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March 16

Update to Windows 10

I have reserved my copy of win10 2 months back but it is still not upgrading --Aryan ( है?) 03:05, 16 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Are you leaving your computer connected to the internet long enough for it to download in the background? It's 3 GB, which can take a long time when downloaded in the background. I had to leave my computer connected to the net overnight.

If that's not the problem, try checking with Microsoft to make sure that they think that your copy of Windows is legitimate. Some dealers install bootleg copies on machines they sell.

You should also be able to manually upgrade at this website. Ian.thomson (talk) 03:25, 16 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Adding an infobox to wikinfo.org actor article I'm making?

I'm trying to add an infobox to an actor article I'm about to create, similar to how this Wikipedia article has an infobox about the person, with name, birth date, birth place, and years active: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini%C3%B3ng_%C3%81lvarez

How do I add an infobox (like the one at the Wikipedia article I've provided above) when making a wikinfo.org article? Ebaillargeon82 (talk) 05:03, 16 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

1) Go to that article you linked to.

2) Pick the Edit link at the very top of that page. This edits the entire article, not just one section.

3) Do a cut-and-paste of the infobox at the top of that article, into yours.

4) Be sure to change (or blank out) all the current info. StuRat (talk) 06:18, 16 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

While StuRat's advice is fine for Wikipedia articles, I'm not sure the templates needed are available in wikinfo.org. Rojomoke (talk) 09:40, 16 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Good point. I'd try it and if it doesn't work, ask there for how to do it (if it's even possible there). StuRat (talk) 16:38, 16 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Wikinfo.org is a weird website. It says: "Generally, the main article on a subject should present the subject in a positive light or as a concept which makes sense. Alternative or critical perspectives should be placed in linked articles". It contains an article on Nazism. The infobox template on that website is broken. http://wikinfo.org/w/English/index.php/Template:Infobox As a workaround you can use something like http://wikinfo.org/w/English/index.php/Bushley The Quixotic Potato (talk) 15:36, 16 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

March 17

Difference between DNS records and Resource records ?

Hi, is there any difference what so ever between DNS records and Resource records ? Thx, Ben-Yeudith (talk) 02:29, 17 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Unless you are using a definition I haven't heard before, a Domain Name System (DNS) is a collection of resource records. So, saying "DNS record" is referring to a resource record in a DNS. 209.149.113.14 (talk) 12:22, 17 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

More broadly, the term "Resource Record" could certainly refer to things outside of DNS, outside of networking entirely. I work in video games - and we call objects in our games (like a building or a vehicle) a "Resource" - so our databases include "Resource Records" that have nothing whatever to do with DNS or networking of any kind. SteveBaker (talk) 16:39, 17 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Or more narrowly, Resource Records (sometimes referred to as DNS Resource Records or RR for short) are a SUBSET of all DNS Records. List_of_DNS_record_types#Resource_records. Usually the primary subset. Also, there are "dns records" which are not "resource records". The majority of DNS records ARE resource records, but not all, refer to the previous link. I would also slightly disagree with the 1st IP's reply in that DNS is not JUST the collection of resource records. That is certainly a part of DNS, but DNS is ALSO the entire infrastructure that supports the service, including the systems which assign and update the records and the systems that reply to the DNS queries. I actually work for a team which supports DNS (among other things) in an enterprise environment. Vespine (talk) 23:40, 17 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

March 18

Quadratic Equation

[Moved to WP:RD/MATH.] Tevildo (talk) 08:41, 18 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Google ping report- what does it show about the connection?

--- google.com ping statistics --- 472 packets transmitted, 382 received, 19% packet loss, time 476455ms rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 33.745/34.727/169.667/7.180 ms What does this show about the connection? Is 19% loss normal for a good connection? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 14.139.185.2 (talk) 10:18, 18 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Most definitely not although it's difficult to know precisely what the problem is from the limited info available. Nil Einne (talk) 14:13, 18 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Agree we can't diagnose, but here's some info that might help OP: Most times I get packet loss that high, it is due to interference or weak signal on WiFi. So if this is from a WiFi connection, I recommend trying a wired internet connection. If the problem goes away, you know it was due to WiFi, and if it does not, then you know it was not a WiFi problem. If you can rule WiFi in or out with this method, let us know and we can likely help further. SemanticMantis (talk) 15:42, 18 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

iCloud login

Is this normal or suspicious: soon after I go online (Firefox), a popup box appears for iCloud login, asking for password; if I cancel, a 2nd identical popup box appears. This seems like possible phishing. Also, I can't find out exactly where this input box originates. Am I being paranoid, or is this something suspicious? — Dynamic IP:2600:1004:B06D:A71E:1920:9331:C647:963C (talk) 20:10, 18 March 2016 (UTC) -- Does this happen to others? — Me again:2600:1004:B06E:E61E:2DF2:3EC3:21EF:B72F (talk) 03:50, 19 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Can we assume you are using a windows 10 PC? 175.45.116.66 (talk) 23:55, 20 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Why do I get a white screen?

My Internet is slow, and this seems to be a bigger problem with my new computer than with the older one. I have an HP 251-a126 Windows 10 64-bit and use Microsoft Edge. If I am going to a site for the first time it takes a while to appear on the screen, but sometimes even with sites I have been to, the URL will appear quickly at the top of the screen and the name of the site will appear above that. Even after the dots have stopped chasing each other in a circle to the left of the site's name, most of the rest of the screen is white, or I am still where I was before. Eventually, the site I think I am on will appear, but I usually have to refresh.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 21:16, 18 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

You might be running into a problem with bloatware (that link seems to go to the wrong place). That is, the latest and greatest O/S and browser are likely to require more resources to give the same performance. So, unless you have the latest, most powerful PC, the latest software is likely to be painfully slow. StuRat (talk) 01:38, 19 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

It's a brand new PC, but when I first go to each site, it is painfully slow.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 18:03, 19 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

That sounds like a security scan is being done. You could disable those to speed it up, but then your PC may be at risk. StuRat (talk) 20:30, 19 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

It might be worthwhile trying a different browser. I'm not sure how bloated Microsoft Edge is. Dbfirs 16:32, 20 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Difference Debian / Ubuntu

I was told that Debian is more conservative in its approach, only including changes that are stable. That's contrary to Ubuntu, which would add new features faster. Debian "doesn't have all the bells and whistles" that Ubuntu has. What "bells and whistles" are these that you can find in Ubuntu? --Llaanngg (talk) 19:34, 18 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The most visible item is, of course, Unity (user interface) - present in Ubuntu and decidedly not present in Debian.

A lot of the other items may be a bit more difficult to discuss unless you are a linux programmer. Take a look at package sources or browse the complete package listing to see what came from Debian, and what else came from elsewhere.

Nimur (talk) 23:44, 18 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Video game programming in the 1980s

I recently purchased a used copy of Shadow of the Beast, fully original. What struck me was the introduction of the programmers themselves, at the end of the manual. They were only 20 and 21 years old at the time (1989, meaning they were born in the late 1960s). They said they had started a computer science class at university, but soon dropped out to become commercial game programmers. Did they really do all this by themselves, learning not only Motorola 680000 assembly programming but also the Amiga's chipset and game development all by themselves? They had help from outside sources with the graphics and the music, but nevertheless, the programming task is formidable enough by itself. At that age, I myself had a good grasp of the basics of programming, but that was limited to a few hobbyist games only. The only assembler language I have ever learnt is that of the Commodore 64, and I'm even not fully proficient at that. On the other hand, I am a fully salaried full-time IT professional in Microsoft .NET C# programming, but that is beside the point. The technologies are vastly too different. What was life like as a professional video game programmer in the 1980s? How did people come to learn assembly programming? Were there any courses or were people self-taught? JIP | Talk 21:53, 18 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Just last week I was reading an archived copy of Byte Magazine, c. 1985, that had interviews with several of the top game programmers. I'll try digging up the exact issue and will report back with a link. Nimur (talk) 23:47, 18 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think the programming in games like the Amiga version of Shadow of the Beast is very difficult. If you're given the graphics and the audio files - it's really not that hard. They probably had the benefit of existing code for playing sounds and positioning sprites - perhaps taken from earlier projects. Given those resources, I think I could write a game like that in a few months.

I graduated from the University of Kent at Canterbury in 1977 with a degree in Cybernetics - we were taught machine code programming on a PDP-11 and had to do one of our final projects in assembler. I had to teach myself how to do it on 8008, 8080. 8085, Z80, 6502, 6800, 68000, 8088 and 8086...but about which time, hardly anyone wrote assembler anymore. Once you know the basic principles of assembler - learning another CPU architecture is quite simple.

I wasn't a video game programmer in the 1980's - but I did write a bunch of Z80 games for TRS80 at home, in assembler - and at work, I did research into 3D graphics and worked on the team that made the first ever CD-ROM. But by the 1980's it was becoming increasingly rare to write anything large in assembler - mostly it was C or Pascal...then only C, then only C++. But a video game like Shadow of the Beast was a pretty simple undertaking - and speed was still important - so I could imagine still using assembler for it.

I am currently a video game programmer - and have been for quite a while now. I honestly don't feel that the act of writing games has really changed because of the shift from assembler to high level languages.

The HUGE change is that people expect so much more depth from a modern PC/Console game. When you only needed the player to run left or right, jump/crouch/attack - and the bad guys did nothing much more than to run towards you or hang back - and the graphics were simple 2D sprite animations - life was VERY easy. One good programmer could easily write an entire game in a few months.

These days, games are mostly in 3D - we need music that adjusts to the play, characters with actual AI that plan attacks against you - there is a story, you can customize your character - the sheer volume of 3D art is overwhelming. We have multiplayer games which operate across the Internet and require most of the gameplay software to be in a server someplace. It takes a team of between a hundred and five hundred people several years to produce a triple-A title...and even then, they are probably relying on lots of "middleware" to take care of graphics, physics, AI and such.

But - if you're writing a game like "Angry Birds" for a phone - you can still do it in a month with one programmer and one artist...and a block-buster like 2048 (video game) can be written by a 19 year old in one weekend. (I could get that one knocked out in a day!)

SteveBaker (talk) 17:47, 19 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

"But by the 1980's it was becoming increasingly rare to write anything large in assembler..." This might be somewhat accurate when talking about "home computers", but most console games until the fifth generation, well into the '90s, were written in assembler. (This includes the Game Boy, which didn't see a full successor system until 2001.) Of course this is in part because the power and complexity of console hardware has tended to lag behind that of home computers, for cost reasons. --71.110.8.102 (talk) 02:40, 20 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Nearly all of them were career changers. Some were physicists, some were mathematicians, some programmers were former craftsmen, who liked to play with virual mechanic stuff, using it nearly unlimitted but memory only was a rare good. 3D was made by changeing socalled Sprites, the C64 supported a minor number in its video unit. Many games were programmed in assembler due no wasting of performance or memory. CPUs were just 1 MHz and RAM was 64 Kb only. --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 10:45, 20 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I know about the features and limitations of 8-bit and 16-bit computers in the 1980s. I was there, remember? I just wasn't anywhere near proficient enough in assembly programming to have made a commercial game of my own. I was just amazed that someone so young, especially with so little formal training, could just have gone ahead and made a commercial game straight away. JIP | Talk 20:43, 20 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

You might find a book like Masters of Doom interesting. John Carmack was writing commercial games by the time he was 19, and wrote Doom at age 23. These pioneering "kids" had autistic levels of obsession, literally spending days straight writing code, fueled on not much more than pizza and mountain dew ;) Vespine (talk) 01:08, 21 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

March 20

In Windows, can you indefinitely suspend/awake/suspend/... without rebooting?

I suppose Windows updates will forcibly make you reboot. And some programs could need a reboot after installation. And so it's also the case with a frozen system. But excluding such issues, could we suspend-awake-suspend-... as many times as we wish, or is there some issue creeping into the system by doing this? --Scicurious (talk) 00:56, 20 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Memory leaks, or, more broadly, resources which are allocated but never released, until the resources are all in use. StuRat (talk) 01:49, 20 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict) Theoretically, yes. Realistically, eventually your system performance will degrade to the point of unusability due to memory leaks and other bugs, as well as other issues like memory fragmentation. This is generally true for any commodity software, not just Windows. And of course there are the security risks from continuing to use an unpatched system. Embedded systems are often designed to run for years or more without restarting, which imposes a lot of constraints on the design of the systems. For instance see the MISRA C standards for software in automobiles, which among other things require use of only global variables to prevent stack overflow. --71.110.8.102 (talk) 01:52, 20 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I've had this machine running for months without a restart in the past, but I agree with the above replies. Indefinitely is a long time! Dbfirs 16:26, 20 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Using downloaded package in Eclipse

Hello,

I've downloaded a jar file containing a Java package. when I try to import this package in an existing project in Eclipse ("import package_name"), Eclipse doesn't recognize the package name. How do I specify the package's location so Eclipse will recognize it? Thanks 212.179.21.194 (talk) 07:06, 20 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe this helps. The Quixotic Potato (talk) 21:56, 20 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Video calling on ipad

Is there a way I can do video calling directly through my iPad browser without having to download a separate app? Also,aside from that,I want to ask a question at the humanities desk, but I can't edit either it nor the talkpage— Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.175.112.132 (talk) 07:55, 20 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I think FaceTime is preinstalled. The Quixotic Potato (talk) 14:12, 20 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

But facetime works seperately from the browser. I want to be able to do video chatting directly through my browser, the same way as with a computer. On a computer, I can just simply do online video chatting through the web browser without having to download seperate software. I just plug in my webcam. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.175.112.132 (talk) 15:05, 20 March 2016 (UTC) To clarify, I want to do video calling through sites like chat roulette67.175.112.132 (talk) 15:10, 20 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Raj Bansal

Name : Raj Bansal Born : Agra U.P

                                      India

Date of Birth : 19-jan-1999 Age : 17 years — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rajbansal1999 (talk • contribs) 10:01, 20 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Raj, hi. You can put this information on your user page (here), but please see WP:NOTCV. If you have any questions about using Wikipedia, you can ask them at the Help Desk. Tevildo (talk) 10:35, 20 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

March 21

Wikipedia Page Traffic Statistic V3

hi im student and im working on my new project about "Wikipedia Page Traffic Statistic V3" is there any resource to help me on this project?i don`t have any idea about how to start thank you — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sheal-bero (talk • contribs) 05:03, 21 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Pumping length of DFA

Could anyone tell what's really the pumping length of a DFA in Pumping lemma for regular languages.I'm confused whether it's the number of states or is it the length of a string that is needed to pump a string.For example consider this dfa.Could anyone tell what's the pumping length of this DFA.Is it 4? — Preceding unsigned comment added by JUSTIN JOHNS (talk • contribs) 10:26, 21 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Well, in Pumping lemma for regular languages it's defined as the length of the shortest string in a Language that can be pumped, i.e. it is not defined for an automaton, but for a language. If you have a given DFA for a language, then the number of states of the automaton is an upper bound for p (because for every accepted string of greater lengths the DFA must loop, and you can then repeat the loop). But there may, of course, be other DFAs. Also, its not a sharp bound - your example DFA has 4 states, but the language has a pumping lengths of no more than 3. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 12:15, 21 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

rpmfusion U.S. mirror

The rpmfusion website is apparently hosted in Germany. My workplace blocks Germany. Is there such thing as a U.S. mirror of rpmfusion? I can't Google much for it because all the results end up being German websites that are, obviously, blocked. 199.15.144.250 (talk) 12:18, 21 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]