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June 10

yahoo messenger archive decoding

there are several programs on the internet that offer to magically decode yahoo .dat archives. The problem with this is that i dont want to trust too well some program whose source i dont know in this case. Is it easy in most languages to decode these? does anyone know a basic algorithm for decoding? thanks!

63.26.255.89 (talk) 02:09, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Editing subtitles in .srt files

I want to know whether there is any coding that I can put in a .srt subtitle file that specifies it's colour and font (for example,pink and Comic Sans MS). I know that I can manually specify the font for each line by using standard HTML coding ( like, <font face="Comic Sans MS"> text </font>), but I'd like to know if there is anything that I can put at, say the beginning of the file, that applies the said font to all the lines in the subtitle. Can anyone help me? Thanks in advance! 117.194.227.30 (talk) 05:18, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

have you tried placing it like so? Riffraffselbow (talk) 07:07, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

 <font=Futura>
 Juliet: Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Robot Romeo
 Robot Romeo: Bleep Bloop!
 Juliet: Man, this guy is a terrible writer
 </font>

Yeah. I tried it like that. But, there are lines of coding specifying the time and the serial number in between. I've noticed that if I type the <font=Futura> at the beginning and the </font> at the end of the whole file, with even the timings (00:00:00,266 --> 00:00:07,138, for example) in between, then Media Player Classic, and all my other players cease to recognise the file as a subtitle file... This has forced me to painstakingly copy-paste the font-style code at the beginning of each and every subtitle line.... It's a seemingly endless task.. You forgot to take into account the fact that "Robot Romeo: Bleep Bloop!" should come some time after Juliet speaks.... 117.194.226.128 (talk) 08:25, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Do you have access to a scripting language like Perl or Python? Mac and Linux machines tend to come with them pre-installed. Scripting languages are great for otherwise mind-numbingly repetitive textual tasks. Paul (Stansifer) 18:51, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I don't. I use Windows XP.... :( Pity... I had to modify more than 1000 lines of text wholly by hand..... I think I'm dying... 117.194.227.198 (talk) 07:29, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Windows XP does of course come with VBScript. While perhaps not as versatile as Perl or Python and Windows specific it could handle something like this I'm sure. Windows 7 (and both Server 2008) also comes with Windows PowerShell#Scripting which includes scripting which could I suspect handle something like this as well, and it's also available for Windows XP & Vista. Of course you could install Python, Perl, JavaScript or something if you want as well. Nil Einne (talk) 12:56, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

HTTP referrers and site tracking

Is it correct that HTTP referrers only track when you click on links? Disregarding cookies, it possible for a site to track visits and departures if someone uses the address bar? Like if you visit Site A > Site B > Site C by typing the addresses in the URL bar, is it possible for Site B to know about A or C? 24.6.21.207 (talk) 05:46, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

AFAIK, no browser will send a referrer when you type something in the address bar (nor when you visit a bookmark or whatever). They have no reason to, there's no reason to think you were referred to the address by the address you are currently at, it could be completely unrelated and probably often is (when I decide to visit http://www.nzherald.co.nz after visiting wikipedia it's usually because I want to check the news not because of something I saw on the reference desk and similar if I go to en.wikipedia.org look at it and then add WP:RDS it's not because I was referred to the RD from the main page but because I visited the main page then decided to visit the RDS).

Note that sites are totally dependent on browsers in this regard, they can only 'track' referrers (if they do) because browser send them. So if you don't want sites to get referrers just disable them in your browser (or if your browser doesn't support that get a different browser and/or tool that will strip it for you). Be aware of course this will break some downloads and other things. You could perhaps find a browser or tool which will prevent cross-site referrers but allow intra-URL ones which will probably reduce the problem but is unlikely* to eliminate them.

*If it's strict and thinks of www.microsoft.com as different from www2.microsoft.com then obviously it won't help in these cases. But if it's not strict and thinks of them as the same then it will also treat evilspy.cjb.net as the same as yourboyfriend.cjb.net even though these could be different servers run by completely unrelated people. Even worse if it stupid and treats www.google.co.nz the same as www.nzherald.co.nz. And of course if the server redirects you to an IP then it will never work. Our article does mention just sending the base URL often works.

Nil Einne (talk) 10:15, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

getting error mesg with new interface

Webpage error details

User Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 8.0; Windows NT 5.1; Trident/4.0; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; InfoPath.2; .NET CLR 3.0.4506.2152; .NET CLR 3.5.30729; MS-RTC LM 8) Timestamp: Thu, 10 Jun 2010 08:44:34 UTC

Message: 'wgCollapsibleNavForceNewVersion' is undefined Line: 4 Char: 15 Code: 0 URI: http://bits.wikimedia.org/w/extensions/UsabilityInitiative/Vector/Vector.combined.min.js?281a —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.115.3.118 (talk) 08:45, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Google

Resolved

What is http://google.ca main page theme about? I can't find it from hovering over the logo like you usually do for their fancy logos. 82.43.89.11 (talk) 09:09, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Judging by the fact that the little "change background image" link in the bottom asks you to sign in, it may just be a campaign for iGoogle. But I don't know. {{Sonia|ping|enlist}} 09:15, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

This blog post by Marissa Mayer says that they are indeed showing off Google's personalisation features. --Kateshortforbob _talk 10:10, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Does anyone know how to switch it off and get it back to the boring plain old white that we used to have? I personally prefer the plain old white page because it doesn't have java script occasionally crashing the page etc. 'Remove background image' just puts back the hideous one they supply you with. --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 11:37, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

It should be gone again by tomorrow, if you don't mind waiting. If not, you can use the secure site https://www.google.com or click the "Go to Google.com" link which should appear under the search bar of your country-specific Google page. Both of these will mean that your results won't be specific to your country though. (I'm beginning to find it annoying too, ~~and I don't even have a "Remove background link", even though I have an account.~~, oh, now I do, of course...) --Kateshortforbob _talk 12:05, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Nope, clicking on the 'Go to Google.com' link just takes me to Google.com with the same background stuff on it. Also, how do we know this will be gone by tomorrow? I personally doubt it will be, because it's linked to my Picasaweb page (i.e. I am given the opportunity to replace the original white page with a photograph from my own Picasaweb account). I wish Google would stop bringing out new features and not giving people the option to opt out of them until there's been an uproar and publicity and so on. --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 13:22, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Testing out poorly-thought-out new features on non-logged in users - well, thank goodness Wikipedia never does anything like that ! Gandalf61 (talk) 13:31, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The Official Google Blog says that it's a 24-hour demonstration of the new feature. Lifehacker has instructions for switching back to plain white. (Note that the ability to set a background, as you see in Picasaweb, is permanent. Turning it on for everyone is a 24-hour phenomenon.) -- Coneslayer (talk) 13:35, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The Google.com link works for me but I have read reports that there is a bug in international versions which is causing the remove background image to not work, although no reliable source for that. Mayer's blog post says

To provide you with an extra bit of inspiration, we‘ve collaborated with several well-known artists, sculptors and photographers to create a gallery of background images you can use to personalize your Google homepage. Included in the collection are photographs of the works of Dale Chihuly, Jeff Koons, Tom Otterness, Polly Apfelbaum, Kengo Kuma (隈研吾), Kwon, Ki-soo (권기수) and Tord Boontje, as well as some incredible photos from Yann Arthus-Bertrand and National Geographic. We’ll be featuring these images as backgrounds on the Google homepage over the next 24 hours.

This page works for Google UK for me. Changing en-GB to the appropriate ISO 639-1 code is getting me the localised pages for other languages. Does that work for you? --Kateshortforbob _talk 13:41, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Incidentally, the White theme looks really weird to me - the text is shadowed and almost illegible (not that I really need to read it).--Kateshortforbob _talk 13:44, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I'm finding that it doesn't matter what picture I set it too (incidentally I can't find the white one in the list that LifeHacker mentions), as every time I go back to the homepage there is always another picture. Considering the extremely small amount of time one would normally spend on a Google homepage before using it for what it's supposed to be used for, having a button that changes the background image for that session only seems like a really pointless thing. --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 14:14, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks everyone. It seems to be gone now anyway 82.43.89.11 (talk) 20:52, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Program to help with world cup sweepstakes

I am tasked with doing a sweepstakes in work for the World Cup and am wondering is there any online program that would let me input the staff members names and also teams playing in the world cup to randomly assign a team to a name, there will be 4 seperate draws, I could write up a programe to do this but was checking to see if there was one around to save me the hassle of wriring one thanks. Mo ainm~Talk 12:00, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The random.org list randomizer does what I think you want. If not, they have a lot of other services. Paul (Stansifer) 15:12, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

iPhone

My IPhone used to 'ping' when ever an email reached my AppleMacPro lap top; it no longer does that, does anyone know why please?--Artjo (talk) 16:02, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure exactly what you are asking, but I have a few ideas. You could have turned notifications for email off, the account may not be set for push, and instead be set to check for updates every x minutes (or manually), you may have turned the phone to vibrate or mute, or you aren't getting a reliable data connection. Caltsar (talk) 18:16, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for your thoughts, but, PUSH is ON HOURLY, NOTIFICATIONS is ON, SOUND and VIBRATE is ON and I have 100% connection!--Artjo (talk) 05:30, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Weird hidden text in webpage, not in source, but apparent after copying and pasting?

At this eBay listing, there is an item description that reads:

DESCRIPTION

The Bolle face shield has a blue brow guard that protects the top of the head and a polycarbonate lens to protects against impact from flying particles. It’s easy to adjust the headgear and to change the polycarbonate visor.

The Bolle face shield provides: simplicity, comfort and security.

Face shield - polycarbonate flip-up Dimensions face shield - 220mm x 390mm Weight - 254 g

However, if you copy and paste it, there's an extra line:

DESCRIPTION Replacement visors for Bolle BL20 Browguard

The Bolle face shield has a blue brow guard that protects the top of the head and a polycarbonate lens to protects against impact from flying particles. It’s easy to adjust the headgear and to change the polycarbonate visor.

The Bolle face shield provides: simplicity, comfort and security.

Face shield - polycarbonate flip-up Dimensions face shield - 220mm x 390mm Weight - 254 g

The line is not present in the source, so I don't understand where it's coming from?? 92.25.100.105 (talk) 18:22, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I see the line in the source:

<DIV class=tabpanelcontent style="DISPLAY: none">Replacement visors for Bolle BL20 Browguard</DIV>

Comet Tuttle (talk) 18:51, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

That's really strange... I don't find it via Firefox 3.7 but when I use IE 8, it opens the source in Notepad++ and there it's visible. 92.25.100.105 (talk) 20:28, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

For what it's worth, I saw it using Firefox 3.6.3. Comet Tuttle (talk) 21:43, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe it's done through JavaScript as outlined in this article: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100601/0047399633.shtml —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.157.75.7 (talk) 19:01, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I see it using Chrome in the source but it's not there in the copy and paste. In I.E the text doesn't display but it does in the copy and paste. I doubt it's done in the way outlined above, I think it's just browser differences. I can't understand why Firefox and I.E would show it though.66.133.196.152 (talk) 09:51, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

How to check what other people can see of my Facebook profile?

Is there a website which will present to me what other people can see of my profile, dependent on their relationship (friend, friend of friend, public), exactly as they see it? (It could conceivably show me the information only available to friends by letting me befriend a special account, if Facebook allows such practises.) --92.25.100.105 (talk) 18:26, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Navigate to the Privacy Settings page. Select the "Customize settings" link towards the bottom of the "Sharing on Facebook" section. Click the "Preview My Profile" button that is located in top right side of the page. When you have reached this preview mode, you will automatically see how your profile looks to most people on Facebook. To view how your profile looks to a specific friend, just type his or her name in the open field. Mo ainm~Talk 18:49, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

June 11

problem with windows media player 11

hey guys im having a problem with windows media player 11 i have vista home premium and wmp11 worked fine until recently now when i play some songs it wont play them and says "your computer is low on memory. quit other programs, and then try again." however they work fine on itunes. also my laptop just got back recently from acer pretty well brand new so i have no idea why this problem is happening.Alive99 (talk) 00:02, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Sounds obvious it is running out of memory. A few things come to mind:

You say you got it back from Acer, so presumably that was a repair. Maybe they didn't re-seat the memory correctly, so the laptop now only has half the memory it should. Or maybe some of the memory is faulty.
Maybe you have not run out of real memory, but have run out of virtual memory. This can happen if your disk is very full.
Maybe you are running some resource hog of a program. Games and video editing make high demands on a PC's resources. But maybe it is some program you cannot see easily, that starts automatically ... perhaps malware.

Astronaut (talk) 01:09, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

First off forgive me if you have to have some sort of endorsement to post on here, just figured I'd chip in (sorry if I'm not allowed to!)

It seems way too presumptuous to put this down to a bad reseat or malware -- with no specs on the laptop, it is quite possible it is a low-end model (or even a netbook, like the Aspire One and the like). As such, the main questions that need to be answered before a solution can be found are:

How much RAM does the laptop have?
When getting this error, what are the stats listed in the 'physical memory' section of task manager, on the performance tab?
What sort of media are you trying to play? (For example, a video, or audio?)

Again, apologies if I am not eligible to post here, just thought I'd throw in my two cents. Findstr (talk) 02:47, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Running out of space on a RAID

I have a computer running Mac OS X 10.5. It has a 500GB RAID with only 11GB empty. The system drive is 250GB with only 16GB empty. Could these items be a reason for a system wide slow down and reduction in performance? Dismas|^(talk) 01:35, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I'm skeptical. That's a lot of space compared to the amount of RAM in your PC. First thing I'd look for is any new software you've installed or updated. If that's not the issue, have you tried defragging? Comet Tuttle (talk) 04:07, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

While I'm a master at letting my drives get way too full and 11GB and 16GB isn't bad compared to what I often end up with, you should be aware that most modern filesystems and OSes work best (in avoiding fragmentation and defragmenting etc) when you have a decent amount of freespace. At least 5% would be the minimum recommendation but some may recommend up to 10% or more [1]. In FreeBSD and I think Linux 5% is normally automatically reserved (with the root user you can usually go over the limit so you can see up to ~105% usage if you run df) mostly for this reason I believe. I'm not sure if Mac OS X does this, if it doesn't you may want to increase the freespace particularly for the 500GB drive. Of course if you've defragmented the 500GB drive resonably well and the content doesn't change then this isn't much of an issue (and of course generally it depends a lot on how much the content does change and other factors). You should also be aware that most hard drives may be ~half the speed of the beginning, at the end of the drive (and they also have a high seek time so you ideally don't want to be jumping around the drive too much). However unless you're doing a lot of disk intensive work all the time, I too am doubtful this would cause a system wide slowdown. Nil Einne (talk) 11:04, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Comcast Cable Internet Speeds

I've been considering upgrading from the Comcast performance package (12mbs down) to Blast!(16mbs). How big of an impact will this have on the time it takes me to actually download large files in practice; in short, will I notice an appreciable difference is speed on a regular basis? The cost to upgrade is an extra $10 per month, just want to make sure this is worth it. Thank you:) 66.202.66.78 (talk) 05:39, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Well, even in theory you're only adding 4 mbs, under very ideal conditions—namely, that the server you are downloading from is capable of giving it to you at a max speed anyhow, and that your line conditions are such that you are really getting all of that data at the top speed anyhow. For a situation where the former condition is definitely met (like torrenting a file with a huge number of seeders, which seems to be able to max-out one's down bandwidth pretty well in my experience), a 10GB file would download in about 12 114 minutes at 12mbs, and in about ~~9.75~~ 85 minutes at 16mbs (there is some rounding here, but the calculation is just converting the GB into bits, and then the megabits into bits, and dividing, and then converting those seconds into minutes—all pretty easy with Google's unit conversion feature)—so a total difference of half an hour in such a situation. That's under ideal conditions of them being maxed out all the way. Is that worth an extra $10 a month, or $120 a year? Personally I probably suspect not, but that's a value judgment, and depends heavily on your own usage habits (for me, as someone who only downloads large files but rarely, it wouldn't be worth it). But perhaps there are additional benefits of a slightly higher down rate that I am not thinking of. --Mr.98 (talk) 16:04, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Your math is off:

	10,000,000,000	bytes
x	8	bits per byte
	80,000,000,000	bits

	80,000,000,000	bits
÷	16,000,000	bits per second
	5,000	seconds

And 5,000 seconds equals 83 minutes. Do the same math for 10 mbps, and you get 133 minutes. So, you save 40 minutes when downloading a 10 GB file. I save an additional 30 minutes at 24 mbps.

I have the 24 mbps Ultra package from Comcast. Web pages don't load any faster, but streaming video and downloading large files are much faster. It takes about three seconds for the connection to speed up completely. Since most simple web pages finish loading in under that time, it only impacts streaming video (e.g., Netflix, YouTube HD) and downloading large files from fast servers (e.g., updates from Microsoft, trial software, torrents, Rapidshare, etc.).--Best Dog Ever (talk) 17:32, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

(Assuming we are using "real" GB and not harddrive manufacturer GBs, 10GB is not equal to 10,000,000 bytes; its 10,737,418,240 bytes. 16Mb is 16,777,216 bits. But you're right, I missed out converting GB into bits, which is the key part.) --Mr.98 (talk) 19:01, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

No, a gigabyte is 10,000,000,000 bytes. A gibibyte is 1,073,741,824 bytes. Findstr (talk) 17:34, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

No a gigabyte is 1,000,000,000 bytes or sometimes defind (inacuratly) as 1,073,741,824 bytes never 10,000,000,000 bytes.Gr8xoz (talk) 00:27, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Some Windows installation related questions

I just installed and run Windows 7. But this version of Windows give me lotta confusions.

Is a full format (not a quick one) harmful to the HDD? I have heard many of my friends say that when full formatted too many times, a partition can be corrupted. I'm not sure 'bout it but I have broke a few floppy disks in the past due to formatting to get rid of some viruses.
When installed, it ask me to choose whether I like to install x86 or x64 version of Windows 7. My laptop is an crappy one with a Celeron @ 560 2.13 Ghz and 768 MB of RAM. I know that my CPU is 32 bit so I choose to install x86. I used to think x64 version only works with a 64 bit CPU, but a few hours ago I tried to install a x64, waiting for an error message, but unbelievable, it works! I'm running IE8 64 bit now. So, which version should I use?
Do 64 bit programs run faster on a x64 OS than 32 bit ones running on a x86 OS?
I still want to run an additional OS on my computer (Windows XP) to play games. This windows takes lotta RAM, which make most of my favorite games unplayable. But I surf the web and find many complaining that their Windows 7 no longer works after they install XP. To get both of them work, I must install XP first, then 7, right? (on different partitions of course)

Any help would be very appreciated. -- Livy the pixie (talk) 11:33, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

1. No.

2. The 560 is a Merom core, which means it features ia64. But I'd still run the 32 bit version; I don't think you'll see any advantage in 64.

3. It depends on the program. 64 bit programs are a bit less cache-efficient and a bit more memory-hungry (big ints, big pointers). A few programs actively benefit from the wide words, but I doubt very much you'll use any of them. If you did lots of media encoding, and you knew the codecs you used had 64 bit versions, then maybe that'd be a consideration.

4. Windows 7's compatibility is pretty impressive, and very few things that work on XP won't on 7. In the unlikely event that you do find something that just plain won't, install XP in a virtual machine inside windows 7. Dual-boot is a bad idea.

-- Finlay McWalter • Talk 11:47, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not convinced that running XP in a virtual machine on a computer with only 768 MB of RAM is a good idea, especially since the OP is concerned about gaming performance. (PS: IA-64 is Itanium; the 64-bit successor to x86 is variously called x86-64, x64, amd64, EM64T, ...) -- Coneslayer (talk) 11:52, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The amount of RAM you have is below the minimum requirement for Windows7 (see Windows 7#Hardware requirements). Even if you updated that, your CPU is pretty ancient, and is near the bottom of the acceptable range for Windows 7 (if you must, run Microsoft's Upgrade Advisor on the laptop). I wouldn't install Windows 7 on this machine. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 11:54, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I know Microsoft has offered something call XP mode, but it require an additional 1 GB of RAM and I'm running out of it. I'm waitin for a new laptop next year so I don't want to upgrade my PC at the moment. To dual boot, I have to install the old version of Windows first, then the newer one after, right? I remember seeing it somewhere on Microsoft homepage, but this article is for Windows Vista. I'm not sure it is still correct in Windows 7 or not. -- 123.16.22.244 (talk) 11:57, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

XP mode just means it comes with a VM included. Coneslayer is right, you don't have enough memory for it. But you don't have enough memory for Windows 7 anyway. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 11:59, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

... (after edit conflicts) and, to add to Finlay's answer to 1, formatting any disk is just the same as writing to it except that a low-level format re-writes the sector markers in each track, thus erasing all data. If you format a whole hard drive, this will delete any partitions, though some formatting software will protect you from this possible error. Dbfirs 12:04, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

With 768 MB of RAM I can still run some basic programs in Windows 7, such as IE, jetAudio, NetBean, Visual C#. I have install Windows 7 for 2 weeks w/o any problem. But I need XP for gaming. I install Windows 7 to experiece some new features only. Um, what must I do to dual boot now? -- 123.16.22.244 (talk) 12:05, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I don't have any personal experience dual-booting them, but here's a guide to dual-booting Windows 7 with either XP or Vista. It assumes you start with XP installed; I don't know if that's the only way to do it, but I would expect most guides will make that assumption, since people generally start with the older OS installed and add the newer Windows 7. -- Coneslayer (talk) 12:46, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

You can do it with Windows 7 or Vista first (I've done it before) although you'll usually have to fix the bootloader since Windows XP doesn't understand the Windows 7/Vista bootloader. Nil Einne (talk) 10:54, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Ubuntu + Vista DualBoot

I recently had to reinstall Windows Vista. I suspect it had something to do with Vista believing my disk was corrupt or whatever after I put Ubuntu on as a dual-boot (original question + answers here). Anyway, Vista is reinstalled and works fine, only now I am unable to get into Ubuntu, as the menu does not appear to invite me to choose an operating system to boot into. What should I do now? Also, how can I prevent my previous problem from happening again? TIA! --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 15:26, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

You need to reinstall grub. Windows normally erases the grub loader when it installs. Here's one way to do it. -- kainaw ™ 16:46, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Cheers. I actually found that page before you answered, and have come into Ubuntu (using the LiveCD) to do just that, but all I'm getting is 'sudo: grub: command not found' after typing 'sudo grub' in Terminal. A Google search of this gives me some relevant pages, but mostly they are fairly old forum posts and are only half-answered. I'm totally lost. --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 17:14, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

You may need to say sudo /usr/sbin/grub explicitly. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 17:18, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Right, well, in the end, I actually did what it says on this page and it seems to be OK. I haven't gone back into Vista yet, so I don't know what's going to happen, but anyway, for future reference I'm posting the answer here. Cheers. --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 17:33, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Another answer, my friend, is not blowing in the wind, but rather attached to your older question here: Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Archives/Computing/2010_June_5#Win_Vista_Not_Booting. And I know that because I was the one to attach that answer to your question. ;-) -- 109.193.27.65 (talk) 17:40, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

sql server 2005 se

Hi! If i try to set to single user a db via gui it works, if try via code it doesn't; but the profiler traces the same statement in both cases! Thank you in advance --217.194.34.103 (talk) 16:49, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Most "durable" file compression format

What file compression format(s) provide the best "durability" — that is, the most error correction or ability to uncompress contents even if the media is degraded or the archive is missing some bits. I was curious if newer formats like XAR or 7z offer any benefits in this regard compared to "old school" RAR, ZIP, TAR.GZ, TAR.BZ2. --70.167.58.6 (talk) 18:41, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Those formats that use solid compression are less durable (that includes 7zip and RAR, and in practice those that compress a TAR), as they don't reset the compression dictionary when processing each new file. So if one file's worth of data is damaged, subsequent files are also unrecoverable. With those that do reset the dictionary for each file (ZIP), only the damaged file itself should be entirely unrecoverable (depending on the nature of the damage, naturally). I can find very little information about how XAR works in this regard. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 19:02, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Solid archiving is optional in the 7-zip and Rar formats. The fact that Zip doesn't support solid archiving can hardly be called a point in its favor. XAR (which I hadn't heard of) apparently has no support for solid archiving, even though the "X" is supposed to stand for "extensible". I can't see any reason to use it. They're not even marketing it for backup usage, but for things like packaging systems; but solid archiving seems to me rather important in a packaging system, where all files are normally unpacked at once and compression ratio matters. -- BenRG (talk) 00:02, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

RAR has recovery records which you can specify a percentage of, so that if some of the archive is damaged it could be repaired from the recovery record. This of course increases the file size though 82.43.89.11 (talk) 20:36, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Or you could use any format and add some PAR2 files. -- BenRG (talk) 00:02, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Or ICC ECC (albeit only Windows or perhaps Wine and not unfortunately open source or openly documented) Nil Einne (talk) 10:29, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Real-time post-processing audio from speakers

Hi all,

Does anyone know of any software that can do some form of real-time post-processing of the audio that comes from line out (i.e. to your speakers/headphones), such as audio filtering? A bit like Volume Control but more high-tech, capable of doing more complicated things like filtering out certain frequencies. Not interested in recording the sound - more like modify it on-the-fly and send this output to the speakers.

Sound originally aimed for speakers -> Filtering program -> Filtered sound to speakers

Thanks in advance, x42bn6 Talk Mess 19:40, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

That's an interesting question. Doing this should be possible using the MST framework that Vista and Windows 7 have (I'm assuming you're on Windows) - but I can't find any cases where someone has written a patch-board app that actually does. There are however lots of filter packages available that use Steinberg's Virtual Studio Technology (VST) technology. So you might like to experiment with a VST-hosting application, like AudioMulch or VSThost, the descriptions for which suggest they should be capable of what you want (although it's monumental overkill, really). I confess I haven't tried this in practice. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 20:22, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I'm somewhat confused what you mean by 'sound originally aimed for speakers' nor how the line out comes in to this. Are you planning to take audio from the line out of one sound card, put it into the line in and then output it through another sound card (or the same sound card if it supports multiple outputs), this seems unnecessary to me just do it before it get's goes to the line out. There's also probably no need to try and hack some filter to capture the audio output if this is what you planned to do.

If you just want to modify any sound your soundcard puts out, the software and/or drivers provided by your manufacturer you usually get a variety of effects including potentially an equaliser you can adjust. Fancy sound cards like expensive Creative ones would usually provide more options although Creative software often leaves a lot to be desired. The real X-fis for example have an audio creation mode although it's not something I've ever used myself. You also can do EAX effects. Regardless of card, in Windows Vista and 7 you may also have access to these via a properties settings for the output (speakers or whatever between levels and advanced) but may also want to look for any mixer your soundcard or chip software/drivers provides. For the cheaper Creative sound cards you can also driver the kX drivers [2].

If you want more advanced then that, you may be able to use ASIO in some way if your sound card supports that output but I'm not that sure if you can do it to any output or only output from certain programs.

Either way, probably better then taking the sound from the line out to the line in or trying to capture the sound via some hacked method or something I suspect.

P.S. You may be able to use VST plugin or DirectX plugins but I'm not that sure if this is how they work, I thought you use specific software which connects/uses these rather then it working with all audio output (e.g. a game as a random example). But it's not something I've really looked in to. I am presuming you at least want to be able to modify all audio output not be forced to use specific programs since otherwise there would seem to be a need to capture all the audio as you appear to be trying to do,

Nil Einne (talk) 10:41, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Let me guess, this is to filter out the Vuvuzela sounds from the soccer transmissions on TV? -- 109.193.27.65 (talk) 21:53, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

You said it, not me. ;) Nah, I've seen software out there that comes with some sound cards that allows you to mess around with various things with your speakers like the treble and bass levels, but unfortunately mine doesn't. Might be a little fun to write my own even. Thanks all for the links. x42bn6 Talk Mess 01:39, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

<squeeze>I suggested the TV use because http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/wp:au is currently discussing the same problem. ;-) </squeeze> -- 109.193.27.65 (talk) 10:44, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

So you have you tried installing the software and drivers for your sound card (or chipset)? Be aware the ones Microsoft provides are usually less full featured. You'll also likely want the latest drivers. If you're using a chipset on your motherboard the chipset maker is usually better then the motherboard maker. Nil Einne (talk) 04:47, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

June 12

Java layout manager that forces width

Resolved

Hello! I've been having a problem laying out text components in Java. What I'm trying to do is fill a JPanel with JLabels (which I guess don't technically qualify as "text components" in Java) and JEditorPanes so they all display vertically in the JPanel, one below the other, like a vertical list. I then want to embed the JPanel in a JScrollPane so that the user can scroll down and view all the messages contained in the JLabels and JEditorPanes, but I want to have all these components at a fixed width so that the user doesn't have to scroll sideways (horizontally). JLabels seem to accept this naturally, and wrap their text to the next line and stay within the JPanel's preferred width, but JEditorPanes seem to take advantage of the JPanel and JScrollPane and expand as much as they can to keep their text on the same line. I've been trying to lay out the JPanel with BoxLayout, and I've had a hard time finding a LayoutManager (or even just an idiom in Java, for that matter) that will force all the components in the JPanel to a set width, and let them wrap their text to take as much vertical space (height) as they need. I've tried extending JPanel to implement Scrollable, but I've only had limited success with that, and I'd like a layout technique that could do this even outside of a JScrollPane. Any suggestions? Thank you!--el Aprel (^facta-_facienda) 01:55, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Won't a GridLayout work? The trouble is that will force all your elements to have the same width AND same height. You can use a GridBagLayout, a more enhanced (and complicated) Grid layout. There is a tutorial here. Create a new JPanel pnlList; set it to use a GridLayout or GridBagLayout; add your JLabel and JEditorPanes to pnlList; and then add the single item pnlList to your scroll pane. Nimur (talk) 03:09, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Oh, I forgot. Be sure to set a maximum size for pnlList (or whatever panel is being laid out by the GridLayout). Note that only certain layout managers actually respect this setting - but grid and gridbag both should both be compliant. Nimur (talk) 03:20, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Well, my problem was my text components were of varying sizes, and GridLayout would take the component with the most text and force all the other components to be as big, right? However, your note about setting the maximum size of the components gave me an idea: use BoxLayout and for all the components, setMaximumSize(MY_DESIRED_WIDTH, Integer.MAX_VALUE) and setAlignmentX(Component.LEFT_ALIGNMENT). It worked surprisingly well. Thank you for the idea, Nimur.--el Aprel (^facta-_facienda) 02:04, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Multiple Instances of Ubuntu in Grub Loader

When installing Ubuntu on this machine (dual-boot now), I had two instances of Ubuntu - one 'normal' one and one 'recovery mode' one. Now I've got two of each. The only difference is the number that comes after them. One pair says 2.6.32.22 and the other pair says 2.6.32.21. Why is this, and is there anything I should do about it? --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 08:37, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Those would be different kernels, though I find it pretty surprising that you would have kernels that differ in a fourth-order version number. Probably you don't need to do anything about it unless it annoys you or you're extremely tight on disk space. If it bugs you, you could edit menu.lst (I think it's in /boot/grub ) to remove the entry you don't want, and you could also delete its associated kernel and save a trifling amount of disk. Personally I wouldn't delete the kernel — who knows if the one you keep will get corrupted or something? Plus, if you accidentally deleted the wrong one, you'd be minorly hosed (you'd have to boot from a LiveDisk or something to get menu.lst back to booting the one you still have).

All this is assuming Grub 1. I don't know how Grub 2 works. --Trovatore (talk) 08:44, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Since the question mentions Ubuntu:

#make sure you're running the most up-to-date kernel:
uname -a
#check if the output contains 2.6.32-22, if not, reboot and select 2.6.32-22 in GRUB's menu.

#This will remove the older kernel and all packages that might belong to it
sudo apt-get remove --purge $(dpkg -l linux-image-2.6.32-21*|awk '{print $2}'|grep linux)

#If you see a message that you're about to do something stupid, that means the previous command misfired,
#then by all means abort! If on the other hand, it simply prompts you "Y/n" to proceed, then hit Y.

#This is just for good measure, the previous step should already have triggered it, but doing it twice 
#doesn't hurt - automatically update the GRUB boot menu 
sudo update-grub

-- 109.193.27.65 (talk) 11:25, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The difference is the kernel version number, and it doesn't mean to much to normal users like you and me. Over time, as upgrades happen, it'll accumulate more and more old kernel versions, but there's no harm in keeping them around; they take up a small amount of space, and the consequences of booting into an old kernel are about nil. Paul (Stansifer) 13:15, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Cheers. If it's not a massively pressing issue I think I'll leave it, then. A quick look at my recent posts will reveal that I'm not having a massive barrel of laughs with a dual-boot system at the moment, so if it's not broken I won't try to fix it. Cheers. --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 02:01, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The old version is keept in the boot meny in the rare case the new kernel does not work on your system.

You should always use the latest if posible since it has been corrected for security problems and/or other bugs. You can see the cange in each version on https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/lucid/+source/linux/+changelog It is rather hard to understand every change but it can be intressting to see. Gr8xoz (talk) 02:07, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Directory to drive letter

Resolved

Is it possible on Windows to map a directory to a drive letter? So for example, "C:\whatever\" would be accessible via "F:\" ? 82.43.89.11 (talk) 13:11, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

According to this forum discussion, there's a subst command for that. Paul (Stansifer) 13:25, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know what subst is 82.43.89.11 (talk) 14:46, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

See subst --Rajah (talk) 15:44, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I still don't understand. What do I need to to on Windows 7 to make a directory accessible as a drive letter? 82.43.89.11 (talk) 15:52, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Open the start menu. Write cmd.exe and press enter. Write subst F: C:\whatever\ and press enter. Write exit and press enter. Done. --Andreas Rejbrand (talk) 17:04, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

If you get a complaint about an incorrect number of parameters, it is because the "subst" command is easily confused by spaces. The fix is to put the desired directory in quotes, like subst y: "c:\Program Files" or the like. Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:23, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks this worked perfectly. How do I undo it now? 82.43.90.93 (talk) 19:49, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Open the start menu. Write cmd.exe and press enter. Write subst F: /D and press enter. Write exit and press enter. Undone. --Andreas Rejbrand (talk) 20:46, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks! 82.43.90.93 (talk) 21:05, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The reciprocal, mapping a disk partition ("drive letter") to a folder, is described on Microsoft TechNet: Assign a mount point folder path to a drive. Nimur (talk) 17:10, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I just spent ages trying to work that out then realized it's for the exact opposite of what I want. Thanks anyway it's interesting 82.43.90.93 (talk) 19:47, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The subst article links to this GUI tool which you might find helpful. -- BenRG (talk) 22:15, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Nice! That's great! 82.43.90.93 (talk) 23:24, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Mediawiki extension for doing mysql queries from within the wiki

I remember, but cannot find, an extension for Mediawiki which allows the user to place mysql statements in the source for articles. These statements could query a mysql database (not the same one storing the wiki itself) and generate dynamic pages based on the results. Can anyone point me to an extension or how to do this? Thank you. --Rajah (talk) 14:22, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Greasemonkey

How can I automatically enter a url into a file upload box with greasemonkey? The following works for the description field;

document.getElementsByName("com")[0].value = "Hello";

but when I try for the upload field (one of those little text boxes with "browse" next to it you usually use to navigate to the file)

document.getElementsByName("file")[0].value = "C:\123.jpg";

does not work. 82.43.89.11 (talk) 15:09, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Don't you need to escape that slash, like value = "C:\\123.jpg"; ? -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 15:16, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

You can't do that; this is a security restriction. Details here http://www.irt.org/script/1154.htm Arloz (talk) 15:23, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Crap. Is there any way to override this restriction on Firefox? 82.43.89.11 (talk) 15:40, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Since you're already scripting, circumvent the form and simply create a POST command to the upload script. You can read our article on POST (HTTP) to learn about this. What you want to do is check the form's submit action (it will be called "action" in the HTML source); and then POST your file to that URI. Essentially, instead of using the graphical web form, you will bypass that GUI and just run your script to send the data directly to the server. Nimur (talk) 17:13, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I think it should be made clear, though, that you cannot do this in Javascript, or from any kind of browser-side scripting alone (and the reasons for this are fairly obvious, as if you could use Javascript to get a computer to cough up files automatically, that would make open up a MASSIVE security hole). You'll have to do this with something like PHP or Perl or so on. It's kind of a different beast, and I don't know how compatible it is with greasemonkey (though if greasemonkey can be made to open local PHP files, then it could be done pretty easily, if you know PHP). If you are using PHP, I highly recommend using something like Snoopy which will make creating a well-formed POST command a lot easier than just doing it from scratch. --Mr.98 (talk) 17:58, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think I know enough php to do anything this technical. I'm surprised there isn't a way to override whatever restrictions are in place on Firefox and get it to enter some text into a text box though. Surely there's some way to hack that. 82.43.90.93 (talk) 19:28, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Surely there is, but it's probably non-trivially difficult (harder than just learning the relevant PHP, which is really not that complicated if you do it through Snoopy). It probably requires you to change how Firefox handles Javascript, which probably involves recompiling the whole thing. That's a lot harder than getting PHP set up on your system, writing a PHP function that spits a file at a given website, and then having Greasemonkey run the PHP script whenever you want. --Mr.98 (talk) 21:44, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Ok, thanks. Well anyway I found iMacros which does what I want. Thanks everyone 82.43.90.93 (talk) 21:57, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

DownThemAll!

Can anyone explain how to do what I want in the following situation please? I have not been able to find any explainastion online.

There is a webpage with links to a series of files on it: file1.zip, file2.zip....file9.zip. I right click on file1.zip and select DownThemAll! from the menu. What do I do next to get it to download all these zip files but nothing else please? All I've managed to do is to download file1.zip to the directory I choose, and a lot of unwanted gif and html files seem to have been downloaded to some unknown location on my HD. Thanks 92.15.0.254 (talk) 18:28, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

After clicking "DownThemAll!" from the menu, click "Filters" then click "Archives". Or type in "*.zip" under "Fast filtering". --Mr.98 (talk) 19:01, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

If you want to be doubly sure you could also do something like file[1:9].zip as the filter. Findstr (talk) 12:55, 15 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Annoying Pop-Down Toolbar on Google Chrome

Resolved

I keep getting a little pop-down toolbar everytime I visit a website in a different language on Google Chrome. It's annoying because it takes around a second (or maybe just a little bit less) to appear, making the page itself move down a centimetre or so, and very often causing me to click on something I didn't want to click on (due the the page moving). Is there any way to switch it off completely? It gives me the option to not translate that particular page or that particular language, but really I'd rather just get rid of it completely. Cheers. --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 19:30, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

It's OK. I managed it. --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 20:24, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Ubuntu WiFi

I'm trying to connect a computer running Ubuntu 9.10 to my home wifi network. My Linksys wireless-B adapter works well enough to detect pretty much every network on my block, but I can't get authentication from my router (which is wireless-G, but that never stopped a Windows PC from using the same adapter to connect).

I've tried 64-bit WEP, 128-bit WEP, and WPA Personal encryption methods as well as two different wifi managers (the default Network Manager and something called WICD). The SSID is being broadcast. The process stalls when it gets to "waiting for authentication" (in WICD, as I haven't found a way to view Network Manager's connection status).

The encryption key is fine, since I can get a Wii and a Nintendo DS to connect just fine. I've triple-checked the key I'm putting in several times over again.

Any help or advice would be great. Multiple Google searches haven't turned up anything that A. I know how to do and B. works. Aylad ['ɑɪlæd] 23:21, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I'll assume this is a laptop or netbook. This is most likely a driver issue. I had same issues with a Dell laptop. You need to google or tell us your manufacturer/model. --Rajah (talk) 01:01, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I suggest you take a look at H.J. Heins' excellent website if you haven't already. It's probably the most authoritative source on native Linux Wi-Fi. If the card is listed "green" (native support), then we most likely have some sort of driver issue as Rajah has said. "Yellow" cards (partial/inconsistent support) usually have additional instructions -- for example, some "yellow" cards require you to download firmware or a closedsource driver -- that we can help you follow. "Red" cards often require Ndiswrapper. Take a look also at Ubuntu's WifiDocs. If your card is listed there, there may be more Ubuntu-specific instructions for you to follow. Good luck. Xenon54 (talk) 01:48, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Rajah: it's actually an old Compaq desktop. The wireless adapter is a USB device. I should have said that earlier.

Xenon: thanks. The first site you recommended says that for my wireless adapter (under Linksys, WUSB11 v2.8), "Driver included in mainline kernel since 2.6.24, replaced with at76c50x-usb (mac80211 port) in 2.6.30. Firmware is required, available from http://www.thekelleys.org.uk/atmel/ ". Unfortunately, I have no idea which file(s) to download or what to do next. I've never really worked with this sort of thing in Linux. Aylad ['ɑɪlæd] 13:31, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

You probably want to download http://www.thekelleys.org.uk/atmel/atmel-firmware-1.3.tar.gz then and install it. (untar it, configure, make, install : http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/install-tarballs/ ) You may need to use sudo before "make install". --Rajah (talk) 14:16, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

This tarball is actually different from most. Just extract the files with tar or whatever program you like, then in a terminal window cd to the newly created directory (titled "atmel-firmware-1.3" or similar) and run "sh install.sh". Xenon54 (talk) 14:37, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

When I run "sh install.sh" I get an error message about needing to get an up-to-date hotplug system. I don't know how to do that. There is no /etc/hotplug directory where I'm supposed to find the firmware.agent file. There's another option in the readme about using some sort of script before the interface loads, but (guess what?) I don't know how to do that, either. Feeling very much like a noob now... Aylad ['ɑɪlæd] 03:46, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

June 13

Infobox field and value ordering

I'm working with a mediawiki installation and I have a bunch of values like so:

| label20 = ccat7
| data20 = {{{ccat7|}}}
| label21 = qid1
| data21 = {{{qid1|}}}

I'd like to add a ccat8 between ccat7 and qid1. Is there any way to do this without renumbering the whole template? --Rajah (talk) 00:57, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

depends on what you mean. If you're talking about a mediawiki template (like {{infobox}} then no. you at least have to renumber things to the next available space (in either direction). I wrote a small script that I use to fix that problem - if you point me to the page, I can run the script on it (basically it spaces out the labels a bit to give room for additions). If you're talking about a preference file or different template then there's may not be a specific need for parameter names to be in a given order. I'd need to see specifically what you're doing. --Ludwigs2 23:53, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, this is an Infobox. It's on a private installation though. I can write a script too, just wondered about that. Btw, do you know where the documentation is for Infoboxes? Specifically where it talks about labelN, dataN, etc. ? Thanks. --Rajah (talk) 03:18, 15 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

if it's a copy of wikipedia's infobox template, you can look at the docs listed at the link I gave above. what I use is an applescript to modify the text, so you probably can't make any use of it. --Ludwigs2 04:45, 15 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

XFire & Games List

Why do iTunes and Windows Media Player show up in my list of installed 'games' in XFire? No other programs appear (besides my other games, some of which don't, but that's presumably because they are unsupported). It would be nice if Word did, though, because I always feel the need to fire off a quick document in the middle of a game . --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 15:25, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

It's probably merely a matter of application detection -- perhaps Xfire's criteria of 'game' is pretty loose, or they just thought that media players should also be in the list. If you've not added them manually, more than likely they are in some database that came with it. Findstr (talk) 15:27, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The (archived) XFire README file states that XFire can be used to control Windows Media Player or iTunes; it can also use the "current song" to update your profile, and similar features. Nimur (talk) 16:34, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Ah! Excellent. So, if I enable this feature, everyone I know can get a little pop-up message on the bottom right of their screen every 4-5 minutes telling them what song I'm listening to. Also, if I feel like watching a film during a game I can just turn on Windows Media Player. How convenient. --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 03:13, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

MSN/Live Messenger has a similar feature. Nil Einne (talk) 04:41, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

June 14

anyone know how to download movies on a samsung advance a885?

/03:31, 14 June 2010 (UTC)03:31, 14 June 2010 (UTC)03:31, 14 June 2010 (UTC)03:31, 14 June 2010 (UTC)03:31, 14 June 2010 (UTC)03:31, 14 June 2010 (UTC)03:31, 14 June 2010 (UTC)03:31, 14 June 2010 (UTC)03:31, 14 June 2010 (UTC)03:31, 14 June 2010 (UTC)03:31, 14 June 2010 (UTC)~~\ l lOOOl lOOOl l / l lOOOl lOOOl l / l l / l l l l \03:31, 14 June 2010 (UTC)03:31, 14 June 2010 (UTC)03:31, 14 June 2010 (UTC)Peekingducky12 (talk) 03:31, 14 June 2010 (UTC) PLZ tell l \_____/ l \ l l \ l /03:31, 14 June 2010 (UTC)03:31, 14 June 2010 (UTC)03:31, 14 June 2010 (UTC)~\ l l /__________________\ l \_________________________________________________________l[reply]

I removed your double post. It will probably also help if you don't have such an 'eye catching' and large signature. At the very least, there's no need for the time stamp to appear 10 times Nil Einne (talk) 04:44, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I'm guessing that the tildes ~ were supposed to be part of the ASCII art, yet the wiki software gets confused and turns them into time stamps/signatures. -- 109.193.27.65 (talk) 10:39, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Wouldn't have worked anyway, since he didn't preface the whole thing with a space. Here's what he wanted:

/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\
l    lOOOl                                     lOOOl      l    /                                               
l    lOOOl                                     lOOOl      l   /
l                                                         l  /
l                   l    l                                l  \~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (~~~~ PLZ tell
l                   \_____/                               l   \
l                                                         l    \
l               /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\                        l
l              /__________________\                       l
\_________________________________________________________l

Vimescarrot (talk) 11:14, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

But what is that? A diagram of the device? Nimur (talk) 14:47, 14 June 2010 (UTC) [reply]

Probably, here's proper instructions then:

/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\
l                                                         l    /                                               
l                SAMSUNG Advance                          l   /
l                                                         l  /
l                   l    l                                l  \~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (~~~~ MOVIE
l                   \_____/                               l   \
l                                                         l    \
l               /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\                        l
l              /__________________\               A885    l
\_________________________________________________________l
216.185.72.2 (talk) 18:43, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Since we've established the garbled code is supposed to represent the device OP was asking about (apparently a samsung advance a885), maybe someone would like to have a go answering the question. 82.43.90.93 (talk) 20:26, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Archiving data

Imagine that I wanted to archive a copy of wikipedia, which is about 100GB these days (current revisions plus images?). If I want to archive it so that the data is good for a VERY long time (say 10,000 years) without power available how could one do it? I imagine amongst other things doing whatever it is say 3 times for redundancy would be a good idea. Store whatever in a vaccuum or inert gas or ...? The only thing I can thing of that could be expected to last that long is ceramics where I reckon you could easily manage 1Mbit per 100mm * 100mm * 3mm sheet. But that's 3 lots of 800,000 ceramic sheets. Might Mylar last 10,000 years? Punched copper tape? Any ideas folk? -- SGBailey (talk) 11:58, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The Long Now Foundation's Rosetta Project hopes to address this, using data etched (as analog pictures) onto nickel alloy disks. They're only planning on storing 13,000 pages with a 2,000 year life expectancy. I think they're going analog because they're not confident that any digital format can be relied upon to be meaningful over such a timescale. The problem of intelligibility is one shared with the designers of deep nuclear storage facilities like Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository - see this. For physical media, the trouble starts when you have to survive some or much of that time in a condition of apathy or neglect. Ceramics crumble, metal oxidises, plastics offgas and become brittle (and are slowly eaten by fungii and degraded by sunlight), gas-tight containers aren't that gas tight (and the material of the box, and the seal, slowly contaminates the space within). Worse, you have to contend with people deliberately destroying the archive, because it's valuable (they melt those disk down), because they think it's valuable (they smash your ceramic memory blocks because they think there's gold inside them), or because of some cultural reason (they discover that images of the Holy Messiah Keanu Reeves are contained within, and so destroy the whole thing as an heretical graven image). Life, human and otherwise, is much of the problem - I wouldn't be entirely surprised if one day someone finds a marker on Phobos, marking the top of a mile deep shaft at the bottom of which is a huge cavern full of nickel disks, covered with the defunct Martian civilisation's Wikipedia. Short answer: right now, I don't think there's any media that could store remotely that amount of data for that time reliably, bar an effort of titanic expense. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 13:01, 14 June 02010HE (UTC)

You'd probably want to encode with an error-correcting code (a very redundant one) with lots and lots of section-numbering and framing (to assist a future archaeologist in reconstructing the stream of things when a great number of sections are damaged). Constructing such a primer (so some future person can figure out what the data encoding means) is much the same problem as communicating with an Alien intelligence (i.e. you have no common cultural reference, so have to build everything up from basic bits of science and math) - that's the meat of the Arecibo message and is explored (a bit superficially) in the movie Contact. If you're not willing to pay for my expensive Lunar storage, you at least need to have multiple redundant repositories in physically very distinct locations (continents apart) in geologically inactive places. It'd be nice to say "in the desert", but places that are deserts now were relatively recently (over your timeframe) fairly lush. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 13:10, 14 June 02010HE (UTC)

You could probably find sites safe to be geologically stable for the next 10 thousand years. 10 million years, or even worse billion years, would be far more problematic. StuRat (talk) 14:43, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

In the "how not to do it" category, IMHO, goes the record of Earth sounds sent on one of the Voyager missions. It's guaranteed to be heavily pitted by micrometeorites by the time it gets to any aliens, and they then must somehow construct a turntable to play it, and, of course, they might not have ears, and, even if they do, they couldn't make any sense of random sounds from Earth anyway. Then there's the extremely slow speed of the spaceship, which guarantees that we ourselves will pick it up and put it in a museum once we have much faster ships. StuRat (talk) 14:43, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

If data is stored in a digital format, then you'd need to include a device to convert that info into something useful, like video and audio. Of course, that brings up all sorts of problems of how to make such a device last that long, power it (solar panels ?), etc. StuRat (talk) 14:47, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I think the general idea is, as Findlay points out, that you'd put it in a format that would be theoretically decodable, and let the future human/alien/whatever figure out how to represent it. Then you aren't dependent on trying to make a reading device survive into the future. Such an approach, of course, assumes a minimum level of technological savvy before it could be used. (Which might be a good thing, depending on what the message tells them how to do.) --Mr.98 (talk) 16:46, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think that's a good assumption, though. We could very well have a primitive culture find this after the advanced technology is destroyed by an asteroid, mega-volcano or in a nuclear or biological war (in fact, if there was no such disruption, then the nuclear waste disposal site would still be known to future generations and there would be no need for a warning). Of course, one option might be to make the nuclear waste inaccessible to primitive cultures, say by burying it under a miles of concrete. Still, if they are sufficiently motivated, they might dig through it over generations. StuRat (talk) 17:34, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

If they're really primitive, then even if the data was in a format they could read, they most likely wouldn't understand it away. 82.43.90.93 (talk) 20:23, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

And also most info in Wikipedia would be completely meaningless to them, as jet engine design wouldn't be useful until they learned lots of other stuff. An AI system might need to be included that determines their level of expertise and provides info in a format and of a nature which they would appreciate. If cave men discover it, it could show them how to build a fire with videos, for example. StuRat (talk) 03:58, 15 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

E-mail name

When I signed up for a Yahoo/AT&T account, they asked my name, and I put in NOYFB, because, well, it wasn't any of their business. However, once I started sending emails, they put <NOYFB>my_email_address@att.com as my name and address (not my real email, so no reason to remove it here). So, how can I permanently correct my name, after the fact ? Or, failing that, just convince it to stop supplying what it thinks is my real name, along with my e-mail address ? StuRat (talk) 14:25, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Hotmail

As a related query, Hotmail insists upon showing my name in capital letters. How can I change that? I have tried to change it before, could not. Thanks 92.24.183.80 (talk) 14:39, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

OpenOffice3

1) Whenever I go to open an existing letter, I get a "box" that shows the List view. I have to change this to Details, and then click the top of the date column so that the most recent dates are shown at the top of the list. Is there any way of changing the default settings so that I do not have to keep doing this over and over again?

2) Is it possible that when saving a letter using "Save As", that the former file name is remembered (so that I can make minor changes to it) rather than just getting a blank slot which means that I have to retype the whole file name completely?

3) Is it possible to make "boxes" such as the Open or Save As box whole-page, rather than having to peer through a little aperture at the information beyond? Thanks 92.24.183.80 (talk) 14:36, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Those issues are based on the window manager. Are you using Windows or Linux? If Linux, are you using KDE or Gnome? -- kainaw ™ 16:41, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I've numbered your questions for ease of reference. Unfortunately, most of them appear to require changes to the program (coding) to improve. Some more specific comments:

1) This is the only one where it seems that there might be a setting you can change, although I don't know what it is.

2) A workaround might be to pick on the existing name to load it into the box for editing, but be aware than changing the name would cause another copy to be stored under the new name, and leave the old file as is, rather than rename it. Renaming seems to require brining up Windows Explorer (or some other File Manager). I've always found this lack of ability to rename or delete files from within most apps to be objectionable.

3) Unless there's a maximize button (a big square in the upper, right corner), the window probably isn't made to be scalable. Right-clicking on the title bar for the window is another way to bring up the Maximize option, if it has one. StuRat (talk) 16:46, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I am using WinXP. Your answer to 2 - I think that's what I do already, but I always just get a blank slot. 3 - I don't know why programmers in general insist on people being given this weany little window to look through, since it inevitibly requires a lot of scrolling in all four directions. Its like being forced to watch a wide-screen tv through a letterbox. 92.15.10.239 (talk) 18:50, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I agree. I suspect that they sized the window when display resolutions were much smaller, like maybe 640×480, so it filled the entire screen, back then. Then they just never got around to expanding it as screen resolutions went up. Ideally, it should have been made scalable in the first place, so no coding change would be required when screens got bigger. StuRat (talk) 19:59, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

You can switch between the OpenOffice and XP save dialogs to see of one is more to your liking. Click tools - options - openoffice.org - general. There is a checkbox labelled Use Openoffice.org Dialogs. If it is checked, uncheck it. If it is not checked, check it. You will likely have to restart OpenOffice to make it take effect. -- kainaw ™ 19:10, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

TouchFLO 3D

In TouchFLO 3D (on a WinMobile 6.5 smartphone), on the Programs tab, is there some (any!) way to add a link to an executable which is not a program installed with an installation process (and thus not showing in the list of installed programs)? Thanks!—Ëzhiki (Igels Hérissonovich Ïzhakoff-Amursky) • (yo?); June 14, 2010; 17:42 (UTC)

Program for creating mathematical graphs

Cross-posted to the maths desk.

Hi everyone. I'm looking for a program to draw graphs easily (I do mean graphs not charts - essentially circles connected by lines). I'd like a program which has the following:

Graphical User Interface

Ability to drag/drop vertices around.

Preferably ability to resize the vertices, alter colours, alter thickness/colour of the edges, etc.

Does anyone know any software which can do this? -mattbuck (Talk) 17:53, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I asked something similar recently. (Discussion here) Dia was the answer I went with. APL (talk) 18:28, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

That looks very useful, thankyou. -mattbuck (Talk) 18:49, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Mac Dinosaur Game circa 1997-1998

When I was ten-eleven years old, I remember seeing a 3D dinosaur game with marvelous graphics in a computer shop. If I remember correctly, it was actually on a Mac, and not a PC. What might it have been? --Andreas Rejbrand (talk) 21:36, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Nanosaur? Comet Tuttle (talk) 23:01, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Turok: Dinosaur Hunter came out in 1997, but I don't think that it was on Mac. APL (talk) 00:23, 15 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Playing movies full screen at 1080p

File:Pillarboxed.jpg

Like this?

Dear Wikipedians:

After playing a couple of divx movies at 1080p, I have found that while most movies play full-screen, a few movies left two wide ugly black vertical strips on the two sides of the screen.

How do I force-play all movies at full full screen?

Thanks.

174.88.241.162 (talk) 22:24, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Is it like the photo to the right? See Letterbox or Pillarbox for why. You may be able to stretch the picture to be "full screen" but I don't recommend it; the picture will just be stretched horizontally, so everyone and everything looks wider than in reality. Comet Tuttle (talk) 22:53, 14 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Movies come at different aspect ratios, some of which match the wide-screen format well, and others don't. If they don't match the shape of your monitor/TV, the options are to stretch it to fit or have black bars. A few movies are available at multiple aspect ratios, and hopefully you can select the one which matches your needs, but most aren't, unfortunately. StuRat (talk) 03:49, 15 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Another option, which does not stretch it nor has black bars, is to zoom in, and cut off some of the edges. --169.232.246.242 (talk) 08:13, 15 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Of note: If you zoom in or stretch the picture, it isn't truly full 1080p as you are expanding each little pixel of color to cover more than one pixel on the screen. It is noticeable that the picture is stretched or zoomed when compared to actual 1080p. -- kainaw ™ 12:01, 15 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

To be specific, (US) cinematic releases come in ~2.39:1, 1.85:1, and rarely 1.37:1 width:height ratios. Standard 1080p television sets are at the ratio of 16:9, or ~1.78:1. This is "close enough" for the common 1.85:1 ratio movies play at, but "scope" films (2.39:1) need to be either letterboxed or pan and scanned. On the other end, the 1.37:1 films, and films originally shot for the 4:3 (1.33:1) television ratio need to be pillarboxed to show everything, otherwise you're again left with cutting portions out via pan and scan (which tends to be worse than in the scope case, as the composition is not as spread out). Your media player probably has some zoom system (how to reach it varies based on device), but be advised you are either going to lose some of the picture when it gets cut off, or you'll distort objects. -- 174.24.195.56 (talk) 15:20, 15 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

June 15

Phone advice

I am due for a Verizon upgrade, and I'm thinking Droid-like in caliber for my next phone. Ideally I would like access to a website that streams my iTunes library somehow. I know that there are several ways to do this, but I was hoping for something that would work with Last.fm scrobbling. Can this be done with a Droid? Has anybody else done the same or similar? Thanks —Akrabbim^talk 02:35, 15 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

C++ 5.5

Sir, i recently downloaded the command line version of c++ 5.5 from the borland site.Please instruct me how to connect the compiler with the header files and to the linker files.I have already set the path on DOS.But i don't know how to link it with the header files. Help Please!!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Vishnuthelegend (talk • contribs) 12:05, 15 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

There is a tutorial here, Borland C++ 5.5 tutorial. Have you properly used the #include syntax? Have you properly used the -Iheader_path include syntax for headers not in the current directory or standard library? Nimur (talk) 14:34, 15 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Question (Internet domains)

How are domains like "123.example.com" made? 82.43.90.93 (talk) 13:08, 15 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

One registers example.com and then one sets up a subdomain 123.example.com, iirc by adding it to a name server. --Tagishsimon (talk) 13:17, 15 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The term to search for is subdomain. You have to 1. add it to a name server, and 2. configure your server to properly handle the subdomain requests (which depending on the setup can be as easy as modifying the .htaccess file). To give any more specifics than that would require knowing more about the server you are hosting it on. --Mr.98 (talk) 13:42, 15 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I changed your useless title to one which actually identifies the question. StuRat (talk) 13:44, 15 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Storage Area Networking across the Internet

I am intending to set up an international iSCSI SAN, but need to learn more about Storage Area Networking first. My intent is to have the SAN physically located in Singapore, and have initiators from other parts of Asia, Europe and the Americas be able to connect to it. I have the following questions about iSCSI SANs.

What is a SAN group? I am only familiar with individual targets.

I have heard that a many-to-one relationship between initiators and targets is possible. I would like to know how this relationship works; i.e. wouldn't the two or more initiators overwrite each other's data?

In the context of a RAID array in a SAN, what is a Disk Group, and why is there a limit on the maximum number of physical disks in a Disk Group?

As iSCSI is a low-level protocol, is it the best protocol for a SAN which is to function across the Internet, or is there a better higher-level protocol?

Rocketshiporion (talk) 13:38, 15 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The best answer I can offer is that yes it is a low level protocol, and yes there are better things for use across the internet. iSCSI has very little in the way of session maintenance and graceful error handling; if the operating system relying on the iSCSI connection loses it for any reason very bad things happen very quickly (since operating systems are typically accustomed to having reliable access to their disks). Are you interested in using this for more than high speed file transfer between sites? --144.191.148.3 (talk) 14:35, 15 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Explorer.exe

Hello! I've had a minor problem with my laptop for the last couple of months. Whenever the laptop is running, the process "explorer.exe" has big spikes in the percentage of CPU usage every few seconds, causing video files and DVDs to play irregularly. Disabling the process is not an option, as it causes the start bar and desktop icons to disappear. Is there anything I can do to solve this problem? My operating system is Windows Vista.--Midgrid (talk) 13:55, 15 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2

I intend to use Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 as a virtualizer on a server to create up to 120 virtual machines. The Microsoft website officially states that only Linux OSes that are supported are RedHat and SUSE. I want to know whether each of the following operating-systems are supported as guest OSes by Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2.

Debian 5.0.4 Linux
Mandriva Linux One 2010
Ubuntu Desktop Edition 32-bit
Ubuntu Server Edition 32-bit
Ubuntu Netbook Edition 32-bit
Ubuntu Desktop Edition 64-bit
Ubuntu Server Edition 64-bit