there shouldn't be a problem. --Stabila711 (talk) 11:15, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

@Stabila711: To clarify, I am concerned with whether they can track a wi-fi enabled device that is not connected to the internet, which the user may think of as only having 'short-range' capabilities. And since the feature is enabled by default, the question isn't whether the wired cities and other users would have a reason to turn it on but whether they'd see a reason to turn it off. Wnt (talk) 11:19, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

(edit conflict)If the device does not have GPS tracking abilities in it and it is not sending signal out (not connected to a network) then there isn't anything to track. Phones are one thing, they have embedded GPS chips in them that are active unless you power off the device. Computers don't have those. If the computer is not connected to a network, it isn't sending out any signals to track. Also, the feature is a Windows 10 thing. I've worked for a major metropolitan city recently and they were still running XP. I really wouldn't worry about them getting upgraded to 10 in the near future anyways so Wifi Sense is not coming to a city network near you any time soon. --Stabila711 (talk) 11:25, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

The scenario I'm picturing is that the "target" T of the surveillance is carrying a small device that has no GPS or networking, but interacts at short range via Wi-Fi. The sensors A, B, C may have both GPS and internet capabilities. As innocent victim T walks around, I am asking for confirmation whether A B and C are able to obtain a unique number from T, which might be tied by the manufacturer or other contacts to the victim, and whether they in fact send the serial number of T by default to Microsoft, together with whatever location information they have available. Wnt (talk) 13:28, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

@Wnt: I am going to try to answer and I apologize in advanced if I am just not understanding your question. If a user interacts with a WiFi access point, any WiFi access point, a header is attached to the data packet that is sent (also see network packet). This packet contains information regarding the device that the person is using to connect to the network (even if that device was connected inadvertently as long as it sends data the information is sent). Contained within this header is the MAC address of the device along with other identifying information. That information is sent to the service provider that processes the data request. Theoretically, a subpoena can be issued to the service provider for all header logs sent from a particular device (all logs that contain a particular MAC address). As for location information, such as GPS coordinates, I am not sure. The location of the access point can usually be pinpointed. For example, if the person connects at home and then at the library the location data would be different and can be resolved. But headers are not designed to carry a lot of information and GPS coordinates are not usually sent with every request unless the request specifically needs them (like map directions). In any case, devices usually don't connect to WiFi access points without you telling them to (or if they do there is a setting where you can turn that off). For example, on iPhones there is a setting that says "ask to join networks" that you can turn on that will stop auto-connections. Keep in mind that this is just talking about WiFi access. Data access over the cellular network will have the same packet headers as any other data request. --Stabila711 (talk) 05:38, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

C# how to load an external libary (DLL) if it exist in directory?

Hello everyone. I have written a program to automatically calculate Musical Scales that uses an external C# library. This library contains all the scale data(the names of the scales, as well as the formulas). I also have a built in scale library. What I want to do, is I want to first check if the ScaleData.dll library exist in the folder that the program is installed in. I know how to do this already. I simply use the File class in the System.IO namespace. Next, if it does exist, I want the program to load the library and tell the program to use its classes and such instead of the built in library. How would I do this? I was thinking that I would have to use the LoadLibrary function in the WinAPI. But the problem with this is that, the function returns a handle to the loaded assembly. I would have no idea on how to access the class stored in the library. So my question is, how would I load a library and reference it in my app at Runtime? I am using VS 2010 and .NET framework 4.

Thanks for your help in advance, —SGA314 I am not available on weekends (talk) 14:16, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

You need to use Assembly.LoadFrom, not LoadLibrary. This is the appropriate page on MSDN. If you can't access MSDN, I've copied the C# example code below:

Example code

[C#] // LoadInvoke loads MyAssembly.dll and invokes the MyMethod1 method. // After compiling this class, run LoadInvoke.exe with MyAssembly.dll // as the command line argument, as shown below: // LoadInvoke Myassembly.dll using System; using System.Reflection; public class LoadInvoke { public static void Main(string[] args) { Assembly a = Assembly.LoadFrom(args[0]); Type[] mytypes = a.GetTypes(); BindingFlags flags = (BindingFlags.NonPublic | BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Static | BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.DeclaredOnly); foreach(Type t in mytypes) { MethodInfo[] mi = t.GetMethods(flags); Object obj = Activator.CreateInstance(t); foreach(MethodInfo m in mi) { m.Invoke(obj, null); } } } } [C#] // Use this class with the LoadInvoke program. // Compile this class using csc /t:library MyAssembly.cs // to obtain MyAssembly.dll. using System; public class MyAssembly { public void MyMethod1() { Console.WriteLine("Invoking MyAssembly.MyMethod1"); } }

@Tevildo:Ok so the code you posted works but I am having a problem with types. I have a separate project called ScaleData in the solution. This separate project compiles the External DLL. I can't seem to convert the instance of the class without referencing the other project. If I delete or rename the DLL, the program errors out because it now relies on that external DLL. So, my question is, how to I make Object obj = Activator.CreateInstance(t); return a type of a specific class such as ScaleData? I have already tried ScaleData ExternalScaleForms = Activator.CreateInstance<ScaleData>(); but again, this requires me to reference the other project. How do I fix this? In the end, I need to access the proprieties and create an instance of the ScaleData class. The example code you posted sent me in the right direction. Its just that I am having a slight problem with types(well ok, a big problem).

Note: I am running a Windows Application. not aconsole app. I say this because I know that this makes a big difference in the Program.cs code.

Here is what I have so far:

Program.cs

Application.EnableVisualStyles(); Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false); ScaleData.ScaleData ExternalScaleForms = null; string ExternalDLLLoc = Environment.CurrentDirectory + "\\" + "ScaleData.dll"; string[] Files = Directory.GetFiles(Environment.CurrentDirectory, "*.dll"); if (Files.Contains<string>(ExternalDLLLoc) == true) { Assembly a = Assembly.LoadFrom(ExternalDLLLoc); Type[] mytypes = a.GetTypes(); BindingFlags flags = (BindingFlags.NonPublic | BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Static | BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.DeclaredOnly); foreach (Type t in mytypes) { MethodInfo[] mi = t.GetMethods(flags); //Object obj = Activator.CreateInstance<ScaleFormulas>(); ExternalScaleForms = Activator.CreateInstance<ScaleData.ScaleData>(); } //Don't know if I need this? As for I am using the lines above, //and I don't actually have any usable methods in the ScaleData class. //I only have the classes constructor's method. //This is where all my code that makes the class useful runs. foreach (Type t in mytypes) { MethodInfo[] mi = t.GetMethods(flags); Object obj = Activator.CreateInstance(t); foreach (MethodInfo m in mi) { m.Invoke(obj, null); } } } //Run The app with the instance of the external DLL. //The app will check if it is null or not. Application.Run(new MusicalScaleCalculator(ExternalScaleForms));

—SGA314 I am not available on weekends (talk) 16:42, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

Well, referencing the other DLL is really how you're supposed to do it. If you have to defer this until runtime, you can create a class called something like LocalScaleData which contains the properties and methods you need, then do something like:

    Assembly a = Assembly.LoadFrom(ExternalDLLLoc);
    Type t = a.GetType("ScaleData.ScaleData");
    Object obj = Activator.CreateInstance(t);
    LocalScaleData ExternalScaleForms = (obj as LocalScaleData);

Tevildo (talk) 23:31, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

This dosen't work. The LocalScaleData class doesn't have the same data as the ExternalScaleData class therefore, when I cast the obj variable to the LocalScaleData type, all the data in the ExternalScaleData object becomes identical to that of the LocalScaleData class. For example, there is a bool variable that is named ExternalData in both the LocalScaleData and the ExternalScaleData classes. In the ExternalScaleData class, this variable's value is set to true. However, in the LocalScaleData class, this variable's value is set to false. When I inspect the obj variable before I try and cast it to a LocalScaleData type, the ExternalData variable is set to true. When I do try and cast the obj variable to the LocalScaleData type, the ExternalData variable all the sudden becomes false. And on top of that, all the data in the obj variable changes to that of all the data in the LocalScaleData class. Not the ExternalScaleData class. How do I fix this without making a reference to the external DLL? —SGA314 I am not available on weekends (talk) 14:50, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Tiled high-res images

Dezoomify seems to fail when I try to save from from here and other paintings from the same source and I couldn't locate the file in Firefox' page info multimedia either. After the tiles are fully loaded in Dezoomify choosing "save image" or anything else doesn't work. Any suggestions to get those images? Brandmeister^talk 15:36, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

I hate giving an answer like "works for me", but it does (using Chrome and Win7 Ultimate 64bit). On the first try, the Chrome window crashed, upon retry dezoomify succeeded in importing a picture with a resolution of 8917x5532. Did you try the 'usual' stuff, like closing resource-hungry applications, restarting your browser and/or PC etc? Rh73 (talk) 16:19, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

Nah, didn't work for me again, even in Google Chrome (running dual core 2.GHz, 2 GB RAM, 32-bit Win 7 with no other applications, restarting doesn't change anything, even though otherwise my Firefox often handles such images). Tiles are loaded, but stucks when saving. Could you upload those to Commons? It's a series of five paintings. Brandmeister^talk 18:12, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

2GB ram and/or 32bit Windows could explain your problems with high res images. It should be enough but who knows what kind of overhead this dezoomify thing creates and what kind of system it expects. I'll try to download the other paintings, but I've never dealt with Commons (yet). Would you be ok with something like a link to a public dropbox instead, and am I allowed to post it here? Rh73 (talk) 19:38, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

It worked for me too but Fireofx freezed when I saved the image. I didn't find the license of the images so I don't know if we can upload them to Commons. Hunsu (talk) 08:06, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

@Rh73: I'll be fine with dropbox, Imgur like that (you can drop a link here). Will expect. Brandmeister^talk 09:43, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

I had tried to upload the first painting to imgur yesterday night, but it didn't work (I'm assuming it exceeds max allowed dimension or filesize there). Right now I'm a bit busy, but gonna send you a link later today. Rh73 (talk) 09:59, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

@Brandmeister: I sent you the images. My Firefox crashed each time I downloaded the an image. Hunsu (talk) 14:21, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

Thanks, all received. Brandmeister^talk 14:47, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

August 26

UK unemployment of computer scientists

What are possible explanations for the high unemployment of comp. scientists in the UK? They outsource to India? They don't invest much in this industry? They educate too many of them? Too many of them immigrate to the UK?

Is any country in this situation too? --Yppieyei (talk) 00:47, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

• There are many potential explanations, some of which you stated in your question. The problem is unemployment rates cannot be tied to one specific factor but rely on numerous things. I found this article that tries to go in depth regarding the issue as well as this one that brings up some good points. The saturation level of computer scientists in the UK may be part of the problem. There are just so many people with that degree that the field has become too competitive. What that means is that employers have such a large range of people to choose from that they often end up settling on criteria that excludes a large number of people (simply because they can). I have experienced this somewhat myself. The joke is that "entry level" jobs require 2 years of on the job experience. Unfortunately, that is less of a joke and more of a sad reality. Since the field of potential employees is so saturated with potentials, companies would rather try to hire people who have proven that they know what they are doing as opposed to a recent graduate with no experience. In addition, employers may set hiring standards too high, again, simply because they can. I think the guardian article says it the best. "Many employers complain that graduates are not being taught the skills they want and many large employers admit to recruiting only from elite Russell Group universities." Eventually something has to give either way. It just may take a little bit more time than is preferable. --Stabila711 (talk) 01:01, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

split string based on some seperator using angular js

i have a string "value1,value2,value3" i want to split this string based on comma and get all three value and print them using ng-repeat directive in angular js106.51.19.230 (talk) 07:36, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

Create An Account

When attempting to set up an account, the Wikipedia registration screen does not accept my email address despite numerous attempts...I've tried three different emails. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.86.224.160 (talk) 13:47, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

Check your junk mail folder. Failing that raise it at WP:HELPDESK As that is the better place for your query. - X201 (talk)

I am getting the message below from many wikipedia pages. What's going on?

Script error: The module returned a value. It is supposed to return an export table. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 31.177.97.80 (talk) 15:30, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

This has been resolved; see Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)#Script error. -- John of Reading (talk) 20:54, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

Windows 10

Apologies if this is a FAQ. Not asking for opinions, but references - what do 'experts' in well-regarded IT media recommend in terms of non computer-savvy individuals accepting the invitation to upgrade from Win 8/8.1 to Win 10? Is there a consensus to do it now, or wait, and if the latter, wait until when/what?

Finally, we have a somewhat buggy but pretty new Win 8.1 laptop, that likes to drop the internet connection, hates printing and is slow. Without considering any other options (check spyware, warranty etc) would this make this machine a better or worse candidate for going for Win 10 asap.

Thanks --Dweller (talk) 15:35, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

From experts (such as people with a PhD in Computer Science or working professionally as the manager over an IT shop of at least 50 people), you should use the most recent software. Older software is not maintained as well as the most recent software. If, instead, you want public opinion, there are plenty of people who can make up some horror story about how they know someone who knows someone who upgraded to Windows 10 and then the computer ate their beloved pet kitten. As for your buggy laptop, it doesn't sound like a software issue. It sounds like a hardware issue. Putting new software on a broken computer won't magically fix the hardware. If, as you suspect, it is malware of some kind, upgrading to Windows 10 could break everything because Windows 10 is not designed to play nice with malware. 209.149.113.150 (talk) 16:02, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

Interesting, thanks. --Dweller (talk) 16:34, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

It is a good idea to avoid using unmaintained software if it's security-critical (browsers, etc.). But Windows 8.1 is still maintained. It will get security fixes until January 10, 2023 ([9]). I would advise you to plan to stop using Windows 8 by January 10, 2023, but the existence of a newer version is no reason to stop using it now. -- BenRG (talk) 02:08, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

If a laptop's circuitry is going to go wrong it will usually do so in the first couple of months of use. So, don't throw it away yet! Try running Linux_Mint#Installation Live Linux Mint on a pen-drive and see it it runs better. If so, back up your data and then install Linux Mint. P.S.Linux is not windows... i.e., it takes time to get out of the habit of jumping through microsoft's hoops and restrictions (after all its your computer and so why let microsoft dictate what you can and can't do with it). Linux in the long-run saves much time and frustration for the home user over propriety windows. Then you will have (as 209.149.113.150 suggests) one of the latest proven operating systems.--Aspro (talk) 20:54, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

Here is a comparison. Windows vs Linux: The 2015 Version. P.S. Mint is the ultra stable version of Ubuntu and more so the current Windows 10.--Aspro (talk) 21:08, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

Yes, although running "latest OS" is often good advice, Win10 seems to be a bit... different than the others. Several sources are critical of the privacy and security concerns raised by Win10 even compared to previous MS OS, e.g. [10] [11]. (WP:OR warning:) I know of at least one large state university in the USA that will not currently allow Win10 to be installed on Uni-owned computers due to security and privacy concerns. One source even claimed that running the Win10 OS on a publicly owned computer would violate a state constitution! (sorry I cannot link a ref, this was claim was voiced via private internal university email, and I cannot find any public record.) SemanticMantis (talk) 22:08, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

It's not different from the others. It's going the same way as the others. Microsoft is lagging behind in the upload-everything-to-our-servers trend, if anything.

The widespread paranoia over one feature, "Wi-Fi Sense", seems like a tempest in a teapot. It lets you share your Wi-Fi password on various social networks. You don't have to do it, and it doesn't happen by default, despite what many people seem to think. See e.g. [12]. -- BenRG (talk) 02:08, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Sorry, I meant many people seem to be treating the upgrade to win10 a bit differently than the previous Windows OSs, not comparing the MS line to other OSs. I don't have a horse in this race, but I don't recall e.g. Win7 stirring up nearly as much controversy over security and privacy issues. SemanticMantis (talk) 17:31, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Windows 10 is for suckers ! StuRat (talk) 22:23, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

Despite the clickbait headline, I think the advice in that article is good. Wait for other people to sort out the problems, unless you want to be one of those people. -- BenRG (talk) 02:08, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Yes, you don't want to be on the bleeding edge. StuRat (talk) 16:43, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Appears like the OP's best bet is to abandon the wait for me to catch up old dinosaur operating systems concepts that Win 10 is based on and go for something more modern. Read: Secret to Desktop Linux Adoption. --Aspro (talk) 13:41, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Office

Does Microsoft version of Office need to be deleted before installing Apache Open Source Office? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.8.88.240 (talk) 23:06, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

You shouldn't have to. The two programs are completely separate from each other and should not conflict with one another. I have had open office and Microsoft office on the same computer before without any issues. --Stabila711 (talk) 23:12, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

You will have to decide what program opens the different doc types though. If you double click on a .docx, what do you want to run to open it? Graeme Bartlett (talk) 10:51, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

When installing, install MSO 1st, 2nd LibreO, due setting the default application for files by extension. Effects like a blank or empty table occur, when Excel is not the default application when opening a file saved by an former version of Excel. Setting the defaut application is not just open a file by its Extension XLS oder XLSX. MSO differs here in opening a file or performing an import procedure. For what reason ever, the import is beeing skipped some time. I guess it may for performance, only? Else, there is no other or general incommatibility. The office applications exist side by side on the same computer. Note LibreOffice and OpenOffice are parallel versions similar to a fork in developping. Also these apps use identical file extensins. When migrating files to a never version of the free office applications, LibreOffice kept the formatted pages in some documents as before, while OpenOffice, reformatted the documents border of rendered the letters litte different, causeing additional line feeds. --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 18:09, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Shouldn't programming abstractions be easy to understand? Often I find that OO is not the case.

Wouldn't programming be much easier if instead of OO, we just used lists of commands and if/then statements?

I see many people, who are interested in learning to program, struggling with OO. However all, or almost all (there are always the really dull of mind) seem to understand a series of command. --YX-1000A (talk) 23:18, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

I'm not quite "grasping" the spirit of your question. OO is not the "only" way to program, and I would suggest it's certainly not the best or easiest "gateway" to start learning. Comparison_of_programming_paradigms. OO is a difficult concept to grasp, especially for someone not already familiar with programming. I would suggest procedural programming is a much better place to start learning. Vespine (talk) 00:00, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

I expressed myself poorly.

The point is that abstractions like OO, among others, are used so that we can grasp what the computer is doing. They are there to allow humans communicate with computers, and to communicate with other humans, what a program is supposed to do. However, many humans cannot easily deal with OO (as I said, and you confirmed). Shouldn't we all be using more simple concepts then, like some kind of procedural approach? Historically, however, we have moved from easy abstractions to abstractions which are difficult to grasp.--YX-1000A (talk) 00:33, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

I don't think OOP is hard to learn. It may be that more complex software is more likely to use OOP concepts, so a randomly selected OOP library may be harder to understand on average, but that isn't OOP's fault. -- BenRG (talk) 02:43, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

The point of abstractions is not to "grasp what the computer is doing." It is to HIDE what the computer is doing. If you want to grasp what the computer is doing, you use assembly language - which is nothing more than a loooooong series of instructions. 209.149.113.150 (talk) 13:23, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

"Easy to learn" is not the main goal for many programming languages, nor should it be. For OO in particular, those using it are far more interested in code Reuse / Recycling, Encapsulation, and ease of maintenance. Nobody is forcing anybody to start with OO. Go ahead and start with procedural. When you get skilled enough to be hired on a project with millions of lines of legacy code written over many yeats you will embrace OO. Meanwhile I will keep programming microcontrollers in hand-crafted assembly language (smile). --Guy Macon (talk) 02:20, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

OO is not there instead of if's, then's, for's and while's. It's a higher level organizing structure. The need for OO doesn't become obvious until projects get large and big chunks of code written by different people need to be connected together. Those chunks still use if's, then's, for's and while's inside their objects - but the connection between data and code is formally made instead of informally. I strongly disagree that OO is somehow 'harder' than procedural code - once you get beyond very simple programs, working without OO gets tougher and tougher, until eventually, you find yourself kinda re-inventing OO using a procedural language that lacks the formality of error checking those things.

For large scale coding projects, I find OO to be an extremely natural way to express the walls that you must inevitably build between chunks of code in order to maintain some kind of sanity.

SteveBaker (talk) 05:09, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

It is hard to learn at first, but after a few programs, it becomes easy to understand. But if you don't like OOP, you don't have to program in it. For example, C is still very popular for new code. Many other programming languages like PHP and Perl also let you do everything procedurally. In languages like C#, VB.NET, and Java, everything is part of a class. So, you might want to stay away from those. But remember that even procedural languages like C and COBOL still have structures, which are very similar to classes. So, if you ask me, the importance of the invention of "object oriented" programming is over-hyped because people were using structs long before "classes" were invented. So, you might as well just learn OOP even if you plan to stay away from OOP, because it will help you understand structs, too.—Best Dog Ever (talk) 05:57, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Since C++ is an almost perfect superset of C, you might as well use C++ and take advantage of OOP when you need it - and not when you don't. But honestly, when you start working on a large project - and especially if more than one programmer is involved - you need OOP. It's no accident that modern languages all have those concepts built in at the core of the language. SteveBaker (talk) 15:33, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Somewhat related to large projects: My essay at [ http://www.guymacon.com/structuredengineering.html ]. --Guy Macon (talk) 16:10, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

The Linux kernel is almost entirely written in C. It has almost 20 million lines of code and about 1,300 developers. You don't have to use OOP for large projects.—Best Dog Ever (talk) 00:21, 28 August 2015 (UTC)

If we understand the question as what to learn first then I think many here give the wrong advice. Saying "learning it is easy" to someone who just laid out their problems is like saying "English is easy" to a beginner, just because you have been practicing it for many years. The argument "you might as well learn the superset" is absurd; if that were true then for any area of knowledge you might as well start learning everything at once. When my mother taught me to read and write, she started with capital letters, which was great because I could already read shop signs and express myself in half the time it would have taken if she had included lower case. From the fact that C++ is a superset of C, I draw the opposite conclusion from SteveBaker: That means that C is not like training wheels that you have to unlearn later, but it is like upper case letters that will always be useful.

But I'm not sure the question was meant as a request for advice. It seems more like a philosophical question to me. Why do methods become harder when we try to make solutions easier? This has already nicely been answered by 209.149.113.150 and Guy Macon. I'd like to add one comparison: When I was a kid, I got 1.50 DM pocket money each week, and I therefore only had coins. So I didn't immediately see the need for bank notes since (at least from a mathematical point of view), one can pay any amount just with coins, just as one ((or at least Guy Macon)) can program everything in assembler. — Sebastian 19:40, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

(Smile) How to write an operating system, web browser, email client, and office suite in assembly language: Step one: extend human life to at least 2000 years so you have time to write the program. Step two: solve the problem that, when done, the result only runs on hardware that they stopped making 2000 year ago. Step three: see a shrink to find out what kind of crazy you are that prevents you from using C/C++ and reusing code from Linux or BSD...

On the other hand, when your program has to run on hardware that costs a fraction of a dollar for all of the electronics and has a total of 256 nybbles of RAM, put away your fancy OO tools and start learning microcontroller assembly language. Watching your product coming off a Chinese assembly line at a rate of 100.000 units per hour makes it worth the effort. :) --Guy Macon (talk) 23:14, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

August 27

Glassdoor.com

I just used glassdoor.com, and there was a message "Rate two companies and get a free account". Because I like the concept, I went for it. But I was led through a continuing bait-and-switch loop; each time there was a message on top of the page saying something like "just do this step to get a free account", only to pop up a new one when I was done. Increasingly, answers were not optional anymore, and I was forced to enter values that might compromise my privacy. When I got to the screen that asked me to enter an interview experience, I entered "glassdoor" for the company name and used the form to provide my feedback. After that came the request to enter pictures of my work place; I spent some time searching for one, but after after I had selected it, the site returned an error message like "you have no permission to access these data". I am now wondering (a) if I'm the only one having such an experience and (b) if they had a way to check my previous input and blocked me. AnonymousUserAugust2015 (talk) 06:13, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Yes they could have checked your previous input and blocked you, but they probably didn't. It was probably a side effect of their recent DDOS attack[13]. The site isn't a scam, but they have yet to show that they have solved the problem of paid editing. Then again, neither has Wikipedia. :( WSJ seems to like them.[14]

We could really use your help in rewriting our page at Glassdoor. It needs some help from someone familiar with the site. --Guy Macon (talk) 00:56, 28 August 2015 (UTC)

Thank you for your answer and suggestion. So the technical aspect of my question can probably be considered solved. I'm still miffed at the way the company treats its reporters, and would like to hear about others' experience. But this is probably not the right place for that. AnonymousUserAugust2015 (talk) 18:48, 28 August 2015 (UTC)

In my experience, the continued "now enter this" is intended to get additional content for their site but you should have been given access as soon as you satisfied the initial request, and you can't access the site (beyond the "free trial") until you do contribute something and validate your account (which you didn't explicitly state that you did). HalJor (talk) 20:11, 28 August 2015 (UTC)

Unsupported image type on mouseover

I'm using the Chrome browser at University and when I mouse over an image on Wikipedia, I get an error messaging popping up saying that the image type is not supported. [Here's a screenshot]. What's it talking about? If I close the dialogue and mouse over again, back it comes. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.215.47.59 (talk) 09:40, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

I'm not aware of Wikipedia having any behaviour for mouseover on images; everything works okay (on Chromium on Linux) for me. So I suspect you may be seeing the problem because some extension is rewriting the page and is injecting defective javascript. Try running Chrome with extensions disabled (chrome --disable-extensions) and see if the problem persists. -- Finlay McWalterᚠTalk 10:55, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Old URL means computer won't go to new web site

With http://thesunnews.com I get forwarded automatically to http://myrtlebeachonline.com.

But http://news-record.com gives me:

Internal Error: Missing Template ERR_READ_ERROR

When it first changed to http://greensboro.com It went like it was supposed to. Now the old URL gives me the above message until I enter it again.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 16:59, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Okay, it's not happening today for some reason. And normally, I'm on a Firefox computer when it does. At home I get "Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage". Could be going there from Chrome made a difference, and then when I used Firefox on the same computer it had already been there.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 17:19, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Looking at the raw responses, an HTTP 1.1 request to http://news-record.com gives you this:

GET / HTTP/1.1

HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently

Cache-Control: max-age=900

Content-Type: text/html

Location: http://greensboro.com/

Server: Microsoft-IIS/7.5

X-AspNet-Version: 4.0.30319

X-Powered-By: ASP.NET

Date: Thu, 27 Aug 2015 21:53:09 GMT

Content-Length: 0

Age: 1

Connection: close

Which is a standard 301 redirect.

But an HTTP 1.0 request gives you this:

GET / HTTP/1.0

HTTP/1.0 200 OK

Cache-Control: max-age=900

Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8

Server: Microsoft-IIS/7.5

X-AspNet-Version: 4.0.30319

X-Powered-By: ASP.NET

Date: Thu, 27 Aug 2015 21:54:38 GMT

Content-Length: 225

Age: 28

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN"

"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd">

<html>

This website is temporarily unavailable, please try again later.

<!-- pageok -->

<!-- 04 -->

<!-- -->

</html>

Which should display the "This website is temporarily unavailable..." message, even though the HTML is invalid (missing the head section, which is required).

http://thesunnews.com give a proper 301 redirect for HTTP 1.0 and 1.1

So that may explain the difference.

FF is supposed to use 1.1. To check it:

• Type about:config in the URL bar and hit Enter.
• Type network.http.version in the Filter box.
• Make sure it is set to 1.1
• Repeat, searching on network.http.proxy.version

Also, whenever you test things like this using your browser, go to the history and clear cookies, cache, browsing history, and active logins between each test. --Guy Macon (talk) 22:40, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Java class transportability

I have written a Java object for use in someone else's project. I do not want to give them the source code. I assume that I can send them the .class file with a description of the method calls. Then, they can write their code and compile using the class files. My concern is transportability of the class files. I know that class files are supposed to run on any JVM, but what about compiling a new class file? My class file is Benes.class. If the other guy writes Risk.java, which uses the Benes object, should it be expected to compile and create the Risk.class file? 209.149.113.150 (talk) 17:48, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Yes, you can just give out the class file. Or if you are handing out several class files, search the web on how to package them into a JAR file - JAR is a slightly jazzed up version of a ZIP file. Lots of commercial and open source projects ship out a JAR containing only class files. One caveat: your Java versions must be reasonably similar. If, say, you are using new JDK 8 features and the other guy has JDK 7, it likely won't work. He will get an error message about incompatible class file versions if the versions are too far apart. 91.155.193.199 (talk) 18:27, 28 August 2015 (UTC)

Thanks. I expect version issues will be a problem. I am running OpenJDK 1.8 on Centos. They will be using Sun's official Java on Windows. So, I'm just going to try to phrase a way to say "Here's the class file. It should work, but if it doesn't, I can send the java file." I don't want to invite them to immediately say "Send us the java file." 209.149.113.150 (talk) 18:35, 28 August 2015 (UTC)

The javac compiler has a -target parameter that may be helpful; see documentation. 91.155.193.199 (talk) 20:07, 28 August 2015 (UTC)

Beats headphones

Are beats headphones worth the amount they cost compared to cheaper good quality ones like Sony. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.10.247.39 (talk) 16:27, 28 August 2015 (UTC)

It depends entirely on what you are using them for. As such, the value of the headphones is completely a matter of opinion, stubbornness, and fashion. Example: My Sony ear buds fit in my nose nicely and help block bad odors. The beats headphones are a terrible replacement, but it impresses the girls more until they get close enough to notice the odors I'm trying to block. 209.149.113.150 (talk) 17:15, 28 August 2015 (UTC)

The general consensus online tends to be that they're produced as a fashion statement and are not worth the premium placed upon them, from a build quality or sound quality perspective. Whether they're worth it to you is a matter of personal opinion, as (to many people, anyway) they certainly are very attractive visually, and they're not *bad* headphones. As a side note, I can't recommend Monoprice's 8323 headphones enough. Riffraffselbow (talk) (contribs) 17:45, 28 August 2015 (UTC)

So you're saying people buy them for their sex appeal? 94.10.247.39 (talk) 20:58, 28 August 2015 (UTC)

Beats_Electronics#Critical_reception has some refs that explain some of the criticism. (Sennheiser headphones come highly recommended for build quality, sound quality, and price. But they don't look as hip as Beats ;) SemanticMantis (talk) 22:46, 28 August 2015 (UTC)

Why is the radix point unavailable in Programmer mode of Microsoft calculator?

If I want to know what the decimal equivalent of, say, the binary number 0.101 is, I can't enter it in while the binary radio button is selected and then switch to the decimal radio button, as I can easily do for numbers greater than 1, because the radix point is unavailable in programmer mode. I have to manually in Scientific mode add 2^-1 + 2^-3. Obviously, this particular example is easy to do manually, but it stinks when I want to find out what .1100101010100001110 is. Why is there no radix point available in programmer mode? 75.75.42.89 (talk) 23:52, 28 August 2015 (UTC)