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January 27

SciData computers

In the 1970s there were some minicomputers named SciData. I saw at least two of them. They had 12K but I'm not sure if that is in words or bytes. I can't find anything about them. They don't seem to be related to Scientific Data Systems, but I don't know. Does anyone know anything about SciData computers? Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 00:11, 27 January 2019 (UTC)

The closest thing I can recall are the unique computers created by SiCortex in the mid-2000s. I recall a fellow researcher had been using one of their machines to benchmark some physics simulations before the company stopped building and supporting them. I do not know if the SiCortex machines, or the people who designed them, ever had any shared lineage with the SciData computers from several decades earlier. Nimur (talk) 16:55, 29 January 2019 (UTC)

These were definitely minicomputers and in the mid 1970s. They may have been something else rebranded. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 02:55, 30 January 2019 (UTC)

SciData of Atlanta, GA, I think? They seem to have specialized in automating agricultural feeding systems, and (perhaps) to have been absorbed by Computer Usage Company in 1977 or so[1], though that might be another Scidata -- the name's been used a few times. --jpgordon^{𝄢𝄆 𝄐𝄇} 00:57, 3 February 2019 (UTC)

@Jpgordon: Yes, it is likely that they were in Atlanta. I know one was used in a college in the University of Georgia system and I saw another one in the Macon (Georgia) Mall. I heard that someone in the Georgia government was recommending them. (We wondered if there was a kickback.) A professor complained that they replaced the Univac 9200 with 16K with the SciData with 12K. Of course, it might have been 12K words vs. 16K bytes, but I don't know. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 01:11, 3 February 2019 (UTC)

January 28

How to use Multimedia Keys in Keyboard ?

Hello there, recently I've bought a gaming key board which has a plug and play feature and it has no driver dvd. The thing is that multimedia keys are not working. I checked device manager, keyboard options from control panel but there's no guideline whatsoever. I tried googling the solution but couldn't find any. How can I use them ? Thanks in advance--103.231.162.134 (talk) 15:28, 28 January 2019 (UTC)

Have you tried this? Ruslik_Zero 20:37, 29 January 2019 (UTC)

January 29

Can't see the "look inside" in books in amazon.com

Hello there, I suddenly noticed that I can't see the preview pages of books in amazon.com. Whenever I open the book by clicking on book cover it shows the blank white page. Front Cover; Copyright; Table of Contents; First Pages; Index; Surprise Me! - I clicked on all of this contents in book sections with no results. Why is this happening? Thank you--103.231.162.134 (talk) 10:56, 29 January 2019 (UTC)

I can see a small selection of pages, but the book is copyright, and Amazon want to sell it, so they are not going to show all the pages. Dbfirs 14:19, 29 January 2019 (UTC)

Yes, hyperlinks (from the ebook version) do not work online, But you can scroll through to selected portions of the book using the next page button.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 14:22, 29 January 2019 (UTC)

Grid cartogram with equal country sizes

Where can I find a GIS shapefile representing every country with an identical (perhaps rectangular or hexagonal) cell? This would be a simple case of a cartogram in that the variable controlling country size depiction is constant (instead of representing population, electoral votes, or any of the other attributes often driving cartograms). Hayttom (talk) 13:49, 29 January 2019 (UTC)

This image shows what I'm looking for - but I'm hoping to find, rather than having to make it as a shapefile.Hayttom (talk) 14:11, 29 January 2019 (UTC)

Thank you very much. It just works :) :)--103.231.162.134 (talk) 14:21, 30 January 2019 (UTC)

deleting protected directories

I have developed serious health problems and need to resign my job. I gave my administration one month until the end of February, but in fact it is mostly for me. I am thinking about what I need to do to leave minimal footprint in the place which I actually love. This morning I went into a disk directory, sort of personal one and deleted as many files and directories I could. Then I discovered a folder which I kind of suspected existed but still was surprised to see. It is "Recent Places." All folders there and there are numerous, are protected. Some of them are not really mine, probably from the system.

Is there way to clean them up? I am not the administrator.

Thanks AboutFace 22 (talk) 17:53, 29 January 2019 (UTC)

Are you referring to Windows 10? If you turn off the "show recently opened items" setting it should delete all the saved pointers to recent places. You can then turn it back on and they will remain deleted. There are more detailed instructions here. CodeTalker (talk) 22:19, 29 January 2019 (UTC)

It is actually Windows 7, but it is a great idea and I am sure it should work. Thanks, - AboutFace 22 (talk) 22:07, 2 February 2019 (UTC)

You're talking about your work computer? Unless you have some personal stuff on it that you don't want them to see (in which case ask about secure deletion, but you made a boo-boo by putting it there), just turn it in to the company IT department when you leave. In all likelihood they will completely wipe the disk before giving the computer to the next person. Sorry to hear about your health issues. 173.228.123.166 (talk) 01:16, 3 February 2019 (UTC)

January 31

Phone Touch Screen Question

Is the touch screen on a smart phone heat sensitive or pressure sensitive? I am asking because I have difficulty in pushing the keys when I am wearing gloves, and am wondering whether I need to push harder, or whether I need to take off the gloves (which I may not want to do if it is cold, which is why I am wearing gloves in the first place). Robert McClenon (talk) 17:05, 31 January 2019 (UTC)

Neither. Most phones these days use capacitive sensing. It depends on the properties of your finger to operate. That said, there are some gloves on the market that will work with touchscreens. I have such a pair. While they work, the lack of precision (think of trying to put in a nail with a sledgehammer) usually makes me just take my glove off and use my finger anyway. †dismas†|^(talk) 17:19, 31 January 2019 (UTC)

You can buy a stylus for use on touch screens. They are very cheap. I find them quicker and more accurate than using a finger anyway.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 18:18, 31 January 2019 (UTC)

The technology for the touch screen differs between various makes and models. Among the most popular manufacturers today, most touch-screens use some form of capacitive sensing. Nimur (talk) 20:03, 31 January 2019 (UTC)

February 1

Restoring Viewed Pages with Opera?

If I am using the Opera web browser under Windows 10, and Windows crashes or my computer crashes or I flip the main switch on my power strip, is there a feature to reload the page or pages that I was viewing? I am trying to compare the advantages and disadvantages of different web browsers. Google Chrome usually restores the pages that it was viewing, but not always, and in particular not if Windows restarts. Firefox is extremely reliable at restoring the pages that it was viewing. Microsoft Edge normally restores the pages that it was viewing, but behaves oddly in sometimes reloading pages that I had tried to close, and has a few other quirks. Is there a way to have Opera restore the page or pages that it was viewing? Robert McClenon (talk) 05:38, 1 February 2019 (UTC)

On my Opera installation, Settings > General Tab. Set Startup to Continue from last time. YMMV --TrogWoolley (talk) 12:07, 1 February 2019 (UTC)

Hmmm. How do I bring up Settings to get to the General Tab? Robert McClenon (talk) 15:51, 1 February 2019 (UTC)

As an aside, you shouldn't hard-shutdown your PC. There's a (small) chance of corrupting the data on your harddrive. LongHairedFop (talk) 12:09, 2 February 2019 (UTC)

Semi-Hard Shutdown

I have been advised not to hard-power-cycle my PC. Is there a procedure that I can then perform that works as effectively as a power-cycle if the PC is non-responsive and acting stupid? Don't tell me to use Ctrl-Alt-Del and select Restart. That often works very well and occasionally takes minutes. Also, that typically asks me if I really want to shut down the applications, and tries to protect the applications from being hard-stopped. Is there, first, a quick reliable way either to get the attention of the CPU, or a quick way to cause it to cease to have any attention, and, second, a quick reliable way to kill all the applications without it trying to protect me?

Back button goes too far back

It might be happening on other sites, but it is happening on Wikipedia. I click on a link that takes me to another site, but when I click on the back button to go back to Wikipedia, I often go back to a page that I was on earlier, but not the one I was on immediately before clicking on the external link. I have Windows 10 and Microsoft Edge.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 21:31, 1 February 2019 (UTC)

Are you sure that you did not click twice? Ruslik_Zero 08:12, 2 February 2019 (UTC)

It's possible, but it's not a case of going back to the previous page. It keeps going back to the same page, actually, usually three or more pages before the one I'm trying to go to.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 17:00, 2 February 2019 (UTC)

February 3

2019-01 Security and Quality Rollup for .NET Framework 3.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2 for Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 for x64 (KB4481480) install error

It's been nearly 2 months that I am having trouble installing this update. All I get is "install error". I tried manual update and install with no results whatsoever. How can I solve this issue. Thank you --103.231.162.134 (talk) 01:33, 3 February 2019 (UTC)