Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2015 July 11

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Computing desk
< July 10 << Jun | July | Aug >> July 12 >
Welcome to the Wikipedia Computing Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.


July 11[edit]

What are the frequencies used by 2G, 3G, and 4G?[edit]

Just wondering. - 121.54.32.162 (talk) 05:50, 11 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

They are in the UHF band between 800MHz and 2200MHz. The bands may differ between countries and carriers. You can look at particular mobile phones to see their specs. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 06:08, 11 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]
See GSM frequency bands, UMTS frequency bands, and E-UTRA#Frequency bands and channel bandwidths for the details. Tevildo (talk) 10:10, 11 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Latest literature review on teaching writing through computer between 2011- 2014[edit]

I need latest literature review on given topic I need literature review for my research different literature review on given topic between 2012-2104113.199.162.97 (talk) 11:02, 11 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Is there a reason you can't use Google Scholar? Go to scholar.google.com and search for "teaching writing through computer". When the list comes up, click on the "Since 2012" link on the left. Magically, you will see a list of publications on the topic. 199.15.144.250 (talk) 13:20, 11 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Time zones on iPhones[edit]

Does iPhone require a 3G signal to set the time when you go abroad? Or is gps and a 2g signal sufficient? 82.132.234.205 (talk) 13:16, 11 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Consult Apple's official support page on this topic. Time zone setting is carrier-specific: it is not specifically tied to the technology that is generally called "3G." Depending where you go, you may or may not actually have 3G coverage. Whether your cellular carrier sends correct time zone information is independent of that detail. If the setting is incorrect, the best way to start troubleshooting is to contact the cellular provider.
In some versions of iOS (e.g. iOS 7 and others), certain iOS devices may use location services to set the time zone. This may be possible even if you have no cellular connection at all. If you need more specific technical information for a specific device/model/software-version, consult the developer website at http://developer.apple.com to see how time zones and locations are set and queried.
Nimur (talk) 19:19, 11 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Influence on computer science from biology and linguistics[edit]

What are some authors and concepts from biology or linguistics that influenced, inspired, or stirred developments in comp. sci? The only author I can find right now is Chomsky with his concept of Chomsky hierarchy, but non-reliable sources close to me claim that there are more. --Socio scie (talk) 22:22, 11 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Fractals are quite useful in computer animation, and Benoit Mandelbrot made major contributions to that field. (He was a mathematician, but fractals also describe many biological systems.) StuRat (talk) 23:04, 11 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Fractals are rather a concept from mathematics that found its way into many science, including computer science and biology among many others. That does not match what the OP was asking for. --YX-1000A (talk) 13:00, 12 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I see fractals as having multiple origins, in many different fields. The fractal nature of biological systems were noted long before that name was invented for it. The mathematics of fractals merely describes what already existed.StuRat (talk) 23:54, 12 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Off the top of my head, genetic algorithms, neural networks, and possibly the whole concept of programming languages. -- 50.0.206.24 (talk) 01:13, 12 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I am not sure AI is meant to replicate natural intelligence as it is, rather than just emulate its working. That's comparable to a wheel trying to emulate (but not replicate) legs. Or comparable to a reverse engineering a human, not worrying about how the human solves problem, and only concentrating on the result. Otherwise, who would want a computer that acts like humans, but does not surpass them? --YX-1000A (talk) 15:51, 12 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]
On the flip side, DNA computing. There are also special-purpose supercomputers like MDGRAPE and Anton designed to instantiate algorithms used in molecular dynamics simulations, usually of biological macromolecules.
More traditionally, genetic algorithms and neural networks are good answers. We have somewhat crappy articles on the general category of evolutionary algorithms and bio-inspired computing - swarm intelligence is also a good example. It's stretching the definition of biology (how far out do you get to keep the 'bio' in 'biophysics'?) but everything that boils down to Shannon entropy arguably qualifies. Opabinia regalis (talk) 22:18, 12 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]
You can avoid bioinformatics. It would seem that there would be some biology influence there. There isn't. It is mostly a lot attempts to implement NP-Hard algorithms on massive data sets. The implementation helps biology, but biology doesn't influence the implementation. 199.15.144.250 (talk) 12:24, 13 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Larry Wall's training as a linguist is often cited as having affected the design of the Perl programming language which he created. This is touched upon in Perl#Design, but Wall went into more detail in a 1995 Usenet post now available as the essay Natural Language Principles in Perl. -- ToE 14:56, 13 July 2015 (UTC) Perl poetry, such as Black Perl, is a side effect of Perl's natural language elements.[reply]