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May 6

Newspaper App?

Online app/program that allows production of a newspaper like image (you being able to add the text). I tried one at Homemadegiftsmadeeasy but that is both not working and not giving options for byline and other text. Thanks! ^{Market St.⧏}_{⧐ Diamond Way} 11:43, 6 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

If offline (and free) is OK, Inkscape can do that, and so can Scribus (some people would even use both, depending on the application). Both programs take a little learning to get going, but, for me Inskape was worth it. SemanticMantis (talk) 16:21, 6 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for that I will check those out! ^{Market St.⧏}_{⧐ Diamond Way} 06:56, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

what is the use of thread class constructors-2

Hi !last time I asked one doubt with heading “what is the use of thread class constructors”.But I could not ask that doubt in a right
manner.Now I am asking the same doubt in a simple and clear manner.My doubt is on Thread class constructors. My doubts based on below simple code.
In below code ,in main method there is a statement as ” Thread C4=new Thread (new first(),"FIRSTTHREAD");”
This Statement Will create a Thread FIRSTTHREAD for the class “first”.
Here we used Thread class constructor public Thread(Runnable target,String name);
There are some other constructors in Thread class like
1)public Thread();
2)public Thread(String name);
The first constructor is used to create an object of Thread class.
The second constructor is used to create an object of Thread class but with required name.
Then my question is
-->What is the benefit of creating object to thread class?
-->A class named with” four” is available in below code.By using second constructor of above constructors is it possible to write “four f1=new four(“MYTHREAD”);”

   class first implements Runnable 

   {  

   public void run() 

   {  

   System.out.println(Thread.currentThread().getName());

   }  

   }  

   class four extends Thread  

   {  

  public void run() 

  {  

  System.out.println(Thread.currentThread().getName()); 

  }

  } 

  class Third  

  { 

  public static void main(String args[])  

  {  

 
 Thread C4=new Thread (new first(),"FirstThread");

 C4.start(); 
 
 }  

 } 
 
 Output:  


 FirstThread  
--Me shankara (talk) 12:11, 6 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I already answered exactly this question. You need to read my answer carefully. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 13:57, 6 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I answered the (equivalent of) the question about four above. --Tardis (talk) 02:42, 8 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

What is the origin of the second O in Revolution (TV series)?

It appears in the title card. The symbol appears on the on button on many computers.— Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 15:30, 6 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

See Power symbol. It was designed by the International Electrotechnical Commission in 1973. Tevildo (talk) 15:53, 6 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. I didn't know what to look for. What I described, then, is the standby symbol and Revolution is mentioned.— Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 22:23, 6 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

vandalism at Rediffmail?

There appear to be problems on the Rediffmail entry of Wikipedia; long strings of letters (gibberish) have been added in several places. That entry does not seem to have a Talk page. I wasn't confident that I should make the corrections; I'm merely a passing reader of the Rediffmail entry. If you want to give me feedback, fine. Otherwise, please correct this vandalism. Okita2 (talk) 19:45, 6 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

WP:BOLD ¦ Reisio (talk) 23:34, 6 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Replacing an HDD with Windows on it

How do you replace an HDD (which is working), when the original HDD was shipped with Windows 7 and you want to keep this OS? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 123lmon (talk • contribs) 20:34, 6 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Use a disk cloning program. See also Comparison of disk cloning software.-gadfium 23:06, 6 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

You can reinstall MS-Windows onto a new drive without cloning it; you will need the code from the Windows Product Key sticker that should be on your machine. MS-Windows might refuse to autoauthenticate itself (this is triggered by changing too much hardware). If this happens you will be prompted to phone a MS call-centre; you read out a number that the authenticator displays and the operator will give you one back. You then enter the code. NB, the chances of this happening also depend on whether you are using the OEM or retail version of MS-Windows. The Windows 7 32bit&64bits discs are free to download (but not the authentication sticker). CS Miller (talk) 19:09, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

How to disable autocorrect/autocomplete on iPhone 5 ?

...software version 6.1.3. It's not my phone, BTW. (If I had that much money to blow, I'd buy another computer.) StuRat (talk) 23:22, 6 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Here you go. Though the article's a little old, and if 6.1.3 is the newest system software (I have absolutely no idea - totally agree on your last point ;) ) then it might be different; though I would doubt it. --Yellow1996 (talk) 00:15, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks ! StuRat (talk) 09:19, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

May 7

Weather forecast can be wrong??

From the last question somebody gave me an example weather forecast can be wrong. Is this actually possible somewhere in the world weather forecast can be wrong. If so where or earth can we find errors on weather forecast. Last week (I live in Los Angeles, I was told it is going to rain Sunday night, Monday and Tuesday, and Iit came out it actually started to rain in Los Angeles Sunday nights, we had few rains today, and we might get some tommorrow. From what I have seen in Los Angeles, weather forecast are often right, I always have to hope that rains gets cancelled, but it always ended up rain always happens.--69.233.254.115 (talk) 01:16, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

As I just highlighted in the original discussion, according to your own information the weather forecast in Los Angeles is wrong. A perfect weather forecast should not give you a 70-80% chance of showers when there is rain every single time. You may also want to look in to confirmation bias. Nil Einne (talk) 06:09, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Indeed. In the UK the Met Office says its 3 hour forecast of rain is correct 73% of the time over a 12 month period (see "How accurate are our public forecasts ?". This is ahead of its target, which is only 60%. The difficulty seems to be in predicting exactly when and where rain will fall, as opposed to a more general (but less useful) forecast such as "there is likely to be some rain somewhere in this region sometime in the next 24 houirs". Gandalf61 (talk) 08:31, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The only predictable thing about the UK weather is that is unpredictable. The UK sits under one of the jet streams; depending if it is pushed north or south can have a great effect on storms coming from the west, and it also affects if cold air is drawn from the north, or warm air from the south. In winter the Siberian High comes over to the Baltics; how strong this is will drastically affect the winter weather. All these effects tend to hasten or delay the arrival of weather, and/or push it into a neighbouring area. CS Miller (talk) 19:15, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

While the Great Storm of 1987 was predicted, it was not well presented on TV. As the article says: 'BBC meteorologist Michael Fish drew particular criticism for reporting several hours before the storm hit, seemingly flippantly: "...a woman rang the BBC and said she heard there was a hurricane on the way; well, if you're watching, don't worry, there isn't..."' The wind reached 100 mph in places and uprooted millions of trees across southern England. Astronaut (talk) 14:43, 8 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I had a good laugh a few months ago when there was a very severe storm, it was absolutely bucketing down, places were flooding, the whole lot, but on the bureau of meteorology site still had the day as 90% chance of rain. I get why this was the case, but it still tickled my funny bone. Vespine (talk) 23:23, 8 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Chrome's auto form fill-in thingy

Is there a way to get a raw list of those items to reinstall in case I lose them? Anna Frodesiak (talk) 03:50, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

To make Googling easier, they're called "Autofill forms" according to this Chrome support page. I can't yet seem to find how to get a raw list of one's stored Autofill entries, however. Sophus Bie ^(talk) 10:33, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Probably backing up your User Data Directory (what is more generally called a profile directory) will manage it. You should probably be backing up all of your personal data (and any OSes or other software installations that you might have paid for and don’t retain the install media for), however. :) ¦ Reisio (talk) 10:41, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Okay. That script thing at the User Data Directory link looks scary. I'm afrid to do it. All my other data is super-backed up -- OS, program files, data, all mirrored onto two disk, plus an every-six-month HD that sits on a book shelf in case orange fire comes out of my computer. Thanks for the thoughful replies. I will just be extra sure no to zap it when clearing browsing data. Anna Frodesiak (talk) 01:24, 9 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

What's the new security system of MS Office 2010?

Hello First I apologize for my english. Microsoft has introduced a new security system to MS Office since the release of MS Office 2010. There is no lifetime crack for this version. Someone could help me to find information about the new security system? Why we couldn't create a lifetime crack for MS Office 2010 but we can do that for the other Microsoft software like Visual Studio.

Thanks. Rabah201130 (talk) 12:48, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Here's the official information from Microsoft about how they protect their brand and their software: software piracy and Product Activation. If you are looking for a free software alternative to Microsoft Office, consider OpenOffice.org or LibreOffice. They are both very good office suites. Nimur (talk) 15:03, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry but it don't answer my question. I'm not searching for an alternative to MS Office (I rarely use these software I prefer Latex). I'm just searching informations about these new security system and why we can't pass it. Rabah201130 (talk) 15:44, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

If I'm reading your question right (please correct me if I'm wrong), you're looking for a way to bypass Microsoft's security and use Office 2010 without paying. I'm sorry, but we won't be able to help you with that. You'll have to look elsewhere. -- 143.85.199.242 (talk) 18:37, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

No you're wrong, if you read I said I don't use MS office 2010. I juste want to have information about the new security system. Rabah201130 (talk) 19:41, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Probably all hype, whatever it is. ¦ Reisio (talk) 22:26, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, we won't help you create cracks, evade software security measures or otherwise breach copyright. Just go buy MS office or download a free alternative. Astronaut (talk) 14:47, 8 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know the answer but I don't see why everyone thinks this is an illegitimate question.. The answer might be something like some sort of strong encryption and runtime online authentication at launch, that in it self doesn't "help" anyone create a crack. By analogy, you might say an expensive and secure padlock has very tight tolerances and multiple angled tumblers which are not susceptible to pick locking, that's just information about WHY the lock is hard to defeat, it doesn't really help anyone defeat it. Vespine (talk) 23:19, 8 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

...I did link to information on Product Activation. The security system is explained on that page: "During product activation, the Office Activation Wizard creates a hardware identification that represents the configuration of your computer at the time of activation." "Product activation checks that the product key has not been used on more personal computers than are permitted by the Microsoft Software License Terms." That's how it works. Nimur (talk) 19:56, 9 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Spell-checking not working at the Commons

My browser's automatic spell-checking isn't functioning when I try to edit over at the Wikimedia Commons: incorrectly spelled words in the edit box are not underlined in red. However, it's working perfectly fine here on the English Wikipedia. I'm browsing using Iceweasel version 10.0.12 with the Monobook skin for both. Sophus Bie ^(talk) 13:09, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Looking a bit further, the English Wikipedia actually seems to be the exception. Spellcheck is not kicking in for the German Wikipedia, English Wikibooks, or English Wiktionary. I don't know if it's relevant, but I have my language set to English in Special:Preferences for all of these. Also, checking about:config, and guessing at what's relevant: I have spellchecker.dictionary set to en_US, layout.spellcheckDefault to 1, and extensions.spellcheck.inline.max-misspellings set to 10000. Sophus Bie ^(talk) 13:39, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I suggest WP:VP/T as a better place to raise this issue. Looie496 (talk) 15:14, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I just checked on a computer with Firefox 16.0.2 installed and the same preferences, OS, and distro (Linux, and Debian), and the problem did NOT occur. So, it seems to be a problem on my end with Iceweasel,and not a problem with the MediaWiki software. Is WP:VP/T the correct forum if it's a browser issue? Sophus Bie ^(talk) 00:47, 8 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Never mind, I fixed the issue. I've got to run, but I'll explain for the sake of the archives when I get back. Sophus Bie ^(talk) 01:37, 8 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Okay so: The solution was what is described here. However, I had already done this several months ago, so it didn’t even occur to me to check that preference this time around. But, it turns out, one needs to select Languages > English/United States separately for each domain. So, it was set for Wikipedia, because I had noticed it there months ago, but it was not set for the Commons, since I don't edit there as frequently.

Software terminology question

What is an English term for all kinds of software for a useful purpose, as opposed to pure entertainment, such as video games? In Finnish we call this hyötyohjelma (literally "benefit software"), but I don't know if a direct translation works, and I was unable to find an article fi:Hyötyohjelma on the Finnish Wikipedia. JIP | Talk 18:50, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I would say application software. Looie496 (talk) 19:08, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I thought so too, but Application software#Entertainment software says it also includes video games. Apparently "application software" means any software above the actual operating system. My question is specifically about software designed to serve real-world purposes, not simply to provide entertainment. JIP | Talk 19:18, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Our page is defining "Application" rather broadly, and I think in agreement with more formal computer science terminology. However, I have heard it used as you suggest, i.e. "non-game software", but that's just anecdotal. I don't think there will be a specific English word with the same definition as your Finish one. ( We also don't have a world for any color that isn't red, or any car that is not a Ford... ) SemanticMantis (talk) 19:29, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Utility software?86.151.84.37 (talk) 21:02, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The article utility software says that utility software only covers software for maintaining the computer itself. JIP | Talk 04:09, 8 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I vote for “hyötyohjelma”. ¦ Reisio (talk) 22:29, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Application software is perfectly good for the purpose, games would not normally be included in that. What they might be confusing it with is that it runs at the application layer which simply means anything above the operating system. Dmcq (talk) 13:11, 8 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe the word you are looking for is "Business software", though that might be unduly restricted to things like MS Office, and all that banking software. Astronaut (talk) 15:36, 8 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Free software terminology/ apparent contradiction in articles

A previous question mentions Iceweasel, so I had a look at the page, which partially discusses some of the confusing recent history with Mozilla's terms of use, etc... What is especially confusing to me is Iceweasel#Iceowl, which says "It is based on Mozilla Sunbird, but is made entirely of free software." However, Mozilla Sunbird opens with "Mozilla Sunbird is a free and open source, cross-platform calendar application." As-written, the Iceowl text makes it seem as though Sunbird is not free software, but Sunbird says that it is not only free, but also open source. The same issue comes up with IceApe and SeaMonkey. The discrepancy probably has to do with Debian and Mozilla's slightly different licenses, but if anyone wants to give a brief explanation or change the articles, I'd appreciate it. SemanticMantis (talk) 21:16, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Anything licensed under the GPL would qualify as “free software”, but people have a better time understanding, I dare say, the term “open source”, which also applies to GPL’d software. The reverse however is not necessarily true; “open source” software is not necessarily “free software”. Any perceived discrepancies in Wikipedia articles are just due to editors being imperfect, or potentially to negligible amounts of proprietary code removed in addition to mere branding. ¦ Reisio (talk) 22:34, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I gather from the article Mozilla Corporation software rebranded by the Debian project that the main, if not only, non-free component was the branding itself. It's common for large free software projects to restrict the use of their brand. The Wikipedia logo is not distributed under the same free license as the project it represents, nor is the Linux penguin. -- BenRG 22:32, 8 May 2013 (UTC)

Ah, that makes much more sense. Interesting that Firefox is very free/open, but "Firefox" is not! Thanks, SemanticMantis (talk)

Resolved

(acting)?

What does the caption "(acting)" mean under a picture in wikipedia? For example, on this page under the portrait of a man it says "(acting)": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Poneman Can you please tell me what this means? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.190.157.156 (talk) 22:36, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

From wikt:acting#Adjective:

Temporarily assuming the duties or authority of another person when they are unable to do their job.

The Acting Minister must sign Executive Council documents in a Minister's absence.

Acting President of the United States is a temporary office in the government of the United States.

Similarly, I've heard it used for someone who's had a temporary position/promotion/etc while the post is advertised on a permanent basis. davidprior ^t/_c 22:41, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

In this case, the actual secretary, Steven Chu, resigned, and his deputy Daniel Poneman has become the acting secretary, to be replaced when the bureaucracy catches up. ¦ Reisio (talk) 22:46, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

May 8

Compatibility with MS Office - track changes

Is there any freeware that has it? Clarityfiend (talk) 03:11, 8 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

LibreOffice has record changes, which this says is compatible with existing Word documents which have tracked changes recorded in them. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 09:44, 8 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict) LibreOffice Writer - see here. (Jinx!) - Cucumber Mike (talk) 09:45, 8 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks x2. Clarityfiend (talk) 22:00, 8 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

May 9

iPad system requirements

What are the system requirements to enable an iPad to get up and running? Apple's website just says "internet access" (which I have) and "Syncing with iTunes on a Mac requires Mac: OS X v10.6.8 or later" [1]. It's that last part that worries me. Is syncing with iTunes required for the iPad to work at all? I only have an ancient PowerPC Mac running OS X 10.4. Thanks, --Viennese Waltz 13:18, 9 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The original iPhone, and (according to this, the original iPad) required iTunes to activate. But both that ref and this one say the newer iPads can be activated without a computer at all; but you do need a wireless network connection. Having a computer which will run iTunes does let you backup the iPad, and sync it with your existing music and movie collection. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 13:27, 9 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Great, thanks. --Viennese Waltz 13:40, 9 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Last year an iPad and then an iPhone both came into my possession. I activated the iPad with a Windows PC, then the iPhone I just used my WiFi to do it on the phone. Since then I've synced each with the PC about 3 times, and won't be bothering again. Any important documents and files are in the cloud, either through Apple iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, my work's email server or my own NAS drive. So, to answer your question, as Finlay says: no system is required, for activation or for general use, other than an internet connection. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 13:45, 9 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Checking grammar

Replaced to Language helpdesk --Larsnl (talk) 15:54, 9 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

street fighter II for the mega drive

Hey, so, I got a sega mega drive (genesis) emmulator, and I got Street fighter II, reason is well partly because there is a street fighter ii machin that I found in an arcade and I wanna get super good before I challenge french Bobby at it, but also cause I figure it'd be good kicks whilst back here at Maison Snicks so basically I can't play two player just using my keyboard, it's clear insanity you need six buttons plus arrow keys, etc, so is there a way to either A) hook another keyboard up so someone else can play or B) plugging in two sega megadrive controlles into a PC? Any tips greatfully required - thanks all! Horatio Snickers (talk) 21:43, 9 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Which Megadrive/Genesis emulator are you using? Kega Fusion (the only one I've ever used...) apparently supports USB controllers though I'm not sure about actual Megadrive ones. You'd have to mod the cable to be USB, which I've seen done with NES controllers before so it probably is possible; though probably too much work. Having one player use a keyboard and another use a controller or both use controllers should work with that emulator. Good luck! --Yellow1996 (talk) 23:16, 9 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

A) In Windows, you can connect multiple keyboards, just plug another keyboard into an available USB port on your computer. However, all the keyboards are merged together logically. Windows can't tell the "A" key on keyboard 1 is different from the "A" key on keyboard 2. So you'd still have to make sure the player 1 and player 2 keys are different, but maybe plugging in another keyboard might give two players a little more space (instead of trying to crowd around one shared keyboard).

B) You can find cables that have Genesis controller ports on one end and a USB cable on the other end. Do a Google search for Genesis USB. Look in your emulator's settings to make sure it supports controllers and lets you set up the buttons. --Bavi H (talk) 02:57, 10 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

If the software doesn't support conrtollers natively, there's a program you can get (I think called Joy2Key, but I'm at work so can't check) which will map the controller inputs to keystrokes so that you can use normal keyboard bindings. MChesterMC (talk) 08:36, 10 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

May 10

MP4

Windows Media Player won't let me play .mp4 files! So, does anyone know where I can download the codec needed to play my files on WMP? (I have Winamp as well but WMP is my preference ...) And one more thing: I don't want to download a giant codec package, only the one necessary for what I'm doing. Thanks! --Yellow1996 (talk) 00:10, 10 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

".mp4" is a file extension, and by itself conveys no information. It usually implies that the file conforms to the MPEG 4 container format. Even that still isn't enough information to determine the codec of the file. (Often, the file extension additionally implies that the codec is MPEG 4 Part 10, or, "H.264" - but this is not universally true).

In my experience, I have found ffdshow (a Windows DirectShow plug-in for ffmpeg) to be the best all-around way to get most video files to play on Windows. It is a port of libavcodec, a free and open source library that implements the H.264 standard, as well as other common standard codecs. Nimur (talk) 01:42, 10 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I’d go with VLC media player if I were stuck on Windows. ¦ Reisio (talk) 07:03, 10 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Seconded. However, VLC does seem to have trouble with some files that the native Windows Media Player seems able to handle. I don't know if it's caused by improper coding or oddball codecs, but I keep both programs on hand for use; I can't trust either one 100%. 64.235.97.146 (talk) 19:58, 10 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Problem solved. Thanks, everyone! :) --Yellow1996 (talk) 01:46, 11 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

RetroUI problems

I've been having a problem since I added RetroUI to my Windows 8 computer (I'm 5 days into the 7-day trial). After I boot, after the desktop appears, it takes a long time until I can use the computer. The mouse is not there, etc. The amount of time from when the desktop appears until I get control of the computer varies a lot, but I've measured it at up to 110 seconds. The RetroUI tech support thought that something was keeping it from starting. I'm using Avast and Malware Bytes, and I added everything in the RetroUI folder to the exclusion lists, and I still have the problem.

Does anyone have an idea about how to fix this? Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 05:38, 10 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Uninstall it and switch to Classic Shell; or better yet, switch to an altogether more sane OS. ¦ Reisio (talk) 07:01, 10 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I had been using Classic Shell before RetroUI. I think RetroUI is better, excpt for this startup problem. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 14:59, 10 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

One thing to be aware of with programs like RetroUI is that a lot of what they are doing is not based on any of the publicly documented APIs supported by Microsoft. This means that they're probably based on experimentation and assumptions of how things work in the OS rather than official facts stated by Microsoft. This can lead to unusual and hard-to-reproduce bugs when the software is run in the unique environment of systems other than the ones it was developed on. Microsoft is planning on releasing an update to Windows 8 before the end of the year that they claim will address a lot of the complaints. If you're still not happy with it then, there is always the option of downgrading to Windows 7. Right now it is selling for about $90 on Amazon in the US - a lot more than the $5 for RetroUI, but it also gets you back to the proper version of the interface RetroUI is trying to reproduce. 38.111.64.107 (talk) 18:59, 10 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I upgraded this computer from Win 7 to Win 8. I had the option of going back, but I decided not to. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 23:56, 10 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Is there any good, easy way to do nominally GUI-oriented stuff in Windows?

I was surprised to find out that Ruby uses Tcl/Tk to do Windows GUI stuff. Why is a fancy language like this that aspires to have everything predefined by convention not offering its own simple set of commands to interface with the OS directly? More to the point, are there easy options in other languages (Lua, Perl) for basic navigation? For example:

I want to drag a file and drop it on some icon and have my script run, and have it receive as parameter(s) the name and location of the file dragged onto it.

I want to have an icon for Command that I can copy into that directory that opens in that directory, no CD required.

I want to have a function as simple to use as print() for a Lua program that can take a string of text and uses it to display/conceal/resize windows or add buttons, content, etc. into them as simply as you'd add a return with "/n".

Am I just clueless about options for stuff like this, or is there some huge cluster fuck in windows that is preventing people from making basic stuff like this, or has no programmer ever seen a need for any of these things? Wnt (talk) 13:03, 10 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I really don't understand your question at all. If you're asking "why does Ruby use a clunky old thing like Tk rather than Windows' own GUI framework", well I think that's because with Tk is particularly easy to get something basic working with just a few commands. The real Windows GUI is available to all programs, and all programming languages, from DLL files. It's certainly possible to write old-style win32 GUI programs in other languages (I've done this with win32gui in Python), but that's a tiresomely low-level API, so writing programs is a bit of a chore. Programs can also use higher level (which can mean less flexible) frameworks like WinForms (I've got a python program somewhere that does that too). These, and other APIs like Direct X are available to everyone - as a practical matter, someone usually has to write a little translation shim that bridges the gap between that language's data model and the native API (which are usually exported by DLLs using Microsoft's own x86 calling conventions). Other programs (e.g. Wireshark, Audacity) eschew the native API (which, after all, confines them to running only on Windows) and use cross-platform GUI toolkits like Swing (for Java), GTK, Qt, Tk, or WxWindows - these allow the same program to be compiled, with little change, on Windows, MacOS, Linux, etc. - at the expense of the resulting program looking slightly alien on every platform. But if your question really is just "GUI programming seems unduly complicated, tiresome, and obscurant", then yes, it is. GUIs are powerful, complex, concurrent, asynchronous, and graphical, so it's inevitable that programming one is going to be much harder than a simple interrogative textual Q&A. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 14:16, 10 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I'm getting the point that Tcl/Tk (and others) give a platform-independent GUI, but I still don't really understand why other languages wouldn't include these features directly, in an equally platform-independent way, and hopefully invent some new philosophies about how to make them better. Wnt (talk) 19:48, 10 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Tcl is beside the point - Ruby does not use Tcl. Ruby uses Tk, but can use other GUI frameworks too, and other languages can use Tk. You should not impute a particular preference in Ruby for Tk - its bundling is just a matter of convenience. Languages have to do lots of different things, and reimplementing their own way of doing everything, rather than using what's available on the system already, is often foolishness. GUIs are no different - language developers have enough work to do just developing their language and the core stuff that they can't get elsewhere. So they use existing GUI frameworks, either platform specific or multi-platform, to get stuff done. Strong coupling between a language and a GUI framework is usually a way to make a weak language and a weak GUI. Sometimes, as with Java's AWT or Swing, language developers have reluctantly had to also develop a GUI in parallel (particularly back in the 1990s when AWT and Swing were born), often because there wasn't a suitable multiplatform GUI that met their requirements. These days GTK and Qt in particular are very mature, and it is difficult to see why some language should reinvent those very fine wheels. Don't think that including stuff into a language "directly" is a good thing; it is usually not, and wise language designers try to keep their languages as small, and as task-directed, as possible. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 20:17, 10 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Possibly the easiest (and thus least flexible) way of doing very basic GUI tasks is Zenity which allows shell scripts to do some very basic dialog box ("do you want to wipe the disk?") type things. The practical utility of this on Windows is somewhat questionable - it does allow cmd.exe scripts some semblance of a a GUI, but working in that antediluvian horror is such a bother that GUIs are the least of someone's worries. Once someone migrated to Windows Powershell, which passes for a sane, modern shell, they get direct access to DLLs, and might as well just make Winforms calls like this. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 14:39, 10 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

bokeh enhancement

artificial bokeh where there isn't any is probably the worst thing ever, say you have an image with bokeh and existing blur. Is there an algorithm to detect how blurred a part of an image is, and based on that, add existing blur? Can you turn an 85 f/2.8 image to an 85 f/1.4 image for instance? 137.54.31.42 (talk) 14:18, 10 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

There is no such thing as "I' am aware of artificial bokeh" when it depends on your lens. You, as a photographer have full control - if you know how. Can you turn an 85 f/2.8 image to an 85 f/1.4 image for instance? No. --Aspro (talk) 18:08, 10 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Bokeh can be modeled as a point spread function whose parameters depend on distance to the camera aperture. You can in principle create an estimation algorithm to determine depth, and calculate an appropriate point-spread for that point, and then convolve the PSF with your input image. If you've followed the details, you will recognize this as an adaptive nonlinear filter; in other words, for a seemingly-simple task, you will need to run right up against the state-of-the-art in the mathematical theory and practice of signal processing.

Keep in mind that when you change the aperture size, you are not only changing depth of field (and therefore, the magnitude of the visual appearance of the bokeh); but you are also changing the total light collected; the focal properties of the lens; and you are potentially exposing more imperfections of the image-capture system. It is not sufficient to model the change in the PSF alone.

Here's a fun slide-deck from a 2008 conference, Modeling and Synthesis of Aperture Effects in Cameras. Nimur (talk) 18:23, 10 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

what is innermetrix?

I just found innermetrix on my computer. What is it? Where did it come from and How did it get on my computer? How do I remove it?173.21.123.164 (talk) 17:44, 10 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Innermetrix is a firm of management consultants, and I can't find any other references to the word immediately. Are you sure that's the right spelling? Tevildo (talk) 18:33, 10 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah I also did a search with different keywords and only turned up that site. Is it a program? Where did you find it? --Yellow1996 (talk) 02:47, 11 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

May 11

Desktop backgrounds...(A more convenient way to switch them?)

Let's say I have a picture of oh...how about a generic landscape - in the daytime. Now let's say I have a picture of the same landscape, but at night-time. Is it possible to somehow make a keystroke combination so I could toggle between the two, without having to keep right-clicking and choosing "set as desktop background..."? This would be quite useful if I had a few different pictures I wanted to constantly switch between. Is this possible, with two, three, or many? Thanks! --Yellow1996 (talk) 02:42, 11 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

slow boot

This is related to the "RetroUI problem" above. I'm using Windows 8. I was using RetroUI, but after the desktop came up, it took about 110 seconds for RetroUI to load. Until then, the mouse cursor did not appear on the desktop.

Now I've removed RetroUI, but I have somewhat the same problem. Now after the desktop does appear, the mouse cursor shows up. However, no apps that I click on will come up. I can click on Computer, explore a drive, click on a batch file on the desktop, and do ctrl-alt-del. But nothing else works for 100-110 seconds after I get to the desktop, when my gadget appears and the rest of the icons appear on the taskbar. Then everything works. (Until this time the only two icons that appear are the "safely remove" and Malwarebytes.)

Any ideas of how to fix this? Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 04:17, 11 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

PHP geolocation consent on smartphones

In the hypothetical scenario where a friend's phone was stolen, would it be possible to send to that phone (via SMS or Whatsapp) a link to a webpage that geolocates the client, and if the thief clicked the link, the page could locate the phone without any other consent? Or would they get a popup saying something like "Do you want to share your location with [webpage]?" --Markr4 (talk) 09:32, 11 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

GMAIL SETTINGS

I use Gmail. 1.How can I set the emails from unknown sources, received in the spam folder instead of inbox folder? 2.How can I block bogus/unwanted emails, not even received in the spam folder at all? 3.Even thought I requested, I don’t receive email updates from some blogs/web pages. How can I receive those email updates? Please help me to solve the above problems. It may be due to that I am not familiar with the technical terms. Thank you.175.157.181.240 (talk) 10:22, 11 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]