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February 2

Why does linux suck?

Just trolling in the title to get people to look at the question :) But I have a more specific question- everyone at work agrees that PuTTY is FAR better in every way than "ssh" on xterm/gnome-terminal. Also everyone agrees that WinSCP, being just fantastic, is possibly infinitely better than FileZilla, which is generally worthless and let's face it downright hated. So why is it that the windows implementation of *nix programs and protocols is often so much better? And is there any progress on porting WinSCP back to linux? :) --:D\=< (talk) 01:53, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

I disagree that putty is far better etc. Most importantly, putty doesn't do X - you can't for example, run Firefox on a remote server, and get the GUI to work. Whereas you could do much, much more through SSH.--Fangz (talk) 03:24, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

That's not true. PUTTY supports X forwarding. It is under Connection->SSH->X11->Enable X11 forwarding. --Spoon! (talk) 05:30, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Well for a shell. I know you can do a lot with ssh but I'm talking specifically about xterm/gnome-terminal.. putty is a much more fully-featured, customizable terminal emulator --:D\=< (talk) 04:14, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

1) There IS a *nix port of PuTTY, you know. 2) It would be helpful if you told us some specific criticisms rather than just about things being "better" or "worthless" or "fantastic" or "hated". Marnanel (talk) 03:31, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Have you used WinSCP? This is a matter of common sense --:D\=< (talk) 04:13, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

I've used both PuTTY and WinSCP. Neither one works completely. In PuTTY, either the backspace or the delete key is always broken. It constantly has display problems requiring me to clear the screen and restart. Eventually, it just locks up and I have to restart it. WinSCP is a big headache. It tries to be a cool handy program, but if it was done properly it would be embedded into Windows Explorer. Like KDE, I should be able to type a url into the Windows Explorer address bar and move files around securely without running an extra program. If you want to see how SSH/SCP/SFTP is merged seamlessly into an operating system, check out KDE (which happens to primarily be a *nix windows manager). -- kainaw™ 04:43, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Ugh, no no no. KDE is just realizing that Hey, "explorer" and "internet explorer" sound and function alike, let's integrate them into the same program for the new Windows 98 release. Not until the turn of the millennium did Microsoft realize that the web is good for more than listing files and it doesn't really make sense to integrate the two features.. inexplicably KDE still hasn't realized this and still insists on making one super-app that does everything, and does it OK. Konqueror is an ugly mess of special pages, plugins, handlers, and settings for all of its different modes. --:D\=< (talk) 08:03, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

You do realize that KDE 4 has broken the file management app off into a new program, right? (Took 'em long enough...) -- Kesh (talk) 01:00, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Nobody can fix anything if all you're going to do is say "look at it for yourself and you'll see why I don't like it". That's not a bug report, that's whining. Marnanel (talk) 05:10, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

I wouldn't really know, since I don't use them much - my PuTTY's main function at present is to be a desktop icon...but my guess would be simply that windows-like applications are usually more user friendly. I find Linux-like programs are intended to be more functional than easy to use, which makes them (mostly) better but a bit more cumbersome, therefore, a windowsy version of a *nix progam is generally more pleasant, even if it looses some functionality...but that's just me. Trimethylxanthine (talk) 04:46, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps "everyone at work" is uncomfortable with command line tools? APL (talk) 06:44, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

So you're saying Linux sucks because you don't like a select few applications? Isn't that like saying a car sucks because you don't like the colour of the upholstery? JIP | Talk 07:06, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Read the first sentence.. anyway it was just sort of something I noticed, that linux programs tend to be crappy graphical frontends to the real command-line program that the cli developer decided to teach himself qt over a weekend and glom together some widgets. Windows ports tend to look a lot better and make more sense interactively.. I far prefer the glossed over WinSCP interface to FileZilla, which is basically just a big smattering of widgets to paste FTP commands together, not a real graphical application. --:D\=< (talk) 07:58, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

I don't see how your criticism of FileZilla supports any of your points, since FileZilla was, until recently, a Windows-only program. --Spoon! (talk) 09:52, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

I don't know, it just seems like the de facto graphical scp/sftp client for linux --:D\=< (talk) 10:20, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Indeed and if memory serves me correctly in the past it was primarily thought of as a FTP client and download manager not a SFTP/SCP client. I'm not even sure if it supported those protocols from the beginning Nil Einne (talk) 15:11, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Now the OP's argument is making sense. It isn't that the Windows programs function any better. They actually function worse. It is just that they look better. In the OP's opinion, applications that look prettier are better. That is merely one way of judging a program. As I stated before, PuTTY can't properly handle the backspace/delete keys. So why would I prefer it over SSH in the shell? It also doesn't tunnel X. So why would I want to use it to run applications remotely? It does look pretty, but putting lipstick on a pig doesn't make it anything other than a pretty pig. -- kainaw™ 17:17, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Now, as I mentioned above, PuTTY does tunnel X (Connection->SSH->X11->Enable X11 forwarding); so please don't mention things that are false. And it does have settings for how to handle the backspace and other keys (Terminal->Keyboard); perhaps you need to set it correctly. In my opinion the comparison between PuTTY and OpenSSH has nothing to do with operating systems because both PuTTY and OpenSSH can be used on both Windows and Linux (OpenSSH can be used with Cygwin in Windows). I agree that it's just a matter of personal preference. --Spoon! (talk) 22:25, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

I use ssh in an xterm all day every day, and I have no idea what the OP is talking about. It does exactly what I want and never gets in my way. Diff'rent strokes, I guess. Froth, I've noticed that you tend to divide computer topics into well-defined sucks/doesn't-suck categories (your inexplicable screed against Java above is an example, along with your MacOS opinions). There are often reasons that design choices are made which don't suit you; not every application is right for every user. --Sean 17:40, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Well, froth, maybe we can begin to bond over our frustration with *nix, even if we don't see eye to eye on the Windows/OS X thing. Personally I suspect most of your frustrations with *nix like things (and mine as well) come from the developing environment. A bunch of loosely communicating programmers might be able to come p with killer command-line tools, but they are a lousy way to develop software that will work well in many different contexts and with many different expectations. There are a few exceptions to this (I think Firefox does alright at this, Inkscape okay, but GIMP is pretty lousy in this regard as is OO.org), but on the whole open-source software is characterized by lousy interfaces, an immense amount of useless features (even though its practitioners claim to hate "feature bloat", the programmers themselves rarely seem to know what the users are actually going to want to use, and seem rarely to think that they should ask or observe), and often serve to at best attempt to emulate already-existing software but slower and less effectively. I think there's a lot of room for a third approach here, one that takes to good parts of open-source software and takes the time to make them work reliably and easily for those of us who don't want to hack our own machine every day to get things done. (This is, incidentally, one of the things I like about OS X—it's essentially a very very pretty, and expensive, *nix GUI. I can drop into bash in a second or I can have all of what I want to do handled in a lush and reliable way.) I think the programmer-center approach favored in much open-source software, especially *nix culture, leads to some really awful development decisions. --24.147.69.31 (talk) 17:53, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Anyway, of course everyone knows that the best way to transfer files over SSH is with rsync. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 18:14, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Meh. If you have an actual question, by all means let's hear it. But if you just want to fight silly religious wars, take it to a forum. Friday (talk) 19:32, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

As a counter-example, I find that Samba has far fewer issues than Windows' built-in file sharing, which likes to stop working for no reason whatsoever. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 09:16, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

??? [Windows file sharing] It's got LOTS of reasons to stop working. It just doesn't want to share them with you. Or me. Or anyone else, for that matter..... -SandyJax (talk) 16:13, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Everybody knows that Linux works best in your mother's basement! It's really a matter of preferences. Some people think that Windows sucks. It really depends on what capabilities you want from an operating system. Ilikefood (talk) 22:20, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Windows Media Player is Kaput

When i try to play a Mp3 or audio stream that uses windows media player from a website the following page phrase comes up:

This program cannot display the webpage

  Most likely causes:

You are not connected to the Internet. The website is encountering problems. There might be a typing error in the address.

  What you can try: 
    Check your Internet connection. Try visiting another website to make sure you are connected.  

    Retype the address.  

    Go back to the previous page. 

    More information 

This problem can be caused by a variety of issues, including:

Internet connectivity has been lost. The website is temporarily unavailable. The Domain Name Server (DNS) is not reachable. The Domain Name Server (DNS) does not have a listing for the website's domain.

What could be the problem.--logger (talk) 06:33, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Is it with any and all web streaming audio that you tried? If you are connected to the Internet, and you have Mozilla Firefox installed on your computer, could you try it? Kushal^t 08:29, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

You could also try VLC media player. Try the "open network" option. If you need help with a particular stream, please come back. I hope that helps. Regards, Kushal^t 15:12, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Audio Quality Metric

Is there some kind of audio quality metric, sort of like SSIM for video? im trying to compare the difference between 32 64 and 96 kbps aac and the original sample. Kingpomba (talk) 07:09, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Probably, but considering transparency isn't ubiquitous at those bitrates, I'd say you'd be able to listen for compression artifacts and rate them subjectively.

You probably want to do an ABC/HR test so that bias doesn't creep in. --Kjoonlee 13:03, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

HSDPA vs. HSUPA

If I have a notebook that says it can handle HSUPA, will it work with services that advertise themselves as HSDPA? Does HSUPA capability imply HSDPA capability? Cheers! —85.227.205.90 (talk) 13:47, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Technically I would suppose it's possible that a network or device only has HSUPA capability. However this would seem unlikely to me since from what I can tell HSDPA proceeded HSUPA (not surprisingly) and networks+devices are much more likely to have HSDPA then HSUPA (since the downlink tends to be much more important and as I said it's older). So I would guess your notebook has HSDPA and HSUPA. Why don't you just look in the features in more detail or ask tech support? BTW, do you want high speed uplink or downlink or both? Nil Einne (talk) 15:07, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Mostly, I want it to work at all. The spec lacks details and the support doesn't answer. It's promising to hear that you have the same feeling as I, anyway. Now, I just hope it works under Linux. Anyone knows if that might become a problem? —Bromskloss (talk) 16:08, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

HSUPA implies HSDPA capability. The trick would be finding a network which is using HSUPA, none are at the moment as far as I'm aware. So your HSUPA device will just use old R99 channels for the uplink and HSDPA for the downlink (if available).

Changing a color in an image

I have in an image.

How can I change ALL of the pixels with color X to color Y using the Gimp/Irfan View/FastStone Image Viewer?

X and Y are exact colors like #F3D19C or #00FFA1. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.166.63.3 (talk) 14:06, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

First result for "Gimp replace color" --24.147.69.31 (talk) 14:24, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Laptop blackouts

This isn't a serious problem yet but sometimes when I leave the laptop on for a while it goes completely dead out of no where. Even though its plugged into the AC, the battery light doesn;t even show up. Then a n hour or few later its back to normal. --Grondor (talk) 14:06, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

How old is this laptop? How old is the battery? Are either still under warranty? Nil Einne (talk) 15:13, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Press Control and Alt and it should light back up, I just recently discovered this myself. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.125.158.40 (talk) 15:23, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

CMOS problem

I have a PC with Compaq board my question is i change the CMOS clock cell called Button cell but it does not work.what should be the problem. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.103.9.48 (talk) 14:27, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

In future, please put your questions under their own subheading Nil Einne (talk) 15:13, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Are you sure you used the correct cell? What are the symptoms from which you deduced that the cell is not working? Kushal^t 01:44, 3 February 2008 (UTC) Sir the BIOS seetting are not saving as the date and time option.

Were you grounded at the time? You could have damaged the circuits with static electricity as CMOS is very sensitive to static electricity. Ilikefood (talk) 22:23, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Mock Laptop

A friend of mine gave me an extra fake laptop (the kind they put on display at stores), the outside seems real but the inside is hollow and the screen is plastic. Is there any way to make this work, maybe switch out for a real screen and add a motherboard? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.125.158.40 (talk) 15:22, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Its possible I guess, but it might cost a fair bit. You'd have to get the parts from the manufacturer, as laptop spares are different for each model, and thats assuming the mock laptop design is based on a real model in the first place. But it sounds like a fun project to try, and you'll learn a lot about computer working in the process. Good luck! Think outside the box 16:15, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

If you have assembled a desktop computer before, you can understand what uphill battle you are fighting. assembling a laptop is considerably more difficult than assembling a desktop since space is such an expensive commodity. Please use caution and double check everything you are doing with someone knowledgeable. Kushal^t 01:42, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

It'd basically be very similar to you having just an empty PC case and a plastic mockup of a monitor - you still have to get all the insides and install them properly. Have fun. --Ouro (blah blah) 20:30, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Fortran program copied from manual doesn't work correctly

The following program is directly copied from "Fortran 95 Handbook: Complete ISO/ANSI Reference":

     PROGRAM TEST_FLIPPED 
     PRINT *, REVERSE ("I have flipped for you.") 
     CONTAINS 
     RECURSIVE FUNCTION REVERSE (PHRASE) RESULT (FLIPPED) 
         CHARACTER (*)              PHRASE 
         CHARACTER (LEN(PHRASE)) FLIPPED 
         L = LEN_TRIM (PHRASE) 
         N = INDEX (PHRASE(1:L), " ", BACK=.TRUE.) 
         IF (N == 0) THEN; FLIPPED = PHRASE 
         ELSE; FLIPPED = PHRASE (N+1:L) // " " // REVERSE (PHRASE (1:N-l)) 
         END IF 
     END FUNCTION REVERSE 
     END PROGRAM TEST_FLIPPED

It's supposed to "[reverse] the words in a given phrase", but when I compile it with gfortran and run it, it prints out the single word " you.". What could be the problem? —Keenan Pepper 15:43, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

It's a typo at the end of the recursive call REVERSE (PHRASE (1:N-1)) - the last bit should be "N minus one" instead of "N minus ell". Hope this helps. 84.239.133.86 (talk) 20:21, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

That's weird, because I'm using an official digital copy of the manual and it definitely has a lower case ell. Maybe it's an OCR error or something. Thanks! —Keenan Pepper 05:55, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

There's a message from me for you in your related post.. apologies if I'm already preaching to the converted. I'll assume for now that you were typing on 'auto-pilot' when you entered this.. Note that there are no other lower case letters in there (even if it is case insensitive) next time you will be aware.87.102.114.230 (talk) 20:32, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

I didn't type in anything at all. As I said, it's a digital copy of the manual, and I literally copied and pasted it. —Keenan Pepper 06:22, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Did it work as advertised when you applied the correction suggested by 84.239.133.86? --NorwegianBlue ^talk 08:59, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

It sure did. —Keenan Pepper 01:06, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Number of network connections to the same server

I'm using Windows XP SP2. When I'm downloading files, I can download only 2 from the same server at any time. Is there a way to increase this limit? The reason I'm asking this is a solution someone proposed for this question. --Admiral Norton ^(talk) 16:42, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Hi, if you use Internet Explorer, you can edit your registry. There are two registry keys, one for HTTP 1.1 and one for HTTP 1.0. Google for MaxConnectionsPerServer for details. :) --Kjoonlee 18:42, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

And if you use Firefox you can edit network.http.max-connections-per-server in about:config --Kjoonlee 20:24, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

But if the server has a set limit, then you can't do anything about it. --Kjoonlee 20:24, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Windows games on Linux

Hi. I am using Linux, and I want to be able to run Windows games without having to boot. I do have a copy of Windows XP, but dual-booting won't satisfy this requirement. I'm not impressed with the capabilities of Wine and its derivatives, and I heard that games can need direct access to hardware which virtualization products like VMware don't allow. So, is there any solution to the problem? Is it possible to have two operating systems loaded in memory simultaneously, enabling me to quickly switch between them (assuming I have sufficient RAM, of course)? -- Meni Rosenfeld (talk) 17:13, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Very few computers allow you to run two operating systems without virtualization. You won't find one for home use. What you can do is run Windows on the computer and virtualize Linux. Linux is not graphics intensive and will run nicely in virtualization. Another thing you can look at is running KDE on Windows. There is a port of it now that is sort of a desktop replacement. Then you will have the look and feel of a Linux-based windows manager with Windows still running. I didn't do anything like that. I just don't play Windows games anymore. If it doesn't come out for my PS3, XBox, or Wii, then I don't play it. -- kainaw™ 17:22, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Note that a lot of the difficulties in running a virtualizer with games depends on what games you are trying to run. I can run many games that came out a few years ago with great ease in Parallels (on a Macbook); Deus Ex runs as well as it did on my original PC at the time, as does Unreal Tournament. I could run Half-Life 2 just squeaking on by (lowest settings, but still pretty fun) until the very last scene in the game, which apparently went a little too far for it and would cause the game to crash.

Anyway, to be more direct, it sounds like you have already thought of the three options available to you (dual-booting, virtualization, Wine). It sounds to me like you'll have to pick the one which is the lesser evil of the bunch. If I were me in your situation, as I understand it, I'd probably go with dual-booting, as you'll get more performance out of your machine that way (I only game in the most occasional and causal way, and as you can see I mostly replay games that I played through five years ago!). To my knowledge there is no other way to do what you want to do. --24.147.69.31 (talk) 17:43, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Okay, thanks for the info. There is actually a fourth option - using two computers. I'll probably end up doing a combination of all four. -- Meni Rosenfeld (talk) 18:18, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Cooperative Linux will let you run NT and Linux simultaneously without CPU virtualization. It's stable and works well (in my experience). -- BenRG (talk) 02:04, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Cedega is a product specifically designed to allow you to play Windows games on a Linux machine, but it is a Wine derivative, so maybe it's one of the ones that you're unimpressed with. In my experience, It works reasonably well, but there are some games that are spotty, and others that don't work at all. (oddly, on my machine some games actually perform better under Cedega than under Windows2000. Mostly games based on Quake engines.) I've found that the best (but far from ideal) solution to this problem is a combination of Cedega for some games and dual-booting for the rest. APL (talk) 16:41, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Icons in my taskbar--whats happening?

I running XP. Sometimes I have only 4 icons after a reboot, but sometimes 10 or more. Cany anyone say whats happening here?--TreeSmiler (talk) 17:44, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

maybe your computer is set up to hide inactive icons? Kushal^t 14:38, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Note the "in my taskbar" part of OP's question. He/she/it has either 4 or 10 programs starting automatically on a reboot. Perhaps OP has more than one login account, and the various accounts have various amounts of cruft auto-starting? -SandyJax (talk) 16:27, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Web Pop-up effect

How does one make this pop-up effects that is on here [[1]] (link is work-safe)? When one click the first picture on the tutorial, the screen turns semi-black and a white rectangle appears and enlarges to show the enlarged preview. Facebook also uses something similar when one goes to click to add a friend or when browsing the marketplace. Acceptable (talk) 18:31, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Check out Lightbox JS — Kieff | Talk 18:36, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

google earth

If I pout references into Wikipedia articles, how long before they appear on Google earth? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Swithlander (talk • contribs) 18:53, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

I'm not familiar with references appearing in Google Earth, what exactly are you referring to? Useight (talk) 21:05, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

where you put it in the article and when you look at the picture on google earth it tells you what it tis with the wikipedia logo. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Swithlander (talk • contribs) 22:39, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

February 3

PMR446 Radios

I have a question which hasnt been answered by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PMR446 and alot of other websites.

I understand that PMR446 is the UHF channels that can be used in consumer radios.What I would like to know, is:

If I buy a motorola radio on PMR446, can I join ANY other group of local radios on the same channels?

I work in theatre and need walkie talkies to communicate. If a theatre already has some PMR radios, can I just buy another handset and start using it, provided we are on the same frequency?

Thanks for any answers, I'm not especially technical, at least not within this field!

86.139.90.67 (talk) 00:54, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

A PMR446 handset should talk to any other PMR446, regardless of manufacturer or model. You will, of course, need to use the same CTCSS or DCS code as well as the same channel - these are sometimes called "privacy codes" or "anti-interference codes" by manufacturers. -- AJR | Talk 19:39, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Ah!! thank you. So my intended purchase of a PMR motorola unit will work with existing Kenwood radios. I guess those codes are something you just enter into your unit, or are they pre-programmed in? 86.139.90.67 (talk) 20:27, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Distributed rsync?

Is there something along the line of rsync + torrents? I have a bunch of home servers that have slow upload speed and need to be synchronised regularly. Normal rsync from the central server just take too long and something that combines the concept of rsync and bittorrent would be great in solving that problem. --antilived^{T | C | G} 01:08, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

How about UDPCast? It's really not like bittorrent but it's supposed to solve the problem of distributing the same file to multiple destinations efficiently. --tcsetattr (talk / contribs) 05:12, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Except they aren't on a LAN... But setting up a VPN isn't that hard. Will look into it, thanks. --antilived^{T | C | G} 07:31, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

"Internet Explorer provided by...."

At the top of IE I get the website name then it says "Microsoft Internet Explorer provided by Tiscali". The "provided by Tiscali" bit appeared when I used Tiscali as an ISP, which I haven't done for ages. How do I get rid of the "provided by Tiscali" bit? DuncanHill (talk) 01:22, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

If using XP Professional:

1. Go to Run, type gpedit.msc, then click ok
2. Go to User Configuaration > Windows Settings > Internet Explorer Maintenance > Browser User Interface using the menu tree in the left-hand column
3. In the right column, double-click "Browser Title"
4. Check/uncheck the "Customise Title Bars" and enter remove details accordingly.

If using another OS, you could try the registy edit described here; unfortunately, I don't have any other OS on-hand at the moment to check.--Kateshortforbob 01:39, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

You could also follow the registry editing steps here, it looks cleaner. Useight (talk) 01:40, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, not XP Pro and don't fancy editing my registry. Thanks anyway, cheerio folks. DuncanHill (talk) 04:59, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Will Tweak UI work? I think it deserves a try. Kushal^t 01:36, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

^If that doesn't help, you might consider Firefox or Opera (web browser)? --Seans Potato Business 23:38, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Are you using IE7? If not I would strongly recommend you upgrade... Nil Einne (talk) 13:17, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Might there be reason to keep any of this old dev/cad software?

Doing some housecleaning today, I found some old software my parents bought me when I was 11, 12, 13, which they bought to nudge me into programming and other productive computer hobbies other than just playing videogames. I must say it worked, I do this stuff for a living nowadays.

But is there any reason for me to NOT throw any of these away?

• Autodesk 3D Studio R2 and R3 -- these cost about $3,000 back then. But nowadays they only have a tiny fraction of the functionality that the completely freeware Blender is capable of, and probably just the same as 3D Studio Max (which I haven't tried... I am a Blender guy :p). Looking at old SIGGRAPH demo reels for this product from 1994 and 1995, I'm amazed what artists could do with the limited functionality of these old programs. Character animation without bone systems must have been very difficult. Is there any reason to keep these other than as curious artifacts?

• Autodesk Animator Pro -- DOS-based animation software. This is actually pretty powerful software, even if it is limited to indexed 8-bit color modes. A scripting language called POCO was integrated into it to automate many tasks. I am guessing this was probably used in a lot of games back in DOS's golden era.

• Turbo C++ -- 16-bit compiler for DOS programs. Circa 1992. This is where I began migrating from QBasic to C++, although I still didn't understand most of C/C++ until college. Is there any possible scenario at all in which I might in the future exclaim, "oh crap, I need a C++ compiler for 16-bit DOS programs"?

• Turbo Assembler -- bought this out of a bargain bin in my college bookstore a few years ago. I haven't even opened it yet. Seems like it's for Windows 95 and Windows NT 3.51. Heh. I've never really touched assembly before except minor curious diddling. Is there any reason I should keep this on me? Can this supply any purpose for some possible scenario that NASM and GAS can't fulfill these days?

--75.165.32.244 (talk) 02:31, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Historical value!! These are antiques...I mean they were all made before I was born but still! Turbo C++? Turbo Assembler? I still have these...it wasn't so long ago I still used them! There's no real point in keeping them I suppose, but nowadays they take up no space compared to most stuff, so why not? Just for sentimental value if nothing else. Trimethylxanthine (talk) 02:42, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Well, rather than throw them away, maybe try selling them on eBay? There are people who collect old software still in the box. --24.147.69.31 (talk) 04:47, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Note that AutoCAD has tried to prevent selling old versions on eBay, although perhaps your versions are old enough to avoid their DMCA antics. --LarryMac | Talk 14:32, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

MSN 7.5 and WLM 8.x

I am using Windows XP and use MSN 7.5 (running in compatibility mode). Someone told me that if I install WLM 8.x, MSN 7.5 will automatically be uninstalled. Is there any way I can use both MSN 7.5 and WLM 8.x on the same computer? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.189.60.87 (talk) 02:56, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

um, why do you want to use them both?

First, Windows Live is just a new version of MSN, and it would be like trying to use MS Office 2007 and Office XP on the same computer. (Remember, it's Microsoft.) So I doubt you'll be able to use them both.

Second, MSN/Live will only allow connections from *one* client at once.

--grawity ^{talk / PGP} 12:49, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Not true. I can log into MSN 7.5, Windows Messenger and Web Messenger from the same computer. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 165.21.155.93 (talk) 02:13, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Pregap ripper

Does anyone know of a program that can rip a song found in the pregap of an audio CD? I did a Google search for pregap ripper, but nothing caught my eye there. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 05:51, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

I don't know, but the article says that EAC will notice the long pregap, so it stands to reason that it would be able to read the contents. -- BenRG (talk) 19:56, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Editor for Lisp

I'm a programmer-aspirant, about to start learning Scheme. However, I'm not sure whether Vim (my current editor of choice) is the best tool for the job (poor Lisp support?). I tried to get used to Emacs a few months ago, but it didn't work well with my editing workflow: I generally have 3-4 files open, in different editor instances open that are scattered about my screen, not cramped in one window as 'tabs'. This is rather antithetical to the Emacs mindset. Is Vim up to the task (I don't mind about funky IDE-style features) of programming in Scheme, or is there a better tool for the job that doesn't use a monolithic editing model? 79.72.127.118 (talk) 12:15, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

It's difficult to imagine any features in a lisp-specific editor overcoming the advantage the expertise in your usual editor gives you. I'd say google for lisp vim to get a few tips, and then just use that. Vim is one of the deepest and best programs ever written, IMO. Every time I've ever pined for a feature and thought about implementing it, I find that it's already there. --Sean 14:41, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

The best tool to learn scheme is probably DrScheme. The debugging support is particularly good. Morana (talk) 02:38, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

MIDI file on waste.exe/DAT/176

Just wondering, has anyone else noticed the MIDI file inside waste.exe, as resource DAT/176? --grawity ^{talk / PGP} 12:55, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

CIRCLE ALGORITHM

DETAIL CIRCLE DRAWING ALGORITHM FROM COMPUTER GRAPHICS —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wikifrommld (talk • contribs) 14:42, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Midpoint circle algorithm. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 14:57, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

ringtone support in Samsung Juke

Does the Samsung Juke support changing the ringtone to any song in the phone? How can I do it? Kushal^t 15:24, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Delete RSS Feeds Into Recycle Bin

Hello. Why can favourites be deleted to the recycle bin but not RSS feeds? Thanks in advance. --Mayfare (talk) 15:48, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Can I assume this is an Internet Explorer question? In Firefox you can delete live bookmarks in the same way as any other bookmark. --h2g2bob (talk) 15:57, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Sure. --Mayfare (talk) 20:30, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

If you ask me, system developers are not perfect and do stuff according to their own (collective) logic or lack of the aforementioned. One joke that often comes in Windows world is "Why do I need to start to shut down? The short answer is that because they designed it that way. Kushal^t 21:23, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

I guess the above does not apply to Windows Vista ... but again "nobody actually buys vista anyway" lol Kushal^t 21:24, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

I think it's because the RSS feeds aren't actually stored onto your computer... whilst your favourites are stored on your machine for you to call up whenever. (And I quite like Vista ;-) Scarian^{Call me Pat} 22:07, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

were you being sarcastic? i could not hear any sarcasm in your voice, Scarian. Maybe it is just me. =P Kushal^t 01:35, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

apple and download

heya everybody

where can you get a thing for mac, like a widget or something that tells you how many megabytes you download every day? thanks --Jane157 (talk) 21:33, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

You could try here: [2]. I couldn't find anything after a brief look but it's the most logical place to start looking. Hope it helps! Scarian^{Call me Pat} 22:04, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

This, this and this seem to fit the bill, although I'm not sure if any of them can be configured to count from the start of the day rather than from the last startup. I'm not on a Mac so I can't test, sorry. — Matt Eason ^{(Talk &#149; Contribs)} 22:11, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Userbox Code

What code would I need to add to my userbox code to give it a designation like User:UBX/sample. How would I give the userboxes I create these designations. Thanks, Zrs 12 (talk) 21:41, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

This question is probably best suited for the WP:HELPDESK, friend. Scarian^{Call me Pat} 22:02, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Dealio is doing my head in.

How do I get rid of THIS? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Givnan (talk • contribs) 22:47, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Is that your homepage? I don't understand your question. Could you add more information, please? Kushal^t 03:09, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

This (french) forum post seems to indicate that this problem is caused by adware. Can you try uninstalling whatever extension/add-on started this in all the browsers available (firefox/flock/internet explorer etc)? If whatever you installed was an ordinary application, not a browser extension, uninstall that. You may also want to run a spyware scan. Let us know if any of that works/doesn't work--Kateshortforbob 22:36, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

What does this .jpg warning message mean?

"Could not open "shoe attachment.jpg" because a JPEG marker segment length is too short (the file may be truncated or incomplete)."

Is there anything I can do to fix this on my end (Mac OS X 10.4.11) Preview, Photoshop etc.

This is the only file that I have never been able to open.

P.S. It is even openable on a really old mac, which makes even less sense. (I hope this shows up...someone keeps deleting my text!) Saudade7 22:50, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

The JPEG file is corrupt. Different software will deal with this in different ways. I would open it on the really old Mac (which is probably ignoring the corrupt part or not even noticing it), and then save the image to a new file. By the way, I don't see any evidence in the page history that anyone deleted your question, but you did delete someone else's question. But no worries, they added it back. -- BenRG (talk) 13:04, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Batch file environment variables

I am trying to set environment variables with batch files in the Windows Command Prompt by getting user input, something like this:

set /p input = "Type something here: "
echo You typed %input%.
if "%input%" == "stop" goto stop

I run the file without @echo off at the beginning, for debugging. The output looks something like this:

C:\>test.bat
C:\>set /p input = "Type something here: "
Type something here: stop
C:\>echo You typed .
You typed .
C:\>if "" == "stop" goto stop

So basically the variable isn't getting stored properly for some reason. But the galling thing is that if I go back to the command line and check the environment variables with set, the variable input IS defined, and it contains "stop". Any reason why this might be happening? This is happening on a machine running Windows Vista Home Premium, thought the same thing has happened on Windows XP. Thanks, FlamingSilmaril (talk) 22:56, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

I'm not sure why, but removing the spaces around the equal sign on the first line makes it work. I changed the line to this:

set /p input="Type something here: "

Here is the output with echo on:

C:\>test

C:\>set /p input="Type something here: "
Type something here: Hello, world!

C:\>echo You typed Hello, world!.
You typed Hello, world!.

C:\>if "Hello, world!" == "stop" goto stop
C:\>

--jh51681 (talk) 03:55, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

The spaces around the equal sign are significant to the batch processor: User:FlamingSilmaril has effectively created a variable called 'input ' rather than 'input'. To verify this behaviour, type "set x = 1" and "set x=1" in a command prompt, and then just "set" to display all the environment variables: you will see that x apparently appears twice in the list. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 08:36, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Okay, that clears it up. Thanks a lot! FlamingSilmaril (talk) 22:40, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

February 4

Code

What computer language would the most useful to learn? In other words, which code would be useful in the most situations? I don't have any specific application in mind, but if I'm going to learn a code, it should be the most useful one. Thanks, Zrs 12 (talk) 00:55, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Most major applications, including operating systems, tend to be written in C or C++. More useful for web use would be something like PHP or Ruby on Rails. If you're interested in just writing simple scripts for little things, try Perl or Ruby. --Evan Seeds (talk)(contrib.) 01:01, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Not exactly code, but regular expressions are super useful. :) --Kjoonlee 02:41, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Code doesn't mean "programming language", but rather a sequence of statements in some programming language. Java can be useful in many situations. -- Meni Rosenfeld (talk) 12:00, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

It depends on what you want to program. web pages or flash games or scientific calculations or database searches etc etc...

It is a good idea to learn a simple language if you're a beginner to make sure you understand the basics of programming

Also I recommend being aware of the features in LISP or something similar.

Being able to create pseudocode may be useful if you know someone who can program.87.102.90.249 (talk) 12:46, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

I think PHP is a pretty good language to start out with. You'll get good-looking, useful results very quickly (since you don't need to do anything other than HTML to build an interface), and its syntax is fairly straightforward. Additionally, you'll probably end up learning a good bit about how the web works (HTML, GET/POST file attachments, headers, cookies, CSS, etc.) in the process, so it's like getting two bits of knowledge for the price of one. It's not enough to call yourself a computer programmer, but really any language that will get your feet wet is fine when you are starting out. --24.147.69.31 (talk) 00:48, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

The problem with PHP is that, while it's indeed a good language for writing dynamic web pages, it's not very convenient for anything else. If you indeed want to learn a single, general purpose language, I'd go with Perl. It's easy to get started with, very convenient for simple one-off tasks while still scaling up reasonably well to larger applications, usable for most purposes (except heavy number-crunching) and quite popular and well-established with a large user base and a huge library of pre-existing code. Perl tends to be flexible and excels at odd jobs and as a "glue language" between other programs; it has variously been described as a "swiss army chainsaw" or "the duct tape of computing". Also, if you learn Perl you inevitably also end up learning regular expressions, which, as Kjoonlee notes, are useful by themselves. The main disadvantage of Perl, of course, is that it often tends to look like line noise. (Mind you, I have no wish to start a Perl/Python/Ruby holy war; all are good languages and fairly well suited to the requirements given. In fact, once you feel you know enough Perl to get by, I'd suggest finding a Python tutorial and browsing through it, just to see that things can be done differently.) —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 18:22, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Machine code, skip the middleman. I started with C++, and that's what I work in now (well C mostly). You really need to have an application in mind in order to decide because every language has its quirks that make it better for one thing or another. Mad031683 (talk) 21:47, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Putting clips together?

Is there a program that helps me put my camera's movie clips together if I have windows? Also it would help if it would be free. thnx!! (Superawesomgoat (talk) 02:05, 4 February 2008 (UTC))

Windows Movie Maker does this. --jh51681 (talk) 03:31, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

You could try virtualdub. Its free and has many more features than Movie Maker. Website Think outside the box 10:43, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Though it is not free, I am very partial to Quicktime Pro. (It's not expensive, though.) It lets you do that sort of simple thing very easily, export it to any format you want, and is very reliable, very fast, very easy to use. If I recall, VirtualDub only works with AVI files, which can be a bit limiting. --24.147.69.31 (talk) 14:50, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

SONGS PROGRAM on C++

Design and implement a class to represent a song. Keep your design fairly simple for now -- you will be modifying this in future assignments. A song will be represented by a name (String), artist (String), and duration time (integer). Note that for now the time will be represented by the number of seconds needed to play the song. Your class should include at least one constructor as well as accessors for name, artist and time (no modifiers). You should also include operator== and operator!=. Two songs are "equal" (==) if both their names are equal and their performing artists are equal. In addition, include the comparison operator operator<. Song1 is < song2 if either the name of song1 < name of song2, or, if the names are the same, then if the artist of song1 < artist of song2. Similarly, include the operators: operator<=, operator>, operator>=.

In addition, include the operator<< as a friend to this class. When you display a song, print the name and artist in a reasonable format, and print the duration time in the format min:sec. For example, if a song is 97 seconds long, the time should be displayed as 01:37 (one minute and 37 seconds).

Write a separate test program that will do unit testing for your Song class. Plan how to thoroughly test this class (cf Chapter 2, section 2.3). Also, generate test runs that shows the results of your testing.

Challenge: Although this is not required, you could use a test framework, such as CppUnit, for your unit testing. Another possibility is to have your constructor throw an exception if the duration time of the song is not valid (e.g. a negative integer). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.71.215.140 (talk) 06:07, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Do your own homework. Dlong (talk) 06:21, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

He/She could have taken some effort to make this not so blatently obvious. 206.252.74.48 (talk) 17:07, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

I agree. The minimum effort in copying your assignment verbatim is to take out all the bits that flat-out admit it's an assignment. Not that we couldn't guess it anyway, but admitting it is a blatant insult. JIP | Talk 20:09, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

I particularly like the references to the text. If you're having trouble this early in the semester it may be time to drop the class... and change majors because that should take about 10 minutes. Mad031683 (talk) 21:38, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Yes, exactly. The references to the text could be of more help if we could actually get to read the text. JIP | Talk 22:50, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

About data storage

Hi,

I'm using Blog.i have 1 doubt where the messages are saved in the blog. If it contains any database. and where is it?

reply soon... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.68.67.162 (talk) 12:13, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

What blog? www.blog.com? Regardless, blog entries are saved in a database that is usually on the same server as the blog service. Sometimes the database is on a separate but nearby server. -- kainaw™ 13:39, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

set up "On Demand" DSL Connection

How do I Configure a software to use my DSL Connection

To use "On Demand" DSL connection , I will have to be set up in Windows(xp professional) for Dial Up Networking (DUN). —Preceding unsigned comment added by Thepainter2 (talk • contribs) 13:13, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Bridging Networks....

Hi...I have a laptop with a wireless network card. I use this to connect to other laptops in ad-hoc mode. I also have a wired LAN which I use frequently. Is there any way to bridge both the networks?? I know that wireless and wired LAN can be somehow bridged in XP but I don't know how to do that. Also is there a special way for the same in Vista?? I want to bridge the network so that I would be able to play multiplayer games with users of both the LANs simultaneously. Please help... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Piyushbehera25 (talk • contribs) 16:54, 26 January 2008 (UTC)

The control panel thing was good but I was not able to connect to both the networks simultaneously.Please suggest another way...

I don't really understand what you're trying to do and how to help without more information about this game. Bridging is unlikely the answer you're looking for (Network Bridge for more details). Most games use a Client/Server system, whereby all the clients connect to a central server that hosts the game. So as long as you're the one hosting the game, and you can communicate with users in both networks, then there shouldn't be a problem, as the server app. should be able to communicate with all users (clients). The simplest solution to your woes is to put every user on the same subnet. By connecting to two networks, Window's routing table should be updated automatically to allow you to access both networks simultaneously (try testing with ping). It does not however allow users from one network to communicate with each other without a network bridge or router. Tetsuox (talk) 10:08, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Ya I tried that but it does not work always(although the subnet of all users are equal) especially if there is a user running Vista i.e. if I host a game server users of any one network not both are able to see it...how to solve this problem. I also want that users of both the networks be able to connect to each other(I wanted to know about network bridge for that matter). Please suggest some method..

Wireless Networking

I have an ADSL wired router which connects up my desktop. Recently I purchased a laptop which I connected to the router with a cable. It would be very handy to have a wireless network now so I can move the laptop around. Simple, no? Get a wireless router I would think. But I am very confused as to why there are so many different ones! What are the differences? What is the difference between a router and an access point? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.147.138.67 (talk) 14:01, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Package management on the Mac

Is there a good, web-based package manager for the Mac? I know about Fink and MacPorts only from their Wikipedia articles. How do these, and other such software (if it exists), compare to apt/Synaptic in Debian? Is there a list of available packages somewhere, and to they work as reliably as they do in Debian? Is using such a tool a one-way ticket to Dependency Hell? --NorwegianBlue ^talk 15:17, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Just to clarify my own question, in case I wasn't making myself clear. I am talking about a package management system for the management of an open-source subset of the total collection of software on the machine. I assume that the OS itself will not be managed by the package management system, nor will commercial programs. I am asking because I currently use a dual boot PC with XP and Linux. I want to upgrade, and consider switching from the Windows environment. However, Linux-only is not an option, due to its limited hardware support. I was hoping that by using a Mac with a package manager for the open-source subset of the software, I would get the best of both worlds. --NorwegianBlue ^talk 12:12, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Fortran

Does anyone here know Fortran? —Keenan Pepper 17:01, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Those found in Category:User for, and probably many more. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 17:32, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Those found in Category:User for, and probably many more. (above - decided not to edit your answer - missing colon.87.102.90.249 (talk) 17:42, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

I edited it because it was causing this page to be added to the category. -- BenRG (talk) 19:43, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

be brave and ask a fortran related question...87.102.90.249 (talk) 17:40, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

I did. No one answered. You'd have found it if you had searched this page for either Fortran or my name. —Keenan Pepper 05:43, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Or if you'd linked to it like this Wikipedia:Reference desk/Computing#Fortran program copied from manual doesn't work correctly

Forgetting to read "How to ask a question" ... "Be Patient" ... "A complete answer to your question may be developed over a period of up to four days." .. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.102.114.230 (talk) 19:52, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

It might be a good idea to read recursion specifically the part around

Use of recursion in an algorithm has both advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage is usually simplicity. The main disadvantage is often that the algorithm may require large amounts of memory if the depth of the recursion is very large. It has been claimed that recursive algorithms are easier to understand because the code is shorter and is closer to a mathematical definition, as seen in these factorial examples. It is often possible to replace a recursive call with a simple loop, as the following example of factorial shows:"

in Recursion#Recursion_in_computer_science (refering to a different function) (emphasis mine)- your example is a case of a pointless recursive algorhthym - a loop would be better.87.102.114.230 (talk) 20:22, 5 February 2008 (UTC) That section also explains briefly when recursion is a good idea - in general it's a good idea when the proceedure can't be done easily in a simple loop - not the case here.87.102.114.230 (talk) 20:25, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Okay... tell that to the ISO or ANSI committee who wrote the manual, because I had nothing to do with it. —Keenan Pepper 06:24, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Why are you so stupid? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.102.116.134 (talk) 15:27, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

... Touché. —Keenan Pepper 01:08, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Computer speed.

Hi guys i recently got a new Medion computer for christmas, and it runs Windows Vista Basic. However its not as fast as i would like it to be. It has a 3.46GHz Intel Celeron D processor (is this any good?) but only 512mb of RAM. I know that's not the best amount, but what would be the best way to make the computer run a bit faster? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.109.51.197 (talk) 17:38, 4 February 2008 (UTC) 91.109.51.197 (talk) 17:40, 4 February 2008 (UTC) sorry.

If you have too little RAM for your needs, the best way to make it faster is to add more RAM. And it's generally cheap, too. Friday (talk) 17:43, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

(edir conflict)512MB is the absolute minimum for Vista Home Basic. You would most likely get significant speed improvements by putting in at least another 512MB of memory. I'd recommend putting in as much memory as your system supports and your can afford. --LarryMac | Talk 17:44, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

thanks, so more RAM would be the best option? Can you recommend a specific product, and also, what makes the price of it differ so much? i've just been on Amazon and found 1GB for £11,98, and then anothe 1GB of RAM, by the same company, for £40. Plus, can you just plug it into a PCI slot on your motherboard or does it require more specialised installation?91.109.51.197 (talk) 17:58, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

RAM does not go into a PCI slot, there will be specific slots on the motherboard that are for memory. One of the reasons you would see a large range of prices is because there are many types of computer memory, and they are not interchangeable. While it is not generally considered a difficult task to add memory, perhaps you would be more comfortable in taking your system somewhere to have this done, so that you are sure to get the correct type and have it taken care of quickly. --LarryMac | Talk 18:13, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Ahem. If you bought a Medion, you basically wasted every cent spent on it. --Ouro (blah blah) 19:31, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

It was a gift, remember. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 22:39, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Oh, right. Sorry. --Ouro (blah blah) 08:26, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Installing RAM is as easy as putting a card into a PCI slot, it's just that the slots aren't PCI but a different type. If it's a desktop computer it probably takes DDR2 DIMMs, which have names like PC2-xxxx. If it's a laptop computer it probably takes DDR2 SO-DIMMs, which also have names like PC2-xxxx, so you need to look for the presence or absence of the "SO". The -xxxx part doesn't matter; larger is "better", but not in any way you're likely to notice. The "2" in "PC2" does matter, though. -- BenRG (talk) 19:49, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Can the OP downgrade to Windows XP (hopefully Pro) from Vista Basic for no additional cost? You can live with Windows XP on 512 MB RAM unless you do heavy computing stuff. Kushal^t 04:37, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

You can also live without sandwiches, melted cheese, and computers, but is it worth it? :) Second on the downgrade, if you can, get xp. --Ouro (blah blah) 06:51, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Even if you cannot get a free downgrade, you may not need to shell out a lot of money. If you are enrolled in an academic institution, you can get Microsoft Windows XP at a discount as Froth told me. Kushal^t 15:19, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Also remember that if all the slots are taken up, you might need to remove the existing RAM to install new ones. It is advisable to downgrade to Windows XP if you can do so with little or no monetary expense. Kushal^t 15:20, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

If you plan to upgrade the RAM yourself, remember that you will need a method of preventing electrostatic damage as a motherboard is a sensitive device. A ground mat and an antistatic wrist strap should do the trick. Seraphim♥ ^Whipp 15:35, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Or you could just find another way to ground yourself (touch something large and metal), and avoid doing it on carpet or anything like that. I see the wrist strap and ground mat as a good investment if you do that sort of thing all the time, but if it's a one-time installation, it's a bit overkill. --24.147.69.31 (talk) 15:45, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Oh I don't know...an anti-static wristband will only cost a few quid and my boyfriend used a rubber doormat when he built his computer :). Another alternative is to keep touching the anti-static packaging that the RAM comes in. Seraphim♥ ^Whipp 16:07, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

No offense meant to the original questioner, but such things seemed outside his/her ken, which is why I recommended getting the memory installed by somebody. --LarryMac | Talk 15:50, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

After a bit of digging, I found [3]. Basically, if your Vista came with the computer (OEM software), then Microsoft will not allow you to downgrade Vista to XP unless it is Vista business or vista ultimate. Kushal^t 09:37, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Switching from vista to XP appears to be very unsupported by microsoft. on the other hand, one of the options it offers from the desktop or control panel or somewhere equally obvious (just farting around with it last night) is 'ten ways to speed up Vista' which includes instructions on how to disable all the fancy graphics. pretty amazing when the operating system comes with instructions to disable part of it to speed it up. Gzuckier (talk) 19:24, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

ASP.NET problem

I have a problem with ASP.NET validators. I need a client-side validator that reads two dates, each from a separate user-editable text field, and compares which is the older and which is the newer. Specifically, I have to let the user enter the validity period of an order, and the validator needs to check that the order's validity doesn't end before it starts. This has to be done entirely on the client side. How can this be done? JIP | Talk 19:17, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

CompareValidator can compare dates. — Matt Eason ^{(Talk &#149; Contribs)} 20:12, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Cool! I knew it could, but I had always figured it could only compare a date against a constant, not against another user-entered date. Thanks! JIP | Talk 20:14, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Aero-style look and feel for Linux?

One of the very few things I like about Windows Vista is the new Aero eye candy. Is there a similar flashy look and feel for Linux desktops (Gnome or KDE perhaps)? I think I have the necessary CPU and GPU power. All I want is the visual graphical goodness. The OS itself and the desktop environment can remain the same, thank you very much. Is there such a thing? JIP | Talk 19:19, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Would Compiz do what you want? --LarryMac | Talk 20:18, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

OK, so how the bloody hell do I change my window manager on a Fedora 8 system running Gnome? After I installed Compiz, I tried "compiz --replace". This left me with Gnome running without any window manager. I rebooted, and this left gdm unable to start up. After Fedora 8 has loaded, the entire display turns off, not receiving any input. Now, if I boot into single-user mode and manually run gdm, I am able to manually launch any window manager I want, but the changes never stay. If I even log out (not reboot), the display turns off again. And I don't even need to tell you that if I boot Fedora 8 as normal (not single-user mode), gdm doesn't work. How can I even get my Metacity back? Assume I know how a basic Unix-like system works, but I know nothing whatsoever about X Windows, Gnome, or window managers. What files do I need to check and change to get the system to run gdm and Metacity again? As a last resort, I can always reinstall Fedora 8, destroying the root partition but keeping my home partition intact, but I'd rather avoid that. JIP | Talk 22:04, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

For matters like this, I'd suggest you take it to a Fedora forum (indeed, you'd have done well to take your original query there since you'd probably find instructions on how to deal with Compiz as well). Sorry if I've made false assumptions. ----Seans Potato Business 23:33, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

JIP, there just happens to be a version of Fedora that looks a lot like Vista, and I think it has the Aero look and feel from Vista as its default look, if I'm not mistaken. It's called Vixta (only one letter difference), and their homepage is at http://vixta.sourceforge.net. However, there is one major difference here in that it uses KDE instead of GNOME for its desktop, but I think this sounds like what you may very well be looking for -- and it's based on Fedora, no less! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Fredbird67 (talk • contribs) 00:04, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

PS -- I just found such a theme for GNOME, so it sounds like you should be able to install this from within GNOME. Try looking at http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php/Complete+Vista+Aero+theme+(automated)?content=72318 and tell me if that isn't what you've been looking for. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Fredbird67 (talk • contribs) 00:09, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

That looks all well and good as such, but it looks too much like Windows Vista. I want flashy colours and shiny buttons and translucency - I don't want an exact copy of the Vista UI. A theme with an original idea would have been better. JIP | Talk 17:39, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Take a look at KDE 4. Good review with images here. --

Kesh (talk) 22:36, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

No don't try KDE! I'll be at work in a few minutes, I'll upload a slick screenshot of my murrine + compiz, and JIP will be wowed :O :D\=< (talk) 12:43, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

It's not "aero", it's better! http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/2079/screenshot2ws7.png :D\=< (talk) 13:16, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Check out the Beryl (window manager). Perhaps the easiest way to try it out is with a Sabayon Linux LiveDVD.

--68.0.124.33 (talk) 01:33, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

wireless internet not connecting(1)

The question was moved further down the page by the OP, so I'm deleting it here. (Don't bite, she's new here). --NorwegianBlue ^talk 19:17, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

opening ports so that i can open programmes and download patches properly

I'm downloading a patch for the multiplayer online computer game, WORLD OF WARCRAFT, and ALWAYS it takes AAAAAAAGES doing so. Literally!

The downloader says the computer is behind a firewall, but i always try turning of my firewall and it doesnt change so i KNOW it is not behind a firewall. I am not at all any good at the technical bits about computers, but i know enough to know that it might just be the PORT (also called gateway???) to that programe that has not been opened. This time in particular, it has gone deeeeeaaad-slow, i have downloaded 30% at this point, and well, 2 hours at least must have passed by now.

So i just have to try do something, once and for all so that i can finally download properly. this has always been a problem you see...

The blizzard downloader is already open, but i thought I shud try open the port to the downloading programme itself, i dont know if thats right to do, but i thought i shud try. but now the problem is that i cannot find the portnumber to the downloading programme, in fact i dont know where to find ANY portnumbers at all to ANY programmes... i dont know where..

Maybe you could help me find this and tell me how to do it. i think i maybe know how to do it if i only knew the portnumber but i am not sure...

and if i am wrong, and if there are other, better and more correct ways to fix this problem, i would be most grateful to learn by someone who knows.

I fear it will take another 5 hours if i dont get any help... and just so it is said, i have a fast and strong computer so that is not an issue. and if it is of importance, i have windos VISTA, not XP. maybe good to know if you will tell me where to find things, as the menus are a little bit different maybe.

Thanks :)

85.164.184.170 (talk) 20:40, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Messing with ports can be dangerous... they're closed for a reason a lot of the time. Another possible reason for your slow download is Blizzard's servers... if you have 1,000 people downloading all at once that's gonna strain their servers and thus make it slow. You just have to be patient I guess. What speeds are you getting atm? And how big is the file? Also, don't leave your firewall down too long! Scarian^{Call me Pat} 22:24, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Are you doing this over a wireless router? The odds are that the router is blocking the ports, not your personal firewall. Configuring a router to open select ports is not entirely easy (and varies depending on the type of router it is), and requires knowing exactly what ports to open. --24.147.69.31 (talk) 00:39, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

I've never used the Blizzard downloader, but I gather it's some kind of peer-to-peer thing. If so, enabling outside connections to the appropriate port(s) is quite likely to improve your download speed. It's also quite safe, provided you don't open any of the small number of dangerous ports. The dangerous ports all have numbers below 1024, and any sane peer-to-peer program will only use port numbers above 1024. You do need to know the right port number, and Blizzard should make that very clear (since a lot of people are going to have this problem). Once you know that, if you have a DSL/cable router, "port forwarding" is what you need to set up. -- BenRG (talk) 01:01, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Here ya go mate- If you are behind a router go to portforwarding.com and find your model to get instructions to open ports 6112, 3274, and 6881-6999. If not, well, Blizzard downloader is just plain slow. The official story is here 71.59.214.87 (talk) 05:16, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

noname

Whenever my teachers at school email home a word document to my gmail account, its file name becomes "noname." It looks to be done by "Apple-mail" as thats what the top line of the document shows when opened in word or open office. Is there any way I can fix this on my end, or open it? Thanks --Omnipotence407 (talk) 20:59, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

The same thing happens to me when I send photos from my cell phone to my gmail account. I just download them and rename them to something with the correct extension and they work fine. —Scott5114↗ [EXACT CHANGE ONLY] 01:23, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

Multimedia keyboards

Is there a standard for the keycodes generated by the extra keys on a multimedia keyboard, or is it just chance that my Microsoft Natural and generic Compaq keyboards generate the same codes for the volume buttons? --Carnildo (talk) 21:26, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

At least in Windows there's a standard: winuser.h defines VK_BROWSER_BACK, VK_BROWSER_FORWARD, VK_BROWSER_REFRESH, VK_BROWSER_STOP, VK_BROWSER_SEARCH, VK_BROWSER_FAVORITES, VK_BROWSER_HOME, VK_VOLUME_MUTE, VK_VOLUME_DOWN, VK_VOLUME_UP, VK_MEDIA_NEXT_TRACK, VK_MEDIA_PREV_TRACK, VK_MEDIA_STOP, VK_MEDIA_PLAY_PAUSE, VK_LAUNCH_MAIL, VK_LAUNCH_MEDIA_SELECT, VK_LAUNCH_APP1, and VK_LAUNCH_APP2, and dinput.h defines DIK_MUTE, DIK_CALCULATOR, DIK_PLAYPAUSE, DIK_MEDIASTOP, DIK_VOLUMEDOWN, DIK_VOLUMEUP, DIK_WEBHOME, DIK_WEBSEARCH, DIK_WEBFAVORITES, DIK_WEBREFRESH, DIK_WEBSTOP, DIK_WEBFORWARD, DIK_WEBBACK, DIK_MYCOMPUTER, DIK_MAIL, and DIK_MEDIASELECT. -- BenRG (talk) 00:44, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Those are virtual keycodes: what Windows translates the actual keypresses into. I want to know about the codes being transmitted from they keyboard to the computer. --Carnildo (talk) 21:33, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Scancode is the concept you're referring to. Taking the first external link from that article (http://www.win.tue.nl/~aeb/linux/kbd/scancodes.html) you'll find quite a long list of PC keyboards and their scancode peculiarities. The ones you mentioned are in section 6 of that document. If you look at the rest of the keyboards, you'll see that e030 for volume up and e02e for volume down are common, but there are some exceptions. This is probably neither a coincidence nor a formal standard, but just a case of manufacturers following the path of least resistance by imitating Microsoft. --tcsetattr (talk / contribs) 22:02, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Bebo problems

hi,

i use Bebo social networking thingy but i have a problem....frequently when i try to get on it...via google search/favourties it either says: I Explorer cant display this web page bla bla bla or goes onto this : 'get free spyware/maleware/addware protection and refuses to go ont Bebo....(this is the only website that it happens on!)...if i try to get off this strange anti virus website a box appears asking me if i want to bookmark the page and when i decline puts me back to the strange page...so then i have to exit the internet

help me stop this mayhem!!!!!!!!!!

( i have the latest IE browser (7 i think))

thanks, --The world tour (talk) 21:34, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

It sounds like you have some type of spyware or adware infestation. Download and run the free utilities Spybot and AdAware. Run a full sweep using your antivirus software as well. Consider using Firefox instead of IE, as FF is less vulnerable to such infections in the first place. --LarryMac | Talk 21:43, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

939 processor

Has AMD stopped developing faster 939 processors? If not, will there be a quad-core 939 processor? ----Seans Potato Business 23:27, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

I believe the fastest socket 939 is the FX-60 (that's the one I have, so if there's a faster one, let me know). I think they've just moved on to socket AM2. Useight (talk) 04:12, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

AMD have now released a quad core -> The Phenom. It runs on a AM2 motherboard, but it runs better on an AM2+ board, themcman1 _talk 12:42, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

Firefox file associations

Is there anyway to change every single file type to open with the default program I have set on my computer? Quicktime plugin likes override my settings every time I update, and I'm tired of manually changing each one. 67.188.81.158 (talk) 23:41, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

I'm thinking... if you're computer-savvy enough you could copy the portion of the Windows Registry with the correct file associations, and then after each update merge that copied portion back with the Registry, thus overriding any changes. --Ouro (blah blah) 08:32, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

February 5

Does the Wikimedia Foundation only use free sotfware like the Free Software Foundation?

Does Wikimedia only user free software? Does it run Windows. Does it run GNU/Linux? Jet (talk) 01:21, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

MediaWiki says the Wikipedia software is open-source. It's written in PHP, so my guess = Apache+PHP+MySQL. Because the website is huuuge, I think it's on Linux or BSD. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Grawity (talk • contribs) 10:00, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

"The popularity of the Wikimedia projects necessitates the use of many servers, all but two run the GNU/Linux operating system."[4] You can get a list of the exact OSes at the link. Many flavors of GNU/Linux. --24.147.69.31 (talk) 16:58, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

The list at meta:Wikimedia servers shows mostly various types of Linux, although some Solaris and FreeBSD servers are also listed. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 17:04, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

standard TRS microphones unpowered, need solution

I just made a satisfying purchase lately, or so I thought until I tried to use it. I purchased an Olympus ME15 lavalier microphone, its omnidirectional, comes with a tie-clip, and a 1m cord. The reason why this microphone is so compact is that it relies on a power source through the plug. The TRS connector plug looks that of any old mono TRS microphone plug. Even though the device was built for Olympus' voice recorder products, I thought I could use it as a computer microphone. Why its not working is because the socket in my PC is not providing any power. Is that standard? Was any computer mics that I encountered powered by an internal battery? I hope not, because that would give them a limited lifespan.

My problem is that there are no lapel (lavalier) microphones for PCs or any other audio equipment in stock anywhere (they seem to be loosing favor), And that I'm going to have to make do with this thing. I'm thinking about building a battery "box" that will go between the mic socket and the microphne itself, is that a viable solution? What part of the plug (TRS mono) does the power supply go? How exactly do these microphones get powered? -ANONYMOUS 02:34, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

You'll want to see our phantom power article. Unfortunately, only the last few sentences are completely germane to your question. So please also see electret microphone and its external links.

Atlant (talk) 14:49, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Im not sure exactly, but I assume alot of computer mics are dynamic to avoid the need for phantom power, or they use such a small charge to pass across the diaphragm, it is less than 48v. As far as I'm aware, phantom cannot be used with a TRS.86.139.90.67 (talk) 17:10, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Essentially all modern microphones used with low-end electronics (such as computers, cell phones, speakerphones, etc.) are electret microphones; they're the cheapest to integrate into the rest of the electronics and cheap themselves. Dynamic microphones went out with cassette recorders.

Atlant (talk) 01:17, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

irc passwords

i can't remember the password i used when registering an account on irc/freenode. i've searched online for the last 20 minutes trying to figure out how to recover it, but i'm coming up empty handed. i set an email when i registered, and i thought there would be some easy way to have it sent to me. how can i recover my password? StickShaker (talk) 02:42, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

I'd join #support or #help on your IRC network and ask there. Chances are an IRCop will be able to help TheGreatZorko (talk) 12:48, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Extrapolate a photo's missing piece

Can any existing program automatically paint the missing piece of this wall and continue the falloff of light intensity?

Do any programs exist that will detect lighting gradients and extrapolate them to fill a missing corner in a photo (such as that which occurs when the photo is rotated and cropped) in a more realistic way than could be done with rubber stamping, at least if the cut-off object is something smooth and flat like a wall? NeonMerlin 02:53, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Personally I'd probably just draw a gradient in by hand (with Photoshop or the line) on a layer below and try to get it to match up fairly well. Then you can run some filters on it to roughen it up a little bit. As for a program that will do it automatically, and correctly, I suspect not. --24.147.69.31 (talk) 16:14, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

If you find some, let me know. It's one of the features I really wish Resynthesizer had. I suppose it might be possible to achieve something like it with a combination of Resynthesizer, manual gradient fitting and the grain extract/merge layer modes: first fit a gradient as closely as possible to the existing lighting, then extract the difference (which would hopefully be mostly high-frequency texture) and use Resynthesizer to fill in the missing area. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 17:40, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Batch red eye removal

What Linux apps can remove red eye from photos as a batch operation? NeonMerlin 05:34, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

GIMP has batch processing and a basic red-eye removal tool. The trick is that red-eye removal will remove a specific shade of red, turning it black. Since you won't manually be pointing out where the red is on the photo (in batch mode, you have to do the whole photo), any red of that particular shade will be turned black. That can cause problems. -- kainaw™ 13:38, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

How do you set up a task force on a different MediaWiki?

I'm trying to set up a task force at my own Wiki. Can some one click on this link and help me? --75.181.81.73 (talk) 11:05, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

I can see that 75.181.81.73 has been active on Wikipedia for only a few days, and certainly do not want to bite the newbies. To me however, the question as stated violates the guideline Wikipedia:Spam, please correct me if I'm wrong. Perhaps it would be better for the original questioner to reword the question: "How does one attract attention to a personal wiki project? The project in question deals with modern visual culture, the plots and their charactes." --NorwegianBlue ^talk 11:36, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Try failing over at digg, someone might be interested :D\=< (talk) 12:29, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

I've been active longer than that, I was just not logged in. It's not spam. Did you not check out the link? I'm asking how do I set up a task force on my Wiki. I followed the steps on Wikipedia, but I'm missing something. --MahaPanta (talk) 18:00, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

My apologies. I did follow the link, as my paraphrasing of the introductory sentence of the main page should indicate. The link led to a page with the title "MVC:WikiProject San-X/Omusubiya-san task force", an image, and the text "{{subst:MVC:WikiProject San-X/Coordinators/Toolbox/Task force boilerplate|Omusubiya-san task force|OnigiriTF}}". I take it, then, that your question is why the template is not expanded. I have only limited experience in setting up my own wiki, but I suspect that the reason is that some required template is not defined. For example, when you type "Template:Task_force" in the search box of Wikipedia, you are taken to a template called "Task force". When you type "Template:Task_force" in the search box of your wiki, you are offered to create a new page. Hopefully, someone more knowledgeable in the inner workings of Wikipedia and MediaWiki software will come along and give you a better answer. Best of luck with your project. --NorwegianBlue ^talk 20:24, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Thank you. Since we got that misunderstanding out of the way, you were able to at least point me in the right direction. I'm going to try coping that template over since I'm using the same MediaWiki code that Wikipedia uses. --MahaPanta (talk) 20:41, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Does anyone know? --75.181.81.73 (talk) 07:15, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

The problem you are having is to do with namespaces on the wiki. You're naming stuff "MVC:...", while the project namespace is "MVC Wiki:...". There are two solutions I can think of: change the name of the project namespace to "MVC", or rename the files to start with "MVC Wiki".

• If you have access to the server the wiki is hosted on, you can rename the "MVC Wiki:" namespace to "MVC:" by editing LocalSettings.php, adding the following on its own line to the bottom of the file:

$wgMetaNamespace = "MVC";

Note the semicolon (;) at the end of the line. You could also enable subpages at the same time:

$wgNamespacesWithSubpages[NS_PROJECT] = true;

See $wgMetaNamespace and $wgNamespacesWithSubpages

• Otherwise, rename (move) the project from MVC:WikiProject_San-X/... to MVC Wiki:WikiProject_San-X/...

Then create the page MVC_Wiki:WikiProject_San-X/Coordinators/Toolbox/Task_force_boilerplate (or MVC:WikiProject_San-X/Coordinators/Toolbox/Task_force_boilerplate if you renamed the namespace). You can then {{subst:...}} this into any pages.

As an aside, there is a third, subtle trick you can use. When using templates, MediaWiki will look in the "Template:" namespace (eg using the {{X1}} template takes you to Template:X1). But you can force templates to look in the main (article) namespace by prefixing it with a colon (eg {{:Main Page}}). As the MVC: pages are currently in the main namespace (as they're not in the "MVC Wiki:" namespace), you can also access them by using {{:MVC:Whatever}}. For subst, this would be {{subst::MVC:Whatever}} (note the two colons). --h2g2bob (talk) 17:13, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

I added

$wgMetaNamespace = "MVC";

$wgNamespacesWithSubpages[NS_PROJECT] = true;

to the local settings, but it's sill not working. --75.181.81.73 (talk) 22:32, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Graphics card heat

Using nTune I decided to check out the temperature of my video card today. It's a XFX GeForce 6800GS. It was idling at 72 degrees Celsius, which is pretty hot for just idling. I turned on Half-Life 2 for a few minutes and I got it to top out at 116 degrees Celsius (that's 239 degrees Fahrenheit!). The game was locking up every few seconds. Should I be looking into a new card, a new fan, or water cooling? Useight (talk) 07:02, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

I suggest you to check the specifications of your graphics card manual or in internet. Since that is the place where you get the results for benchmarks upon performance, quality, etc. In each card's reviews, they will mention the temperature of the card's idle state and at maximum usage. so check out that and you will know the thershold at which your card should fall in. Then think about replacing. Coz your fan could be a problem after-all —Preceding unsigned comment added byBalan rajan (talk • contribs) 09:01, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

[5] under the "Is the newborn hot?" section states that their XFX 6800GS card idles at around 40-45 deg. C, and peaks at 65 deg. C under full load. Some of the heat could also be attributed to case temperature, which is partly dependent upon ambient temperature and case cooling. My opinion is that your card is running at abnormally high temperatures. It's most likely that your Graphics card fan is malfunctioning and/or poor contact between GFX card heatsink and GPU. I'd suggest you take a look at your GPU Fan first, and check that it's actually working before trying anything drastic. Also, is your GPU overclocked? That is also another possible cause for high temps. Tetsuox (talk) 09:50, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

My 6600GT runs at 60 degrees idle with compiz, and goes up to nearly 100 while playing TF2, and it's still here after 3 years. Not overclocked, I think I need a bigger fan on there or something... But I think your case is too high, check that the heatsink is actually touching the chip (look at it sideways/top down, see if you can see any gaps between the chip and the heatsink) and your fan is on. Also try touching the heatsink to see if it's actually hot. --antilived^{T | C | G} 10:22, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

My card came factory overclocked a little by XFX, but I didn't overclock it at all. I'm going to get a can of compressed air and try to clean out my PC a little and move up in expenses from there. Useight (talk) 15:52, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

One more thing to try is running your computer for a while with the side of the case open. If that makes the temperature go down, your case has inadequate (or inappropriately installed) ventilation. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 16:57, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

threads in computerscience

can we use assembly language or high level language in making a thread? also can we possibly write our own thread for kernel mode?Jasunand (talk) 07:30, 5 February 2008 (UTC)jasunand

If the Operating System supports threads, then assembly language will allow you to program threads (with extreme difficulty). Not all high level languages have syntax for programming threads, but I doubt you'll be using one that doesn't support it. If you are writing a kernel mod, it is possible (and common) to use threads. -- kainaw™ 16:02, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

threads (2nd question)

are user threads supported by operating ystem?Jasunand (talk) 07:41, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

If you mean multi-threading in user mode, then yes (on Windows, at least). --grawity ^{talk / PGP} 10:01, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Check out our article Thread (computer science) to answer your general questions, and let us know if there's anything you don't understand. --Sean 17:37, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Jasunand, do you really mean "user thread", rather than just "thread for userspace program"? If so, take a look at our fiber (computer science) and green threads articles. User threads aren't implemented using support from the OS - they instead perform basic cooperative multitasking using solely userspace code (that is, they don't make syscalls and aren't managed individually by the system scheduler). -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 21:39, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Is Google AdSense Completely LEGAL and safe?

As in, I want to avoid Click-frauds, and on the whole, have a good AdSense experience. Please help me out. Thank you so much! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.169.41.253 (talk) 08:20, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

See Google Adsense and clickfraud for more. Adsense is safe as long as you don't use it ;) --Ouro (blah blah) 08:27, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

how to check out timings for executing a function in VB

Hi everybody, I'm working in Visual Basic 6.0. In VB's inbuilt function, is there any way to calculate the time that each function for eg (INSTR, MID etc) may take so that my program can be executed as fast as could. Because of this, my program runs slower and I'm unaware of how much time that each function takes. Could you please suggest me any links that may explain about the timings in VB instructions?...Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.164.48.124 (talk) 08:55, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

There's no in-built way that I know of to break down execution time by function, other than putting start and stop timers before and after everything and doing it manually. There's no automatic way to optimize code; you've got to go through and figure out what's cause the slowdown. INSTR and MID by themselves shouldn't be slowing things down in a major way. If you are running lots of loops, try to make sure that you aren't doing anything in a loop that you don't need to do right there, and aren't calculating anything on the fly that you couldn't calculate ahead of time (e.g. if you had a program that needed the value 2*PI a lot, just calculate it once and store it in a variable, don't force the processor to re-calculate it every loop). If you posted the troublesome code here I'm sure we could take a look at it. --24.147.69.31 (talk) 15:40, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

You want a piece of software called a profiler. Googling for Template:Websearch indicates that various ones are available. --Sean 17:34, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for your suggestion . I am concat the string in loop and save in a variable. The length of string is going to large so time takes to handle the string. So what can I do Please help me —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.164.48.124 (talk) 10:57, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

When I first saw this discussion, I suspected that string concatenation might be causing the slowdown. Two possible solutions:

• use a fast string class - Google "VB6 string class" for lots of samples
• allocate a large-enough array at the start of the loop, add each piece of the string to it, and use the join function to make it into the final string (this is effectively what the fast string class will be doing).

(It's no help to you here, but in VB.NET you could use a StringBuilder object.) AndrewWTaylor (talk) 12:31, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, concatenation can be slow. I'd do what AndrewWTaylor says and put off the final concatenation until the end, give that a shot. You might also test out other ways to accomplish the same thing, like outputting it all directly to a temp file and then reading that back in (no clue if that would be faster, but might be worth a shot). --98.217.18.109 (talk) 03:23, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

How do you convert an EPS into an SVG?

Hi! How do you convert an Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) into an Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)? --escondites 16:24, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Try using OpenOffice.org Draw, I believe it can do that, though I wouldn't expect the results to be very pretty (I find that Draw's SVGs often don't work well at all in other SVG editing programs, like Inkscape). --24.147.69.31 (talk) 16:43, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Inkscape can import EPS files, sometimes even successfully. I believe it uses pstoedit for the actual conversion. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 16:50, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

I tried pstoedit yesterday and couldn't squeeze what I wanted out of it, but for a different conversion though. --Ouro (blah blah) 13:19, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

I just tried Ghostscript combined with GSview, it worked perfectly! --escondites 14:35, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Good NNTP servers

Are there any good NNTP servers? ("good" includes being free of charge) --grawity ^{talk / PGP} 16:27, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Who would give you a good service for free? Who is going to pay for terabytes of storage, servers, high-speed networks and support? Anyway, giganews (tier 1) is excellent for a decent cost IMO. Sandman30s (talk) 10:02, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

I'd recommend NewsHosting over Giganews, they are cheaper (from what I remember - neither site can be viewed on my current network) and have some other small things better than Giganews TheGreatZorko (talk) 12:47, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Gee, I thought the answer was gonna be something like INN. --tcsetattr (talk / contribs) 21:32, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Super Bowl Introduction Video

Right before the Super Bowl was an introduction video. It featured such scenes as The School of Athens and Martin Luther King Jr. in relief, and a television in an art gallery. I can't find the video to watch or save to my computer again, I'd like to have it. Any help? Mac Davis (talk) 18:20, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Anything related to the Super Bowl is the property of the National Football League. And as they said during the game, "reproduction and distribution of any material (including the broadcast) is Illegal". I don't think you'll find help here, since most Wikipedia users are strict when it comes to what is free and what is not. — Kjammer  ⌂ 23:57, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

That's why I usually record the Superbowl while it's playing. Then I can get commercials, highlights, or whatever. This year, though, my TV tuner card for my computer was broken, so I didn't record it. Sorry. Try YouTube, Google Video, or something I do not endorse, a BitTorrent. Useight (talk) 01:46, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

MSN live messenger

hello,

iv asked this sort of question a few days ago but here we go again:

• i have windows XP normal edition thingy
• i had windows live messenger
• i deleated it using add/remove programs (i cant remember why)
• now i want to re-install it back onto my computer
• BUT when ive been onto the MS live website, clicked download and stuff....when it comes to installing it and the special windows live bok comes up it:

1. scanning/checking your computer for live products [there arent any!]
2. windows cant install this product
3. get help with this problem/try again later

This has been happening for about 2 weeks now and very annoying....

1. how do i fix the problem?
2. (are there similar messageing programs that will allow me to communicate with friends using windows live meaaenger?)

thanks, --The world tour (talk) 18:52, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Pidgin (software) will do MSN IM. -- kainaw™ 19:02, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

DRM and Media Converter

I am about to (shame on me!) purchase this album, with these restrictions. I guess they come in MP3 format; if I were to convert them to WAVs and then back to MP3s using the above program, would the DRM protection be gone? Obviously I take full legal responsibility :D Porcupine (prickle me! · contribs · status) 19:19, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Neither MP3 nor WAV format supports DRM. To be DRMed, they must be WMA (Windows Media) or M4A (iTunes).

"Obviously I take full legal responsibility" Yeah, sure you will.

Also, the "Usage rights" contains the line:

"CD Burning 10 The number of times this item may be burned to a CD"

So you can burn the song(s) to CD and rip them into a clean MP3 (or AAC or OGG or FLAC or WHATEVR).

--grawity ^{talk / PGP} 19:23, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

...but since the list says "Format: MP3", I have absolutely no idea how the restrictions will be enforced.

A tip: if the site requires some weird software to play your songs, don't install it until you r ead the license. --grawity ^{talk / PGP} 19:26, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Right... I'll look into it. Would it really work to just burn and rip them, if they were DRMed? Would my original idea of converting to WAV/OGG or something and then back also work (being less CD-intensive :D)?Porcupine (prickle me! · contribs · status) 19:34, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

1. Once you burn a song into a CD (Audio CD, to be more exact), it's in pure plain CD-Audio format, and you can then rip the song back into any format you want. (And I don't think a CD-R would be that expensive.)

2. If you convert a song to a DRM-free format (WAV, MP3, OGG, FLAC), it loses any DRM. --grawity ^{talk / PGP} 19:40, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

OK, last queries here... first, when I download the music, will I get a license with it too, a "tangible" file, or is the protection in-built into the tracks (ignoring the MP3 issue, of course)? And secondly: why do people bother protecting files when they can easily be stripped of the DRM? It sounds silly! Porcupine (prickle me! · contribs · status) 19:43, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

1. If the file format supports DRM (examples are Windows Media WMV and iTunes M4A), then the file will be encrypted by the program and the key will be saved in your computer, and if the player finds the key + knows the algorithm, then the file is decrypted and played|burned. (You might want to read article on DRM.)

If the format doesn't support DRM, then it's just a file.

2. No idea why they do so. Maybe to make it harder? But even Sony (IIRC) suggests you to burn the song to CD and rip it if you want to use alternative players (Winamp, foobar2000, others). --grawity ^{talk / PGP} 20:02, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for all your help - it's downloading now!! Porcupine (prickle me! · contribs · status) 20:09, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Converting a file to WAV and then to MP3 does a lot more than "strip the DRM". You have a compressed version of the song to begin with, whether WMA or M4A. Whatever program you use to make a WAV file from that will necessarily have to "guess" at what the missing bits are. Then you will apply another round of compression to the WAV file, losing other bits. This is analogous to a document that has been photocopied several times; maybe you can still read the words, but it won't be the crisp clean text that was first produced. Depending on the type of music you are listening too and your own personal preferences, you might not hear or care about the results, but don't think you are getting an exact copy. --LarryMac | Talk 20:15, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

You're right - the difference was very noticeable! Would the CD-burning trick lose quality? Porcupine (prickle me! · contribs · status) 20:33, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Yes, unfortunately, that is essentially the same process - compress/uncompress/compress. --LarryMac | Talk 20:38, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Is there any lossless way to do it? And, having done these processes, is there any way I can check the DRM presence or not? --Porcupine (prickle me! · contribs · status) 20:41, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Maybe I'm being terribly naive in this day and age, but are you sure these aren't simply legal restrictions without technological enforcement? I see nothing on the two pages you linked that directly suggests that they're using DRM. You haven't mentioned yet the file type of the songs you downloaded. If it's MP3, and you're using an ordinary MP3 player (not a special one they made you download), then as far as I can see there can't be any DRM involved. -- BenRG (talk) 21:10, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

They're MP3 files and I'm using WMP - is it true that MP3s cannot be DRMed? Porcupine (prickle me! · contribs · status) 21:27, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

That is correct. See Comparison of audio codecs. I can't access the site you first referenced, but I think BenRG may be correct. --LarryMac | Talk 21:41, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Best part is, if it's unencrypted you can burn it to as many CDs as you want since there's no DMCA with its iron boot pressing down on your neck. IANAL but I seriously doubt they can just attach arbitrary conditions to mp3 files and expect them to be legally binding --:D\=< (talk) 23:50, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

The reality is that no files can be DRMed. MP3s just take out the middle man. --Sean 00:14, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Ehhhhh what. Files can be DRMed (with varying degrees of effectiveness- microsoft's throwing hundreds of programmers at constantly changing the algorithm and pushing it with windows updates has made WMA digitally uncrackable iirc. And MP3 definitely don't plug the analog hole- why would you use analog if it's completely open anyway :D\=< (talk) 12:41, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

My point was that all DRM schemes fall down in the real world due to the analog hole, among other reasons. Throwing hundreds of programmers at that won't change it. --Sean 00:10, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

February 6

getting out of Picture mode -- Vista

I clicked on Pictures, and ever since Vista insists on displaying ALL my folders in Picture mode. How do I make it display ordinary folders, with file names, dates, sizes, etc., instead of all that stuff that only pertains to pictures? (Yes, there is Windows "help," but TMI.) Many thanks in advance. --Halcatalyst (talk) 01:30, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Ending your question with doxtl;dr won't get it answered anywhere.. anyway as I recall the fix is obscure and involves deleting some cache file and some registry keys and disabling the folder autodetection, forcing every folder to All Items (unless you make exceptions specifically for the folders you want). I always have a hard time finding the fix after reformatting and a cursory look didn't turn anything up, try googling --:D\=< (talk) 04:06, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Ye gods, I'm not going to descend into the bowels of the machine. Anybody got higher level ideas? --Halcatalyst (talk) 05:20, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

In Windows Explorer click "View" on the tool bar and choose the display style you want, Icons, Tiles, Details, etc. Now click "Organize" on the tool bar and select "Folder and Search Options," click the "View" tab, select "Apply to Folders." Click "Apply" and "OK." Alternatively, you can click "Reset Folders" on the "View" tab to restore default folder views. —Wayward ^Talk 09:03, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

No, that definitely doesn't work at all. For most people that option does absolutely nothing except flip the bit saying the box is checked :D\=< (talk) 14:03, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

So, is there no (realistic) way out of this annoying situation? --Halcatalyst (talk) 21:33, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Firefox bug?

I noticed an interesting behavior in Firefox today. Clicking on a button (not a link) works fine the first time, however if you go back to the page, the page has to be reloaded. For example, a search on google: I enter some terms to search, click "google search." Once I'm on the results page, if I go back to the google front page, and enter new terms, the "google search" button does nothing (likewise the "I'm feeling lucky" button is useless). Reload the page and everything works again.

This is of course, not limited to google. The Wikipedia search does the same (in fact, every button I have tried thus far). Any ideas what might be the issue? Thanks, --TeaDrinker (talk) 04:21, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

I can't reproduce this. What platform and version of Firefox are you on? — Matt Eason ^{(Talk &#149; Contribs)} 15:24, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

No, this actually occurs, but I have always assumed I can change some option to stop it. The problem is that when you go back to a page and press the same button (or any button for that matter), it simply does not respond. To solve the problem, just refresh/ reload the page ,and every thing is fine. This problem occurs mainly with WP when viewed under Firefox, and an OS of XP and possibly Vista but I am not sure. I have never experienced this problem before with IE, so I am guessing there is something wrong with Firefox parameters. Cheers! Λua∫Wise ^{(Operibus anteire)} 15:57, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

The problem seems to occur only on Windows XP (haven't tried Vista). My home computer (OSX) does not have the same trouble. I know that refreshing works, although it is a bit of a pain. --TeaDrinker (talk) 16:51, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

I don't doubt that it occurs, but I really can't reproduce it. XP SP2, Firefox 2.0.0.11 (en-GB), with and without extensions. Does this happen if you start Firefox in safe mode to disable all extensions? It's in the start menu in the same group as Firefox - it'll be labelled 'Mozilla Firefox (Safe Mode)' — Matt Eason ^{(Talk &#149; Contribs)} 17:21, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Rather unsual because I have XP SP2, Firefox 2.0.0.11 as well. You do not need to do anything to reproduce it, simply open Firefox and go to a certain page ,e.g. trying editing this converstion, press save and then go back and try and see if "save" actually works the second time, although I'd prefer you do that in the sandbox cause if you have no problems, this will involve sending postdata which will create duplicate entries. The problem is quite annoying but not at all serious, but I repeat: Very Annoying!. Cheers! Λua∫Wise ^{(Operibus anteire)} 19:05, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

I did try safe mode, which did not replicate the bug. After some experimentation with add ons, I found the real player add on to be at fault. When it is on, the bug crops up. Thanks for the help! --TeaDrinker (talk) 22:08, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

No problem. Looks like RealPlayer and another of their add-ons cause quite a few bugs in Firefox. — Matt Eason ^{(Talk &#149; Contribs)} 00:17, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

MacOS fonts to .ttf

Looking for a free utility for MacOS to translate some of my bazillions of fonts to .ttf format so Povray can use them. (Years ago I did a few with Fontographer, but that was when I had a computer that could run Fontographer.) —Tamfang (talk) 10:26, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

I've never used it, but apparently fondu does this. --24.147.69.31 (talk) 17:13, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, that's useful. Something that actually converts PS fonts, say, to TT would be even usefuller, but I guess I'm not about to find that for free! —Tamfang (talk) 05:36, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Usefuller?? ugh. --24.249.108.133 (talk) 17:10, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Running a game in a Virtual Machine?

I have never used a virtual machine before, but I wish to play an old game called Interstate 76 and while it SORT OF runs under XP I lack sound, and was wondering if (seeing as the game has very low system requirements) I would be able to emulate a 3d accelerated machine under VMWare or whatever the Microsoft thing is. My machine is an AMD X2 4400+, with 2GB DDR400 memory, and an ATI x1950 Pro 512MB. What would be the best way of doing this? I have an old Windows 98 SE disk, and a bunch of free drive space but no idea which bit of software to use or if it is possible to emulate (is that how the machines work) a Direct3d card. Will I need drivers for my hardware but for Windows 98? TheGreatZorko (talk) 12:41, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

I'm sure it depends on the virtualizer you use, but in many cases, no, you don't need 98 drivers to run on your host hardware, as the guest OS is not actually accessing your hardware directly. The virtualizer will access your host hardware through normal calls to it and provide its own virtual drivers for the guest operation system. So when it thinks it is sending a sound to your speakers, it is actually sending the sound to your host OS's sound system (which can send it to the speaker or ignore it or whatever you want it to do). Either Parallels Workstation or VMware Workstation should be able to do what you want. I've used Parallels mostly myself (though emulating XP on OS X) and easily get 3D, DirectX games of that vintage to run (Deus Ex, Unreal Tournament, even a stuttering Half-Life 2!). --24.147.69.31 (talk) 16:56, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

How to RUN a program in Windows

I killed some Windows file associations. Mostly those useless right-click functions such as "Open with Stupid App" or "Send to Boring App". However, I killed open by Explorer or its equivalent by mistake. Now whenever I click an .exe file, it does not execute the program. I am with my already opened programs.

How do I solve this problem without reinstall the Windows? -- Toytoy (talk) 13:17, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Hold down shift when you right-click and you'll get the elusive "Open with..." option that lets you choose any program. It also has a checkbox for remembering what you chose. -- kainaw™ 13:18, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

No, I cannot see it. I can open and execute .msi (setup program). Maybe I can get a Windows check program and install it and then let it run after installation. -- Toytoy (talk) 13:32, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

I can create a new file extension, such as .fvhjgvjghv . I then double click it and I can select a program to open it. Now I can run just about every program.

Can you recommend a Windows utility that can repair bad file association? -- Toytoy (talk) 13:39, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Do an in-place upgrade if you're using XP :D\=< (talk) 14:02, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

I might be wrong but I seem to recall some sort of file association repair being part of Tweak UI? You might give that a try. --24.147.69.31 (talk) 16:59, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

I tried:

1. Open a folder and select Tools -> Folder Options -> File Types
2. All buttons are disabled (colored gray)

I ran Norton Windows Doctor, it fails to find this type of error. Incorrect .exe file association can't be a problem, can it? -- Toytoy (talk) 19:21, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Finally, I restored the system. Now it's OK and I am the happiest man on Planet Earth. Long Live Bill Gates! Thank you for your wonderful computer system. -- Toytoy (talk) 20:13, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

DirectX 10

Hello, Does anyone know of a safe (preferably tested) method of running DirectX 10 under XP. Yes, I know it is only for Vista, but there seems to be sort of a hacked version that would change its restrictive parameters to allow XP OS's to run DirectX 10 (rather it is the opposite, DirectX to run on XP). Well, I am particularly interested in Direct3D which seems to have improved greatly from its DirectX 9c. Ideas anyone? :) Λua∫Wise ^{(Operibus anteire)} 16:06, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

I've yet to hear of a way to use DirectX 10 in XP, but I would love to find out, too. Useight (talk) 16:07, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Ways exist, but it's easier to just find a version of the game that's been hacked to work with DX9 :D\=< (talk) 17:06, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

As far as I can tell, no, they don't. Not as of yet, at least. You can convince some games to enable their extra 'DX10-only' features when rendering in DX9, but that seems to be the extent of it. Care to share your 'ways'? -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 22:30, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

It isn't actually possible. There was a studio that was supposedly creating a way of doing it called Falling Leaf studios, and they required donation money to test the software. Now they have closed the project after releasing one single version that doesn't really work well at all. It should be noted that there is a difference between running Direct X 10 under XP and running Vista exclusive games (none of which require direct x 10) under XP, which is possible but probably not legal. The reference to "DX10 only" is probably to do with Crysis' Very High settings. Yes, it is possible to enable them under XP but they are only aproximations of DX10 effects used when demoing the game, and don't look as nice as actual directX 10, once the 1.1 patch has been applied TheGreatZorko (talk) 08:57, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Don't see what would be illegal there. EULA-voiding, sure, but good luck prosecuting anyone for a EULA violation in court. Just expanding a bit: the reason that those games are XP-playable with some effort is that they just use Vista's version of DX9, 9.0L. And that 'Falling Leaf Studios' thing was an obvious scam, I can't understand how some people actually donated money to it. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 00:41, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

windoz media player won't start and stop ripping, right?

Just checking to see if there is something I missed; I have a bunch of live recordings made on audio CDs, where there are like ten songs on each track, I'd like to transfer them to one song per track, (preferably something lossless like WMA). But I can't just let media player start ripping a track, then hit stop, can I? Need to rip the whole track and then need some kind of editing software just to break it into songs? <sarcasm>Gee, this is way more nifty than those old fashioned tape recorders with their start and stop buttons.</sarcasm> thanks. Gzuckier (talk) 19:18, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

I'd try ripping the whole CD as one track (in as high a quality as possible, preferably a lossless codec although this will require seperate software) then splitting it into individual tracks using Audacity, a piece of free audio editing software. TheGreatZorko (talk) 08:53, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Sharing contacts in Outlook

I work for a helpdesk and I have several associates needing to share the same contact address book. One Associate updates and the two others need to access it. I know how to import/export but it seems to do that with ALL of their contacts and not just the one distribution list they need.

What i was thinking is having them save all the contacts in a shared folder on our network. It looks like it saves via a .rtf extension. However, I can not get this to work correctly. Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks, Kyle —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.75.245.130 (talk) 20:36, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Add a contacts Public Folder in Outlook; if you don't know how to do it, ask your friendly Exchange administrator for help —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.92.130.188 (talk) 02:59, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

rope!

Video games with realistic rope in them post The Hobbit (2003 video game) and ico. 'next-gen' examples especially please. I assume there are some, thanks in advance. (to myself - why don't all games have rope in them?).87.102.74.24 (talk) 20:46, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Most realistic rope? Garry's Mod :D\=< (talk) 21:29, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Garry's Mod rope isn't realistic at all. It clips through everything including world geometry - which it gets stuck in. Sure it pulls fine, but if I lay it over a box it just falls through. 206.252.74.48 (talk) 16:01, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Yes, rope is a wonderful thing, isn't it? But what exactly is your question on the subject of rope in video games? Do you want us to catalog all video games after 2003 that have ropes in them? Or do you want to know how they did it? — Kjammer  ⌂ 22:44, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

I was looking for examples of better simulations of rope than the examples I gave - also in terms of the use of rope in gameplay - eg how about rope ladders, rope bridges etc..77.86.9.181 (talk) 17:29, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Anything that does something else with 'rope' other than (as the poster below points out) adding more links to the rope structure.77.86.9.181 (talk) 17:43, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

I can't name any specific new games with better rope than Prince of Persia: Sands of Time as there isn't really much you can improve over it other than increasing the "resolution" of the joints in the rope. You might be interested to look at cloth physics, which are made by linking a large amount of "rope" together. There is a free game with fairly impressive cloth physics (if your PC can handle it) called CellFactor. TheGreatZorko (talk) 08:49, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

mmh maybe cloth physics could be used to make trampolines. Point taken about number or joints in the rope. Actually I haven't seen any games with flexible- rope in since about 2003. Conspiracy perhaps!77.86.9.181 (talk) 17:33, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Yes, Rope Simulation Technologies are being hidden and supressed by the governments of the world. Goodness knows what the terrorists can do with such technology. 206.252.74.48 (talk) 20:19, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

I thought so thanks.

Resolved

making a computer work

i just found a computer on the street (in a computer magazine) and i like the design a lot but it's not to scale. how can i make it to scale (kinko's?) and where would i take it to find the parts that are missing, like case, monitor, hard-drive, ram, motherboard, etc, etc.

Thanky ou! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.122.72.147 (talk) 22:58, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Did you find a picture of a computer and you want to know where to buy it? Can we see the picture? —BradV 00:44, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Videos not playing fullscreen?

How can I get videos to play fullscreen on my computer. All that comes up is a black screen when I click the full screen button. I can get fullscreen with DivX videos but not youtube. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.148.85.137 (talk) 23:01, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

I'm afraid this isn't enough information for us to help you. Perhaps we will be able to help if you tell us which operating system and browser you are using. —BradV 00:48, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Do you have 2 displays connected? Look in you video card options e.g. Catalyst for ATI cards, and look for an option to swap display mapping. Once you find it, use it. I had a similar experience and that worked for me. 161.222.160.8 (talk) 21:19, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

February 7

How to select marker bits for data communication?

Hi friends!, I have posted it under Science and computing section too. Since this type of question isn't common in this discussion room, I'm unaware of where to ask.ok I'm doing a master project in SDR using vlsi-fpga. Well, now the main issue is that I use some predefined values infront of the data stream. Data from codec is 32-bits(Lch&Rch). I place few bits as marker in front of this audio data to denote the reciver the starting point of my data since data has to be exactly placed in lch and rch of the codec. a single bit reversal or mis-match causes serious noise.Now what happens is that data bits sometimes happen to be the marker value and mimic the marker. So the reciver when tuned on, considers that data bits as marker and starts processing from that point.so next to this action, all info becomes useless. No matter it helps if i increase the marker bits!. Simply it adds overhead only!...Is there anyway tat using a special marker can help in receiving the data without these problems?...Any other new ideas if you think, please suggest me...Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by Balan rajan (talk • contribs) 06:54, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

You need a framing protocol, for instance HDLC. See Bit stuffing for the basic solution to the "data as marker" problem. Morana (talk) 07:45, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Looking for Team Fortress 2 sprays

Does anyone know where I can download the animated goatse and meatspin sprays for TF2? --90.242.167.38 (talk) 11:14, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

No, because we'd rather you not do so. I normally do not judge, but in the case of people like you I do. Considered yourself judged somewhat. Not that it changes anything. Have fun! (Hate to say it, but there is a way to download a tag by looking at it in game and entering a console command). 206.252.74.48 (talk) 15:21, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

That sounds like a good way to get yourself banned from a TF2 servers. APL (talk) 03:59, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

Depends on which servers you play on.. a 25-minute-long ear-piercing shriek played over the voice chat would be unremarkable at a 4chan TF2 server. Try looking at fpsbanana for your sprays :D\=< (talk) 12:36, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

I want to visit Windows XP land

So I can roll down the hills. Where?

BTW, why did someone almost instantly delete my question the first time I tried posting it? http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Computing&diff=189507204&oldid=189507089

66.91.224.203 (talk) 11:23, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Bliss (image) tells us that it's in Napa County, California, east of Sonoma Valley. Also your question probably got deleted due to an edit conflict or something. TheGreatZorko (talk) 11:27, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

No I deleted it because I thought it was a pisstake - I now realise that the editor meant the hills you can see on the windows XP desktop.... --Fredrick day (talk) 12:07, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

PCMCIA card ?

What is another name for a pmcia card? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.159.128.45 (talk) 13:42, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Do you mean pcmcia? -- kainaw™ 13:45, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Cardbus card. Slightly different, upwards-compatible technical standards. See our article. Atlant (talk) 18:23, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

PC Card, according to the article. —BradV 21:33, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Scheduled Task

As a scheduled task, how do i change the time that a (Windows XP SP2) computer waits to bring up the screensaver? --Shanedidona (talk) 13:55, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Right click on the desktop -> choose Properties from the pop-up menu, and select the screen saver tab. 's there. --Ouro (blah blah) 14:13, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

i know how to do that, but i want the waiting time for the screensaver to automatuically change at night and in the morning, every day --Shanedidona (talk) 21:19, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Write a program to change the value HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\ScreenSaveTimeOut in the registry. The value is in seconds. —BradV 21:36, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Second NIC card for Mac G5 Tower?

Anyone know of a Mac compatible PCI NIC card for a G5 Tower? I tried buying a cheapie NIC from a big box retailer, but Leopard Server's System Profiler couldn't see it and it didn't have any Mac drivers. The only one Apple offers is PCI Express based, which this G5 doesn't have. --24.249.108.133 (talk) 16:17, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Audio effects plugins

I'm just getting into audio editing and recording (specifically for a theatre production), and was wondering if someone could help me out. I need to create an effect in which it seems as if sound is traveling from the two back channels to the two front channels (right and left stay even throughout). I want to create the illusion that a train is coming from the right and left channel on stage and is moving into the audience via the back channels, with the train coming to a stop seemingly in front of the audience. I've already recorded the train approaching and stopping, but I'd really like to find a plugin or guide to create this effect. I have Audacity, ACID 6 and WaveLab 5. Thanks in advance, -Mysekurity 19:41, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Ipod to Itunes

How do i get the songs on my ipod on my mac??? can anyone recommend a free software? pleeeeeease? i'm going crazy trying to find a good one.--Yamanbaiia^{(free hugs!)} 21:38, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Look up online how to use terminal to show hidden files. the music files are hidden in invisible system files on your iPod. Ilikefood (talk) 21:59, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Once you find the directory the iPod is mounted under, the command ls -al will show you the hidden files in that directory. —BradV 22:32, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Thanks a lot! --Yamanbaiia^{(free hugs!)} 01:10, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia and my unfortunate IP exchange

I’ve got a bit of a problem. When I opened Wikipedia this morning (I was not logged in) there was a message alert. I have used my IP address a few times, but only when I forget to log in so I was surprised that I would have a message. As it happens the message was a warning for this disgusting bit of vandalism that was committed way back in October. None of my other IP edits were listed in user contributions. User talk:71.112.82.245 is evidently a different IP address than I had a day ago. It also appears that I’ve inherited the IP address of someone else. Looking back over the accidental IP edits I’ve made to User:S.dedalus/About me it appears that my IP has changed at other times as well. Anyway, I’m going to ask the person who helps me maintain this computer if he changed anything lately, but how could this have happened? I use a DSL modem if that helps. --S.dedalus (talk) 22:16, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

It seems that you do not have a static IP address. There might be some cons on having a static IP address.

I know the system draws a lot of criticism for collateral damage; however, in your case, you have been able to log in. I am pretty sure that you are not limited in any way by which IP address you use, once you log in.

Your IP address is not visible to users or administrators without proper clearance. This is one of the advantages of creating an account in the first place. Kushal^t 22:23, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Indeed, if you don't pay Verizon for a static IP, they won't give you one - you'll get a new IP every N days (where N varies by ISP and sometimes by how the ISP feels about the traffic you do). It's an inevitable corollary of that dynamism that no-one (well, no-one who knows what they're talking about) will assume that, just because your IP was once used by a miscreant that you must therefor be that same miscreant. That's why we rarely block IPs for more than 24 hours. So you have nothing to worry about. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 22:30, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

You are not the only one. Recently someone complained about this in my talk page for a warning I did back in 2006. We used to have a bot that cleaned old ip talk pages after some time, but apparently it was disabled. That would be a good solution for this, but I cannot remember why it is not done anymore. Not deleting the talk page, just cleaning it up is enough. -- ReyBrujo (talk) 22:46, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Ahh, I see. So that’s why we still have so many IP vandals on the loose. Thanks, that’s a relief. I was afraid I’d become a zombie computer or something. :) --S.dedalus (talk) 23:02, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

RPC server time sync thingy

hello

ive tried to sync my computer time with the online one (control panel > date and time > internet time) by clicking on the 'update now' button.....but it says it cant as it cant connect to the RPC server....i need to get my computer time right as MSN messenger wont work if its wrong......help!

• windows XP normal edition
• in eastern England (if that makes any difference with regards the server thingy)

thanks,--The world tour (talk) 22:24, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

I don't understand why MSN Messenger will not work if your clock is set wrongly. Try editing it manually to a reasonable current date and time. Kushal^t 02:51, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

Alternatively In the mean time, you can use Pidgin (software) as other Wikipedians toll away to answer your question. Kushal^t 02:52, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

There are few different servers you can use if time.windows.com isn't working. You can use the NTP pool at pool.ntp.org, or one of the NIST servers [6]. If all else fails, try Googling UK time, or use this: 01:01, 14 July 2024 UTC [refresh], which is when you last reloaded the page. --Phirazo 04:56, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

what is YTIMG?

What is YTIMG.com? It seems that YouTube recently started using YTIMG. Does anyone know about it? Kushal^t 22:29, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Sounds like some sort of hosting server address. It is owned by Google according to its Whois entry, which makes sense (since Google owns YouTube). The name looks to me like an acronym for YouTube IMG or something like that—I wouldn't be surprised if it makes something easier for them to split up various functions done by YouTube into different servers with different DNS entries. Though it is a little odd. --98.217.18.109 (talk) 23:25, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Well, I think Yahoo! uses yimg.com (blasted Geocities advertisements!), so it might be more common than originally thought. x42bn6 Talk Mess 23:34, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, I remember they did something like that. Not the same server, but probably the same idea. --98.217.18.109 (talk) 00:51, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

Thank you very much. Regards, Kushal^t 01:38, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

I would still like to know why Google did this ... there is only one Google.com (well, there are addresses like gmodules.com and so on) I am not sure why Google or anyone else does that. Kushal^t 01:42, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

Don't forget (ugh) iGoogle :D\=< (talk) 12:33, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

VGA to Component hooked up to a 1080p television

I bought a VGA-to-component cable recently and hooked it up to my laptop. I was able to get a (not very good) picture from it at 1280x1024x32. I took a photo and uploaded it. The background (I had my laptop temporarily set at 800x600 I think) should be a black to blue gradient from the top to middle, and the bottom half is white/grey clouds. Obviously the color is off, and the picture is shifted. The green area you see on the right is inaccessible to the mouse pointer, an equivalent piece on the left is not visible, and the whole thing is shifted up by a few dozen pixels with junk in its place at the bottom. Is it possible to get an image (even if it's not 1920x1080) using this cable, or am I trying to fit a square peg in a round hole? My display drivers (nvidia) on my laptop have additional frequency settings like "front porch" and "back porch", but I have neither as I live in an apartment. Any ideas? --Silvaran (talk) 23:54, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Well, be aware from the beginning that VGA has a max resolution of something like 720x480 so you're not going to get anything close to maximum resolution there. Front and back porch don't refer to things in your apartment—see Front porch, Back porch. No clue if adjusting those will help. The color shifting is weird, though I've seen similar things with VGA converters that had something wrong with them (in my case it was clearly an analog problem—the LCD projector was outputting everything in hot pink except its own menu—and finally we realized it was the converter that was doing it). --98.217.18.109 (talk) 01:39, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

VGA connector is the appropriate article there, not VGA. Graphics cards using the VGA connector with resolutions like 800x600, 1024x768, and above have been around for a long time. --tcsetattr (talk / contribs) 07:23, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

February 8

Web activity monitoring software

I'm looking for recommendations for software that allows me to monitor the web browsing activity of people on my network. Here are my preferences:

1) I would prefer to run this software from my Windows NT server and have it look at all the computers on the network. However I don't mind installing a program on every computer (Windows XP) in the office if it works and can send out a single report to me (email, e.t.c)

2) Logs both Firefox and Internet Explorer.

3) The reporting doesn't have to be complicated, I just want to be able to see a list of the most 50 popular sites or something similar to identify where people are going. Obviously time spent browsing and other statistics are a godsend.

Any suggestions? 91.84.143.81 (talk) 11:59, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

Certainly not, I'm not going to help you spy on people... though I will tell you that it's a terrible idea to install something on each machine if you control the network. If your NT server (blech) is their network gateway then install your monitoring there :D\=< (talk) 12:32, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

I didn't ask for your opinions on NT and I don't give a damn about your "anti-spying" agenda. I need to identify what sites my employees are visiting so I can stop them from going there during working hours. What people choose to do / say or what websites they visit in their own time is none of my business, but if they are being paid to do a job and instead of doing that job are reading personal email or posting on bulletin boards I want to know about it. 91.84.143.81 (talk) 13:18, 8 February 2008 (UTC)