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December 6

Computer Drive Full?

I am attempting to save a lab that I am typing up, and when i try to save, it is coming up with an error that says that my drive is too full. This is about 48 KB large. My drive has about 47 GB left.

Whats going on?

--Omnipotence407 01:29, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Are you trying to save it somewhere which is read only? Check the destination folder's properties for a read-only (r) or system (s) attributes (windows); or for rwx access for the directory for your username or group (*nix). --h2g2bob 01:46, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Good advice, you might also want to tell us what program exactly you are trying to save with - it may be incompatible with larger hard drives and/or more recent filesystems, and misread the large amount of free drive space as an aberrant value (negative or just 0). Can you save other files, such as a blank one, or a previously saved lab, if you have one? dreddnott 06:29, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

A wild idea. Mabye the computer lost track of how much empty space there really is and thus says you have 47 GB when it's actually full. Running some sort of check on the disk or filesystem could perhaps resolve this. —Bromskloss 12:17, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

That shouldn't be possible with a journaled filesystem, although it's not unheard of with FAT if important metadata (like the FAT itself) is corrupted --froth^{T C} 21:45, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

What O/S do you have and what software are you using to "save the lab" ? StuRat 12:39, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Im Running XP, and trying to save using MS Word 97. I also couldnt save it to my Thumb drive, which also had plenty of room.

Which Check should i run? 24.39.182.101 12:43, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Sounds like Word has lost some object information. Try "save as" an .RTF file, and then one can often resave as a .DOC file again. Microsoft describes the issue at knowledge base article q137918, with different fixes. --Seejyb 20:22, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Here's a suggestion: Highlight ALL the text that you're trying to save and copy it to the clipboard. Quit Word. Reload word. Past everything back in, and then try and save. If Word did louse out for some reason, restarting it may clear it up. Keep in mind on XP, you may be logged in under an account that does not have permission to write to the hard disk. I don't know what the contents of the file is/are, but if they embed anything, that could lead to space problems. 68.39.174.238 07:12, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Athlon 64 X2 65W

What's the difference between the 65W version of the X2 and the non-65W version? I'm assuming they use different electricity amounts, but does this affect performance or compatability? 128.187.0.165 03:39, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

It does not affect performance or compatibility, hence the increased cost over the less energy-efficient model. Some people say that their lower-energy-using AMD CPUs overclock better than the electricity guzzlers do, and I wouldn't doubt them. Your mileage may vary. dreddnott 06:27, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

At NewEgg, at least, the price difference between some models is less than $2. Hardly breaks the bank to upgrade, then. Thanks for the response. 128.187.0.165 10:19, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

RA-OLSR

Hello all, I was going through 802.11s draft and found this topic "RA-OLSR" Radio Aware- Optimized Link State Routing Protocol. I wonder how it is going to be different from OLSR (which has got good documentation in the web). Can anybody provide me with some links/references to RA-OLSR, I would be very greatful. I am open for any kind of discussion with respect to OLSR and RA-OLSR. Anticipating replies.

Cheers, Sanjiv

Radio-aware means that the OLSR algorithm is optimized for:

• Radio broadcast efficiency: Data must physically go as far as possible in one hop, to maximize speed and efficiency while minimizing latency.
• Removal of duplicates: Nodes physically between communicating nodes need to discard packets not intended for them, and possibly provide error correction.
• Minimal frequency overlap: Stations use different frequencies while minimizing overlap and crosstalk in order to maximize cross-section bandwidth.

I'm not aware of anything but research on systems like this. Droud 15:55, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Torrents with multiple trackers

Where a BitTorrent torrent has multiple trackers, is there a way to tell Azureus which tracker to use -- or, better yet, to use all of them at once? NeonMerlin 05:22, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

If you double click on the torrent to open its tab on the General page it has the url of the tracker. If you right click on it then look in the "Select" menu you're able to change the tracker. Annoyingly you can't use them all at once or even automatically change them frequently with Azureus as far as I've seen. End result is it taking even longer to download Public Torrents. uTorrent is able to search through all the trackers, one at a time, over and over. The result of this seems to be faster downloads compared to Azureus when it's a large Public Torrent. --Kiltman67 13:24, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Trogan Horse (Problimatic)

My computer recently contracted a trogan horse virus, and my firewall recognised it, but i cannot delete it until i can verify that the trogan horse is not "write-Protected". How can i verify this seeing as how there is no obvious verification method?

Many Thanks 142.161.239.227 05:24, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

I'm not familiar with requirements like that for virus erasure, you may want to tell us specifically what anti-virus/anti-malware/spyware/etc. software package you're using: Spy Sweeper, Spybot Search & Destroy, AdAware, AVG, or ewido are good ones (the last two are my personal favourites). Without further information, I'd say there's a good chance you have software impersonating a legitimate firewall or antivirus solution as well as a trojan or other virus. Let us know! dreddnott 06:32, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Boot into safe mode (tap f8 at startup) and run your anti-spyware program from there. --Wooty Woot? contribs 07:16, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

I use a McAfee firewall, do you know anything about how that software works?

Thanks

Is this "write protection" thing something that McAfee sprung on you? I've had this problem in the past when I had a firewall and antivirus both recognize the same thing. They'd both try and delete it (A program has to "write protect" a file to delete it) and one would succeed and the other complain because it couldn't do it. I recommend closing all programs and doing a complete system scan with your antivirus. Since we don't know anything more specific, it's the best advice I can think of and isn't likely to do any harm. 68.39.174.238 07:07, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Windows Media Player inverted color playback

A number of my .wmv videos that I've acquired from around the net get played back in what appears to be inverted colors. I have WMP 9 and WMP classic, and it's the same for both. Do I have a borked up codec or something? Would installing WMP 10 help? — Jonathan Kovaciny (talk|contribs) 06:04, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Probably. Try this link. --Russoc4 12:57, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Link In WMP click on Tools/Options/Performance/Advanced and then in the Video Acceleration section uncheck Use Video Mixing Renderer and all three Legacy Video Renderers. Then click OK and click Apply in the Options window.

Flash/AVI

Hello, I am in need of two things preferably available for download if possible:

1) A Flash movie --> AVI converter that preserves the sound, and
2) An AVI editor that lets me cut frames and preserve the sound at the same time.

I'm choosing AVI because I need it to be playable on a computer I do not own that runs Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 (yuck). I plan to imbed the videos into the presentation file, and I'm fairly certain that the computer in question does not run Flash videos. So, can anyone help me with this problem? A lot of the converters I've searched for haven't worked, for some reason... lvlarx 07:34, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

I can't think of anything in particular for #1, although you could use a generic screen-capture program if your PC is fast enough. You would probably want to choose a screen-capture-to-video program that can select only a particular window for recording. For #2 I heartily recommend the free VirtualDub software package. It's one of the handiest and most flexible AVI editing programs out there, and would allow you to cut frames, import and export audio, and crop the video, if you were using a desktop capture program. Adobe Premiere would also work but I'd only suggest using it if you happen to already have it, as it's fairly expensive software. dreddnott 08:06, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

The latest VLC is able to play and change the format of most .flv files (file->wizard, transcode), and allows you to select a start and end time. Alternatively, use ffmpeg (eg: this guide). Both are Free software. --h2g2bob 10:11, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

ffmpeg will do #1 easily. #2... Virtualdub will work though I've found it to have strange quirks. I know this is not a "free" solution but Quicktime Pro actually allows you do to basically what you want in #2 and without much hassle. Just a thought. --24.147.86.187 14:23, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Multiple Sheets to PDF (Macro)

I have a series of reports that I regularly produce that are each 10 excel sheets, to write them to PDF I must PDF each page individually and then combine them in Adobe Acrobat. I have selected multiple-pages and tried to print to PDF but every single time (without fail) Excel crashes. I have tried writing a macro to loop through selecting the sheet then printing to PDF then selecting the next etc. etc. I couldn't get this working and having searched the net looking for help but without luck.

In an ideal world I want a macro/process to take my 10 sheets and turn them into 1 PDF file. In a nice world it would PDF my 10 sheets as 10 seperate sheets but I wouldn't have to manually select, print, save as (and repeat 10 times)...I could then open the documents in Adobe Acrobat and create one PDF from multiple-files. Any help greatly appreciated...please note i am not able to download programs that do this for me, but can copy a macro's code. (NY156UK - not signed...at work)

OpenOffice Calc seems to do what you request when you press the PDF button. If you can't install new programs, this won't help your current problem, but it could be useful to know in the future. —Bromskloss 12:14, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Are you on a PC or a Mac? --24.147.86.187 14:22, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

I do this myself for 20+ pages by selecting File->Print then making sure 'Entire Workbook' is selected under 'Print What' --Worm 12:33, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

A switch in another switch?

My router also functions as a 4-port switch. Can I plug a 5-port switch into one of my router's ethernet ports and have it work? Or do I need to have the 5-port switch plugged into my PC, and my router plugged into that?

Yes? You're a bit unclear, I don't really see the difference between the two alternatives. TERdON 13:35, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Basically, I'm asking if I can plug multiple devices into a 5-port-switch, then plug that 5-port-switch into my router (which is also a 4-port-switch) and have it work (ie, all devices can access the internet and each other, and all devices will be assigned an IP by the router).

Yes, you will be able to do that. :) You were just confusing me in your original description. TERdON 14:59, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

If your devices are not the automatically uplink sensing type, then you have to make sure to connect the "uplink" port on the switch to the router. --Spoon! 08:17, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

I've done this with two routers. The only real problem I'd forsee is, as User:Spoon! mentioned, you have to make sure the cabling between the router and switch is correct. The method I used was to get a "crossover cable" to connect them. 68.39.174.238 07:03, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Remote desktop.

Can I use remote desktop between a Windows XP machine and a Linux one? I'm trying to use the Linux one to control and view the Windows XP one, if that matters. Also, how much processing power and RAM would the machines need? I'm using WinXP on a Pentium 4 with 512MB of RAM, and Damn Small Linux (Debian-based) on a Pentium 3 with 128MB of RAM.

rdesktop. TERdON 13:35, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

In my experience, if you rdesktop from Linux (or anything) to Windows XP, you cannot log into the Windows XP machine at the keyboard. It only allows one person to be logged in - either at the keyboard or remotely. So, it doesn't require much extra processing power at all. It is just like a person logging in at the keyboard and running a program. --Kainaw ^(talk) 14:21, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Older versions of XP allowed two users to be logged in simultaneously. I guess they removed it, because that way, two people could use XP with one license. You can remove the restriction by replacing the remote desktop dll with an older version (at your own risk, of course). Instructions can be found with Google. It should be noted that even when two users are allowed to log in, one user can only have one session, so if you're logged in at the keyboard as user A and you do remote login as A, you take over the session from user A that is already running, and anybody sitting behind the machine itself will be returned to the login screen. --risk 13:42, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Really? I was really looking for the ability to log in remotely whilst logged in at the keyboard... oh well. Does this explain the error "Unable to log on due to account restrictions"?

You do have to go into Windows and grant permission for rdesktop to login (Allow others to log in remotely). I've set it a couple times, but not enough to remember exactly how to do it. --Kainaw ^(talk) 15:18, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Quoth the rdesktop manpage: -0 Attach to the console of the server (requires Windows Server 2003 or newer). Attaching to the console implies that it will occupy the same session as the local user. Otherwise, the session will be created as an addition to anyone local, unless the computer's licensing does not allow for this (as is often the case in XP). This command is synonymous with the /console option for mstsc.exe (the windows remote desktop application). --Jmeden2000 16:14, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

I appreciate the advice, but I found it too odd to set up, so I'm running UltraVNC and a VNC viewer instead. Thanks all the same!

xml

can XML replace databases? how to search XML efficiently? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.141.29.34 (talk • contribs)

XML isn't very efficient to search through. Each record in the database can be of any size, and you can't find what the size is very easily (ie, there's no record header which says what the size in bytes is of the current record). This makes life very difficult for reading the data (you can't skip to the end of the record easiy). The XML syntax can also waste quite a bit of space.

A better solution is to use an SQL database program (Wikipedia uses an MySQL database, though I prefer PostgreSQL). OpenOffice.org Base (among others) can use XML (.odb) for databases.

The main advantage of XML is it's flexibility. It's easy to generate XML files (or edit them by hand). So it could be used for printing the output of a search from a larger database.

XML will work for small databases, because there are well supported libraries to read data in XML format. Also XML is a well established standard. For small databases, you could load the whole database into memory, and use any standard search method.

EBML is a binary version of XML (XML is text based), which may be slightly more efficeint.

As for a replacement, as I mentioned SQL is the standard now and is not likely to be replaced any time soon. --h2g2bob 15:48, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

SQL is a query language, like XQuery, and XML is a file format or data representation language; comparing them directly isn't useful. The important thing is that most standard database programs (that is, RDMSes) use a packed binary fixed-length record format on disk, possibly combined with optimizations like the B+ tree for quick access. That's the format that corresponds to XML, but I don't know that it even has a name, as it probably varies from program to program and even from table to table since the records are set to be whatever length is needed to hold the fields of a record. This has its disadvantages, like having to deal with BLOBs and such as external references. In short, XML is meant for (and is good for) largely-unstructured (but hierarchical if structured), mostly-textual data, like formatted books and source code. Other databases are typically designed for completely-structured (that is, with no structural variation whatsoever), non-hierarchical data, typically a collection of short strings, numbers, and references to other records. They have no problem with pure binary data, but much binary data (like pictures, audio, compressed files) is also variable-length and so poses problems for that system as well. The fact that binary data is troublesome (in different ways) to most systems is part of the rationale for developing EMBL and other similar constructs. --Tardis 17:50, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Google crawling

Hi,

I've understood that the frequency with which the Googlebot crawls a site, and/or the page rank it assigns, is related, among other things, to how frequently your site is updated. My question is: I have a rather static home page (http://www.ai-tools.org), and then a bunch of other pages that get frequently updated, like the forums. Will having an unchanging home page harm my page rank? Thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.197.120.78 (talk • contribs)

http://www.google.com/webmasters/ has complete details for webmasters. --h2g2bob 17:32, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

How do I Block Programs

I manage my computers in my classroom here at school, and someone keeps installing instant messengers on these computers. Is there anyway, besides restricting access, that i can block the installation of the programs?

I'm running 98SE

Thankee Omnipotence407

If you use a firewall (and you should be!), disable the ports needed for IM. MSN uses TCP port 1863, I think. That won't stop the installation, but will stop them connecting to the internet. --h2g2bob 18:23, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

If you don't, or even if you do, you can use a HOSTS File. Navigate to C:/Windows and find a file called HOSTS(no extension) open it using notepad, or if it doesn't exist create it using notepad, make sure that the first line is

127.0.0.1 localhost

and then add each IM program's website to the list:

127.0.0.1 aim.com

127.0.0.1 aol.com

This will tell the computer to look for "www.aol.com/index.html" on your computer, which ofcourse it won't find. Make sure that when you save it there is no extension, and rejoice in your IM-free system. ST47Talk 20:40, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

They could still bring it from home on a flash drive, or get it from download.com, or use gaim/trillian, or any other instant messenger (icq, msn, yahoo, etc). IRC is harder to block, especially if it's encrypted and over a randomized port to a private server (which isn't necessarily unremarkable, in a high school especially). --froth^{T C} 21:52, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

What would be a good firewall, with little or no cost, that wont affect printer sharing? Omnipotence407 03:10, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Whats the directory for the Hosts file that Firefox uses?24.39.182.101 17:49, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

All programs on a machine use the same host file. In WinXP, it's in C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc. Hostnames that are NOT in the host file are resolved through the normal DNS route. howcheng {chat} 19:16, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

I put some websites into the host file with a 127.0.0.1, but they still work through firefox. Im using 98SE. any ideas on a good firewall thats free?24.39.182.101 17:47, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

A box running Snort can detect and block a wide variety of traffic (including AIM) when used in inline mode. This box would be placed between your LAN and the Internet, where it monitors for instant messaging packets. When it finds such a packet, it disconnects the instant messaging session and logs the intrusion for your later review. Droud 16:03, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Overheating Computer Cabinets

I just got a new computer desk, that includes cabinet doors on the computer compartment, to hide it from view (since it's in our main family room area). Since putting the computer in there, I've noticed that it's obviously gotten quite hot having the computer in an enclosed space like that. I've actually noticed the same thing in my tv cabinet where I've got 4-5 components running at a time, with the doors closed most of the time (since that one is glass fronted doors).

I've been thinking on ideas how to fix this. My current plan is to buy a bunch of cheap case fans (they go for about $5 each these days), cut out some holes in the back of each cabinet, and run 4 fans in the back of each (two pulling cool air in, two blowing hot air out) to try to get some good air circulation going and prevent the cabinets from overheating. My problem with this is that case fans tend to only run off of a 4-pin molex connector, like that found inside a computer. So I'm thinking I might have to pick up a couple cheap power supplies as well to power the fans.

My questions:

1/ Why do they even bother to make all these nice looking cabinets and stuff, when they obviously don't have enough air circulation to contain the components they're designed to contain?

2/ Has anybody come up with any better solutions to this kind of thing?

3/ Is there any way to hook up a power supply to run without a motherboard plugged into it? Normally I believe the power supply gets the "on" command from the motherboard, so how can I make it run without one?

4/ Assuming there is a way to run that power supply without a motherboard, is there any other issues that could arise from having the power supply running while sitting on a shelf, instead of installed into a computer case? Especially since most of the connectors wouldn't be plugged into anything. I'd have the unused ones capped of course, but still wonder how it would react.

Let me know what you think, thanks. --Maelwys 18:27, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

I don't think you'd need whole Power supply units, only some splitters for the Molexs (or those 3-pin things the fans use), as the fans won't draw too much power. You could try taking the front door off and putting big holes in the back and trying to get cold air in the front and out the back - especially if you have a fan on the side of the case. As for why they make the cabinets like that, I have no idea :D --h2g2bob 19:30, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

I suppose you could just stick one of these fans in front of it to see if that helps. --h2g2bob 19:34, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

The problem with the splitter idea is that while that would work for the computer cabinet (just running a power cable outside of the box into the splitter) it wouldn't work for the TV cabinet (where there is no power cable there to start with). The problem with yanking off the front door or sitting a desk fan on the floor in front of it is that this is in the family room, a fan on the floor is butt ugly, and the doors are there because my wife wants it to look pretty, I'm just trying to keep it functional as well (hence the fans being at the back, not the front, of the cabinet). --Maelwys 19:44, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Any one of these giant fans should do the job --froth^{T C} 21:38, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

If you can find a transformer that outputs the right voltage DC you could just wire up the fans to that. You'd just need to splice a few wires, but since it would be in the back of your cabinets it doesn't have to be pretty. Then you'd just plug the fans into the wall socket. -anonymous6494 21:33, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

One hint: Cheap case fans are quite loud, and that might be rather annoying in your living room. Fans with good ball bearings are not so much more expensive but much more silent. Simon A. 08:29, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Another point: Remember to follow the direction of convection (warm air goes up). Hence, I would put a fan blowing outwards somewhere at or near the top, and some holes at different places in or at the bottom so that fresh cool air can get in easily. With such an arrangemet, I could imagine that a single fan is sufficient. Simon A. 08:37, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Yep, already had that in mind. My problem was that initially I wanted to put a pair of output fans near the top of the back, and a pair of input near the bottom (since it's a large unit, I figured two is better than one), but then I started wondering about the internal air circulation (since there's a shelf in the middle, it might block most of the circulation from bottom to top). So now I'm thinking instead I might just have to put an in and out on each shelf, and create my own horizontal air currents by the power of the fans. --Maelwys 13:32, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

If you want to use a cheap power supply to run your cabinet fans, I don't think that will be a problem - they can be turned on by shorting two wires (take a look at this, someone built a cabinet for games consoles and put fans in. Not what you're looking for, but can give you some tips). I don't see any problem running a power supply 'by itself', just make sure it's not too noisy and that it doesn't vacuum up huge amounts of lint from the carpet. It sounds to me like your solution is a good one, just make sure your fans are reasonably quiet, and perhaps a transformer rather than a PSU might be a better solution for powering them. — QuantumEleven 08:51, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Wow, that's exactly what I was planning! Very cool, thanks for the wiring info. And also the transformer tip, I hadn't even considered that there might be such a thing as a transformer with a molex output cable until you suggested it, but now I see that they do exist, and are even slightly cheaper than the $20 power supply I was looking to grab. Thanks for all the info. --Maelwys 13:32, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

You don't even need the Molex connector on the transformer, just cut and splice the wires. Either solder them or use twist caps (which you can buy at any hardware store). -anonymous6494 22:28, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

I suspect that the computer desk was made by a furniture manufacturer who has no clue about the cooling requirements of electronic equipment. Decent computer desks frequently have no back at all, to allow for proper air circulation. You might want to remove the back, as long as it doesn't serve a structural purpose. You can also leave the front doors open when in use. Hopefully, these two changes alone would be sufficient, and no additional fans will be required. Also, you didn't mention the material, but computer desks should really be metal, as that acts as a heat sink to conduct heat away from electronic components, while wood and plastic act as a thermal insulators. If you do go with fans (a minimum of one blowing into the cabinet and one out), one counterintuitive aspect is that the air holes should only be as large as the fans, since larger air holes actually reduce the effectiveness of the fans. StuRat 11:29, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

sudo

How does sudo have permission to execute things as root? Is this something hardcoded into the filesystem, that if sudo wants to do something then let it? --froth^{T C} 21:14, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

See setuid; it is in fact a bit in the filesystem, but it's not specific to sudo. Certain programs run with superuser permissions regardless of who runs them; obviously those programs must then be very careful to do on behalf of a user only things that the user is legitimately authorized to do (as opposed to, say, running arbitrary shell commands for them). sudo achieves this by having a set of rules that allow users to run only certain commands as root; other programs (like, say, passwd) allow the user to do only one specific, approved thing. This allows for a more flexible security system: here, users can't be allowed to arbitrarily write to the password file, but passwd lets them write well-formed data to their record in it. Obviously, it's important to make such blessed programs' internal security policies and code bulletproof, so they tend to be few in number. Such things as Perl's "taint mode" are designed to help in this regard. --Tardis 22:10, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

All right thanks, the bit (as in part, not as in data) about passwd in relation to sudo helped a lot --froth^{T C} 20:09, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

lightsaber

how do people do the lightsaber effects? what exactly would i need (programs,cameras,etc.)? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.18.46.78 (talk • contribs)

I would do it with GIMP and the lightsabre plugin. It's usually done frame-by-frame. There are some tutorials to do it in Adobe Premiere as well. --Wooty Woot? contribs 00:06, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

There is also this possibility. Simon A. 08:40, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

theforce.net has some tutorial links. –mysid☎ 21:59, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

cell phone service

which cell phone company gets the best signal? i have t-mobile, but i always lose the signal inside the house. Also, what is a really good and cheap phone? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.18.46.78 (talk • contribs)

Assuming you live in Orlando, check out MetroPCS. It's very cheap and has unlimited minutes; However, it may not have the best coverage in your area (it's decent in mine), and is rather local. So, if you travel a lot, a national-covered service may be better suited for you.

Where do you live? There is no 'one company that gets the best signal', it highly depends on where you live, and where the closest repeater towers are. The construction of your house also makes a huge difference. — QuantumEleven 08:45, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes it's highly dependent on your area. There's a Verizon repeater tower only a couple of miles from my university so verizon has by far the best reception. Also many computer speakers will interfere with Nextel phones, so there are some other environmental effects to watch out for too --froth^{T C} 20:22, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

December 7

ADOBE ACROBAT .pdf files

How do I download a Web file using Adobe acrobat to open a .pdf file--AND THEN how do I save such a file in Microsoft Word, as an ordinary Microsoft word (Word File) ?

I'm not sure it's possible, the best option is to copy the contents of the PDF file and paste it Word. If you want to edit the content though you'll only be able to do this PDFs that consist of actual text. If the text is within an image then you'll need to use some OCR software. --Kiltman67 02:17, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Yeah. You can't just convert from PDF to Word. You can strip the text of many of them (depending on how they are created) and then re-create the layout and design within Word, but that's as good as it gets. --24.147.86.187 00:08, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Windows Updates

Why do Windows XP Automatic Updates take forever to download? --Russoc4 00:35, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

They always seem to download pretty fast for me, perhaps it's a problem with your connection. --Kiltman67 02:06, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Do you have a dial-up connection ? That would explain it. StuRat 11:21, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

printer ink

How do i check the amount of ink that i have left in my cartridge in the printer?

Either you, or your printer software can only guesstimate based on how much has been used rather than exactly what is left. --Russoc4

The service people do it by weighing the cartridge. –mysid☎ 21:56, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

How do I change or delete the "User Profile" / "Registered to: " name on my PC?

I've been given a PC that's running Windows XP and the previous owner's name is listed under "Registered to: " and also under "User Profiles". I've managed to change the name under "User Accounts", but I can't alter it at the other two places I mentioned. Thanks 172.189.150.172 01:09, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

You will need to reinstall Windows XP. As far as I know that's the only way to change the "Registered to:" field. — QuantumEleven 08:41, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Inherited and fiddled-with computers are a problem. There are programs that will do this for you. This blog explains Magical Jellybean, so you can change your name, and you can use something like RockXP to get other passwords. I have had to use it once to repossess my own machine after leaving my home in the care of teenage family for a while:). I have no clue what this does to the "Genuine Windows" authentication. --Seejyb 20:28, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

User profiles is, if I remember right, not easily changable. I know in past version of Windows (98) you could edit the user/company information by editing the registry. Unless this is an OEM machine (EG. it has a company's logo in "System properties"), changing the registered to name shouldn't affect WGA/WPA. 68.39.174.238 06:59, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Changing the Registered user information can be easily done in the registry. To change the user profile, simply create a new user account and delete the old one. Be sure you save or transfer anything you need from the old profile first, such as My Documents, Favorites, etc. --Alan 11:54, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

TI-86 program

I think this belongs here, but if someone disagrees, feel free to move it. I am trying to program in a something that will find the mod26 of any number inputted. I have a program that works fine on the TI-83 and TI-84, but there when I try to run it on an 86, it pops up with an error message. Why doesn't it work? Deltacom1515 02:04, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Post your code here. WP 07:41, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Alrighty

:Menu(1,"POS",A,5,"NEG",B)
:Lbl A
:Prompt M
:Lbl S
:If M<26
:Then
:Disp M
:Goto Z
:Else
:(M-26) -> M
:Goto S
:Lbl B
:Prompt X
:Lbl Y
:If X>0
:Then 
:Disp X
:Goto Z
:Else
:(X+26) -> X
:Goto Y
:Lbl Z

Once again, works on the TI-83 and 84, not the TI-86. It show up all as one block here, but it's supposed to be on a different line in the calculator (obviously). By the by, the error is "Error 10 Data Type" when i click goto, the cursor goes to the space right after the M in "Prompt M"Deltacom1515

Seems like your Menu syntax is incorrect for the TI-86. The manual has an example :Menu(1,"Again",A,5,"Stop",B), and the general syntax Menu(menuItemNo,"name1",label1[...]). –mysid☎ 21:52, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Ok, so I did that, and when I select the "Negative" item, it works, but when I select "Positive" it pops up with another error message "Error 10 Data Type" again and the cursor jumps after the ":Prompt M" line. (I changed the above code to reflect what the program now looks like) Deltacom1515 02:07, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

That's odd... It works well in my TI-86. –mysid☎ 07:22, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

For some very odd reason, using "M" in the prompt doesn't work so I changed it to "D" and now it works. Go figure. Thanks for all of your help Mysid. Deltacom1515

If I remember correctly, the data type error is the result of storing data in to the wrong variable type. Try deleting your M variable, and running it again. Alternately, you can take a look at what kind of variable it is. (Is it a REAL?) jdstroy 04:05, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

Porting and debugging is great experience and all, but the TI-86 already has a mod() function that does precisely what you want (even for negative numbers; this is the difference between modulo and remainder (or positive and negative remainders, respectively)). The only difference is that you will return 26 instead of 0 for -26 (since you check for X>0 and not X>=0); this is presumably a bug. (I'm surprised the TI-83 doesn't have it, but perhaps my opinion of the relative usefulness of number theory and automated annuity calculations is an unusual one.) --Tardis 07:26, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Dock

I have a dual monitor configuration on my Macbook. I want the dock to be on the bigger monitor (the second one), but on the bottom. I can get it on the other monitor, but only if I choose for the dock to be on the right, and when I unplug my second monitor, it shows up on the right of the laptop's screen. I want it where when the second monitor is plugged in that the dock is on the bottom of that one, but when unplugged, it is on the bottom of the rugular screen. How can I do this? If there is no easy way (i.e. you can't do it through system preferences or downloading something), just say so, don't try and explain. Thanks. schyler 03:49, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Good question. But answers, not so good. You might find Bruce Tognazzini's Top Ten Nine Reasons the Apple Dock Still Sucks worthwhile reading. Then, investigate TinkerTool and DragThing. (Some folks prefer Drop Drawers.) I make no recommendations. --KSmrq^T 16:58, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Viruses

I was at a campout this weekend with my boyscout troop. I got to talking to one of the adult leaders about programming (since he's a full-time programmer) and what I've been doing in Java. For some reason or another, I told him I had a Mac and he said he wished he could use one because his workplace doesn't use OSX because he's the one to always have to fix the viruses. I asked him why Macs just simply don't get viruses and went off into a long speech about how there isn't any executable content and you can't be sent macros and other stuff like that. I just nodded and went along with it saying yah and okay and of course. Of course I didn't really understand and I was hoping someone could explaim it to me better because I am trying to talk my mom into getting herself a Mac for her landscaping and home improvement buisness and I want to be able to explain to her one of the greatest reaons. schyler 03:59, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Macs can get viruses like any other computer. This explains perfectly why there aren't as many of them, though. --Wooty Woot? contribs 04:50, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Yah...that's not cool. PCs suck and Macs are better. I don't care what anyone says. I used PCs for the first 16 years of my life, and was sad every time I had to press Control + Alt + Delete, every time I had to update my anti-virus software, and every time I got a virus even after downloading the new protection. Anyway, back to the topic, does anyone have a REAL answer? schyler 05:02, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Are you disregarding my answer because I disagreed with you? I could argue with you all day about PCs vs. Macs, but that's not the question. You asked if Macs were any less virus-prone, or if they had some sort of wonky executables that prevented viruses. That's not true, so the answer is no. --Wooty Woot? contribs 05:07, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Ignoring the satirical nature of the comic, there is a bit of truth to it. But not in the "uncool" sense. It's most likely due to the overwhelming market share that PC/Windows has versus Mac. If you're a bad guy intent on doing the most harm, are you going to spend your time on the tiny target? No, you're going to want the biggest "bang" for your virus-writing effort. Yes, Macs get viruses, but not nearly as many as Windows machines. - (Nuggetboy) (talk) (contribs) 05:20, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Exactly my point. Why program a virus when it's only going to hit a few thousand computers? --Wooty Woot? contribs 06:39, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Macs can get viruses like any other computer. Will they be targeted as often as Windows? Probably not. If Macs did manage to overthrow Windows in the OS market, that trend would probably change. As for this "no executable content and macros" stuff, huh? Of course you can execute dangerous applications on a Mac, and if you use a product that supports macros, of course you can execute a malformed macro. Splintercellguy 06:22, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Actually, Mac OS X is actually safer, mainly because of its UNIX background. Accounts created aren't all "admins", and normal accounts can't modify system files, unlike in Windows. Programs must have the execute permission set, otherwise it won't run. In Windows, anything with an exe extension can be easily run (by easily I mean run by beginners, because anyone can modify some settings and you could even run a file named "!!!" or something). --wj32 ^{talk | contribs} 08:40, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Gotta agree here. Too bad running Windows as anything less than an admin is pretty much useless. - (Nuggetboy) (talk) (contribs) 16:11, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

The market share of Mac OS has varied over time. Over all that time, and still today, Mac viruses "in the wild" have been rare. So as a practical matter, if security is a priority, Mac OS is the way to go. Try Apple's web info for some details. (Any ecology that is a monoculture, like everyone running Windows XP, risks disaster from a shared vulnerability. For this alone, using Mac OS has benefits. Apparently, genetic variability is one of the benefits of sexual reproduction.)

The deep-seated weaknesses of Windows, and of Microsoft's philosophy, are well-known to security professionals. Apparently it has started to hurt Microsoft's bottom line, which may account for the new emphasis on security in Windows Vista.

I once heard Butler Lampson say something to the effect that every known computer system had been totally compromised, with an intruder able to gain complete and undetected access. It would be foolish to imagine that Mac OS X is immune.

Still, running Windows is like a skinny wimp waltzing through a bad neighborhood wearing nothing but shorts while waving a stack of hundred dollar bills. You can take steps to make it more secure, but it's always at greater risk.

Consider that Apple has an excellent track record of posting security fixes for theoretical problems before they ever affect anyone, while Microsoft has a horrible track record of not posting fixes for actively exploited weaknesses. The BBC web site describes a recent example. --KSmrq^T 19:41, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

I've been working with vista RC for a few months, and there's quite a few new features that make it a bit safer. To be honest, Windows isn't the greatest problem. I think it's safe to say that IE6 is the main cause of grief. yandman 19:45, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

new job

I am a java programmer. But the new jo ask for something I haven't heard of JSP, JavaScript, OO Design Pattern Knowledge, Database Programming, XML, Version Control Knowledge. I know the java stuff but I need some help. I am new to this aand wound like some input.

                                               Neo

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Sslavedog2006 (talk • contribs) 04:15, 7 December 2006 (UTC).

Here is a breakdown of what each of the requirements mean:

• • JSP (JavaServer Pages) is a form of server-side scripting, like PHP (which is producing the output you see on Wikipedia).
  • JavaScript is a form of client-side script. It allows a web page to execute code in the user's web browser.
  • Object-oriented programming is one of the fundamental design concepts of Java and other languages like C#, Ruby, etc. The main benefits are code reusability (you can create an object that can be easily customized to several applications) and encapsulation (all methods and variables are contained in the object).
  • SQL (Structured Query Language) is what Database Programming is likely referring to. Using SQL, you can easily write to and read data from a database using a common language. Some popular SQL databases include Microsoft SQL server, MySQL, and Oracle.
  • XML (Extensible Markup Language) allows you to share data across multiple applications easily. It uses a standardized format that is easy for an application to parse.
  • Version Control refers to an application that most corporate developers use to maintain a version history of source code. A developer checks out source code from the server and checks it back in when they are finished. Multiple developers can be working on the same project at the same time and merge their results back together. Some version control systems include Microsoft Visual SourceSafe, CVS, and Subversion.

Best, Hagerman^(talk) 04:32, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

To add to the above, JavaScript technically has nothing to do with Java, but you will see similarity in the syntax. Also, look at the Design Pattern article; these are concepts separate from any language implementation (Java, in your case). - (Nuggetboy) (talk) (contribs) 05:27, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

.pcb file (I think it is Altium, not sure)

This .pcb file. Can someone open it and post a screenshot for me please? Alternatively, are there any free tools that can open this file? Thanks. WP 07:35, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Slow computer

I have an Acer Travelmate 2201LCi laptop that is rather slow. The system specs are:

Processor: 2.66GHz Intel Celeron D
RAM: 256MB (only 192MB in practice, though, because 64MB is permanently eaten up by integrated graphics)
Video: ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 integrated video
Sound: RealTek AC97 integrated audio
Hard drive: 40 GB (divided into two FAT32 partitions of around 17.6 GB each, and a recovery partition which I don't know the size of)
Removable Media: Combo drive (reads DVDs and CDs, but burns CDs only)
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition w/ Service Pack 2

The computer takes about two minutes from when the Windows desktop appears until Windows finishes loading and stops accessing the disk, and if I try using the system before Windows finishes loading, it behaves very sluggishly. The system also has a tendency to stop responding for about half a minute or more during use.

I've tried to optimise the computer (disabling visual styles, deactivating unnecessary Windows services) but to no avail. Does anyone have any advice on how else to improve the system's performance? --Lumina83 10:44, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Tried reinstalling Windows? Also, 256MB ram is not that much. WP 10:50, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

It sounds to me like your computer is in a severe need of an upgrade in RAM. Druss666uk 11:46, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure if it would be worth it. I looked up RAM prices a while back and to upgrade the RAM in my machine to 2GB (the maximum it supports) would cost about AUD$550.00. At that price, I figure I'd probably be better off buying a whole new computer. I agree with you though; I'm sure the system's lack of RAM must be the main culprit. Case in point; the computer I use at work is an old 500MHz iMac G3 running Mac OS X Tiger, but upgraded to 512MB of RAM--and despite the wide gulf in processor speeds, my work iMac seems to run better than my Acer laptop does! --Lumina83 12:11, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Whoah. Wait a minute. You don't really need to do such a big upgrade. 256 MB for sure is to little, and 512 also is somewhat "on the small side" albeit a lot better than before. My recommendation would be to upgrade only to 768 MB or 1024 MB (3 or 4 times your current amount of RAM). That should be enough for most "normal" users. Which one is most cost-efficient depends on your laptop's current memory configuration (are there free slots? If yes, how many? If you have to replace memory already in the laptop that will bring costs up). Cost for high capacity memories (especially larger than 1 GB ones) grows very rapidly with size, to the point where cost per byte actually increases, so avoid doing an "overkill" upgrade. It won't be very economical... TERdON 17:13, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

I'd suggest...

• Scan for viruses with your anti-virus software and with spybot search and destroy. Many viruses will not harm your PC but will slow it down by using it to send spam or DDoS attacks to other machines.
• Likewise, check for copy protection technology (if possible) - like XCP - as that will also slow your computer.
• Look for things which start automatically when your computer does (normally putting themselves in the system tray) and tell them not to - this will help it start faster. I'm talking about programs like QuickTime here. If they don't let you tell them not to load automatically, uninstall them. You may also be able to use msconfig to turn them off manually.
• Use a program like sysmon (System Monitor) to check your memory usage and see if you need to upgrade your ram.
• Use faster programs. If Windows Media Player has lots of features you never need (feature bloat), use Media Player Classic or VLC which are faster.
• If you use firefox, you can tweak the options to use less memory, if that is an issue. If you use Internet Explorer, switch to firefox.

--h2g2bob 14:14, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

I should probably clarify here that when I say turn off stuff which starts when your PC starts, I don't mean your antivirus/internet security. Even though antivirus and internet security really slow down your PC, you do actually need them. Make sure you use a respectable brand, and don't have more than one antivirus or more than one internet security running. --h2g2bob 14:20, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

However, it's still worthwhile to shut things off one at a time, using the Task Manager (CONTROL-ALT-DELETE), including anti-virus software, to see if you can find the culprit or culprits. If one particular anti-virus software product is unacceptably slow on your computer, then perhaps you should replace it with a more efficient product. If, on the other hand, the culprit is something you don't need, then you can just disable it on startup or uninstall it, and your problem will be solved. StuRat 11:12, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Format your PC and install a version of TinyXP, which has certain subsets of Windows' functionality ripped out making it run MUCH faster on systems with little RAM. Presumably you have a XP Home license that came with your machine; however I doubt that you could legally install a hacked version of XP Pro on it. Zunaid©^{Please rate me at Editor Review!} 07:00, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

signal phase

Consider this sentence: "From the unwrapped phase difference between consecutive frames [of a STFT-transfomed signal] we can get the instantaneous frequency for frequency bin k at time instant (s+ 1)R by

$f_{i}((s+1)R,k)={\frac {\Delta \phi ((s+1)R,k)f_{s}}{2\pi R}}$"

s is time, R is the sampling step (hop size), K the frequency BIN, Δφ is the difference of phase between consecutive frames but what is f_s? The sampling frq.? Why?

Since getting the instantaneous frequency it's like searching w_i in $sin(w_{i+1}t-\phi )=sin(w_{i}t)$, I'd expect something like

$(w_{i+1}t-\phi )/t=w_{i}$

--Ulisse0 22:09, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Can you give us a link to the source so we can take a look ? StuRat 11:04, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

i got it from this pdf, but I think that this should be real for any STFT-transformed signal which is [similar to] a sinusoid in the time domain. tia --Ulisse0 12:37, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

taking screenshots from dvds

Does anyone here know how to take a screenshot from a DVD on computer? I have tried pausing it and pressing Print Screen, but when I paste the screen anywhere I just get black space where the picture should be. I have tried it on both Windows Media Player and Dell Media Experience.

Thanks, Peter —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 195.92.67.74 (talk) 13:39, 7 December 2006 (UTC).

It is common for the video card to do the video processing. The CPU draws a black box and passes all the processing off to the card. So, when you do a screenshot, the CPU only knows what it sees - a black box. In order to take a screen shot of the video you are seeing, you either need to have the CPU do the video processing by disabling it on the video card or you have to get a program from your video card maker that takes screen shots of what the video card is displaying. --Kainaw ^(talk) 13:48, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Play the DVD in VLC media player, pause it, hit video->snapshot, and a copy will be saved in your My Pictures folder. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 14:08, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

The techinique is called video overlay. Any decent video player can take screenshots regardless of it (MPlayer, VideoLAN, to name two) ☢ Ҡi∊ff⌇↯ 15:33, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Disable your hardware acceleration (in your display settings) and you can take screenshots. Then re-enable it after you are done with that (hardware acceleration is good, just not when you are taking screenshots). --24.147.86.187 00:22, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Usually, your video card will only run one video, any more will be done by the CPU. So open the video twice, and you should be able to PrintScreen the second one just fine. --Alibenny

TCP/IP?

I posted this earlier, and have been slaving away for days to figure it out, to no avail. The problem is, I can recieve emails (as far as I know, most if not all that are sent TO me), and I can send them through the verizon webpage. However, when sending Emails through Outlook, or ACT!9 (which works through outlook) I get the following message, and cannot send email:

A TCP/IP error occurred while trying to connect to the server. Account: 'incoming.verizon.net', Server: 'outgoing.verizon.net', Protocol: SMTP, Port: 25, Secure(SSL): No, Error Number: 0x800CCC15

I was told to reset the TCP/IP, but I do not have a CD. Does ANYONE have any idea of what to do? I worked on the firewall to no avail, I went through a 3 hour fixing with verizon to reset passwords and assure everything was configured, but still get this message! Help? 151.204.223.7 16:30, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Error 0x800CCC15 is a socket failure. It is expected to only happen when connecting through a proxy, but there was a bug in Outlook before version 2003. Updates were supposed to fix it, but spammers wrote many malware programs to make Outlook send spam while you were connected to the Internet. So, the updates to Outlook were basically blocked by the anti-spam programs. That means that you can't easily uninstall/install Outlook. What you really need to do it uninstall Outlook. Then, search the files for any file names mapixxx.xxx (any file beginning with mapi followed by other stuff). I delete them, but you can rename them to something like mapixxx.old or mapixxx_delete_me_later.xxx. Then, reinstall Outlook (preferrably the latest version). Finally, cross your fingers, spin twice right, once left, bounce twice and hope for the best. --Kainaw ^(talk) 18:30, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

TCP/IP isn't something you can reset, it's the two most important protocols in basically the networking protocol, and the world wide web functions over it. If you have a healthy heart you might want to try to work through Internet protocol suite. --froth^{T C} 20:50, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Who is your network service provider? Some ISPs choose to block all outgoing SMTP connections except to their own servers. jdstroy 04:14, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

SQL database - defined transactional tables

I would like a definition of "defined transactional tables". —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Hankb (talk • contribs) 17:06, 7 December 2006 (UTC). 24.39.182.101 17:55, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Please read the Online transaction processing article. Not sure in what context the 'defined' is, but a transactional table is a (usually) volatile table of data in an OLTP system. "Volatile" means that the data is changed (modified/added/deleted) at a rapid rate, as opposed to a read-only or warehouse table in a typical Decision support system. Sandman30s 09:26, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Thought experiment: other name for 'window'?

Hi all! I was wondering if it was so obvious and intuitive to call 'windows', er, windows, since about the introduction of the GUI paradigm by the Xerox PARC (I guess). (The name WIMP, of course, predates the Windows OS by some years, so that's not where the name came from.) It's a paradigm, after all, meaning that it's a thought pattern that someone invented and everyone accepted, and the name followed; or perhaps it's just so evident to call windows windows that no one had to convince anyone of it? Could we have called them something other than windows? I can certainly come up with several names other than windows, which are equally intuitive to me (notwithstanding what those words may mean today): frames, portals, gates, or even docs, since some GUIs were designed as desktop metaphors, and thus 'windows' would look like documents over a desk, and 'docs' would sound useful (and cool, at least in other... universes:). Also, I'm not a big fan of the name box, for "dimensional" reasons...

I ask this, among other things, because the name Windows obviously has unbreakable connotations nowadays, particularly to the copyrighted name of an OS belonging to a certain 'not always likable' corporation(and this might have added to the paradigm, of course).

I know it's hard to imagine (and perhaps it sounds more stupid than I think), but I just wanted to know if it was possible (in an alternate history version of things, for example) for a name other than windows to have become more popular, so we would be using it as casually as we use the name window today. (I'm sorry if this had been asked before, but googling for "other names for windows" only brings a bunch of insulting if albeit hilarious results concerning the aforementioned corporation). Thanks in advance! Kreachure 17:18, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Rob Pike, while talking about "windows", also refers to "layers" in his 1983 "Graphics in overlapping bitmap layers". Dan Ingalls, in writing about Smalltalk in his 1976 paper on The Smalltalk-76 Programming System, is already using "windows". Doug Engelbart is the godfather of GUIs, but I don't recall that his lab had evolved the equivalent of Xerox PARC's windows. Maybe Alan Kay had another name in some of his earlier writings about FLEX and the Dynabook; but his 1977 article with Adele Goldberg, "Personal dynamic media", naturally uses the Smalltalk term, "windows". Kay was a doctoral student in computer science at the University of Utah, which was a fertile home for computer graphics. There he was exposed to the likes of Ivan Sutherland, whose 1963 MIT doctoral thesis on Sketchpad laid the foundation for much of computer graphics and graphical interfaces. Of course, in 1963 graphic displays were calligraphic, not raster, and both memory and processing power were strained to keep up. Hidden line elimination was a research challenge, surfaces were not drawn at all, and multiple windows, whether overlapping or tiled, were a dream for the future. --KSmrq^T 21:04, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Well, GEM on my Atari ST back in the early 80s called them Windows. I can't really think of any other term that is popular for the concept than window, though OpenGL uses the word "viewport" in a similar way. - Rainwarrior 21:08, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

"Could we have called them something other than windows?" Of course. Just because something happened one way doesn't mean it was destined to. Could our keyboards have had other than a QWERTY configuration? Of course. But a little thing called technological momentum kicks in after awhile and one gets initially adopted as a standard ends up becoming self-perpetuating. --24.147.86.187 00:25, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

I actually like the name "Windows" for the O/S, as it accurately portrays how paneful it is to use. :-) StuRat 10:59, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Getting into my router

I am trying to get into my router to check settings, but 192.168.1.1 will not work.

How can I get in there to change settings?

omnipotence407 —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.39.182.101 (talk) 17:55, 7 December 2006 (UTC).

Try 10.1.1.1

That took me to the login page for what i think is the firewall of the building. Im trying to get into the one router thats in this room.

It brings up the SonicWall login page. the router im trying to get into is a GVC 24.39.182.101 18:15, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

If you are in a company, college, or organization, you have to know the router's IP address. If you are home user, you should have one router that will be either 10.1.1.1 or 192.168.1.1 by default (I'm sure some manufacturers use other IP addresses). Also, make sure you are referring to a router and not a switch or hub. Finally, keep in mind that not all routers allow you to login through the web. --Kainaw ^(talk) 18:21, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Try 192.168.2.1, and if that doesn't work, click start, connect to, show all connections, find yours, double click, support, and get that IP address. chop off the last number and use a .1 ST47Talk 19:16, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Open a command window and type ipconfig. The value at "default gateway" is your router. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 20:32, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes that's probably the best way --froth^{T C} 20:40, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

If all else fails, take it down for a reset. :) jdstroy 04:16, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

modem for dial up for networking

Hello good sirs, I search for need of modem I can connect router to use with ethernet cable. Do exist? Are dial up modems here that I can use to connect to wireless router with ethernet cables? Thank you your assistance in this discussione —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 128.61.113.84 (talk) 18:00, 7 December 2006 (UTC).

First you must stop using the phrase "dial-up". You are referring to DSL/Cable internet, not dial-up. For wireless, you can use a wireless network card. For Ethernet, you can use an ethernet card. Both are sold at all office supply/electronic stores. I strongly suggest taking your computer in so you can ensure you buy something that can be plugged into your computer. --Kainaw ^(talk) 18:23, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Umm... are you sure he's not referring to dialup? I read that question completely different from how you seem to have. To me it seems that he's looking for a dialup modem (NOT DSL or Cable) that he can plug into an Ethernet router so that more than one computer (that's already connected to that router) would be able to access the modem to get online. You're just telling him how to connect his computer to a router, which seems completely unrelated to the question.

To answer the original poster, I don't know of any that do that. However, you can install a modem in one of the computers on the network, and in Windows 98 or XP you can run a "Internet Connection Sharing Wizard" to allow other folks on the network to share your internet connection, which would also prompt the modem to auto-dial if it isn't already connected when somebody else tries to use it. Be warned though, that this method of sharing can cause the connection to be extremely slow through a dialup modem if more than one person is trying to use the connection at a time. --Maelwys 18:32, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes - we read it completely different. There used to be a demand for boxes that had multiple dial-up cards in it and had ethernet connections to go to the comptuers. The demand for that is mostly gone now. Your best bet is finding equipment from an old dial-up service company or building one yourself out of an old (preferrably very old) computer. It will have to be on whenever any other computer wants to get on the Internet. I'd use Linux, but you can use Windows per Maelwys instructions. If money isn't an option, you can use a nano-itx computer and make it really small. --Kainaw ^(talk) 18:37, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Because even those who answer have questions(aka: the question about my computer)

Which seems to have the tendency to decide, that right as I'm writing my midterm(four pages in) to shut down without warning, then reboot and laugh in my face(not literally, that would be cruel), and then become Extremely slow. Xiaden 22:16, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

I would be very concerned about a hard drive that's about to go out. Is it clicking? Droud 22:28, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

hmm... it's doing that thing where it makes noises when it reads data... but not clicking loudly... Xiaden 22:37, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Is it making more noise than it used to? That's a sure sign of a drive going out. Droud 00:08, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Do you have Windows set to reboot upon bluescreening? If you don't know, go into the System applet in the Control Panel. In the Advanced tab, click the Settings button under the Startup and Recovery heading. Then make sure that Automatically restart is unchecked. This might provide an error message for you instead of just rebooting, which could be useful in diagnosing the issue. If it is not bluescreening at all, then I highly doubt it's a hard drive issue. More likely it's a power supply or motherboard problem. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 09:32, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

And, since the immediate issue is your need to complete the midterm, I suggest saving it often to external media, so you have a safe copy, in case of a hard drive failure. StuRat 10:52, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

I ended up finishing the essay at a friends house, but the problem with my computer continues, so i'll check the settings about the bsod, and get back to you on that.Xiaden 15:52, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Common computer failure noises and causes include:

• Whining:
  • Bad power supply capacitors
• Rattling:
  • Bad fan
  • Bad hard drive, spindle is probably failing
• Ticking:
  • Hard drive is going bad, has to re-align heads
• Clanking:
  • Hard drive has gone bad, can't align heads
  • AKA "click of death"
• Beeping:
  • Something is missing or out of socket (check manual)
• Buzzing:
  • Something is touching a fan

Droud 01:33, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

a lot of ticking. what does that mean, and is it easy to fix :'( Xiaden 02:18, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

December 8

Windows Media Player 11

I just downloaded and installed Windows Media Player 11 and tried to rip a CD in in the MP3 format, but when I do that, an error message pops up "Windows Media Player cannot rip one or more tracks from the CD." I clicked "Web Help" and got this "C00D0FAA Windows Media Player cannot rip the track because a compatible MP3 encoder is not installed on your computer. Install a compatible MP3 encoder or choose a different format to rip to (such as Windows Media Audio)." My question is this, how do I find an encoder thats free, and why didn't one come with my download? Deltacom1515 04:38, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Windows Media Player has come with the MP3 encoder since WMP 10. Something is wrong. There are two things I can find to try, both in the registry. Open the registry editor by typing regedit into the run dialog (Win+R), and off we'll go.

1. This one is recommended by Microsoft. Browse over to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Settings\MP3Encoding. Double click LowrateSample, delete the value that's shown under Value data, and click okay.
2. If that doesn't work, try making sure that the PrefferredCodecPath key exists, and its value is C:\WINDOWS\system32\l3codecp.acm.

-- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 09:30, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

If you are not comfortable with editing your registry, which can be disastrous, then you can try install and uninstall, and if that still does not work, see if a downloaded codec (click on link) does the work. On second thoughts, if it were my problem, I would probably first install the codecs, and if that works leave well alone:) -- Seejyb 11:11, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

I tried the registry stuff, doesn't work. Oh and I could never rip tracks in as MP3 files when I had WMP 10 either. Deltacom1515 00:50, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Try downloading the latest LAME mp3 encoder build and copy lameenc.dll to c:\windows\system32. If WMP asks where to find an encoder, point it at lameenc.dll --froth^{T C} 04:34, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

The real issue is answered here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/faq/rip.mspx. Basically, choose an audio quality for ripping to something other than 128kb. I've seen this problem on 3 different machines and this has fixed it on all of them.

The registry route didn't work initially but I was then advised to either delete (or as I did, corrupt the name of) the LowrateSample file (changed to LowrateSampleXXX). I'm now able to rip to mp3 at 128kbps (albeit at a fraction of the speed I was doing it with WMP 10).

vi - moving about

I'm trying to write a collection of stories in vi so that at the same time as I'm writing, I can also learn vi. I realize that vi isn't really meant for this sort of thing.

Although, if a sentence runs over onto the next line, vi looks at this as a single line. So if I move up and down in the document, I move from one paragraph to the next instead of what is visually the next line up on the screen. Is there a way around this?

Also, if the answer is to just put in a hard return near the end of each line on the screen, is there an easy way to take out all those hard returns when I'm satisfied that I know vi and move the document into an actual word processor? Dismas|^(talk) 08:00, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

As vi came from American unix techies in the 60's who were high on LSD, it was meant as a technical editor for unix and C scripts :) Therefore lines are inserted as strings, with even the J command to join split lines. Your best bet is a hard return as you say. To convert this document with all the <cr> into a DOS-like <lf><cr>, there is usually a utility called unix2dos in unix, not sure what unix you are using. Power editors like Ultraedit (my favourite) can also convert it for you. Sandman30s 09:42, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

If you have a version of VI which allows you to use the mouse, it's probably quicker to just click where you want to go. StuRat 10:46, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

For the hard return problem: If you are using hard return as end-of-lines, you would have to use a double return to indicate end of paragraph. Once imported into your word processor, replace all double returns with any unusual character string, e.g. replace "<cr><cr>" (or whatever symbols your word processer uses for a hard return; MS Word ^p or Ooo $) with say "@@@@@". Then replace all remaining hard returns with a space (e.g. "<cr>" with " "). Then replace your "unusual character strings" with a hard return (e.g. replace "@@@@@" with "<cr>"). Note Ooo Write replace function is lightly more obscure than that of MSWord, in that the former ues regular expression search for the $. --Seejyb 12:11, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Ah so <cr> and <lf> are the codes used in Word? I've been frustrated for years trying to replace \n with \r\n :) If you want something maybe better for less technical work, try Emacs, though you might first want to take out a health insurance policy - and definately not report your emacs usage in the forms. --froth^{T C} 20:37, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

No, no, in Word its ^p thats used for paragraph mark. To see all the codes do ctrl+f, click on More, and then on Special. And Ultraedit also uses ^p for paragraph. Shinhan 21:57, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

nvi wraps long lines, but not at word delimiters. Maybe there is an option you need to flip if you're not using it.

The standard way of formatting paragraphs in text files is as Seejyb said, with the double newlines for paragraph delimiters. But the solution isn't (or shouldn't be) to "just put in" all those newlines (as in pressing Enter that many times); most reasonable editors have a word wrap feature that, unlike in word processors, is a text-modification function, not a display setting. Then you can just type, and occasionally request wrapping (sometimes called "filling") unless the editor does it automatically. If/when you want to import this text (you could just use LaTeX, after all), it will be far easier to do the newline manipulation in the text editor that's meant to do such things; in Perl regex syntax it's as simple as s/([^\n])\n([^\n])/\1 \2/, although depending on your environment it may be tricky to actually apply that command to the two lines it needs to join (instead of to each separately). Alternatively, you might be able to ask for the same word wrapping feature but with a ridiculous "line length" of 99999 or so. Finally, the issue of newline format shouldn't bother you; all programmer's editors support all the standard formats. (Sandman30s: the DOS format is in fact CR LF, although one time I had to deal with a confused networked program that did send LF CR!) (Froth's comments aside, Emacs supports all of these things; if your available versions of vi don't, perhaps you'd want to switch for increased technicality rather than ease of use.) --Tardis 06:58, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

MSIE 6 on Win2000

Occasionally I do a "Delete Files", "Delete Cookies" and "Clear History". Basically these work ok. However my "home page" is a simple HTM page with a list of links to pages I often use. For reasons I do not understand, 3 of them remain highlit as having been visited. Anyone know why and how to stop this happening? -- SGBailey 09:16, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

That is..a very good question. I assumed you rebooted IE after clearing the history, and so forth. All I can suggest is getting IE7 or Firefox. Perhaps someone else can help more, when I use IE I never have this problem. --Wooty Woot? contribs 09:21, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Ah, you're a victim of the uneraseable history bug. You should also be able to see this in the autosuggest for the address bar (but not in the history tab, which is empty). The culprit is a windows file called "index.dat". There are time-limited tools you can download that clean it up (they usually work for about 30 days), here for example, but I'm sure you can find freeware versions (you can't delete them manually, at least not without using safe mode and getting a bit technical). yandman 13:45, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Window completely off the screen

I don't know how it happened, but a window seems to be completely off the screen of my Windows O/S computer, so I can't even pick the edge. How do I get it back ? I'm able to pick "Maximize" on the icon to make it full screen, but when I try to toggle it back to less than full screen it goes right back to where it was, entirely off the screen. I can probably close the application and restart it or reboot the computer, but I'd like to know a less drastic way to fix this, should it happen again. StuRat 10:43, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Try Alt-Space to open the little window icon menu, then M. That, or click right click the taskbar icon and click Move. Either way, steer it about with the arrow keys; it should also snap to your cursor if you move it after having pressed an arrow key. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 10:57, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

When it happened to me with some apps a few years back, i got them back by using regedit and finding the window coordinates for the application therein and editing them from absurd large numbers to small ones that got it on screen. -- SGBailey 11:48, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Thanks, those suggestions solved the problem ! StuRat 12:21, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Yeah this used to happen to me all the time. I used alt-space-down-enter, or just changed my screen resolution- Windows is usually pretty good about not letting windows be lost outside of the screen space from a resolution change --froth^{T C} 20:33, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

I use small program called Shove-It for that (Resizing too big windows and moving back windows that went outside). But alt-space-M is very usefull when Im not on home computer. Shinhan 22:02, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

I've added the above template primarily to show it to users, who are then free to add it themselves, if they wish, as:

{{strict}}

StuRat 09:53, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

viewing image galleries in wiki-sites

I can't see most of the images that are supposed to be seen in the gallery function. Especially in wiki-commons buy also in many articles of Wikipedia. The problem occurs when using Microsoft IE and with Firefox. What should I do? 84.108.245.1 11:25, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

This is not really an answer, but just to reassure you that you're not alone, I have the same problem with viewing wiki galleries (most other pictures display fine). Now, here's the catch - this is a problem on my laptop computer at home in both IE and Firefox, but they display fine at work in both browsers on the same computer. Indicates to me therefore that it's something to do with the connection. At home I am only on dialup, at work on broadband, so perhaps this is the issue (but I don't know why). I'd be interested too if anyone can answer this. --jjron 15:05, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

How to make a Graph in MS Excel ?

I know how to make a chart in MS Excel, but my question is how to plot a graph with given x and y co-ordinates, such as in a table.

If I fill in two colums with the corresponding x and y values, it gives me two curves instead of one.

Please help.

The easiest way: when you've got to choose a type of graph, pick the one with lots of little dots, not the curve, and then choose the sub-type which looks like a curve. Good luck. yandman 13:48, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

In the graph wizard screen you need to manually delete one of the data sets and specify that it is instead what you need for the X-axis. You are basically looking for this screen. Delete whichever dataset is supposed to be the X-axis from the list of Y-axises ("Series"), and put it into the X-axis field ("Category (X) axis labels"). --24.147.86.187 01:00, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Tiny, battery-operated webcams?

Do the tiny, battery-operated webcams with inbuilt storage shown in several TV shows and films really exist? Well, obviously they exist, but for regular people without affiliation to the CIA, etc? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 202.10.86.63 (talk) 16:57, 8 December 2006 (UTC).

Of course they exist. Are the only person who didn't suffer through the X10 ad blitz? I think they even found ways to get their annoying popup ads to pop up in your dreams. --Kainaw ^(talk) 20:55, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

There is even a camera the size of a pill, now, which you swallow to film your digestive system. StuRat 23:24, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

A little scripting challenge

I have text files which I need to manipulate a little and since I'm no scripting wiz myself I thought I'd ask you for help. The objective is to cut out a middle section while keeping the beginning and the end. The beginning section is everything up to and including the line reading "%%%%EndProlog" (there is only one such line). The ending section is everything from the last line reading "Gpdict begin" (there might be more than one such line) to the end.

For example, if I have this:

1
Gpdict begin
2
%%%%EndProlog
3
4
Gpdict begin
5
Gpdict begin
Gpdict begin
6
7

I want this:

1
Gpdict begin
2
%%%%EndProlog
Gpdict begin
6
7

Could it be done with sed, AWK or perhaps even something simpler? —Bromskloss 17:14, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

If you consider C "simpler" than AWK, yes. yandman 17:20, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Since I only know Perl, here's an example:

$cut = 0;
for (<STDIN>) {
  print if ($cut == 0);
  $temp .= $_ if ($cut == 2);
  $cut = 1 if (/^%%%%EndProlog/);
  if ($cut != 0 and /^Gpdict begin/) {
    $temp = $_;
    $cut = 2;
  }
}
print $temp;

Well, could have been simpler, but... :D –mysid☎ 18:07, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Thanks, it works! (As if you didn't know that.) How can it be made to match lines that contain certain strings rather than equal them? I might only know, for example, that they contain "Prolog" and "Gpdict", respectively. (This is actually a closely related problem I have, I'm not making it up.) Thanks again! —Bromskloss 19:33, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

It's done with the match operator (//). If you wish to match lines that contain "Prolog", for instance, you would use if (/Prolog/) { ... }. This is actually a shortened form; the full statement would be if ($_ =~ m/Prolog/) { ... }. –mysid☎ 20:23, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Many thanks. —Bromskloss 22:05, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

The problem is that sed and grep read files line by line. They don't look at the whole file as one long string of characters. If they did, it would be easy to do something like "grep -v '%%%%EndProlog.*begin' somefile.txt" or "sed 's/%%%%EndProlog.*begin//' somefile.txt". As far as I know, there is no way to tell either sed or grep to read a file as one long string (as opposed to line by line). If some braniac here knows how to it, then your job will be a one-liner. --Kainaw ^(talk) 18:23, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Here's two ways to do it in sed. The natural way, as far as anything in sed is natural, is

sed -n -e '1,/%%%%EndProlog/p' -e '/%%%%EndProlog/,$H' -e '/Gpdict begin/h' -e '$x' -e '$p'

How it works: The -n option disables automatic printing, so that the p command can be used to print only the necessary lines. The first command prints lines from the beginning to the first" %%%%EndProlog" line. The second command appends to the hold space (basically a temporary buffer) all lines from the first "%%%%EndProlog" to the end of the file. The third command copies lines matching "Gpdict begin" to the hold space, effectively removing anything that was there before. At the end of the file, the hold space only contains lines from the last "Gpdict begin" onward. The last two commands switch the hold space with the pattern space (the main workspace of sed), and then prints the pattern space.

Kainaw's idea of operating on the entire string at once is also possible:

sed -n -e H -e '$x' -e '$s/\(%%%%EndProlog\).*\(Gpdict begin\)/\1\n\2/' -e '$p'

This uses the H command to append every line to the hold space, and all the rest of the processing happens on the last line only: the hold space (containing the entire file) is switched back to pattern space, anything between "%%%%EndProlog" and "Gpdict begin" is removed, and the final result is printed out. Unfortunately GNU sed managed to segfault when I tried to add newlines to the regular expression in the s/// command; this definitely isn't the way sed was designed to be used. 84.239.129.42 15:52, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

hosts file for Firefox

I am trying to block some webpages, so i put them into the Hosts file. They were not blocked though they are in the hosts file. 24.39.182.101 17:53, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Explain "put them in the hosts file". The hosts file is used to block web pages by adding entries that look like:

 some.site.to.block.com 127.0.0.1

If that is not what you were doing, you won't block anything. Also, if the computer recently visited the site you will need to empty your cache to get rid of the files on your computer. --Kainaw ^(talk) 18:25, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Note that this is abuse of the HOSTS data and you really should find some other way to block them --froth^{T C} 20:30, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

And your not actually blocking access, just concealing it. Power users will just delete the hosts file, use the IP address to the website in question, connect to it over proxy... Shinhan 22:08, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Deleting the hosts file entirely is a bad idea since you can't use the localhost token anymore, but deleting lines from it wouldn't be hard. Also a proxy wouldn't help with an altered hosts file --froth^{T C} 22:47, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

The Adblock Plus extension has the ability to block whole web sites / addresses. If you have the extension installed, you would find that under Tools>Adblock Plus>Preferences>Adblock Options>Site Blocking/Whitelisting. -- Seejyb 13:55, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

WRK54G

I know what a WRT54G is, but what is a WRK54G? What version does it contain? Any help is appreciated. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 156.108.172.105 (talk) 18:39, 8 December 2006 (UTC).

Google "WRK54G" and you get all kinds of matches. Basically, it looks like a low quality version of the WRT54G, that has a lot of bugs and hardware issues, that everybody seems to recommend against ever wasting your money on. --Maelwys 19:37, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Net Framework

can you delete net framework l and just use net framework 2

You should uninstall the .NET framework 1 and install the .NET framework 2 --froth^{T C} 21:54, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

I think you should keep both, because some programs depend on the .NET Framework 1.0. There are some big differences between V1 and 2. --wj32 ^{talk | contribs} 00:53, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

The .NET 1.0 platform was replaced and extended with .NET 1.1, but the .NET 2.0 platform does not replace the .NET 1.1 platform. Thus, you need to keep the .NET 1.1 platform to enable software written for it. Droud 01:45, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

That's not true, I've been using the .NET 2 since it was in alpha and I've never had them both installed simultaneously. NET apps have always run fine --froth^{T C} 02:28, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Maybe your .NET apps are all .NET 2.0... --wj32 ^{talk | contribs} 05:25, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes, there are problems. Documentation of backward incompatibility at this linkand others referenced in the Wikipedia .NET framework article. --Seejyb 14:19, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Looking at those problems, if the programmer makes clean code that doesnt abuse functions (for example using isNumeric to detect if it's signed) it shouldn't be much of a problem. And I was using .NET 2.0 when the only application running on it was Visual Studio, and numerous other .NET apps that were 1.1 --froth^{T C} 18:25, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Circular spiral traversal of 2D arrays

Are there any algorithms that can traverse a 2D array in a circular spiral manner in O(number of elements) time? Or can someone give me a hint as to how to do one? (Just hints, please no solutions.) The best algorithm I can come up with involves adding every possible "next-closest square" (the squares to the top/left/right/bottom of the currently-being-visited square that's farther away than this square) and using a heap where the squares are compared according to their distance away from the square. —AySz88\^-^ 23:35, 8 December 2006 (UTC) clarified italicized 00:46, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Maybe this: compute a archimedean spiral with b set so that it only advances one cell per revolution. Then compute the cells that intersect it, and colour them as you go. Now that might produce gaps due to rounding up, so instead, for each intersecting point, also check the "inward" adjacent pixels. Whether that meets your definition of a "correct" spiral depends on your actual definition of correct, and what your application is in this case. If you were particularly interested in speed over accuracy you could probably cook up some fast integer filled spiral thing. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 00:33, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Actually, to be more accurate, I needed to traverse things in order of increasing distance (so the cells 1 unit away first, then root-2 units, then 2 units, then root-5...). So I shouldn't have said "spiral", probably, though that'd be interesting too.

But my partner came up with a different solution that works without this kind of traversal, so this is a purely academic question now. :) —AySz88\^-^ 00:46, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Here's a simple spiral, built from two loops in polar coords (I hope you like FORTRAN code):

     X_MID = (X_MIN + X_MAX) / 2 ! Calculate the
     Y_MID = (Y_MIN + Y_MAX) / 2 !  midpoint.
     ARY(X_MID,Y_MID) = "*"      ! Put a star at the array midpoint.
     RADIUS_MIN = 0.7
     RADIUS_MAX = sqrt((X_MAX-X_MID)**2.0 + (Y_MAX-Y_MID)**2.0) ! Distance from mid pt to corner.
     RADIUS_STEP = 1.00
     do RADIUS = RADIUS_MIN,RADIUS_MAX+0.5,RADIUS_STEP 
       ANGLE_STEP = 2.0*PI/(14.0*RADIUS)               ! There are 2.0*PI radians in a circle.  
       do ANGLE = 0.0,2.0*PI,ANGLE_STEP 
         X = 0.5 + X_MID + RADIUS*sin(ANGLE)           ! Here I convert to rectangular coords:
         Y = 0.5 + Y_MID + RADIUS*cos(ANGLE)           !  (I might have the SIN and COS backwards.)
         if ((X .ge. X_MIN) .and. (X .le. X_MAX) .and. ! Make sure we aren't off the
    +        (Y .ge. Y_MIN) .and. (Y .le. Y_MAX) .and. !  edge of the array.
    +        (ARY(X,Y) .eq. " "))                then  ! Make sure we haven't hit here before.
           ARY(X,Y) = "*"                              ! Fill the spot in the array with a star.
         endif
       enddo
     enddo

No matter what you do, you are likely to repeat the same values of X and Y occasionally, so I put a check in and don't do anything if that array element has already been hit. Let me know if you have any questions about this or want the source code or executable. StuRat 17:00, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

December 9

How do I choose the best vfm and most reliable home PC - as a none IT guru.

I suppose I have ben very lucky in the past in having bought my previous 3 PC's from PC Supermarkets. Over the past 15 years I have never once had a problem other than technology, capacity, and performance being overtaken. But I just bought another Home PC that has firstly, been replaced because it refused to boot up when powered up, and secondly, when the replacement arrived, I had to call Customer Service to report that the DVD player wasn't working. In the first case, the Customer Service guy (fron Delhi) invited me to take off the tower case cover and under his guidance, test all the connections (something I refused to do), and in the second case, I was referred to an online site where I could download a patch that had been freely acknowledged as being necessary before DVD's could be played. Sorry for banging on about this, but if that technology "excellence" model was replicated on modern motor cars, nobody would buy them. So what should a domestic e-mailer, browser, digital pic filer and DVD player like me do to ensure we have chosen the best package in future? And is there a website where people like me can report their unsatisfactory experiences for the benefit of others, without being prosecuted for "defamation"? Thanks. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 81.145.240.89 (talk) 00:37, 9 December 2006 (UTC).

Typically you will want to read reputable reviews online and combine them with ratings (such as that provided on most online stores) to choose the best brand and model for yourself. Secondly, buy from reputable sources and companies. Unfortunately today many computers are built with the lowest quality components possible, resulting in lackluster performance and reliability. Usually only the lowest models in any manufacturer's lines are like this, sometimes all are. I am not a lawyer, but in my opinion you are not liable for defamation as long as you keep everything truthful, otherwise every online retailer in the country would be liable for defamation in the ratings comments for the products they sell. Droud 01:40, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Manufacturers such as Dell are fine, but if you want to upgrade anything past what it comes with, you'll be screwed. Their support is lackluster, and charges for support are outrageous. I suggest buying a middle-of-the-line model with a video card from a local computer shop (or build your own). You should not have to test electrical connections or download a patch to play DVDs - that is simply..wow. Look for a CPU over 2.0GHZ, a video card (not integrated) and over 512MB ram, and look for it at both Dell (or Compaq, or HP) and compare it with a local shop. See whether the discount is worth it to you - if you ever have any problems, do you mind talking to someone on the phone and saving the money, or would you rather pay a bit more for a computer that you can bring in for no hassle. --Wooty Woot? contribs 02:39, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Several lines like the Think line from IBM/Lenovo capitalize on users who have no tolerance for BS when they pay for a computer. Free world-class tech support, extremely high quality components and R&D, but they cost much more. Other companies like Acer are known to make good, solid computers but they're not over-the-top like the Think line and they're a bit cheaper. Dell makes very cheap computers but you get a surprisingly "OK" system for the tiny amount that you pay- don't expect miracles though. Also don't buy a pricy computer and expect it to be great because it's so expensive- the Mac laptop line has been plagued with constant problems and overwhelming hardware failure ever since they've been made, yet for some reason they cost a small fortune. I'd say pick a company that you trust and stick with it, and NEVER buy from computer shows or "PC supermarkets" unless it's a small business or something and you trust the owner. --froth^{T C} 04:42, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

35mm Digital Drop In

Hey, I recall reading a what’s new article in Popular Science from the late nineties or early zero’s about an alternative to a full-on digital SLR. It was supposed to be a drop in photo-sensor shaped like 35mm film that you could use in any old 35mm Camera. I haven’t been able to find much on google since I don’t recall the manufacture or device name, does anyone know if it was ever made? I think the production was abandoned but I’m not sure. I’d love more info if you know what it was (possible resolution, was it made etc?). Thanks. --Cody.Pope 05:07, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

At least this company tried it. Weregerbil 15:15, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Also Imagek CCD Adapter. Same company, different name and owner, 4 years earlier. -- 06:23, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Folding@home

In terms of content, Folding@home has zero information on how the technique works (which is all published); to be a comprehensive article on the subject, it would need substantial descriptions of the algorithms and methodology, and in particular it needs to detail the justification for sampling many short MD trajectories rather than one or a few very long ones, which is the key that makes distributed computing work for these types of calculations. Similarly, the types of problems for which this technique works well should be explicitly pointed out and contrasted to those problems for which it fails because a long trajectory really is needed. There is no academic criticism of the method presented in this article either. --Foundby 10:23, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Im sorry but what is the question here? If you are only commenting on a certain article, you should do it on that article's talk page, in this case Talk:Folding@home. Shinhan 11:40, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

I agree, that's the proper place to criticize a Wikipedia article and request changes. Of course, you can yourself make those changes, that's the whole point of Wikipedia. StuRat 12:38, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Re-phrased Question

How does the Folding@home technique work? --Foundby 23:45, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

It does not seem as if there is be someone here who could tell you more than you can find at the project website, or in the project forums. Judging by the titles of published material which can be downloaded from the site, you may find answers amongst them: "Mathematical Foundations of ensemble dynamics.", "Atomistic protein folding simulations on the submillisecond timescale using worldwide distributed computing.", and "How well can simulation predict protein folding kinetics and thermodynamics?" are but some. Critiques would clearly be a different issue:) -- Seejyb 12:09, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

quicktime

i dont know what's wrong with my quicktime because whenever i try to play a quicktime muvie (e.g. any on youtube) it just comes up with the quicktime logo with a question mark. anyone know what's happening?

thanks —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 81.100.232.12 (talk) 13:23, 9 December 2006 (UTC).

I thought YouTube uses Adobe Flash? --Russoc4 14:52, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

i know which is wierd because i can watch most flash things but not youtube or anything quicktime

Just taking a guess here. Open up the QuickTime player, go Edit -> Preferences -> QuickTime Preferences. Choose the Browser tab, and click MIME Settings. Expand the Miscellaneous option, and uncheck Flash media. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 00:23, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

no it didnt work. good theory though. thanks for trying

Try uninstalling quicktime all together, then try watching the videos. If it works, then at least you isolated the problem to quicktime. Try reinstalling it, paying close attention to what you install. --Russoc4 14:49, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

i think ive tried that. when i uninstall it it still doesnt work. then i reinstalled it and it still didnt work aswell. thanks for the suggestion though.

Internet Explorer Version 7...

...completely sucks. My computer updated to it without even asking me, which I thought was quite rude of it.

Is there any way I can go back to the previous version? I was happy and comfortable with it and I don't want to have to get used to all the buttons and tabs being in different places. Battle Ape 14:50, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Your Automatic Updates did that. To uninstall it. Start menu > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs > Remove Internet Explore 7 --Russoc4 14:54, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes, that will give you a roll-back to IE6. Also, from the this Microsoft article on the kit for disabling automatic update to IE7, the following registry key controls the process:

Registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Setup\7.0
Key value name: DoNotAllowIE70
   * When the key value name is not defined, distribution is not blocked.
   * When the key value name is set to 0, distribution is not blocked.
   * When the key value name is set to 1, distribution is blocked.

So while the key remains set to 0, or it does not exist, you will keep on having the same problem. Alternatively (I have not seen the update work) according to this MS article this specific update should work according to how automatic updates for windows is configured. If this is so, then the auto update can be set to ask before downloading or installing anything, avoiding the need for editing the registry. That automatic update feature is set in start>settings>control panel>automatic updates. -- Seejyb 16:56, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Is there something similar to remove Windows Media Player 11 and roll back to 10? IMO the only thing that Windows Media Player has that puts it above every other player is the format of it's Media Library and yet, without fail, with every big release Microsoft feel the need to change it. While I've been able to adapt to previous changes I think they've changed it too much for it to be suitable. --Kiltman67 18:17, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Well then you need to make sure WMP10 supports the WMP11 library format, but it probably doesn't. --wj32 ^{talk | contribs} 23:41, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Why would I want WMP10 to support the WMP11 library format? The whole point was that I want to go back to 10 because I don't like the new format in 11. --Kiltman67 00:12, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Not the library interface, the library file format --froth^{T C} 04:37, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

The info on what to do about the library format (there may be a digital rights management problem) is at the bottom of this section on rolling back WMP 11. Otherwise, according to Microsoft, it should work fine. -- Seejyb 08:12, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

GOOGLE EARTH

hello,

Does any one know how to change the lines representing the roads on Google Earth? Can it be done? There are alot which are inacurate in terms of the route, colour and and there are no numbers for the B Roads.

thanks, --84.66.3.16 15:55, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

You will need to make your own KML in Google Earth. Droud 17:36, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

If I remember right, google earth uses proprietary data, so might not be interested in harvesting improved data from end users. You might like to consider supporting Open Street Map instead, which also allows much greater use of the data with the creative commons cc-by-sa license. --h2g2bob 08:53, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

December 10

Windows 3.1 colour schemes

Does anyone know where I can find screenshots (or even Windows XP themes) of the colour schemes from Windows 3.1? Google turns up virtually nothing in this regard -- all I've been able to find is a picture of the "Hot Dog Stand" scheme. --Lumina83 00:48, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

I'd like to clarify that he's obviously looking for screenshots of alternate colour schemes. The image on the Win3.1x article is obviously an accurate representation of the default colour scheme.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  04:42, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Maybe you could find a computer running it? Or I'd bet that maybe Microsoft still has support stuff online that might have something? --Cody.Pope 05:11, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Do you mean alternate themes that were included default? I know I have 3.1x disks on hand, if that's what you're referring to I can install it and see... 68.39.174.238 23:23, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

68.39.172.238: Yep, that's exactly what I mean, the other colour schemes that were included with 3.1 — Arizona, Black Leather Jacket, etc. Cody.Pope: I did manage to find the hex values for the Win3.1 colour schemes, but I couldn't figure out which colour went where in the interface. I might try looking through it again and see if I can decipher it. --Lumina83 00:31, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Writing a batch file

How can I write a batch file that:

1. opens CMD
2. types in "regsvr32 softpub.dll"
3. wait for a popup window informing the success of re-registering the dll file
4. click "OK" in the popup window
5. continue other similar commands
6. when finished, exits CMD automatically

This is not a homework of any kind but is a required periodic process for me to remove the error message in MSN Messenger (according to the MSN team it could be coped with using the method above)and it has been irritating for me to type in the same commands everyday. Thanks! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 219.78.202.94 (talk) 02:33, 10 December 2006 (UTC).

Windows' batch files can't do step 3 and 4. You'd need something more advanced for that... or you'd have to do it manually. ☢ Ҡi∊ff⌇↯ 03:33, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Are you sure? I think it would probably wait for regsvr32 to finish before continuing. If it doesn't you can always use the Pause command right after the regsvr32 line but you'd have to hit enter in the DOS prompt. As for opening CMD and closing it automatically, it'll do this on its own you don't have to do anything special --froth^{T C} 04:33, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

You can try Autohotkey. --Russoc4 14:47, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

You might want to write your regsvr32 commands like "regsvr32 /s (filename)" - that suppresses the dialog box from appearing at all. For similar switches for pretty much any command, type "(command) /?" (for example, I discovered the /s switch by typing "regsvr32 /?"). So your batch file would look something like:

regsvr32 /s softpub.dll 
regsvr32 /s softpub2.dll 
regsvr32 /s softpub3.dll  

Hope that helps. :) —AySz88\^-^ 16:40, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Yep, and for *nix tools ported to windows expect the switch to be --help --froth^{T C} 19:20, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

You may want to look at ".cmd" files (I only know they're like NT batch files), or try the "call" command. I will admit it's been a while since I've edited batch files. Also, what about just creating a shortcut in Programs > startup that runs the above command? 68.39.174.238 21:57, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Gmail spam

I have a really "secure" gmail account (it's for personal mails only, and only about 10 close friends know what it is), and though I admit that even that isn't enough to protect it to spam, I've recently received my first spam message, and it's a little bit unnerving.

I checked the BCC, and it looked something like this (I've changed all three of the email accounts).

• freshfromthebakery@gmail.com
• freshpest@gmail.com
• fresiapablino@gmail.com

Since I've never actually entered my email (it was in the first position) into any online forms, I of course first suspect a dictionary attack or a random string search, but this doesn't look right. A dictionary attack wouldn't have missed so many real words, and it's obviously not random. These were definitely taken off of some kind of list, and I'm willing to bet that there's no registered addresses in between freshfromthebakery and freshpest, and freshpest and fresiapablino.

It almost appears as if these three emails (and I can only guess how many) were taken directly from a list of registered gmail addresses, and that scares me. What do you guys think?  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  04:59, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

First, I'd try sending emails to the other addresses and find out if they are actual addresses. Second, I never used to get spam until I signed up for gmail accounts. The two email accounts I used (to sign up for the two gmail accts) now both get identical junk mail. I'm not getting junk mail at my gmail accounts, but I'm now getting oodles of junk mail (like up to 250 pieces a day) at the two addresses I gave to Google. Anchoress 05:05, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Has anyone looked at the G-mail privacy statement ? Do they claim they won't sell either the old or new address ? StuRat 14:01, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

"We do not sell, rent or otherwise share your personal information with any third parties except in the limited circumstances described in the Google Privacy Policy, such as when we believe we are required to do so by law." (http://mail.google.com/mail/help/privacy.html) –mysid☎ 18:09, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Maybe it was a security breach. I'm sure Google is paranoidly hush-hush about their security --froth^{T C} 19:22, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Could any of your friends have had their computers compromised? Their ISPs? Also, I don't think a dictionary attack is that unlikely, but I'm not sure. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 08:25, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Along those same lines, are any of your friends mad at you? :) Or more likely, are they the type to fall for things like Ecrush, or otherwise not be as careful with your email address as you are? Another possibility: If you've previously given out addresses like freshfromthebakery@hotmail.com or freshfromthebakery@yahoo.com, the spammers can easily guess your new email address. Dave6 08:59, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Nothing like that, though of course there's always the possibility that one of my friends "comprimised" the address. Whatever the reason it's obvious that I'm on a list somewhere now, a list that people with dead African relatives with too much money use to find good Samaritans to hold their money for them. The only common thread between all of the messages is that they come from some web-based email client... ~@sendemailfromabrowserwindow.com or something like that.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  04:22, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

help!!!!!!!

i got a trojan installed on my computer and can't get rid of it i keep getting this message when i try to delete it: error deleting file: make sure item is not read only or hidden help!!!! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 75.36.209.248 (talk) 08:05, 10 December 2006 (UTC).

Restart your computer and boot into safe mode, then delete it. Are you using anti-virus sofware to remove it? Splintercellguy 08:27, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

k thanks alot.---- Giantmungus9

Also, how do u boot into safe mode?

When the computer is starting up, press F8 before the windows logo appears (if you see a "starting Windows XP" message, press F8 then) and from the resulting menu select safe mode. -- AJR | Talk 23:32, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

storage capacity of CD and DVD

what is the storage capacity of CD and DVD —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.246.70.85 (talk • contribs)

Look at the CD and DVD articles. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 14:23, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Approximate numbers would be 700MB for a common blank CD and 5GB for a common blank DVD. If you want more accurate numbers, and want to know the theory behind the nomenclature of "megabyte" and "gigabyte", I suggest you read our articles. The storage capacities vary greatly depending on the type of disc used, what's stored on them, how you count bytes, etc.--Russoc4 14:45, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Troubles with Linux.

I'm running Damn Small Linux from my HDD. It all works fine, aside from two problems: (a) Gaim won't run. I downloaded it using MyDSL, but when I click the icon, nothing happens. (b) Firefox 1.5.0.6 needs to be re-downloaded each time I boot. Otherwise it does the same thing as gaim. I'd really, really appreciate any help anyone could offer, especially with the latter issue. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 202.10.86.63 (talk) 15:57, 10 December 2006 (UTC).

You might like to run both programs from a command line window; it's possible that they're displaying some error message, something that you're missing because you're starting them from the menu system. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 17:13, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Well, running the command firefox starts Firefox 1.0.6, which is included with the system. gaim is not found. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 202.10.86.63 (talk) 17:40, 10 December 2006 (UTC).

MAKING YOUR OWN MAPPING

Hello,

What program would you reccomend for making your own simple mapping like you get in something like a standard AA road map (of GB). I tried to use just simpally MS Paint but i found it was too basic and i couldnt easilly create the symbols and stuff like the corners, and it was just annoying.

thanks, --William dady 16:00, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Use vector-based software, not bitmap-based, for things like maps and diagrams. Inkscape is free and pretty easy to use once you get the hang of it. --24.147.86.187 17:01, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Also, take a look at how Open Street Map does it --h2g2bob 07:15, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

A transformer program

Hello all, Is there a program that transforms a c# program into a .EXE format ? Thx —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 196.218.1.39 (talk) 16:03, 10 December 2006 (UTC).

A compiler? yandman 16:27, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

No not a compiler. I wrote a game using c# and I want this game to be setupped for example.So, I want it to be like any regular file when u double click u can choose a destination to install it...etc.

Then what you want is an installer - see Category:Installation software and Category:Free installation software (Nullsoft Scriptable Install System is a particularly common one). -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 16:48, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

<edit conflict>

Ah, an installation package. A few guesses: are you by any chance only running the program from inside your IDE? If this is the case, are you aware that the program .exe has been created in your hard drive in a subdirectory of the project folder? Does your program need an installation? Does it use the registry, or external libraries? If you really need an installation, I think visual studio (if that's what you're using) has a "build installer" option. If not, I suggest just taking the .exe file, zipping it and giving it to your friends so they can play it. yandman 16:54, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Thank u guys, but i'm not very experienced with this kind of stuff and i wasnt able to understand how to use Nullsoft Scriptable Install System very well. I wonder if there is a program that does the same task but with easier interface like a wizard or something ?

If you have one single c# program, build it for release and I think it shows up in my documents\visual studio 2005\projects\PROJECTNAME\release. Chances are, you don't need an installer or anything, just that single executable. If you have multiple executables but no libraries to register or registry entries to insert, consider using something like WinZip Self Extractor. If you're asking about how to distribute your program without forcing your users to install the whole .NET framework, try remotesoft's product which links only the needed .NET framework code directly into your executable. If you actually need a full installer, nothing's easier than MSI or nullsoft --froth^{T C} 19:33, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

The Nullsoft Scriptable Install System, or "NSIS" (website) is really good. It's Free Software and works really well, especially if you use the IDE and the Wizard. --h2g2bob 19:47, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

The Visual Studio IDE has a template for creating a setup project, however good that is. Splintercellguy 04:22, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

NTSC

ARE MOST BRITISH DVD PLAYERS NTSC COMPATIBLE ?

Many (but I can't say whether it's most) will optionally output NTSC instead of PAL. So if you had a British DVD player then it might work in the US, but you'd need to check the specific model. If, however, you're asking whether you can play region 1 DVDs on a DVD player in the UK, you'll (almost always) find out that you can't. That said, there are published workarounds for some players (which tell them to change their internal region, or forget region coding altogether). -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 17:25, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes if you have a bunch of british DVDs with a british NTSC player you won't have any trouble. If you start mixing and matching your DVD regions with your player regions, then the DVD companies don't like that and the region blocking will kick in. I'd highly encourage you to de-region your player, if you're geeky enough to be motivated =) --froth^{T C} 19:25, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Note that if it's a DVD player that's also on sale on the Continent, there'll almost certainly be a work-around. They're required by some law to do with the European common market. Sockatume 04:31, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

In my experience yes (with american multiregion discs etc) - though few will convert to PAL. Most modern TV's support NTSC and PAL - but older TV's don't.87.102.44.80 17:51, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Uploading plain wikitext to Wikipedia using Wget or CURL

Hi there!

Since I have some basic programming knowledge I was wondering about using it on writing a bot. I know how to download pages from Wikipedia and get their wikitext, but the question is how to upload it. I would prefer if it was doable in Wget, but failing that I will gladly use CURL.

So basically what I want to do is have a normal text file, say 'wikitext.txt', which is uploaded to a page, say Wikipedia:Sandbox, as if the editor had used the text box and clicked the submit button in a web browser.

If I haven't been verbose enough here, just tell me.

(Oh, and one last note: I use Linux.)

Cheers, Yuser31415 18:56, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Your task is complicated by the two-phase edit process. When you hit the edit get the server sets a short-term cookie, and that cookie must be returned when you POST the updated form. Beyond that you need to manage a login session, which is another form fill and another cookie. You might be better off using one of the existing bot frameworks - see Wikipedia:Creating a bot. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 19:10, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

That is okay, thank you for replying! Yuser31415 06:20, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Browser won't display some flash, mpeg, and mp3 files

File:Error message.JPG

The error message he gets when trying to view a flash game.

A friend of a friend told me his problem, and I thought I would be extra nice (Santa's watching!) and help him out on it. His browser, IE 7, won't properly display some flash, mpeg (I think that's the file type, but I know it isn't avi or a Windows Media file type) or some mp3 songs. For example, when he tries to play games at school, such as line flyer, a blank screen loads and a small triangle appears with an exclaimation mark in the bottom left corner of the status bar. The game won't work on this site, but it will on different ones, like addictinggames.com. Other times, when he "relieves stress", and relaxes in front of the computer monitor (and maybe visists some sites of questionable merit), some of the videos he likes to watch won't play in the browser, and he has to play them in WMP 11. What can one do to solve this problem? Thanks for the help. --ClockFace 22:50, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

This error reflects a scripting error on the site in question, not a problem with IE7. Droud 02:23, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

The game I mentioned earlier won't work on his home computer, but when he's at school it will work on most of the school computers. Is it still possible it is a scripting error on the site's part, even though it will work on at least most of the computers at any given time? Also, I don't know if it is relevant, but the school uses IE 6 still. It won't work on some computers, but it will work on most of the others. --ClockFace 00:15, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Also, when he tries to view some of the videos as long as it is not played in Windows Media Player, or if it doesn't have WMP (or something along those lines) embedded into the browswer, no videos will play. So any site with mpeg video (which is a large portion of the sites he likes to visit) will not display in the browser, no matter how many different sites he tries. So that would mean every single site with mpeg made a scripting error? I'm not too savvy about that stuff so I don't know if that is likely or not. --ClockFace 00:19, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Are you sure flash and the embedded windows media player are both installed and available in the web browser. By which I mean, has your school just turned them off. If flash is turned off in the browser, but still installed, then saving the flash (.swf) file to the desktop and running it using a stand-alone flash player may run some flash files. --h2g2bob 08:05, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

December 11

X box 360 live

Template:Strict I am having trouble getting xbox live. The network tests all come out fine, but then I'm told that I need to download updates to continue. When I click on Yes the updating bar appears, nothing happens, then an error message appears. I have also tried the hard drive and it appears to be saving and loading data fine. What do I do? X-box.com is useless! Thanks, 86.41.148.55 23:03, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Is your 360 behind a firewall or router? Also, please post the error message you are receiving. Droud 02:15, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

As far as I know it goes into a LAN port on a DSL router along with the PC. Here's what appears on the screen:

An update is available for your console from Xbox live. If you decline this update, you will be signed out of Xbox Live.

Do you want to apply the update now?

ME: Yes, update now

Please wait while the update is applied.

Do not turn off or unplug your console.

(nothing happens for a few seconds)

A failure occurred during installation of the update. There may be a problem with your network connection or your storage device may be full. For more info, go to www.xbox.com/support.

The hard drive has 13GB free, and the Test Xbox live Connection gives:

Network Adapter: Wired

Wireless Network: (blank)

IP Address: Confirmed

DNS: Confirmed

MTU: Confirmed

ICMP: Confirmed

Xbox live: Failed

NAT: (blank)

Thanks, 86.41.148.55 02:56, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Hmm. It is possible the router's firewall may be interfering, turn that off temporarily or use a software firewall and see what pops up on alerts and logs. Failing that, I'd call MS and see what's up - perhaps it's a bug on their end. --Wooty Woot? contribs 03:19, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Enabling UPnP on your DSL router should solve the problem, as that will allow the 360 to configure the router itself. If your router doesn't have UPnP you're probably out of luck and need to upgrade to one that does. These can be had online for $20-30 or $40-50 in stores. Droud 01:37, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Size of Windows XP temp directory

How is Windows XP sizing the temp directory located at C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Temp? Is it based on a percentage of available free space on the disk?

Is there a way that I can manually control this?

There is no automatic control of temp directory size. Quotas can limit the size of your Documents and Settings folder, or you can easily clear unneeded temp files like this. Droud 02:19, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

system perspective

what is system perspective?

Could you be a bit more specific? In what context did you hear this phrase? — QuantumEleven 09:31, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

It means considering the whole system, versus just looking at a portion of the system. StuRat 12:49, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

pc memory

What is the difference between 'ECC' and 'nonECC' memory and are they interchangeable ?

Our article on error-correcting code is not the greatest explanation... ECC memory has extra chips that give it error checking and correcting. Occasionally one of the billions of transistors on a RAM chip flips randomly. It doesn't happen very often, but if you have gigabytes of memory it could happen once every few years. ECC detects the error and either corrects the error or crashes the computer (which sometimes is much better than getting wrong answers from software). Whether your computer supports ECC depends on the motherboard. Check your computer's hardware manual whether it accepts ECC memory, non-ECC memory, or even a mix of the two (allowing a mix is rare though). ECC memory is more expensive than non-ECC, and is usually used in servers. For a desktop PC non-ECC is usual. Weregerbil 13:06, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

ECC and non-ECC modules are interchangeable in a desktop computer, since they share the same slots and connectors (per memory technology). Some servers will require the ECC modules to run. Droud 01:33, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure I've had some boards that would not boot with ECC memory. Am I just mistaken? jdstroy 04:24, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

Open Street Mapping

hi,

Iv just downloaded the Java version of OSM onto my computer (Windows XP) but theres a problem. Whenever i try to download images from OSM and i select the area i want to download, then do all the otherstuff necesery, click ok, then it tries to download but then says "Connection refused:connect". Help!

(please not too advanced explenation, please keep it simple)

thanks, --84.68.42.63 14:12, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Sounds like a security setting problem to me, something like "JAVA - Network I/O - Connect to non-file URL codebase - NO". StuRat 22:00, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

One way to change your JAVA permissions is as follows (this is for Windows 98, it may be different for you):

1) Right click on the Internet Explorer icon.

2) Select "Properties".

3) Select the "Security" tab.

4) Pick the "Custom Level..." button.

5) Scroll down to "Microsoft VM" + "Java Permissions".

6) Select "Low safety".

7) Select OK.

8) Try using your program again.

9) If that didn't work, set JAVA back to the old safety level.

StuRat 22:10, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Way to bond cable modems?

I know T1 lines can be "bonded" to double bandwidth. Is there something similar that can be done to increase upload bandwidth using cable modems? If not, what's the cheapest type of service for 2~3Mbit upload speeds? --24.249.108.133 18:23, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

A router could be configured to bond the channels for you, but this level of functionality would either require a very expensive router or else a specially configured computer (perhaps running Linux) with two ethernet cards. As for cheaper service, it would depend on where you live. --Dgies 23:26, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

You can always run a router that spreads connections among multiple modems. Individual network connections will be limited to the speed of one modem, however, since each modem uses a unique address. Droud 01:12, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Excel question

I hope I can explain this adequately. I want to have Excel automatically fill in the cells in a row based on the content I type in the first cell and have the program take this data from another sheet in the same workbook. How do I do that? - Mgm|^(talk) 19:14, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Well the drag and fill feature works for raw data and for formulas, so that would work. Let me see if I understand you correctly. You have data in cell A1 in sheet 1, and you want to fill a range of cells in sheet 2 with that data? Is that correct? If so, it's dead easy. Anchoress 19:31, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

• Pretty much, but I want Excel to find the appropriate row based on what I put into cell A1 and copy the entire equivalent row from sheet 2. In short: fill out one cell, have all the other filled out as a result. - Mgm|^(talk) 19:50, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

OK you've lost me, I don't think that's what I envisioned at all. Could you be more specific, using cell and sheet numbers? Anchoress 19:56, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

• Imagine a sheet with data. The A column contains the identifying name of a geographical location, columns B to H contain other details of that location. On another sheet. I want to be able to fill in one of the names in the A column and have the other related data automatically appear in the other columns. Basically, I want to be able to copy entire rows based on the data in one cell so I can make a list of visited locations by date without repeating myself. - Mgm|^(talk) 20:21, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Ah so for a certain cell you're not necessarily pulling in data from any particular cell; the other cell you get data from is dependent upon whatever's in that first "certain cell." So instead of the usual

data[n]

You have...

data[address[n]]

It sounds like you need some kind of excel dereferencing operation, and I don't think there is one --froth^{T C} 20:44, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Oh got it, that's easy. There are a few ways of doing it, an IF statement formula would do it. And you can format your A cells to 'pick from list' so that you don't even have to type in the data in that cell, you can just pick from a drop list. Anchoress 21:05, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

• How can you use an if statement? I can only say, if A1 is X then fill in Y. But there's more than one option to account for. - Mgm|^(talk) 21:11, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

If statements in excel can have multiple nestings, so it's not just two alternatives. Anchoress 21:16, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

I believe the point is for this to be scalable. --froth^{T C} 21:27, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

• I don't know how to nest multiple IF statements and, yes, scalability would be nice. - Mgm|^(talk) 21:31, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

I think you're looking for the Cells.Find() function combined with some address calculations for the row of data. I found info about it here. Droud 01:31, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

A VBA solution would work but it would be very, very slow. --24.147.86.187 14:27, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

I am not sure I totally understand what you want but have you looked at the CHOOSE, VLOOKUP, and HLOOKUP cell functions? One of those should do what you want, I think. They can choose a value from a set of values based on whatever criteria you want. --24.147.86.187 14:27, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

I agree with 24.147.., you guys are making it way too complicated with all this VBA, nested IFs, etc. Here's what you need. Setup sheet1 as above. In sheet2 cell A1 you can type in whatever name corresponds to sheet1!A1. In sheet2!A2 enter "=LOOKUP($A1,Sheet1!$A:$A,Sheet1!B:B)" which means it will compare the contents of Sheet2!A1 to all the rows of Sheet1's A column, until it finds the matching one, then return the corresponding value from that row of the B column. Because of the fixed vs relative links, you can copy and paste this formula quickly across multiple rows and columns of sheet 2 to easily fill out your reference chart. The only limitation on it is that the data in Sheet 1's A column MUST be in alphanumerical order top to bottom. The rest of the data can obviously be in any order you need. --Maelwys 16:59, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

The ordering limitation seemed burdensome, and I was under the impression that VBA would run with less performance penalty than cell formulas. Is this not the case? Droud 01:39, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

• Hmm, this sounds more like I need it to work. I'll see if it works as soon as I can. - Mgm|^(talk) 11:02, 13 December 2006 (UTC)
• Hooray! It appears to work. Thanks! - Mgm|^(talk) 19:02, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

Associating a gamertag with an Xbox forum account

Hi everyone - I've been having some difficulties getting my gamertag associated with my xbox live forums account (ready for upgrade to 360). When I sign in with either of my passport accounts, I'm taken to a registration wizard, when I input my gamertag (Martinp23) and am told that it's not associated with this .NET account and that I need to log in with the right one (or something like that...). When I try to log in with my alternate account, I get the same problem. I'm wondering - have the xbox forums changed their policies (by associating gamertags with passports) within the last year (or two), or have I just used soem other email address? Thanks, Martinp23 22:41, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

TP-T9 Mp3 player from samsung Firmwire

Hello i was wondering if anyone could help me with finding the firmware update to make the device a UMS..any help would be appreciated.

Have you tried looking on Samsung's site for that player? --Dgies 23:20, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

yes i have and its a firmware update but it doesn't allow UMS transfer..i have been looking for the firmware update and its supposed to be european or Chinese or something along those lines...

December 12

== SNORT ==

Can someone please educate me on how to use SNORT to block instant messaging on my 98SE?

--Omnipotence407 00:31, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

A lot of information can be found here. Droud 01:14, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Basically you need to find out the addresses of the major IM servers and configure your software (SNORT or whatever) to reject packets addressed to there. 68.39.174.238 22:03, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

How to make a link.

Hi, I'm trying to edit part of a page, and figured out that "[[link text here]]" makes a link. However, I still can't figure out how to place the url so that clicking on the link takes the user directly to the content. Instead, it takes the user to another page with the url link there. Then they can click that and go to the content. I'm trying to take out that extra step. Thanks,

Rick — Preceding unsigned comment added by Crashkidd34 (talk • contribs)

It's an internal link, right? In that case, be careful to avoid redirections. Does the page you arrive on have a blue arrow with the name of the article next to it? yandman 09:01, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Something else to consider, you can display different text for your link than the actual article name. If you're linking to Foo (bar) but you want the linkable text to just say Foo, you would use the pipe character to seperate the two: [[Foo (bar)|Foo]] - In this example, the actual target is Foo (bar) but it looks like Foo in the text. - CHAIRBOY (☎) 17:46, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

You can find loads of info on how links work at Help:Links. What page are you trying to link to? Maybe if you're more specific we can try and help you better. — QuantumEleven 12:24, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

This kinda sounds like a double-redirect: You're linking to a redirect page which automatically directs users to a second redirect page, and the second page doesn't automatically redirect to the real page. It also looks like you were having a problem with User:Shadowbot detecting your edits as spam on Midnattsol, but I'm not sure if that's related. Could you detail your problem a little more? —AySz88\^-^ 19:57, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

High density cluster server

What would be the current maximum number of calculations per second per cubic meter provided by todays fastest cluster server?

A rack is about 60 ft^3 (1.7m^3) and there are 64 racks in BlueGene/L for a total of 108.8 m^3. Since the computer is capable of 360TFLOPs, this equates to about 3.33 TFLOPs per cubic meter. I am unsure as to whether this is the highest density on earth, but it's definitely the fastest computer on earth and fits into 64 racks, which is tiny (compared to the Earth Simulator). 70.184.45.137 21:13, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Also there are other form factors for servers, such as blades, which have very high density --froth^{T C} 21:17, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Native XML Database

I want to use a XML Database to strore my XML Files ;but i want free software which runs in win32;i want to know whether it is advisible to use ORACLE?--Srinivasanraju 12:50, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Oracle is not free unless you use Express Edition (check Oracle_database#Editions). If so, then Oracle is an excellent choice as it has a comprehensive XDK and parser. Creation of a typical XML schema is one of the default options in the installation of Oracle Enterprise edition. Sandman30s 14:26, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

I think that OpenOffice.org Base can store data in XML format; you might want to look into that. (I might be wrong though, now that I think about it.) --24.147.86.187 14:29, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Painful error.

When I attempt to boot my PC, I get the error BIOS is in wide range. What could that mean?

Two possibilities. One, your BIOS may be giving an odd error that would need some help from the manufacturer, another possibility is that your monitor is stating that it is unable to render the image being provided by your video port. If you have another computer available, you may be able to test this by plugging the other monitor into this computer to see if the error is the same. If it is, then the problem is with your computer and not the monitor. If that's so, post the model of your motherboard and any other information you can give about the error. - CHAIRBOY (☎) 17:37, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

OSM

hi,

Iv got Java OSM (JOSM) and i need to know something. How do you import an image like this one here: http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/index.php/Image:Josm-screenshot.png?

thanks, --84.65.6.184 16:14, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Fatal error

I've recently uploaded Apocalypto via DC++, but while opening I receive a fatal error report: "Installation corrupted - please reinstall NERO". I don't understand the connection between Nero and film, may be there is an inappropriate file extension. Thoughts to fix the problem? --Brand спойт 16:15, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

What are the file extensions of the files you're trying to open? It's possible if you're attempting to open some sort of image file (as in disc image rather than pictures) that NERO may be set as the default application. --Kiltman67 16:48, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

In line with what Kiltman wrote above, you may be able to test this assertion by opening your media player of choice and then dropping the file into it (to bypass the windows file extension association). - CHAIRBOY (☎) 17:34, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Another suggestion which is linked, reinstall NERO (if possible) and see what happens when it's not corrupt. If it opens up a burner then it may just be the case of it being an image, though NERO does include a media player so it's possible that their player has been set as your default. --Kiltman67 18:27, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

The extension is .avi --Brand спойт 21:34, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

If it's truly an avi then it could be what I described, NERO's media player has set itself as your default media player and due to some corruption with NERO you can't open it. You should follow Chairboy's advice and open it in another media player (VLC preferably since it supports so many codecs but you should be able to get away with anything that plays avi's). This will at least tell you if the video itself has a problem. --Kiltman67 23:53, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Better Linux distribution?

I am beginning to get fed up with Fedora Core 5, because it insists on adapting the oh-so-holy 100% free and open software doctrines, and moving on to UTF-8 only, which is causing practical problems when trying to develop our company's code. I am stubborn enough to stick with Linux and not give in to Bill's demonic seduction, but I might not be stubborn enough to stick with Fedora. Is there any other 100% freely available Linux distribution that is in active development, has all the same goodies as Fedora Core 5, but lets me have more freedom on how to configure my system's internals? JIP | Talk 18:31, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

I gave up on redhat long ago. Ubuntu has never let me down; to get all the babyeating-evil-licenced stuff you have to add "universe" to the apt config file. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 20:06, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

If you want control go with slackware. Of course, nothing beats building your own from the kernel and various gnu sources.. but that's not exactly cost effective --froth^{T C} 21:19, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

^Same idea as Gentoo. --Russoc4 01:56, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

sharing printer

I have a desktop and a laptop using Windows XP pro OS, with a modem and a wireless router on the desktop. How do I share the printer without buying more equipment. All I want to do is print from the laptop to the printer which is connected to the desktop. Thanks, --Rayratliff 19:55, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

printers and faxes, right click on printer, sharing, share this printer. If the laptop is in the same workgroup (control panel -> system -> computer name -> change) then it should appear in the laptop's network neighbourhood. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 20:03, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Programming macro keys in XP?

Back when I used to use a Wyse dumb terminal to access a big AIX mainframe, I could eliminate a lot of the work in repetitous tasks by programming macros into the F keys. It seems silly that with modern computers I can no longer do this. Does anyone know some way I can map system-wide macros on the F keys or ALT- combinations in Windows XP? —Chowbok ☠ 21:06, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

This excellent page should get you well on your way. 70.184.45.137 21:18, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

You may also want to look at AutoHotkey, which, at a glance at the Windows Scripting Host, appears to be more powerful than WSH. (For example, I've used AutoHotkey to automatically keep attempting to enroll in a filled-up course, and notify me when the course is no longer full.) The above page mentions something about not being able to map Win-_ combinations using WSH, and I think most of the Win+_ combinations are unused, so you'd want to use AutoHotkey if you want to utilize those. —AySz88\^-^ 19:47, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

Photoshop Elements problem

Hello. In my graphics work, I use both Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop Elements (unfortunately, I don't have the full Photoshop). Recently at the theater I volunteer at, they got me a new computer. I re-installed the two programs, but there is a problem with Elements. Anytime I go to Elements when there is an incompatible file saved to the Clipboard, Elements shuts down. For example, If I've recently copied an .ai file from Illustrator, and I go to use Elements, Elements instantly shuts down. (This happens even if Elements is already running and just minimized. As soon as I maximize it, off it goes.) It's not when I try to paste such a file; it doesn't even give me that chance if I wanted to. If I've copied a compatible file (such as a .jpg or .gif) to the Clipboard, Elements opens just fine. Is there some setting on Elements that I have wrong, or is the new hardware doing something? (By the way, the same programs work fine on my home computer. Windows XP is running on both.) Thank you. — Michael J 21:48, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia Editing Tool

I'm currently using notepad to edit Wikipedia articles over long periods of time. The wiki markup makes it difficult to read. Is there a software tool currently in existence, that allows quick switching between editing and reading modes (Wikipedia's loading times are too slow). --Username132 (talk) 21:50, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

A danger you should be aware of is that other people may edit the page while you're crafting away on your home computer, especially if it is "over long periods of time". You would then need to painstakingly merge your changes with theirs. A couple of suggestions:

• If you're going to do a major rewrite of an article, do it by section instead of all at once.
• If the markup is difficult to use, install one of the many browser extensions that give Wikimarkup a GUI, like this.
• Find the root of the issue. You say on one hand that the load times are too slow, yet elsewhere you talk about an edit that takes a long time to work on. Perhaps 3 seconds of loading isn't that much of a problem on the scale of things when you're looking at a project that will take a long time to complete anyhow. Hope I've been of help. - CHAIRBOY (☎) 22:37, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Further, Wiki is intended to be edited in this piecemeal fashion, both to facilitate review and to provide insight to later readers. Droud 01:51, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

comperr-->You also may want to try notepad++ and d/l a wiki module.

PSP Memory Stick

I looked at the Playstation Portable page and couldn't really tell from the wording so I'd like to know if you need a memory stick to save your game on a PSP.

†he Bread 05:28, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

As far as I can tell, yes. It comes with no integrated memory for that purpose, and you can't write to the UMDs. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 07:04, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

No you need some kind of external memory. Personally I prefer something similar to this instead of traditional, expensive flash memory --froth^{T C} 20:29, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes, you do need one to save, it does come with a 32 MB Card, which is enough for several games (My game saves folder is only about 5 MB.) However, I would definitely recommend buying a higher capacity stick if you want to take advantage of the multimedia capabilities, and homebrew if you have a capable firmware. Nothing like a good round of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the Genesis emulator during the bus ride to work. Cyraan 21:56, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

Cool thanks y'all, I'm gonna buy one in the weekend and was wondering

†he Bread 22:20, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

Or if you do the upgrade I linked to you can watch every Lord of the Rings Extended Edition and all of the bonus content on your bus ride. If you have a really long commute. And a suitcase full of car batteries. --froth^{T C} 22:44, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

Primary master hard disk fail.

When I boot my (older) machine it says "Error, primary master hard disk fail" (this is in the POST, before my OS boots). LiveCDs work fine but I can't see my hdd partitions in them, so I'm assuming that my hard drive has failed. Is there any way, short of getting a new hard drive, that I can still use my PC? Can I tell it to ignore the error? I don't need to save many files, just boot Damn Small Linux and run Firefox, VNCviewer and XChat.

I'd suggest taking it to a friend's computer as a slave and formatting it from there (after which you might be able to install DSL). But, to be honest, I think it's kapputt. yandman 12:57, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes, your hard drive has died. I had the same message once. You might be able to figure out some way of getting the programs you need onto a USB memory stick and using that as the hard drive, although it will run like treacle. You can pick up hard drives for very little money these days ... if all you want is those programs, you could probably rescue a 5 or 10 Gb one out of something a computer hardware store has thrown out. Proto::► 13:22, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

Sigh... I wouldn't mind as much if this error didn't pop up two days after I bought the machine (yeah, I'm poor, I had to buy a very old PC). —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 202.10.86.63 .

On the plus side, you probably lost, at most, two days work. I suspect that Ted Kennedy loses 2 days every weekend. StuRat 04:56, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

LED article does not print for me

There seems to be something odd (hidden characters? malevolence?) about the article on LEDs (light emitting diodes). I cannot get it to print on our network (HP colour laser) printer from my workstation, BUT ALL the other articles and pages that I have tried to print (on the same printer) in the last two days have printed without a problem. What am I missing? Unfortunately, I am no geek, so I may have omitted information that you need. Thank-you --BabbyBaby 17:52, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

Have you tried the printer-friendly version at http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Light-emitting_diode&printable=yes ? Any difference? (The page really should print either way, I think, but this might be a workaround.) —AySz88\^-^ 20:05, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

Weird URL in spam

I found a spam forum post with this URL http://1044398194 I thought it was malformed, and I clicked on it to see if it would work. It did, how does this URL work? I used Firefox 2.0. How is it encoded? And what do those numbers actually resolve to? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.202.182.201 (talk • contribs)

That's 62.64.64.114, in octal form or something. See [1], and this page has other odd ways of obfuscating URLs. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 01:13, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Would a paragraph about this at URL not help? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.202.182.201 (talk • contribs) 01:39, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

A lot of stuff at URL would help, that page is an abysmal shape. I may try and fix it. 68.39.174.238 22:08, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

This is in decimal, and is one of the many IP address representations listed at IPv4#Address representations. --Spoon! 03:35, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I didn't notice. And somehow, I converted it to a standard dot-decimal IP address; I must have accidentally assumed it was in decimal. Who knows. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 06:10, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

wj32@future-31415:~$ ping 1044398194
PING 1044398194 (62.64.64.114) 56(84) bytes of data.

--- 1044398194 ping statistics ---
 6 packets transmitted, 0 received, 100% packet loss, time 5010ms

wj32@future-31415:~$

lesson: I don't know. --wj32 ^{talk | contribs} 07:09, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Fireworks MX 2004

Hi. Fireworks MX 2004 suddenly won't start up, along with Flash, Dreamweaver, and Freehand (all MX 2004). I use a Mac. The icons open and bounce, but then stop. Is there anything that I can do about this? Thanks. Ilikefood 00:56, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Some more information is needed. 1. Have you checked to see if it's already running? 2. Have you rebooted the machine? 3. Have you checked for processes related to these programs that might still be in memory and interfering? (#2 should help fix #3, and #3 might explain why #2 would work). - CHAIRBOY (☎) 01:31, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Its not already running, but I'm gonna turn off the computer soon anyway so that should work. Thanks for the help. Ilikefood 01:33, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Image Format Conversion

How can I change the image file format of the below image (which I made, and has this request;) from GIF to SVG? I'm certainly no programmer, and if this isn't possible by simply re-saving it under SVG format (which, apparently, on my computer is not) then I'm stumped. talk | BeefJeaunt 01:25, 14 December 2006 (UTC) File:Mario Kingdom.gif

You mentioned an article that has the answer you need! SVG lists a number of programs that can convert images to SVG, but to see the full benefit of the format, you'll need to use a program like Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape to re-draw it as a vector image. Without that, it won't be dynamically resizable without getting pixelated. - CHAIRBOY (☎) 01:29, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes, under Inkscape, you can choose Path > Trace Bitmap, and experiment with the different settings. The one I use is Multiple Scanning, Colour, with 16 scans. This one gives colour, although it is NOT good for images with many colours. --wj32 ^{talk | contribs} 07:06, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

See Commons:Commons:Transition to SVG --h2g2bob 23:38, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Help writing a bot for external wiki

I was wondering if anyone here could write a bot for me to use on an external wiki. if anyone chooses to take up this endeavor, you would be writing it for the XeNTaXWIKI, a small, tight-interest wiki. I need a general-purpose bot that can be run client-side. I'm not sure what other information you might need, so just ask if you need it. --Dinoguy1000 ^Talk 04:46, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Meta:Bot and Wikipedia:Bots are a good place to start. I'd suggest using python or perl - probably python as it's got some interesting network stuff. To mark a user as a bot (you can hide their edits in recent changes), you need to contact a bureaucrat for the site. --h2g2bob 07:54, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

I looked at both of those pages (and I originally came here from Wikipedia:Bots anyways), and it seems to me that this would still be the best place to ask. The meta link only has general information about running a bot and setting bot status, with a focus on the Wikimedia server farm, and the WP link focuses on bot policy and requests for bots to be used here. If I missed something, feel free to tell me, but I still think this is the place I need to ask. I would try to write a bot myself, but I don't have the technical or programming knowledge necessary, and I lack enough computer access time to really learn how, much less enough to plan, program, and debug a bot. --Dinoguy1000 ^Talk 18:43, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Extracting tracks from DVD

I have a DVD with some music (video also, its not DVD-Audio) and while I can easily extract all the music to a file I dont know how to extract only select tracks. Put another way I want to split the audio according to chapters, with each chapter being saved to a separate file. Shinhan 09:22, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

You may be able to use DVD Shrink to extract a range of audio, but you will still need another tool to compress it. Droud 10:40, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

"Range"? As in I would have to extract one track at a time? Thats not usefull. Also, compressing is not a problem. Shinhan 11:19, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

I don't do this often, and this may or may not do what you want, but I did this easily and successfully a couple of weeks ago using Xmpeg. --jjron 13:30, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Found it! I used ChapterXtractor as a front end for BeSplit to split the source into tracks according to chapters. And then I used BeSweet (in batch mode) to convert ac3 to mp3. Shinhan 16:28, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

XML Parser

which xml parser is better when we consider sax,DOM etc

Different parsers are good in different situations. Take a look at Simple API for XML and Document Object Model. Weregerbil 14:12, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

MSN Messenger

Hi, everyone. I am trying to use MSN Messenger 7.0. After I have installed it, it popups an alert and says "uxtheme.dll blah blah blah ntdll.dll:ntconnectport". I am using Chinese window ^^", and I don't know how to translate the rest of the error message, but sth like msn cannot connect to other device. How can I solve this problem and get start msn-ing?

By the way, I am using Window Me. However, MSN Mgr 7.5+ needs Window XP, and installing WinXP is killing my computer. Can I use Live Mgr 8 without upgrading my window?

Thanks a lot!

Kahang^{Shall we talk?} 14:53, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

I dont know what the answer to ur question is but i would get WM live. its much better. But i dont know if its compatible with windows me or not.

Javscript(ugh) again

is there any specific way to make javascript display text without killing the page(blanking the rest of the page)? srry that i can't seem to figure javascript out...Xiaden 15:11, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

More data is needed. You can output text a number of different ways, the most common being document.write. You may wish to read this, it's a well structured explanation of how to perform basic functions in JS and should help. - CHAIRBOY (☎) 15:27, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

The code i am applying isn't complete, but as of right now, it should display an item, have someone click it and it changes. but right now, it destroys the javascript(and the image it is css aligned to... i looked on your page, but if i imply something i'd have to delete the origainal somehow. i'm looking for something that would replace only part of the page(like document.htmml.body.p.write(if it worked =p)) instead of all of it. Xiaden 19:38, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Put it in the body instead of the head. x42bn6 Talk 16:25, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Document.write only works when you're generating the page for the first time. If you put it on an event (eg. onclick), it will blank the page. Instead, try this code:

<DIV id="result"> initial text </DIV>
<A href="#" onclick='
 var elem = document.getElementById("result");
 if (elem)
   elem.innerHTML = "final text";
 return false;
'> click me </A>

The key point is to use innerHTML. To show and hide complex items, use style="display: none" to hide one at the start, then swap which is showed and which is hidden. The return false stops it navigating to the href location (you might want to change "#" to a page like "you_need_javascript.html")

Plus, don't forget a noscript tag somewhere on the page. Lots of people turn javascript off, and it helps make the web accessable for people using screen readers. To wit,

<NOSCRIPT> You need Javascript! </NOSCRIPT>

Important note: for changing font text, showing drop-down menus, etc. it is better to use the hover attribute in cascading style sheets!

See http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/DOM for information on manipulating elements displayed on a page, and http://www.w3.org/ for the official web standards. --h2g2bob 23:34, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Cellular Phone --> Computer

Are there any free programs that will let me hook up my cellular phone to my computer via a USB cable and allow me to access the files on my phone and upload files such as .midi, .jpeg, and .mp3 to my phone? I have found many programs that send the file to the phone via SMS or whatever it is called when a file is sent to your phone, but I need a program that will upload to my phone via a USB cable. Thankyou. --Codell ^{[ Talk ▪ Contrib. ]} 16:39, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

There are a couple of variables. First, the specific model of phone is important, each phone requires a different driver. The Motorola RAZR phones, for example, are extremely popular but the drivers to do what you describe are difficult to find (and you must also get special software). The next variable is the service provider. Some cell providers in the US like Verizon will disable functionality like this explicitly so that you can only purchase those via their services, while other cell providers (like Cingular) don't. If your provider does not prevent this, then the easiest way is probably to use Bluetooth instead of USB. A bluetooth dongle for your PC (if it doesn't have it already) should be available on eBay for around $20 and you would be able to transmit the files to the phone (assuming it has bluetooth, of course). If you have a laptop with Infrared and your phone allows you to receive files via IR, you may also be able to do that. - CHAIRBOY (☎) 16:53, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

It's a Motorola V190. I know that it will work. I once had the driver for it to work with USB, and I had a program (MobileEdit) to transfer files onto it, and it worked, but then I uninstalled the program and lost the driver for it. I still have the program, but I'd like a different program that works better 17:02, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Well, I googled 'v180 usb' and ended up finding the P2K driver at bongo via this thread. Does that help? - CHAIRBOY (☎) 19:48, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Sorry, it's actually the Motorola v190 that I have..--Codell ^{[ Talk]}

How do I dispute the content of a page?

There is a federal act in here and it is a stub. The stub is completely wrong - in fact, it is the opposite of what the Act actually did. I tried to edit it but it only added my information to the bottom and did not edit the incorrect sentence.

Thank you.

You hit the edit button for the "external links" section, the one for editing the whole article is the tab at the top.

At the top of each page on Wikipedia, there is a link: edit this page - click it. As anon #2 has stated, you could've simply appended information onto a new section. x42bn6 Talk 19:24, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Problems with MS Installer - constant pop-ups

I am using Windows XP on my home computer. I recently uninstalled MS Publisher (didn't use it much) and since then I am getting MS Installer pop-ups every time I try to run an application. The pop-up prompts me to install the MS XP disk, which I don't have since the computer came pre-loaded with the software when I purchased it. I have searched at the Microsoft software support site for similar problems, and tried the fixes that they suggest, but to no avail. Any suggestions on how to get this to stop? Thanks.

Is there an i386 folder somewhere on your hard drive? Point the dialog to it. Splintercellguy 00:28, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Leisure Suit Larry 7 Cocktail

Does anyone hava a recipe for the cocktail from LSL7? --192.94.73.1 18:04, 14 December 2006 (UTC) I don't metion its name, to prevent my question from getting deleted again.

Page back button in web browser

I use the Firefox browser and I've noticed that on some web sites, when I press the back button, it takes me back to the spot in the page where I was previously, but on other web sites pressing the back button always takes me to the top of the page. Is there a way to change it so it always reverts to the previous location and not to the top of the page? --Wyckyd Sceptre 18:16, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Sometimes pages will re-load when you visit them, and if it takes a long time or the page is long and hasn't loaded the place where you were, it will start at the top (but waiting a few seconds will result in it jumping to where you were previously). If it doesn't take you to where you were even when you wait for it to finish loading completely before hitting any controls, then provide some example links that we can visit. - CHAIRBOY (☎) 19:43, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

The most annoying problem!!!

hello,

Theres an annoying problem with my MS word (XP); normally, and before, when you highlited some text and then you typed or pressed backspace then it would overwrite or delete the highlited text. but now it doesnt it just goes to the beggining of the text that had been highlighted. (you can press the delete button and that works tho).

Help!

Thanks, --81.79.20.89 19:26, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Sounds like its set to "Insert more". Try hitting your "Insert" key once (It's exactly to the right of the "Backspace" key on a standard QWERTY keyboard) and see if that works. Also, try quitting and reloading Word and see if that helps. 68.39.174.238 22:10, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

I think it might also be a stupid option in Microsoft Word that somehow manages to change itself at the weirdest time. I think I recall seeing something about "Delete text on backspace" in Tools > AutoCorrect or Tools > Options... But the option is a fairly straightforward one - just check it again. Do a little looking around in Tools > Options and Tools > AutoCorrect. Did I ever tell you of the time my spelling checker got disabled even though I never touched it? ... x42bn6 Talk 22:57, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Firefox problem (!)

Recently, this is starting to pop up occasionally. Right-clicking the page pops up a menu, no? However, sometimes, it starts to give me arrows on for no apparent reason: http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/483/firefoxscrollingrm4.png (see up and down arrows). It's frustrating because my fastest back function for me is to right-click and left-click slightly down and right. Isn't going to happen now, is it?

Do any of you know how to fix this? x42bn6 Talk 19:42, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Did you install any new extensions? Which version of FF are you using? Any themes (I don't get the icons in my context menu)? howcheng {chat} 20:14, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

I have the British English Dictionary, FlashGot, Free Download Manager plugin, Tab Mix Plus and VideoDownloader. My theme is Mostly Crystal. It started to happen about 2 months after my most recent installation (VideoDownloader) so I doubt that is the problem. x42bn6 Talk 21:36, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

I have this two with totally different extentions. It's new with Ffx 2, but I don't know if it's removable. I'm going to check some sites and see... 68.39.174.238 22:11, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Well, they're called "autorepeatbuttons" officially. The search goes on... 68.39.174.238 22:16, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

I think it's because there's a large number of items in the list. Go to tools->addons and, for each of the extensions, open the settings/preferences, and see if there's an option to remove it from the right-click menu.

Are a lot of people affected by this? If so, it could be worth writing an extension which forces the arrows not to appear.

Some tips: alt+left also goes back. I use all-in-one gestures [2] which really speeds up going back for me. --h2g2bob 22:40, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

It doesn't make sense to say that there are too many icons - it does no scrolling at all! It just hangs around there. I have compacted FlashGot into a submenu now using the options, but now I have to regenerate the menu if at all possible. Oh dear... I suppose that you, 68.39.174.238, are suffering from this too?

I would use alt-left but I am a mouse type of guy - I do plenty of things with the mouse pretty quickly. x42bn6 Talk 22:55, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

GOOGLE

hi,

Just wondering how come for just for the ordinary google uk homepage the adress can be this: http://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8. surely its just the normal google ; www.google.co.uk

thx, --Killer 777 19:55, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

It looks like google goes by both names- google.com and google.co.uk. What is your question? Ned Wilbury 20:01, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Google's webservers will WHOIS the IP you're coming from and direct you to the Google site for your sepecific country. You can find this out by getting an anonymous proxy and proxying to Google. If it's a Mexican proxy, you'll end up at google.mx. Since you're evidently in Britain, "google.com" sends you to google.co.uk. 68.39.174.238 22:18, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Changing .m4a to .mp3

Is there any way to change a .m4a file to a .mp3 file, without installing iTunes, since I don't want to. I looked for codecs on the MS website, but there doesn't seem to be any for WMP 11. Any way to change the file? Thanks, Kilo•T 21:23, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

VLC will do it, unless it has Digital Restrictions Management (DRM). If you bought it from iTunes Music Store, then it will have DRM, and you will be unable to play it in any other player, or convert it to another format. There are some tools about for removing the DRM, but these may not be legal where you live (eg: the DMCA). --h2g2bob 22:05, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

NES chip music

Find me a computer program that'll let me compose NES 8bit chiptune music. The program should be free, and should not need any extra 'chiptune cards' or actual NES chips in the computer. --Codell ^{[ Talk]} 22:33, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

I believe that would be something like FamiTracker.

FWIW, I really haven't heard of a single NSF-player that actually required chiptune cards or NES chips - they all use software emulation of the sound chip. --Pidgeot (t) (c) (e) 01:12, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

TI-84

I lost my installation CD for my TI-84 calculator for connecting to the computer. Is there anyway I can download the necessary files? I was searching through google and the TI-84 site and could not locate the appropriate files. If you can provide me with a link to download the files, I'd be grateful. Thanks. --Proficient 22:58, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps TI Connect? --Spoon! 23:23, 14 December 2006 (UTC)