Revision as of 08:05, 29 December 2006

Reference Desk

WP:RD/COMP]]|Computing/IT}}

December 22

CVS and the linux kernel

I've never used any kind of CVS, and I want to work on the linux kernel. Can someone point me in the right direction when it comes to kernel patches and stuff? Do I need some kind of client application to browse the sources? --froth 22:25, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

The Linux kernel developers don't use CVS. They used to use BitKeeper, but there were license issues so now they use git. You absolutely don't need git to look at the kernel source or even to contribute to it. Just go to http://kernel.org/ and download the latest version. —Keenan Pepper 02:26, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

See how much of a newbie I am, I thought CVS and revision control were synonymous! As for kernel.org, I've seen it before.. but how exactly do you see the source? All I see is a bunch of compressed patches, apparently meant to delta into the main code, but I don't know where that is. Also how would you possibly build those diff patches without some application? --froth 07:40, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Only the stable versions are distributed as full source trees. The prepatches and snapshots are distributed as diffs to be applied with patch. —Keenan Pepper 04:37, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Programming language

Hi. I would like to ask a question. What is the programming language in which Windows, Macintosh and Linux are written in? What I mean is that every program is written in a certain programming language such as C# and Visual Basic, so, what is the language used by Microsoft programmers? Please note that I am not a computer expert. Thank you very much.

--Meno25 01:35, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure what language(s) they're written in, but the base of every OS is its kernel. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Foxjwill (talk • contribs) 01:59, 22 December 2006 (UTC).

The Linux kernel, and most of the libraries that make up a GNU/Linux system, are written in plain C. —Keenan Pepper 02:23, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

The Win32 API is written in C --froth 07:45, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

MacOSX is written in a mix of C, C++, Objective-C, and a small amount of assembly language. --Carnildo 05:42, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Thank you all. You answered my question for the three operating systems.

--Meno25 01:56, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

Internet Exploer 7.0

Is there anyway you can move the "File Edit View Favorites Tools Help" bar in IE 7.0 above the address bar and the back button bar? Also, is there anyway you can move the refresh and stop buttons next to the back and forward buttons? Thanks. Jamesino 02:10, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I'd like to know the same thing. I mistakenly "upgraded" it and now I'm totally unhappy with the interface. :-( --24.147.86.187 15:36, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

This page tells you how to do it. I tried it and it works :-) - Akamad 02:14, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Repeating Animation

How would I make a gif. animation repeat indefinitely once uploaded to wikipedia. Specifically, an animation made using GameMaker, then saved separately as a gif file. Other animations I've uploaded repeat when viewed on on GameMaker, but not on Misplaced Pages. BeefJeaunt 02:58, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Well, if the animated gif is set to repeat indefinitely, then it will repeat indefinitely once you upload it. You should make sure the gif was made correctly. I'm not so sure of how GameMaker works when exporting gifs (if that's how you're making them). — Kieff 03:04, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

networking, writing network programs

ok, so i need to figure some way to create a network on multiple computer. i need to be able to restrict user access and make users log onto a networked server rather than the work station. i am challenged to write it all myself(by that i mean with a couple other guys cause we kinda screwed up the county server because restrictions sucked and it was an accident) how would i go about starting this? what language should i use? any other things to consider. BTW this should be on Windows. Input appreciated greatly. --69.140.210.163 03:22, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

I don't quit understand your question. If you are using a windows networking platform such as window 2003 server, most of these functionalities like access control and logging are provided for you and you only need to configure them based on your needs. For this you need to take courses on win 2003. Mahanchian 11:08, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

The obvious question is "Why not use an existing network product, like Windows NT or it's successors ?". StuRat 13:46, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Open proxy

How can I find out if an ip address is an open proxy (which isn't allowed in Misplaced Pages)? For example this ip address 88.110.30.102 (talk · contribs). Vints 07:28, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

well you can use ip traker,if some on uses a open proxy itstores its original ip at that proxy server.....so there are trakers which can resolve the ip from any proxy server,i'v used one,but completely forgot the name,i'll give u the link if i can found it again. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Iamsandeep (talk • contribs) 11:27, 22 December 2006 (UTC).

Instaling OpenOffice.org 2.0?

1. While installing openOffice.org 2.0.4 i get an internal error:2904 what to do? I have Windows XP Service Pack 1. 2. Are there any opensource/freeware softwares which can be helpful to doctors? 3. Can pendrive work with windows 98? thnx --Siddhant 09:10, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

1.err 2904 is probably a err for component missing..i think you must try the set up in other machine to check is the setup is ok and if your system is not working properly with openoffice after upgredetion.or the setup is corrupted. 2.i have no idea about this question. 3.pendrive works with win'98 ;generally a driver cd or floppy comes with pendrive which help to detect then pendrive after installing the driver. can you tell me the company name & version no of the pendrive... — Preceding unsigned comment added by iamsandeep (talk • contribs)

how this thing (interactor vest) work

http://www.vrealities.com/intervest.html#

on the homepage say that the vest work with TV and anothers things other than games, so for example how the vest will choose when and how to shake??? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 201.79.3.169 (talk) 00:31, 23 December 2006 (UTC).

It is basically a subwoofer which you wear against your back. So it shakes when there is lots of bass sound in the music or sound effects. Here is a link to a review of the vest. --Seejyb 01:47, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

so, i can in a game, feel a thing that i was not supposed to feel (yes i looked on the review)??

If you have the music fx tured up and the game fx turned down then yes. I the opposie is true, you should get the desired effect, but not like a vibration from a game controller, it wouldn't do that. schyler 04:14, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

RichTextBox in Visual Basic

I'm using a RichTextBox in Visual Basic 2005 (though I have the same problem in VB6 also), and I am being driven bonkers by the fact that "Control+I" seems to be mapped as "Insert Tab" or something like that. I would really like to make it into a command to turn the selected text Italic (is that so much to ask for?), which would be fine if I could disable the tab-insert characteristic (if I map on the italic code in the KeyUp event, it merely inserts a tab which is formatted to be italic). I've tried disabling ShortcutsEnabled and while that kills the automatic Copy/Paste options, it still inserts the damn Tab! Any ideas? I've tried Googling this but it seems like I'm the only person in the universe who wishes this control could be used in this fashion (one quite common to any sort of text editor — I have never seen this tab behavior in any standard program). Thoughts? --24.147.86.187 14:42, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

OK -- I figured out a workaround. If I intercept the tab string in the KeyPress event (by checking if Asc(e.KeyChar)=9, and then setting e.Handled = true), then it kills the addition of the tab. Which at least doesn't create weird extra tab stops, though now I've lost the use of the legitimate tab key as well. Ugh. Well it's something, or a start... --24.147.86.187 15:31, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

OK -- now I go back in with KeyDown and RE-detect whether the key was a vbTab or not and insert it manually. What a pain in the neck! But it works. --24.147.86.187 15:34, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Powering videogame consoles

I'm curious why the Xbox360 has such an enormous external power supply? I just bought one for a Christmas present for myself and I've never seen one so huge! An equally electricity hungry Playstation 3 requires no power brick and just uses a standard C13 power cord. --24.249.108.133 22:26, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Well whe I first got mine, I was curious too. The only reason I could think of was the power cord recall on te original Xbox and Microsoft didn't want to take any chances on giving their customers more than they need without thm paying for it the second time around.schyler 04:11, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

The power supply for the PS3 is inside the console - the thing is probably about the same size as the xbox supply (internally). Choosing between an external and internal power supply is a choice for the designers - getting the XBox 360 the size it is (medium to small) requires the power supply to be external - however it looks like they haven't made any real effort to minimise the size of the power brick - given that the power brick gives off heat trying to make it smaller would just make it more likely to overheat.87.102.4.34 14:13, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

I'm curious how Sony made theirs internal. According to magazine reviews, the PS3 runs very quietly -- which is surprising since the Xbox360 uses an external power brick yet still needs several noisy fans. --72.202.150.92 14:34, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

A ggogle search for "PS3 dissasembled" gives links to pictures of the inards of the PS3 - the power supply is a different shape to the Xbox's - being about as wide as it is long instead of long and thin - though power supplies get warm or hot they don't (at this level at least) need special cooling other than a few air holes and a primitive heat sink.. As for the Xbox 360's fans - they're for the chips - the PS3 has a fan too for the chips - but seems to have been more fortunate in the level of noise it makes - probably due to having a larger fan (that therefor can rotate more slowly).

See here http://therealps3grill.com/disassemble.htm from here picture: http://therealps3grill.com/PIC_0030.jpg the power supply is the silver box on the left - note although it looks quite small it's probably has only a slightly smaller volume than the xbox360 power brick (especially if you rmove the plastic case from the brick..Hope some of this helps.87.102.4.34 16:08, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

basically (excluding the optical drives which are in both consoles) most of the xbox 360 volume is the ducts for the cooling system, whereas the PS3 uses a very wide and flat heatsink - plus the PS3 is bigger as well I think.87.102.4.34 16:10, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

December 23

Decompile Microsoft Code For Interoperability

I read that the way NTFS works is a guarded trade secret of microsoft, preventing reliable read/write access to NTFS-formatted partitions. Why can decompiling microsoft code not be used to make Linux read and write to NTFS partitions? --Username132 (talk) 00:35, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Linux can do what you ask. See linux-ntfs.org for use, features and problems. --Seejyb 01:51, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Decompilation is very difficult. It takes a lot of analysis from computers and humans to figure out the structure of the source code. The NTFS driver is very large and complex, and there isn't enough people working on an open-source NTFS driver to do that. Also, decompilation is of questionable legality. --Spoon! 02:51, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes , I was referring to disk read and write, not decompiling. Sorry about the lack of clarity. --Seejyb 09:33, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

FTP website

I'm using IE 7. Whenever I use a FTP website, IE keeps prompting me for the password even though I have repeatedly entered it. It says "Could not login to the FTP server with the user name and password specified". I enter the correct user name and password and it still prompts me with the same message and asks for me to reenter the information. Why is this? --The Dark Side 03:36, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

the probablity is the user name or password is wrong.probably you can can try the site with firefox or opera or any other browser... but i dont think it has to do anything with browser. Iamsandeep 03:58, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Try going to the site using the following syntax:

ftp://username:password@address:port/

username = FTP username

password = FTP password

address = URL or IP address of FTP server (e.g. ftp.example.com or 65.50.240.3)

port = FTP server's access port (usually 21)

For example: ftp://bob:mypassword@ftp.example.com:21/

RevenDS 14:18, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

I thought windows did FTP through Network Places, not Internet Explorer. But try using a real FTP client like FireFTP --froth 18:42, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Or FileZilla (which does not require Firefox) or countless others. They'll likely give you a more useful message than IE is. It's possible that there is a different reason that the FTP server is denying you access, but IE won't display it. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 02:18, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Command Line Trouble Shooting: Try using the text based command ftp. To execute, open a command window

START->Run (a dialog window should open, titled 'Run')
type ftp in the 'Open' dialog box, press the OK button
an ftp.exe window should open with the 'ftp>' prompt displayed
   In the ftp window, type: open ftp.domainname.com ,then press enter
   you should be prompted to enter your username, type it and press enter
   then you should be prompted to enter your password, type it and press enter.
   It should display any errors (like login failed, etc)

An Example follows

ftp> open ftp.microsoft.com

Connected to ftp.microsoft.com.

220 Microsoft FTP Service

User (ftp.microsoft.com:(none)): test

331 Password required for test.

Password:

530 User test cannot log in.

Login failed.

ftp>

There is always the chance that the FTP server deliberately tries to thwart IE clients. I don't know about IE 7, but I remember back in the 6SP1 days IE was a really poor FTP client in many ways. Anyway, I suggest using the basic commandline FTP to see if that works. 68.39.174.238 19:47, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

Countdown Circuit

I would like a circuit that when switched on, randomly chooses a time between 20 minutes and an hour and then counts down that time before triggering an "event". How can I achueve this? --Username132 (talk) 05:41, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Well, how do you want to program it. I'm OK in Python, so if you wanted it in that language, I could give it a shot for you. But otherwise, I don't understand what you're asking for. → JARED   04:06, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Since he said circuit, I suspect programming isn't the answer. - CHAIRBOY (☎) 21:12, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

It depends. If you plan on building many of these and or have space constraints, then a new circuit would be appropriate, but if you have a specific or one time use, you may be able to use something pre-made from the store, like an appliance timer. - CHAIRBOY (☎) 21:12, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

I see several easy approaches to this problem. Depending upon how your circuit is going to be used, you might try:

1. (No one suggested this, but let me mention it if only to discard it.) Flip-flops of a given family, while they theoretically power up in a random condition, tend to all fall one way or the other, so that isn't a sufficient solution.
2. Have a high speed timer that is continuously counting. When the user presses the "Start" button, the current value of the counter (which is relatively random) is transferred to the slow-speed counter that does the actual timing. This would be simple to build and very reliable. For extra credit, make the "preload" logic not an ordinary counter but a pseudorandom binary sequence generator.
3. Implement the main counter as a two-speed counter. While the "start" button is depressed, count extremely fast (so that it cycles through several times during even a brief press of the button). When the button is released, count normally. This would also be simpler to implement than alternative (1) but wouldn't be quite as random.
4. Implement a white noise source. When the user presses the start button, count really fast until the white noise source reaches some threshold voltage, then switch to ordinary counting. This would be really random, but technically the most challenging as it would requires some analog stuff as well as the digital electronics.

Obviously, all these approaches need some slight adaptation to meet your "20-to-60 minutes" constraint.

Atlant 16:44, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

You could implement a simple solid state counter by charging a capacitor through a resistor, where you could change the delay by varying the resistance, possible with the flip flop idea above. The idea would be to continuously cycle the flip-flops (using a very small amount of power) so that the randomness comes from which resistor is active when you trigger the timing circuit. I remember seeing binary flip-flops used in an educational circuit that answered yes/no to questions (sort of a magic eight ball), but I can't find a reference. 68.15.208.73 15:29, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

I forgot to mention the switching part of the circuit is implemented with a zener diode switching a triac (which is switching the load). This circuit would not work with AC due to how a triac works. 68.15.208.73 15:33, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

Final Fantasy VII Linux

Hi. I wonder if other people have successfully run the PC version of Final Fantasy VII on Linux using Wine. If so, are there any tips/secrets to doing so? Or am I not the only have a difficult time with this. (The installer works fine, but when I try to run the game itself it can't find the disk even though it is there, either in the drive or mounted on the loop back) Thanks! Duomillia 18:30, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

This page seems to be what you're looking for. I had enough trouble getting FF7 to work in windows, good luck! :) --froth 20:14, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Dreamweaver/HTML help

Hi, I'm using Macromedia Dreamweaver and I have a picture in a layer. Is there anyway I can get the text in my body to wrap around the layer, the same way text can wrap around Textboxes in Microsoft Word? Currently, my layer is sitting on top of my text and block the text.

Secondly, I insert a 1 Megabyte 800 x 600 px image into Dreamweaver. I drag the corners and scale it down to 100 x 200 px. But the image is still 1MB (in Photoshop terms, this image is called Smart Object). Is there anyway I can make the file size of the image shrink proportionally as I scale down the image (in photoshop terms, to make it a "Non-Smart Object"). Thanks. Jamesino 00:59, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Regarding your first problem: Try adding the CSS tag float to the layer, e.g. float: left. That should fix the problem with text not wrapping around the layer. On the second problem, if you talk about Photoshop, why don't you just resize the image in it beforehand? Dreamweaver and other webediting tools don't have the advanced algorythms that a highend graphic editing program like Photoshop has, so a image resized in Photoshop will always look a tad better than one resized in a webeditor or even browser. Hope that solves at least half your problem :D -- Aetherfukz 01:36, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Oh and I forgot the tutorial that I wanted to link for you further floating pleasure here: . -- Aetherfukz 01:37, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

How do i go about adding the tag float? Do i click my layer and choose float? I tried that, but I didnt seem to work, although i think I may be doing it wrong. My knowledge of HTML/CSS is limited. Jamesino 01:54, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

I don't have too much experience editing in dreamweaver as I prefer coding my sited by hand, and I don't have it installed on my current system so I cannot give you detailed instructions. If there is a float option in the layer box, it should work. Float has 3 different options itself: left, right and none (default). So maybe the float option in dreamweaver, when clicked, just added the default (which is no text-wrap) - is there any option besides the float entry marked left/right or something?
If that doesn't work, try switching to the code viewer in dreamweaver, and search for the title of your layer (it should look akin to <div id="your-layer-name"> or <div name="your-layer-name">), there will already be entries like position:absolute; top:50px; left:10px; or something like that. Just add the float:left; or float:right; manually to those layer options.
But as dreamweaver is a relativly highend webdesign application, you shouldn't have to use coding for such a simply entry, and the float option you tried should work usually (if you specify left or right that is). Aetherfukz 02:08, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Oh ok, thank you very much =) Jamesino 02:58, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

The problem with the image is that Dreamweaver is not re-sampling it. After you know the size of the thumbnail image (in Dreamweaver) that you want, go into Photoshop, go to Image > Size, and have it re-sample it to that smaller size, and save it as a new file and link to that from Dreamweaver instead. It will be much smaller. --24.147.86.187 14:41, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

Ripping video from NASA

Here is located a video which I would like to view. Seems good, but it's in a HD format that my computer doesn't like too much (i.e. the video plays slowly and is segmented). What I would like to do is somehow get the 1080i launch video of STS-116 from the website to a CD and be able to play it on my DVD player connected to the TV. Now, I know that there is probably format converting issues I'd have to deal with, but I'll deal with that later.... If someone could give me all the steps to doing the whole process, I'd really appreciate it! → JARED   04:04, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

READFAG (Read ErMaC and AbsoluteDestiny's Friendly Amv Guides) - the most complete and comprehensive guide to all things video and audio I have ever seen (for free) on the internet: . -- Aetherfukz 05:09, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

doom9 is excellent as well. 68.15.208.73 15:34, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

The biggest issue at the moment is what sort of files your DVD player will play from a CD. Once you know that, it would be pretty easy to convert the file and just burn it to a CD-R. The steps are: 1. figure out what format it should be in, 2. download the file and convert it, 3. burn it to a CD-R, 4. insert into DVD player, 5. enjoy. If your DVD player does not play files from a CD, you will have to burn it to a DVD, which will require DVD burning/ripping software (and I don't know if it will do the HD stuff correctly). --24.147.86.187 14:37, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

All right, great, but how do I get the file from the computer to my hard drive? It's just a link at the moment. → JARED   21:02, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

December 24

wikipedia user boxes

with no previous experience with HTML and CSS i actually understood the working of a userbox , i was wondering if it is possible to use these userboxes in hi5 should i make any changes or modificationsMi2n15 04:56, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

What do you mean by "hi5" ? If it's a website of some sort, getting the raw HTML/CSS should work unless the server is really restrictive. 68.39.174.238 19:50, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

user identification suggestion - good idea or bad?

I have an idea for a user ID component which would allow for automatic exclusion from sites requiring "18 or over" authentication. I haven't thought about the idea deeply enough to know whether it is good without negatives, bad without question, or somewhere in between.

If each user account on an OS had the user's birthday associated with it, then websites which require users to assert they are of legal age to enter could automatically exclude them. In fact, the web browser could be enabled to advise them that they are not permitted access to the site, and redirect them back to some default page (e.g. last acceptable page, page citing reason for refusal). Similarly, someone of legal age would not need to be challenged on the basis of age when pursuing links, but might still be warned that the destination is of a nature that discretion is advised.

I know that it would be possible to abuse information like this, but can it be protected well enough to prevent abuse? I think so, because more sensitive information such as password is associated with a user. A fudge factor of a random number of days, say 30-120, could be added on daily (with a bias towards 120, perhaps). Otherwise, a user's birthday could be determined if long term monitoring of users occurs, and the user graduates from being under-aged to the age of consent while being tracked. Anyone of legal age would be immune from such birthday cracking.

So my questions. Is this a good idea? Is the idea already out there in the world of user ID? How do I publicize the idea to get feedback on its value? Should I seek intellectual property protection of the idea?

Turtlens 08:15, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

What's to stop someone lying when their OS asks them their age? What's to stop software (like the browser) ignoring the OS and setting any value the user desires? What's to stop someone installing a hack or shim which changes the OS setting, or intercepts and alters outgoing messages? What's to stop someone surfing on someone else's ID? What's to stop websites with adult content saying they don't? What's top stop websites setting up home in contries with a different legal age, or a different definition of adult content, or no definition at all, or no enforcement? -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 13:13, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

The proper solution to this problem would be for some agency to provide certificates of age, with digital signatures to prevent forgery. If you have a signed certificate, that proves you're at least as old as the certificate says you are. Has anyone actually implemented this? —Keenan Pepper 01:21, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

I believe some web sites use having a credit card as an indication that you're old enough for their site. They can either directly solicit credit card info, or can take you having a PayPal account as indication that you're an adult. Of course, there are ways around such checks, but the idea is that it's better than no check at all. StuRat 13:02, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

As mentioned above, the likelyhood of some fraudulence is high, however there are two possible uses:

1. Microsoft's new version of Windows has alot of parental controls. If the person (under 18)'s account didn't have the ability to change the account settings, an older person (Administrator) could make such a setting. Barring poor passwords or the ever-present hack, that could prevent someone changing it.

2. Check out TCPA.

Finally, keep in mind there would have to be some protection as to how and to whom this information would be released. Noone would want to buy/use an operating system that flagrantly disclosed their ages to any website, and in some contexts (Military, witness protection?) it could be illegal. 68.39.174.238 20:00, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

metavariables

Are there any mediawiki metavariables capable of directly ditecting page lengths?--71.247.120.5 12:54, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Nope --froth 21:29, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Is my HD dying?

I often get dfrgfat errors like "the address #### couldn' be writable". tia - Merry X-mas --Ulisse0 13:37, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

• To your first question, yes, your HD is probably on the way out, see Delayed write failure then shortly thereafter start backing up your files, on your second question, see WP:RFP--71.247.120.5 14:12, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

• A suggestion for preserving your hard-drive and fixing it up is SpinRite. It's an awesome program, it has saved several of my dying HDs. Oskar 21:02, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Agree with the above, but also recommend you get a new (And obviously bigger) hard disk as soon as possible and get everything off your current one. 68.39.174.238 20:02, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

December 25

GOOGLE EARTH

Hello,

1)Iv asked this question before but the answer was too complicated; can you change the route of the roads (the actual lines) on google earth? Can you change road names and their locations? Can you add information to the boxes when you click on a place name?

Last time the answer was too complicated and it was telling me to go toplaces that didnt exist and if they did then they were a seemingly random collection of computer programming.

Do you mean change it for everyone, or change it only for yourself? In the first case, the answer is no (Google Earth isn't a wiki), and in the second case, the answer is "only if you're smart enough to figure out how to do it". Why do you want to, anyway? —Keenan Pepper 01:25, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

2)When you put an image overlay on, how do you take it off?

thanks, --84.68.236.83 15:14, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Using a Memory Card

I currently have a Motorola RAZR and just got a MicroSD for Christmas. Now, I am completely computer illiterate. From my understanding (and please correct me if I'm wrong), I'm supposed to put the memory card into the computer, put files on it, then place it into my phone. Well, I figured out how to put the MicroSD in my Razr, but I can't figure out where I'm supposed to put it in my computer, which is a Dell Dimension 2300. Any help that anyone could offer me would be great, and I already appreciate it. Thank you. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.188.131.223 (talk) 05:44, 25 December 2006 (UTC).

I don't think you're right that it's used to move files to your computer, it's just there to add extra memory to your Motorola RAZR cell phone. To transfer files you probably have some other method, like a USB cable. Or, some files, like ring-tones, can likely be uploaded to your phone using Motorola's web site, or other web sites, who then send the info to your phone just like they send a phone call, via wireless transmission. StuRat 12:52, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

Yeah but you might be able to use a Card reader to access the memory directly --froth 18:03, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

If you are not technically minded: You can connect by USB, as StuRat says, but the USB cable you need is one with a small USB plug (which looks identical to the phone charger connection) on the one end, and an ordinary computer USB on the other. Once the two machines are connected and switched on, the computer will detect the phone as a disk drive. You may have a suitable USB cable in your home, it is the cable with which you connect some cameras to the computer - look for the end that looks like your phone charger plug. Alternatively, as froth said, use a card reader can be plugged into your computer USB port, and you put the micro-SD card in to that. Once more your machine will pick it up as an extra "drive". If you use a multi-card reader, then each slot on the reader may show up as a separate drive (e.g. D,E,F, and G drives), but only one of them - the one with the card - will be readable. Your computer does not have Bluetooth as a standard option, but if you have a Bluetooth USB adapter then that would be an option for communication between the two machines. Once you do have a connection, you work with files from the computer as you would in Windows, using Windows explorer, or going from "My Computer" to find the phone "drive". If you do have to buy a connecting device, consider whether you may use it for something else - a card reader is convenient for cameras, Bluetooth for if you want other kinds of wireless devices to work (e.g. keyboard, mouse, speakers). --Seejyb 23:02, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

I have a SLVR, and I had a hard time getting my computer to recognize my memory card. Here's the Motorola customer support page. I have taken the liberty of choosing United States as your location. Just choose your model from the "all subs" bar, type in your search terms, and there you go. ] If you're out of the US, ] will take you to the right place. After selecting you location, click on FAQs under the Mobile Phone Resources. Good luck. FruitMart07 19:02, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

forming archive

which microsoft office program can be used to form archive? 62.139.202.227 08:58, 25 December 2006 (UTC)mehad

That depends on what kind of archive you want to create. Please be a little more specific so that we can help you. (It seems that you may be looking for Microsoft Access, though?) function msikma(user:UserPage, talk:TalkPage):Void 14:21, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem and computer input

Hello everybody. I have a question regarding the Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem. I'm currently writing the speedrun article, which is about the fast completion of video games as a sport. In my article, it's argued that if a game runs at 60 FPS (which is usually the case for NTSC games), then it is impossible to press one button faster than 30 times per second; you need to have one frame of not pressing the button in-between every pressing, because otherwise, the game will consider that you are holding down the button rather than pressing it rapidly. Thus, the maximum resolution of input for one button is 30 times per second on a console detecting the input 60 times per second. Somebody came in and added to this claim that the Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem is some kind of proof or confirmation. I don't really understand this theory. Maybe you could help me by saying whether it really does prove what I just explained? Thanks! function msikma(user:UserPage, talk:TalkPage):Void 13:24, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

It looks to me like what the theorem is saying is that for a periodic phenomenon's period to be measured, the sampling rate must be at least twice the period. Here, the period is how long it takes a button to go from pressed to not-pressed and back, and the sampling rate is how often the game checks the button state. (Note that this is, at least in theory, not necessarily the same as how often it sends a refresh to the screen, which is what frame rate means.) So if the button is down for 1⁄60 second and then up for 1⁄60 second, it needs to be checked 60 times a second to be seen as down, up and then down again, for the game to register the two presses as separate. NeonMerlin 17:45, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

::So yes, it does prove what you explained, msikma. :) --Kjoonlee 05:29, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

For example, if firing a weapon costs one frame of input in a game that runs at 60 frames per second, it is possible to fire that weapon 30 times per second.

I've changed my mind. If it's sampled 60 times per second, the computer doesn't have to count keypresses; it can just count the duration of the keypresses to fire bullets. --Kjoonlee 05:38, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

So IMHO if you have to depress let go of a button to fire (like in Mega Man 5) you can only fire 30 bullets per second, but if you have autofire (like in Quake III Arena) you can fire 60 at 60 fps. --Kjoonlee 05:55, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for your help! :) I'll write a footnote with this information to give a bit more explanation to the mentioning of the theory. function msikma(user:UserPage, talk:TalkPage):Void 09:32, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

I don't quite understand the application of what is discussed here. Neither does the frame rate of a game necessarily dictate any "input" sampling rate nor have I come across a human or game which can press a button or shoot 30 times a second. Are you sure you are on the right track here? Vespine 23:19, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

I agree with Vespine here. The framerate has nothing to do with input sampling. Take for example a FPS shooter on an old PC, despite having a lower framerate of maybe 20fps, you can still type in text with the keyboard and it will all get recognized. Aetherfukz 01:05, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

The only reason for there to be a linkage is if you need to show each and every bullet being fired in it's own frame. This isn't necessary, because you can't make out that level of detail anyway. StuRat 11:58, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

Ink jet cartridge models

What's the difference between HP ink jet cartridges 17 and 78? Can a printer designed for one be made to accept the other? NeonMerlin 17:37, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

Not according to http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/fastFaqLiteDocument?lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&docname=bpa02009 and http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/fastFaqLiteDocument?lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&docname=bpa02048#

Also see http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/globalcitizenship/environment/productdata/pdf/ij_c6578series_us_eng_v2.pdf and http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/globalcitizenship/environment/productdata/pdf/ij_c6625series_us_eng_v2.pdf where the difference seems to be that the 78 series has ammonium nitrate in it. --- Skapur 21:50, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

Every Misplaced Pages page requires fonts to be temporarily installed?

I am using Internet Explorer 7, and starting today, I have found that navigating to every single different page on Misplaced Pages prompts a dialogue box of "This page uses fonts that need to be temporarily installed. This is usually safe. Do you want to allow these fonts to be downloaded?"

This never happened on Misplaced Pages before, and it isn't happening on other web pages now either. Does anyone have a suggestion as to how to get IE to accept whatever fonts it needs for Misplaced Pages without having to go through the dialogue box on every page? Thanks. --Metropolitan90 21:31, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

Under Tools-Internet Options Security tab, if you click on Custom and go to Downloads section, what do you have for fonts? --- Skapur 21:53, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

I had "Prompt". I figured that I ought to change it to "Enable". (I should note that the problem appears to be solved now, but it apparently resolved itself before I made that change. Thanks for your help!) --Metropolitan90 01:01, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

A better choice for security purposes would be to use "Disable". Generally, pages display fine without the font that would be downloaded.

THANKS for the help. I've tried many changes to settings but nothing worked. Following your path, it finally worked and the annoying font pop-ups are gone!

December 26

Facebook Tricks

Are there any ways to edit/mess with facebook? I was just curious if there was any way to make my page look different, even in a slight way. Also, is there any way to see who visits your page? Or # of visits? Thanks, Ryan

Misplaced Pages has this artical http://en.wikipedia.org/Facebook#Hacks about Hacking Facebook.You should keep in mind that there are legal consequences to modifying protected content.If your intersted in coding your own proper pages why not try myspace or get your own simple web site Nerdd 18:30, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

Don't let that article fool you, there are certainly still uh some flaws in facebook's input validation. Ask around places other than WP --froth 02:34, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

Some Firefox extensions work to make it look different. --Russoc4 21:09, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

Nvidia Geforce 7600GS AGP

Okay. I've done some research and have chosen the WinFast A7600 GS TDH (Nvidia Geforce 7600GS) AGP Graphics card. This puppy is going to set me back AU$185, so I wona make sure it will play the games i want. Will this card play games such as Black and White 2, Battlefield 2 and Far Cry? And if it will at what resolution? Thanks for any help! THANK YOU.

I have a 6600GT that runs BF2 on medium fine. 7600GS is much better than a 6600GT, so it should run fine. --Wooty Woot? contribs 06:18, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

Not to nitpick but you are setting yourself back by going with an AGP card this late in the game, I would only do it if i had a hardware platform like S939 or 775 that was decent already. If not, spend the money now on a new hardware base that will run PCI-E and step up to a nice expensive video card later on once you have the resources. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.195.232.121 (talk) 15:13, 29 December 2006 (UTC).

HELP ME

Hi, Every time I open my c++ I get a message

16 bit MS-DOS Subsystem
C:\DOCUME~1\RR6B07~1.\LOCALS~1\TEMP\TC.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\AUTOEXE.NT. The system file is not suitable for
running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows  applications.Choose 'close' to terminate this application.

But my operating system is Microsoft Windows XP service pack 2.I don't know what is causing this error.Please help me.R.R.Krishna 07:40, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

Get new versions of Turbo C++ from the Turbo Explorer Homepage, if you use Windows. If downloading Turbo C++ Explorer edition would take too much time, you could try downloading FreeDOS to run DOS programs. --Kjoonlee 07:52, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

To expand on the previous response, it sounds like, even though your operating system supports 32 bit operations, you are running an old version of your software, which does not. StuRat 11:50, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

Settling for a DVD format

I am about to buy a DVD recorder (with hard drive) for use with my TV so I have been reading about the different recordable DVD formats but it's still not obvious to me what which one I should use. Which one is the most appropriate for my case? DVD-RW, DVD-RW DL (does that exist?), DVD+RW, DVD+RW DL, DVD-RAM? Perhaps the one with the cheapest discs? —Bromskloss 11:02, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

I suggest DVD-R, that is readable by most old DVD players, anything more than that you get is a bonus, make sure you have a RW also, most DVD recorders will suppport almost all of them, so no need to to worry, not sure if you can buy DL disks yet. 213.113.118.162 11:49, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

For practically all DVD+RW recorders, the DVD+VR format is being used. This makes the discs highly exchangable. The DVD+VR format also plays back on almost all DVD Video players, without any modifications needed. This would be a good reason for buying a DVD+RW recorder.

The DVD-RW recorders are a bit less standardised. When using DVD-RW (and DVD-R) discs, these normally use the DVD-VR format. The DVD-VR format itself doesn't play back on many DVD Video players. Therefore, DVD-RW recorders can also record in DVD Video mode. Even though there is a DVD-VM (video mode on -R/-RW) standard, many recorders use 'proprietary' formats for this. Functionally this is no problem -- also not for playback -- but it will prevent you to take a partially recorded disc to any other system and continue recording -- or edit the disc on the PC. Also the proprietary formats can't always be copied (ripped) on the PC properly.

A strong point of the DVD-VR format itself is however that, when used on DVD-RW discs, it has better support for editing than the DVD+VR format has. Aditionally recordings on these media may be fragmented. This means that if you would have a disc with 5 recordings of 30 seconds each, and you delete the first, third and fifth, you get 1 minute 30 seconds of recordable space back. For DVD+VR, you would get three 'slots' of 30 seconds back (if all slots are contiguous you obviously get 1 minute 30 back also with DVD+VR).

As for Double Layer recording, it's starting to hit the market for DVD+RW, but also for DVD-RW (it exists). I personally only have experience with DVD+RW DL though. For a HDD recorder system double layer support is very nice to have anyway. On the HDD one typically records in the highest quality typically, and a single-layer disc simply doesn't have space to hold a copy of a movie in that quality. The only way to copy it to optical disc would be reducing the quality.

For DVD-RAM recorders, these almost without exception record to DVD-RAM in the DVD-VR format. The DVD-RAM discs however won't play back on DVD-Video players. Many modern DVD-RAM recorders also support DVD-RW and DVD-R recording by the way. The most compelling reason to take a DVD-RAM recorder is that one can perform timeshift recording on DVD-RAM without needin a harddisk.

Once you buy a harddisk recorder, you'll probably find yourself using the harddisk more than the optical drive. so, get a recorder with a sufficiently large harddisk. I find I mainly use the optical drive on my harddisk recorders for archiving, and for giving recorded content to other people, so the optical format featuring isn't that important, as long as others can play it back.

Bottom line: DVD+VR seems to be a little esier in interchange. DVD-VR seems to be a little better featured. Given my typical usage pattern, and that what I see from friends, I would definitely buy a DVD+RW recorder with double layer support, and a sufficiently large (160GB or more) harddisk. Pieter-Bas 13:01, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

If you aren't crushed by the previous poster's Death Star of Text, allow my 2¢. For all intents and purposes -R seems to be more compatible with really old DVD players (before 2000). But it really doesn't matter if your target DVD player is no more than a couple years old. Stay away from -RAM and DVD-R VR as they seem to be the most imcompatible formats. --24.249.108.133 19:58, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

Thank you for your responses! No, I wasn't crushed by the death star. :-) Where can I read more about VR and VM? —Bromskloss 10:42, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

Check out the DVD FAQ --24.249.108.133 20:57, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

Saving Streaming Sound Files as MP3s

I need help saving streaming sound files as mp3 files. For example from realplayer streaming files, youtube sounds, and live radio sounds. The best free program I've found so far is Audacity but the problem with audacity is that when youtube or realplayer freeze up there are gaps in the song. The was one demo of a product that did a very good job of recoring streaming files it ignored all external sounds and even gave titles and artists to the mp3s. Anyway I'm intrested in any free software that can convert streaming sounds into mp3s. --Gary123 19:39, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

You could use the VideoLAN software to save the stream to file. If you're trying to save a link to an MP3 in your browser, just right-click the link and do a Save As. Splintercellguy 22:46, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

If you are a Mac user, try the fantastic Audio Hijack from Rogue Amoeba. It can capture the audio from any application. I think a Windows version is in the works! --24.249.108.133 19:54, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

I recommend Audacity as well. In response to "freezing up", the only situation like that I know of in youtube is when the video playback gets ahead of the cache (or what's been downloaded).. to avoid that let the entire song download and then play (so it has the entire bar) before recording it so there's no chance of it "getting ahead of itself". As far as realplayer that probably regards buffering.. which is pretty hard to avoid in a live stream unless you account for it in your capture program, perhaps someone else has some knowledge about that. That CS Guy 22:49, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

Keyboard Q

Ctrl C seems obvious as the copy key. But why Ctrl V to paste, instead of Ctrl P?--Light current 21:34, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

I would think that it's easier to press Ctrl-V after Ctrl-C. Splintercellguy 22:47, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

Also consider the fact that Ctrl-X is cut, "x" probably referring to delete. Then you have all 3 tools in a nice little line. x42bn6 Talk 23:42, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

CTRL+V for pasting comes from V for View. Because if you copy or cut something and sometimes later when it is still in the memory, you press CTRL+V to view it again. Aetherfukz 01:08, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes Ive just tried that! It works THanks--Light current 01:17, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

Also, Ctrl P is already used to print a page. schyler 14:24, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

Shift-insert is also paste according to the windows api --froth 02:35, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

December 27

axel.dav

can anyone supply me with the removal tool for the above? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.230.102.166 (talk) 22:20, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

Google is your friend: - also please sign your posts with 4 tildes (~~~~) -- Aetherfukz 01:12, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

Does a Wiki-game exist?

I am not talking about a wiki aboug games, or about a particular game. I am talking about a game which uses a wiki to play it. Most likely such a game would use the wiki to rp out situations and other such things, and it would also use the wiki to document the statistics of the game or whatever. I am asking this because the (general) idea came to mind when I stumbled upon something that seemed to be like this, but actually wasn't. I think a fantastic game could potentially come to be with a dedicated enough creator(s) and without knowing anything about the game (or even if such a game exists) I've wanted to find it and be a part of it. Strange I know. I figured I'd ask here if any of you have any ideas. Sadly, I've found that google is useless for discovering this, although maybe I'm not lucky enough, who knows. Thanks a lot, I'm also posting this is the Misc. reference desk to try to get the largest group of people that might know about this. Thanks. Chris M. 06:18, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

I imagine you'd want some extra features to implement this idea. The MediaWiki source code is freely available, written in PHP (easy to learn and edit), and destined for such great things if you're willing to put the time into it. 68.15.208.73 15:38, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

Some people play Chess on Misplaced Pages: Misplaced Pages:Sandbox/Chess. Uncyclopedia also has several Wiki games, like Game, Zork and even Game online which, in the spirit of Wiki, you are supposed to help make. I dont know about any Wiki RPG, although I am sure such exist. Shinhan 15:51, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

Accessing Misplaced Pages from Java?

Hi all-

I am trying to write a Misplaced Pages tool in Java, but while I am able to get the html for pretty much every other site I've tested (CNN, Google, Apple, etc.) including my own test MediaWiki, with Misplaced Pages I always get a 403 error (forbidden).

My example code is:

URL input_url;
String fullURL = new String("http://en.wikipedia.org/Mac_OS_X");
//String fullURL = new String("http://www.google.com");
//String fullURL = new String("http://localhost/index.php/Main_Page");	
try
{
input_url = new URL(fullURL);
HttpURLConnection urlConnection = (HttpURLConnection) input_url.openConnection();
urlConnection.setRequestProperty("User-Agent", "Mozilla/4.0");
urlConnection.setRequestMethod( "GET" );
urlConnection.setDoOutput(true);
urlConnection.connect();	
System.out.println("Response was : " + urlConnection.getResponseMessage());		
InputStream urlStream = input_url.openStream(); // causes 403 error exception to be thrown

I've seen there are Perl modules that work, and I have a quick Ruby program that also works, but for whatever reason Java is not cooperating. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.176.139.105 (talk) 19:41, 27 December 2006 (UTC).

Your code works perfectly fine when I try it. Do you have a local firewall that prevents access? Weregerbil 22:17, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

No, no local firewall at all. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.176.139.105 (talk) 01:52, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

It is the USER-AGENT that is wrong. Use the one from Mozilla Firefox and it will work; I experienced same problem with my PHP bot. (Oh, and do not use IE6/7s, as there may be problems with UTF-8...) HardDisk 16:54, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

Instead of getting the input stream from the URL, get it from the HttpURLConnection by using the getInputStream() method. Otherwise all of the changes to the connection have no effect. It should look like: InputStream urlStream = urlConnection.getInputStream();

DVD sound problems

I'm trying to burn a DVD with footage taken from my old camera. I transferred the footage from my old 8mm Sony camcorder to my computer using video capture (like the process in WMM) The footage is stored on my computer in an AVI format and does play with sound. Whenever I burn it to DVD, there is absolutely no sound. However, the video is unaffected. I've tried playing the DVD on other players and I get the same result. When I use videos in other formats (MPEG for example), this problem does not occur. What can I do to have sound? --The Dark Side 19:56, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

How did you burn the DVD? You can't just burn video files on a data-dvd for it to be played on a regular DVD player, it has to be authored, that is converted into an MPEG stream with AC3 sound files. Sounds like your problem stems from this, because you said it worked with MPEG files but not with AVI (which is a computer-only format) files. Try to author and burn the DVD with an authoring program like DVDlab then it may work. If the sound in the AVI plays on your computer without problems then it is just a matter of converting the video and sound files into the right format for it to be played on standalone players. Aetherfukz 08:43, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

Medion MD9717/Philips SAA7134 & Debian

Hi all, what software do I need for Debian Sarge 3.1r4 to get my Medion MD9717 tv card (Chipset: Philips SAA7134) working? Google didn't help me in this case :-( HardDisk 20:18, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure if it will be possible, as according to the Linux TV wiki support for the SAA7134 was introduced in Linux kernel versions 2.6.10 (analogue TV only) and 2.6.12 (dvb), but Debian Sarge ships with Linux 2.6.8, which will not include support for your card. -- AJR | Talk 01:44, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

after kernel upgrade and a hour of messing with the nvidia driver it worked. thanks! HardDisk 20:20, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

question about business and software

what is the difference between sole propriterships, partnerships, and corporation businesses, and how do you incorporate a business? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 65.10.15.194 (talk) 21:09, 27 December 2006 (UTC).

What's the computer related enquiry? As to the rest, sole proprietorships are a business run by one person, a partnerships is a business run by two or more people, a corporation business is literally a business which has been incorporated, this means it is a legally separate entity from its owners/proprietors. To incorporate a business you have to follow the steps of incorporation. specific to Canada in this case, but they'll give you an idea of what is involved. Of course if you are deciding if you should do this you MUST seek professional legal and financial advice. One of the highest costs associated with incorporation are the legal fees, this is unavoidable. Vespine 22:41, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

dvd-r cd-r

do cd-r's or cd-rw's hold video, and could they play back on a dvd player? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 75.23.104.243 (talk) 22:33, 27 December 2006 (UTC).

video is a mystical thing which comes in MANY guises. CD just like DVD do not hold video, they hold DATA. Once you make that distinction, the rest is cake. Or, in layman, yes, there is no reason why CDs can't hold video and no reason your DVD player can't play them, as long as it is compatible of course. The issue is really just that CDs do NOT have enough space to hold a feature length worth of MPEG-4 data. They do however have enough room to hold a VCDs worth, which are still quite popular in certain markets. Vespine 22:47, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

December 28

moving data from excel to access

I have a lot of data in Excel that i need to move to a database in Access, but i can't just copy and paste it all. is there another way of doing it all at once?

Also, i want to sort data according to its date, but when i sort the date column, it sorts it by the first number (which since i am English, is the day (DD/MM/YY)). how can i get it to sort by year, then month, then day, without creating separate fields for all of them? thanks --194.176.105.39 09:36, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

i sorted out the second question, the first is still kind of a problem. --194.176.105.39 11:09, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

You should be able to import Data from Excel in Access from get-go on newer versions I think, but otherwise just use ODBC and specify the excel file as database for the ODBC driver, and then use the driver in Access. Aetherfukz 15:39, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

Fair use of images

Hello. Is the use of this image in Sketchpad, Ivan Sutherland and T-Square (software) considered fair use (fairusein3)? I checked Google and found no previous instances of the Sutherland Sketchpad video being removed from Misplaced Pages but University Video was sponsored by Apple Computer who is careful so I had better ask. Also, is Computer History Museum permission and the rationale I gave sufficent for this image and the alternate crop linked to it? I believe somewhere I read that permission is about meaningless but am not sure. Thank you. --Susanlesch 10:16, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

The fair use claim looks fine to me (very small image used in highly targeted articles, not reasonably reproducible elsewhere), but this isn't really the place to ask. Asking at Misplaced Pages talk:Fair use will get more replies. Permission is for Misplaced Pages's purposes officially meaningless. --24.147.86.187 01:16, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

relationship between i.c.t and public relation

                  yes that is it.

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 217.113.72.38 (talk) 13:14, 28 December 2006 (UTC).

Is this a computer question ? What is ICT ? StuRat 01:30, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

New MS Office for Mac

Does anyone know when the new MS Office for Mac will come out? And how much the student edition will cost? Thanks! --86.137.233.160 13:32, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

Core 2 Duo software optimization

A salesperson told me that software has to be specfically written to take advantage of the Core 2 Duo processor (as opposed to the earlier Core Duo). He made it sound like Hyper Threading, MMX, 3Dnow and all those other specialized architectures. Are there special optimizations software can use to get greater performance out of Core 2 Duo CPUs? I was under the impression that Core 2 Duo only offered better performance (related to cache?) and less energy usage when compared to Core "1" Duo. --24.249.108.133 19:52, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

CELLULAR VOIP SERVICE

Ok, there is a service out there that I cant remember the name of for the life of me. It is a voip provider, but here is how it works.. you dial number on your cellphone (a free call, since the number you're dialing is a mobile number the same as your provider). You enter your pin, and then place a call that is routed through VOIP. Thus, you can call any number is the US without using any of your minutes, because it is routed through a mobile number that is the same provider as your phone. Can anyone remember the name of this service? Thx 67.142.130.29 21:24, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

There seems to be several services that offer this capability. Splintercellguy 02:36, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

Python method access

Assume the following Python code fragment:

           oTest   = FooClass();
           sMethod = 'SayHello';
           print oTest.SayHello();         ### "Hello World!"
           ### print oTest;    ### NO WORKY
           ### print oTest;       ### NO WORKY
           ### print oTest();     ### NO WORKY

How can I get the commented-out lines to work as expected? What is the search term I can use to look up the concept of what I am trying to do here (using a scalar to hold the name of an instance method, or specifying an accessor name indirectly). NoClutter 21:39, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

getattr(oTest, sMethod)() —Keenan Pepper 02:08, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

Laptop purchasing

My brother's looking to buy a pretty powerful, small, and lightweight laptop. He's comfortable with windows, not tiger (but i hear windows now works, or will soon, on macs, and he might switch to linux anyway.) I suggested, from my extremely limited knowledge, that he look into getting either this Alienware laptop, or this macbook. he'd customize them pretty equally. I'm guessing about 100 gigs, probably 1 or 2 gigs of memory (does it make a major difference?). One of my questions is whether the rpm numbers next to harddrive space matter, because alienware sells a 100 giger with 7200 rpm cache (whatever that means). Also, I can't find any analog for processor on the macbook customizing page. are alienware's options significantly better than macbook's default? generally, which would you guys, in your opinion, suggest? they're both roughly equal in price, and the screen size difference is unimportant. thanks a lot, Sashafklein 23:20, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

No offence to them but alienware are a boutique laptop, I would stay away from them unless you specifically want a trendy game machine, which it doesn't sound like you do. Sony Vaio also fits the small, light weight and powerful criteria. I have a vaio and my gf has a mac, I think they are equally up to any task you throw at them. If you are running windows, then the native windows is the obvious choice, yes you can run windows on a mac but you may have some fiddling to do to get all the mac specific drivers working for all the bells and whistles. Vespine 00:15, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

Thanks, but is there anything particularly bad with a "boutique laptop?" I have no problem with something trendy or pretty if it works well. I was just under the impression that Alienware was well-known for having particularly powerful computers, and since I think my brother might, upon occassion, give his computer a workout, is it necessarily a bad idea to get one? I have had bad experiences with "good" computers that start screwing up and slowing down when overloaded with music and videos, and when running many things at once. Do the Vaio laptops run any risk of this? I don't think (think) they have the same reputation for performance as Alienware. My brother isn't a gamer, and neither am I, but... Sashafklein 01:22, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

I believe by "boutique" Vespine meant you pay a lot for what you get. In other words, you could get the same thing for less elsewhere. StuRat 01:27, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

Shoot. I just realized those links timed out. I meant the Sentia™ m3450 by Alienware and the 13in 1.83 gHz Macbook, if anyone was considering following the links anyway. Sashafklein 01:26, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

As far as high-end computers, Alienware is popular, but not exactly the best for the price. It's like Dell - a lot of people use it, but it's not the best. For a desktop, you can build your own, but you can't with a laptop, so I would suggest shopping around on Falcon Northwest, Voodoo, or even regular manufacturers such as Dell, Compaq, and Gateway. As long as it has a decent graphics card, is over, say, 2.5ghz, and has about 512MB/1GB RAM (this can always be upgraded later), you should be fine. If you want a Mac laptop with these specs..well..if they even have one, it'll be marked up perhaps up to double the price of a comparable Windows machine. I'd go for a Windows machine with the above specs & a Core 2 Duo processor. --Wooty Woot? contribs 02:12, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

December 29

iTunes/online music uploading to vox blogs

Is there a successful way to upload iTunes or other online music selections to vox blogs - thank you.

Visual Basic 2005 — Security requirements

I've recently migrated from VB6 to VB2005 and am struggling with understanding how the .NET security permissions work.

About a quarter of the time, the code below produces an error. The rest of the time it works fine.

Dim filesys as Object
Dim filetxt as Object
filesys = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
filetxt = filesys.OpenTextFile("test.rtf", 2, True)
filetxt.write(notebox.Rtf)
filetxt = Nothing

The code writes the contents of a RichTextObject (notebox) to a file (in this case, "test.rtf" but the file name changes in the actual code). The line that keeps triggering the exception is the one with OpenTextFile on it. The exception window reads: "SecurityException was unhandled. Exception from HRESULT: 0x800A0046 (CTL_E_PERMISSIONDENIED).

What I don't understand is why it doesn't work sometimes, and other times it does work. With the same file name, the same data, etc. The "helpful" window gives me a lot of links to things like "Use a certificate to obtain the required permission(s)" but I think I've already done that? In any case, I'm totally perplexed by what the problem is; it seems like pretty straightforward code to me. --24.147.86.187 01:22, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

The code doesn't look like .NET to me. VBScript? Splintercellguy 02:34, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

• Take a look at this: VBForums - System.Security.Securityexception It looks like someone else had the same problem and resolved it. --Infrangible 04:20, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

BartPE

Does msconfig work in BartPE? (like the msconfig when you go to start>run>...) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Member (talk • contribs) 02:54, 29 December 2006 (UTC).

Two iPods on one computer

We just can't seem to get this to work. We just got two iPods, and we want different songs on each one. We tried downloading something called Libra , which would create a second library to iTunes, but it wouldn't work because it "couldn't close iTunes." On the help website of Apple, it said to create a second user account on our computer, which we already had, and start a new iTunes account on it. But when we tried that and clicked on the new link, an error report came up so it would never open. As it has only been a few days since Christmas, we have not yet exhausted all possibilities, but it is getting quite frustrating. Thank you very much in advance for your help. Reywas92 03:54, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

If you use your existing iTunes library, you could set your iPod to manage songs manually, and then just drag the songs you want onto the iPod. --saxsux 07:24, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

Excel help!

There's a wonderful spreadsheet located here (click on it to download) for keeping track of bills. I love it, except for that I would like to rearrange a few columns on it and add some more. I am afraid I will screw up all of the code that is in the little boxes to the right of everything, because it is so carefully written. I have a few requests for any person who thinks they can help me out!

1. The Arr. column and the Paid column should be right next to each other, so maybe move the Paid column over 1 to the left and rename "Sent" (see below).
2. Next, after the Actual column, I want a column that says Paid for the amount of money paid towards that bill, because we all know that people don't often pay the amount in full.
3. And after that column, one that denotes the final amount owed on the bill, (Actual minus paid).
4. Now, if you notice, when a number is put into the current "Paid" column to denote that the bill was paid on that date, a "P" is placed in the corresponding box on the right. Now, what I'd like is for it to somehow (and I'll leave this up to you) denote whether the bill was paid in full or not by looking at if the remaining balance after pay is $0.00.
5. Anything else you're up to doing.

The one stipulation is that it must work! Haha. I would really appreciate this, and I know that people may be busy, so I'm in no rush for this to be done, but if someone has nothing to do and would like to do me a favor, it would make me happy! Don't be afraid to do it however you want, and feel free to ask me question if you want. You may send it to my e-mail address; just ask me for it. Thank you much. → JARED   04:08, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

what percentage of the total typing work does the left hand perform?

On a QWERT Keyboard, what percentage of the total typing work does the left hand perform? 59.95.40.118 05:58, 29 December 2006 (UTC) Thanks Arun

Quite a complex one this, as it will vary with how you type. Seeing as common letters seem to be reasonably well spread over the keyboard, I'd say that it's roughly 50/50. Although that's just completely guessing. You might want to notice that some really common letters (such as A and E) are both located below your left hand. --saxsux 07:27, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

I cant say for sure but often I'll just use my left hand when I dont have to type very much whuile my right hand is on the mouse. Call me lazy.

Also another thought is that key and fullstop are on the right. Those two keys could be used just as much as and if not more. (196.38.244.99 08:05, 29 December 2006 (UTC))

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