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December 24

core i7 or amd razen

which cpu is faster and better? --Thegooduser Life Begins With a Smile :) 🍁 01:40, 24 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

That depends. Faster for what kind of workloads? Better in what way? Elizium23 (talk) 05:00, 24 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Locking in Portrait Style

I have a Galaxy J7, which says that it is running Android 8.1.0. Sometimes the phone gets into a mode where it rotates between portrait style and landscape style depending on how the phone is positioned, sensing gravity or something. Sometimes it is locked in portrait. How do I ensure that it stays locked in portrait? I find the rolling between landscape and portrait to be distracting. Is there a setting for the purpose? Robert McClenon (talk) 21:38, 24 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know about Android 8 but on Android 7 I can pull down the notifications menu and when I do the pull down motion again it shows a black menu with a bunch of icons for things like Wifi, mobile internet, airplane mode etc. One of these icons is portrait/auto-rotate. Another way of changing this setting is if I go to Settings > Phone > Display, gestures & buttons > Auto rotate screen. 89.172.16.124 (talk) 22:38, 24 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah Samsung may have put in their own UI cruft but in general, locking portrait mode is easy, it's locking landscape mode that is difficult. If you want to do the latter, there is a somewhat flaky f-droid.org app called "Tap-n-turn" that can do it. 67.164.113.165 (talk) 07:12, 25 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I understand about doing this via the Settings menu. How do I pull down the notifications menu? What pulldown is this? (Maybe it doesn't matter, since I can go to Settings.) Robert McClenon (talk) 20:13, 25 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

And why would I want to lock in landscape mode? Robert McClenon (talk) 20:13, 25 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Notifications screen is by single finger swipe from the top of the screen in standard Android 8.1.0. You may have to enlarge the top section on the screen with a drag down or arrow press. And if this has more icons than can fit on a screen you can swipe left to see more. The icons on this screen can be edited, so if it is not there, you can click on the pencil to ad it in. You might want to lock in landscape if you are watching a movie on the phone while lying down. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 22:15, 25 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Notifications menu is the one in the middle on this picture. You hold the black part on the top and pull down and get this where the portrait/autorotate is. @ Graeme & 67, apps like VLC Player can be set to lock themselves into landscape even if there's no Android option. 89.172.85.141 (talk) 17:49, 28 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

User:Graeme Bartlett - You did something useful and unusual, which was to answer my question, by saying "single finger swipe from the top of the screen". That actually worked. Other editors: Please try to be as informative as GB just was. Robert McClenon (talk) 18:18, 28 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I said "pull down motion". Isn't that what it is? I couldn't have known you didn't know what the notifications menu was. 89.172.85.141 (talk) 18:41, 28 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

December 25

program counter flip

In 1983 I knew a programmer whose fondest professional memory was of the time he found a use for an instruction that swapped the bytes of the program counter. "It got me where I needed to go!"

What processor had such an instruction? Why?? Was it merely an instance of an instruction to swap the bytes of any register? —Tamfang (talk) 04:10, 25 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah the PDP-11 had the program counter in register 7 that in many regards was an ordinary machine register, and it had a byte swap instruction that could work on arbitrary registers or memory locations. So you could swap bytes of the PC. That sort of architectural feature wasn't so uncommon and maybe still isn't. You might look up "The Story of Mel" for another such shaggy code story, if you haven't seen it. 67.164.113.165 (talk) 07:15, 25 December 2019 (UTC) (Wow, the first search hit shows we have an article about it, The Story of Mel). 67.164.113.165 (talk) 07:16, 25 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

However an exchange operation on the Instruction Pointer (IP) is not possible on the Intel 8086 processor family that gave rise to the x86 architecture and the original IBM PC. The IP is a 16-bit register that holds the address in the code segment (CS) of the next instruction to be executed. "The processor progresses from one instruction to the next in an orderly manner. If a program could change the value of IP or CS directly, a small mistake could result in chaos." P.205 Assembler Inside & Out by Harley Hahn, McGraw-Hill 1992. DroneB (talk) 18:58, 25 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Why four lights on my modem instead of five?

If I turn off my desktop, one of the five lights on the modem goes out. If I unplug the computer and plug it back in without turning it on, the fifth light comes back on. There is also a green light where the yellow wire from the modem goes into my desktop, which goes off if I turn off my computer when it stays plugged in.

I don't know that much about the purpose of each light, but if the Internet goes out, only the first light stays on. The second light blinks while the Internet tries to come back, and once it does, the third light comes on. I don't remember what the fourth light does when the Internet goes out and comes back.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 20:07, 25 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

That first light you are talking about is probably the "LAN" light. The modem should have some labels in small print near the lights. If not the manual for the model will explain what they are. The Ethernet on the computer might stay powered on even if the front button is off, especially if it has a Wake-on-LAN feature. if you remove the power cord from the computer, it will certainly be off. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 22:06, 25 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

My cable modem's lights are in the pattern of icons which (cryptically) signify their function. They are: power, upstream, downstream, Internet, LAN. They have at least two colors, plus derblinkenlight, to indicate activity. You could search for your modem's model number and probably download a decent manual for it. Go to the manufacturer's website and select "support". Elizium23 (talk) 02:40, 26 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Your modem was most likely manufactured by a company and given a model number. If so, I strongly suspect that the company placed their name somewhere on the modem and may have even go so far as to place the model number somewhere on the modem. If a person was asking for information about a specific modem, he or she would probably get good assistance by passing along information, such as the manufacturer and model number of the modem. With that information, another person can easily read the manual for the modem and state specific, referenced information about the modem. But, that is just my opinion. Perhaps asking vague questions and expecting specific answers is a better way to go. 135.84.167.41 (talk) 12:39, 26 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The problem is everything is really small print. I'd rather not unplug anything to get a better look at any of it. I even tried to see what the manufacturer name was and it's not one I would know. I was just hoping there was some general concept that wouldn't require me to get specific about the modem, if I just described the behavior of the lights.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 17:55, 26 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The first sentence in your question implies that your motherboard probably powers the LAN port after receiving power. Either that or it just completes a circuit somehow. Checking if the light on the Ethernet port on your computer is on before the computer is turned on will verify that the LAN port is receiving power. If you don't use LAN boot or LAN waking, it would be a good idea to disable it in BIOS. 89.172.38.89 (talk) 00:20, 28 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS! JIP | Talk 11:49, 27 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, you could learn quite a bit about your modem from just the MAC address, which is usually trivial to obtain over the network using various tools. The MAC would, at the very least, disclose the manufacturer. Elizium23 (talk) 00:46, 28 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

December 26

Computer Longevity (Computers without planned obsolescence)

Dear All

I am a complete computer noob, but I would like to know if there are computers for home usage which are more robust and can last much longer than the usual machines. Most of my own computers worked up to 10 years at best. So are there computers which could work longer, like 20-30 years or even longer? Computers which were not designed with a planned obsolescence in mind?--2A02:120B:C3E7:E650:B8B8:F986:1D7A:31C4 (talk) 16:12, 26 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Computers are not designed to fail. The issue is size. As components get smaller and smaller, a microscopic failure can cause systematic failure. When any single component fails, the entire computer is commonly replaced because computers are relatively cheap and cost of repair is relatively high. But, if you wanted to repair the failed component, the computer could continue working. My experience is that the older the computer, the longer it lasts. 135.84.167.41 (talk) 18:37, 26 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Another aspect is quick evolution of technology. Hardware components can get cheaper by as much as 1.5-2x a year. Another problem today is that the major paid OS manufacturers (Microsoft, Apple, Google) all sell hardware too nowadays, so they make the software bloated on purpose and have cause to make shitty hardware too. Most 15+ old computers can still run modern Linux flawlessly provided you stick to the low-graphics choices. Android, Windows and OS X/iOS don't support old computers unless you count in old unsupported operating systems. 89.172.38.89 (talk) 23:40, 27 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Apple has sold hardware since the 1970s. JIP | Talk 01:09, 29 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

They have the most experience in this game, naturally [1][2][3][4]...[5][6]...[7][8] 89.172.85.141 (talk) 02:52, 29 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Things like these make me think people think Apple's history began with the iPhone. Completely ignoring the Apple I, the Apple II and the entire Macintosh range. JIP | Talk 16:26, 29 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Apple has been practicing planned obsolescence, several hundred dollar profit margins on computers and now phones and dropping support for computers that were still more than fast enough even for newest Windows at the time, for longer than the age of the computers any of us here are using right now. You're not typing this on Apple II. Why bring it up? 93.136.119.49 (talk) 22:30, 29 December 2019 (UTC) (89.172)[reply]

This very discussion mentioned "Microsoft, Apple, Google all sell hardware too nowadays" (emphasis mine) when Apple has been selling hardware for four decades. And yes, I'm not typing this on an Apple II, but I'm not typing this on an original IBM PC either. Technology changes over time, regardless of the politics and motives of the owning companies. JIP | Talk 22:35, 29 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry JIP, I thought you were trying to argue against my Apple-bashing. I added nowadays because the other two didn't sell hardware until the last 10-15 years or so, to emphasize that we live in a fairly dark part of computing history competition-wise, even if none of these companies have a monopoly. 93.136.48.84 (talk) 18:09, 30 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I would argue that Apple (and similar companies) do not plan for the computers (or other hardware) ot become obsolete. They force software to become obsolete. As mentioned, the hardware still works well when it is declared "unsupported" by the company. I am thinking of this as compared to the automotive industry where car components are designed to fail. A common anecdote is Henry Ford going to junk yards and pulling components off old Fords. He took them to the engineers and told them that the component needed to be cheaper because it lasted too long. I haven't heard a similar anecdote in the computing industry. 135.84.167.41 (talk) 15:37, 30 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Uh, well, perhaps you'd like to acquaint yourself with a little thing known as right to repair and how Apple's in the middle of a controversy about consumers' inability to maintain Apple hardware because of Apple's decisions to be proprietary. There is more than one hardware manufacturer that enjoys covering components in hot snot in order to prevent reverse engineering, and therefore repair, as well. Elizium23 (talk) 15:47, 30 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I believe you are missing the point of the question. Does Apple produce hardware that is intended to fail after a certain number of years? No. They don't. Does Apple use proprietary hardware? Mostly. But, when you get to the insides, it isn't too special. My iMac G3 is heavily upgraded and still works well. I dumped OS X for Linux long ago. My daughter likes it because it is cute. So, she uses it for email, writing, and general web surfing - mostly watching Youtube videos. I am, right now, turning another old Apple computer into a VHS to DVD station by adding AV capture. Again, I deleted the OS and replaced it with Linux. It has a built-in DVD burner. I'm scripting the process so the user will only need to type in the name to put on the DVD, press play on the external VCR, and click the "Record" button. When the video stops, click the "Stop" button and it will make the DVD and eject it. $13 in parts I didn't have, using old hardware I did have, and I can get a closet full of old VHS tapes on DVD. Apple hardware still works and works well. It is the software that they use to keep you buying more and more. But, don't think that I'm an Apple guy. I tell Apple people to quit buying Apple. Every year, they charge you more and more for less and less hardware. Why did they increase the cost of the phone after removing the headphone jack? It should be cheaper. But, that is a different topic. 135.84.167.41 (talk) 13:36, 31 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

December 28

Word - AutoFormat - Leave the spacing alone

I have turned off MS Word AutoFormat As I Type, primarily because I am doing a lot of Wikipedia editing, for which I want apostrophes to be apostrophes that mark italics or bold, and so I don't want them turned into smart quotes. So that means that I am using Word AutoFormat on paragraphs or whole documents after I compose them to send as email. So this has to do with making the Word AutoFormat command behave the way I want it to behave. One annoyance is that if I put in two consecutive CRLFs to force double-space between paragraphs, AutoFormat changes them to one CRLF. Maybe it thinks that I can use Format Paragraph instead. I know that I can. I just don't want to do that. So how do I tell AutoFormat that I only want it to clean up the quotes, and not clean up the spacing? Robert McClenon (talk) 22:36, 28 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Is there any reason why you do not simply work in the Wikipedia edit box? If you want to do more complex operations I suggest you work in a plain text editor such as Notepad. Doubtless there are workarounds, but MS Word is not really suitable for plain text editing.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 11:11, 29 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

User:Shantavira - There are two related reasons I do not work in the Wikipedia edit box. First, sometimes I want to take time to compose my reply, especially if it is long, and to save the intermediate work. It isn't a matter of "complex"ity, but there are reasons to save the intermediate work. Second, working in the Wikipedia text box results in edit conflicts. Perhaps there is a right way to deal with edit conflicts that has been written up somewhere (and I would like to view it), but edit conflicts are a nuisance, and it is often more satisfactory not to risk them. Robert McClenon (talk) 15:51, 29 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

If you were running Linux then I could probably trawl around a few minutes and come up with quite a few dedicated editor plugins (such as for VIM and Emacs) that would be custom-made for MediaWiki editing. For Windows I am not so sure. But perhaps someone has created a shareware program that generates wikitext. I agree that MS Word is a sledgehammer for hitting a fly. Elizium23 (talk) 13:08, 29 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Does anyone know how to get Word AutoFormat to leave the spacing alone? Robert McClenon (talk) 15:51, 29 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

My very old version of Word has the option not to replace straight quotes with smart quotes, and doesn't change the line spacing, but I've had to fight with Microsoft over the years to retain it when they insist on upgrading. I use Notepad++ for text editing of Wikitext. If I've used a Wikipedia edit box and have taken a long time to edit, I don't try to publish at the end, but copy the whole text and paste it into a new edit if an edit conflict is likely. Dbfirs 12:46, 30 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

When does this happen, instantly when you type in two Enters or when you paste text containing empty rows into new Word document or something third? Which verion of Word are you using? 93.136.90.120 (talk) 19:02, 31 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

December 31

@@ Line 91: / Line 91: @@
 :::My very old version of Word has the option not to replace straight quotes with smart quotes, and doesn't change the line spacing, but I've had to fight with Microsoft over the years to retain it when they insist on upgrading.  I use Notepad++ for text editing of Wikitext.  If I've used a Wikipedia edit box and have taken a long time to edit, I don't try to publish at the end, but copy the whole text and paste it into a new edit if an edit conflict is likely.  [[User:Dbfirs|<span style="font-family: verdana;"><i style="color: blue;">D</i><i style="color: #0cf;">b</i><i style="color: #4fc;">f</i><i style="color: #6f6;">i</i><i style="color: #4e4;">r</i><i style="color: #4a4">s</i></span>]] 12:46, 30 December 2019 (UTC)
+:When does this happen, instantly when you type in two Enters or when you paste text containing empty rows into new Word document or something third? Which verion of Word are you using? [[Special:Contributions/93.136.90.120|93.136.90.120]] ([[User talk:93.136.90.120|talk]]) 19:02, 31 December 2019 (UTC)
 = December 31 =