Wikipedia:Reference desk/Computing

March 14

smd vs. through-hole

In the case of a varistor, how do its paramaters such as maximum energy and maximum continuous voltage vary when you convert a through hole varistor to an SMD? thank you.Gfranz G 03:03, 14 March 2007 (UTC)Gfranz

Moved to Science desk. --Ouro (blah blah) 07:12, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for taking the time in answering my question but I guess I didnt communicate my ideas well. What i meant by "converting" is to look for an SMD equivalent of a present through-hole varistor. In my case, the maximum continuous voltage of my through-hole varistor is 275Vdc and its maximum energy is 104J. I've looked up to the internet looking for SMD Varistors with the same or even almost equivalent parameters but the maximum contiuous vaoltage that I saw was around 56Vdc and worse for the maximum energy, the highest value that I got was 1.5J. that is why I was thinking that maybe some of the parameters of a varistor would be changed when it is "converted" from through-hole to SMD.

Why not mount your thro hole version in an SMD fashion (ie with short leads) You could glue the body to the board B4 soldering!?

Microsoft

about strenght of microsoft,weakness,opportunity,threats of microsoft

See Microsoft and related articles. --Ouro (blah blah) 07:12, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

I like this one :) --froth^t 07:57, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

I was thinking of linking related articles directly to the one you suggested ;) --Ouro (blah blah) 08:16, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Authorization Management Program

Dear all,

I would like to finish my project about wireless authentication and authorization management as soon as possible. I spent already 2 years with many people in studying how to let my program work and trying to finish it, but it never break through.

My program functions as

1. Server: force all computers that can see and join the network and getting IP from DHCP cannot communicate with anyone else until one can pass the authentication and authorization process.

2. Server: the network catagorize the computers from inside/outside the group. (Done)

3. Client: user has to put the username and password to get the permission. (Done)

4. Server: give the permission according to the group, user, and time.

Now my program can catagorize the machine in the network and outside the network by using MAC Filtering and can authen the username+password, but cannot block or give the permission according to the requirements.

Actually, i have one CPP code that can block and unblock by hooking to the windows kernel, but i don't know how to pack this code onto my VB interface, and i don't know how to make it allow different policies to different groups.

If you have any idea, please suggest me a.s.a.p. Or if you want to try my code, i gonna give it all to you.

Littlepu 06:18, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Please do not post the same things twice. Thank you. --Ouro (blah blah) 07:04, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Why would you need special code on the client at all? Just refuse to give the connecting computer an IP address if it can't pass authentication. Have a little app on the client that asks for the username and password and sends it to the server. If it checks out, then allow the client to connect. Am I missing something? Are you supposed to rewrite the entire network adapter? And what does any of this have to do with wifi? One thing is for sure- it's a very bad idea to try to block access by hooking the client's kernel.. he has more control over his computer than you do and it's going to be impossible to enforce such a block --froth^t 07:53, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

So do you think what i should do with this program? I really have no idea. I have to finish it a.s.a.p to get my degree. But now i just want to code on how the give the permission according to the group, user, and time. Could you suggest me some idea? Thanks. Littlepu 06:58, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Video card woes, why won't this silly computer let me use a PCI card with this dual-head AGP card?

Hi, Wikipedia Reference Desk. I just found you today. I was going to use Google Answers, but of course, the one time i'd actually need it to ask a question, it's gone.

I have a problem, but first i'll drop the hardware specifications.

MSI K8T Master2 FAR
Dual AMD Opteron 1.8GHz
2x 1GB DDR/3200
ATI Radeon 7500 AGP
2x 250GB SATA, 4x 9.1gb SCSI-2
Windows XP Professional, Solaris 10
DC390-F SCSI, 3Com 509B

I've got two 21" CRT monitors hooked up to my Radeon 7500, one's using the DB15 monitor port and the other's connected to a HDMI->DB15 adapter on the HDMI port. I want to add a third monitor to increase my productivity and let me produce far more TPS reports per hour.

I've plunked in a myriad of PCI video cards that are all known working and for some reason, they won't work. They install fine, Windows XP finds and installs all the drivers and they show up as a usable device in the Device Manager. I can't, however, extend a desktop on to it. In Display Properties -> Settings, it still only shows two adapters. No matter what I try, I can't get any PCI video card to actually drive a monitor. If I take out the Radeon AGP card and put three PCI video cards in, it works just fine. This, however, is unacceptable unless I invest in three decent PCI video cards, which is only a last resort.

Oh, magic eight ball, won't this work?

Any ideas, Wikicommunity?

Love, Wikijimmy

Sorry this isn't much of an answer but I tried to do this once, ages ago, and I came to the conclusion that it couldn't work. I'm pretty sure that I read somewhere that AGP uses the same video interrupt or something as PCI and you can not use both at the same time. Sorry I can't remember where I read that.. Vespine 00:32, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

It's possible. I bought a second screen some 2-3 years ago and wanted to have a dual screen setup. I had no problems to set up an old PCI card (4MB, S3 Virge chipset) along with my Nvidia GeForce 4 temporarily until I could get a new card supporting two screens. --Dapeteばか 14:07, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Accesing Server Accounts

Hi, i would like to know how to gain access to server accounts. In my school each of us have a separate account on the main server thus each of us has our own different account on which we can log on from any system in school. What if i want to have access to another account which is password protected or can i see its contents somehow witout having to open it? do i have to synchronize it or something? if so how? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 61.95.191.49 (talk) 11:22, 14 March 2007 (UTC).

Are you talking about getting unauthorised access to someone else's account on your school's server? That's very probably a violation of your school's network usage rules and could get you in trouble. Passwords are there for a reason.

If you're talking about doing it for a legitimate reason, like sharing a document with someone, it's probably easiest just to send it over email (or share it with them on Google Documents). Your school may also have shared folders where you can put files and let other people access them. Talk to your IT helpdesk and see if they have something like this set up. — Matt Eason ^{(Talk • Contribs)} 11:41, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Can't remove history

In my local configuration folder there's the History one, but... it is read-only, I can uncheck that checkbox but after I open the folder again I see the tick has come back. The IE button clear history won't do anything. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 85.50.148.87 (talk) 12:44, 14 March 2007 (UTC).

click on the start button, then run. next type in regedit. a screen will come up and on this screen go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER → Software → Microsoft → Internet Explorer. then go to typed urls. finnaly delete any urls you want. (make sure you dont do anything else in the registry. this should work. [1] --jake 01:21, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Apart from what the above poster said, maybe your problem has something with that autocompleting function Windows has, that sometimes acts the same as the Internet Explorer history. To disable it, go to Control Panel, Internet Options, Content. There you have it, hope that helps. --Taraborn 10:17, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Midi Issues

I have a Dell 9300 laptop with a boring SigmaTel sound card. I was trying to learn to play something on the piano before, using my laptop to guide me when I realized that something was out of tune. For a few minutes I thought that every key on my piano was half a step too high. Then I realized that the midi output on my laptop that is half about step too low. I compared it to the midi output on my desktop, which is in tune with my piano. I tested my headphones to make sure it wasn't just the main speakers. Same problem. Any thoughts? It just seems to be the midi and no other sound. --Russoc4 15:58, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Are you using the Sigma driver or the Microsoft Midi emulator? I have not had a problem with the MS mapper and it has amazingly rich vibrant samples for a MS product... Sandman30s 07:59, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Microsoft GS Wavetable Sw Synth. It doesn't let me pick anything else. I figure a reformat and reinstallation of windows would fix the problem. It fixes everything, but I was hoping there would be an easier way. Should I try uninstalling/reinstalling the sigmatel driver, even if it doesn't use it for midi?--Russoc4 15:58, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

give vim its own $HOME on windows

Is there a way on windows using gvim 70 to get vim to use a $HOME directory other than the "normal" one that windows uses by default? (e.g., c:/documents and settings/users/blahblah/NoClutter"). I would much rather use "c:/docs/MyHome" or something like that instead. Any :help or links that talk about this? NoClutter 16:13, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Sure. Set the HOME environment variable to the directory it should use in My Computer | Properties | Advanced | Environment variables. —EncMstr 16:46, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Ok thanks, just to double-check, this won't have the side-effect of changing the "default" that gets used by windows will it? This will only affect Vim right? I ask because the main reason I want to avoid using the windows path is: 1) the ugly spaces in the path, but also; 2) the fact that windows apps tend to put a lot of *crap* in there that I never use and don't ever want to look at. So I want to keep vim nice and clean, and separate. TYMV. NoClutter 16:57, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

It's fine. Most Microsoft programs don't know about it and don't care, being registry-focused instead. Only a few MS programs use environment variables; I don't recall any which use HOME. Other unix-based programs will use it of course, but they are probably doing what you expect: looking for .rc files and the like. —EncMstr 17:07, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Moved from trancluded page

Setting up a network

OK let me ask the original question in a new way. I have a Computer running XP (this one) and a slow computer (200Mhz) running Win 98 SE. I wish to use the slow m/c as a server (data storage device). i use to have it working, but since various fiddling with the slow m/c it has now stopped recognising the network. i have tried reinstalling the network software etc a number of times- no luck. Any suggestions on what I may be forgetting to do?--SlipperyHippo 05:18, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Are both computers in the same workgroup? →Ollie (talk • contribs) 00:18, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Yes I checked that!--SlipperyHippo 00:30, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Check the firewall settings. When trying to get the computers to network and see eachother in the beginning, I would completely disable both firewalls (disconnect from the internet if necessary and unplug your internet access if you really have to) -- and I mean disable both your Windows Firewall (XP) and your antivirus or firewall software. That is one of the most common networking solutions.
Then I assume you know how to ping different IP addresses on the network. This is useful if you want to see if your computer can see the other computer, even though it might not be able to connect to it yet.
Good luck, and remember, in order to help you it may be advisable to provide as much information as possible, such as operating systems, the method of networking, what kind of ethernet connection or hub or router, do they have network cards, what network software do you mean, what firewalls do you have, etc. Rfwoolf 11:42, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Servers v external large Hard drives mainly for data storage

What are the comparative advantages/disadvantages (apart from price) of dedicated servers (espthe new HP device soon to come out running Microsoft Server softwware) over just attaching, say, a 300G ext HDD to my current 2.3 GHz computer. Thanks--SlipperyHippo 20:26, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Are you referring to NAS when you talk about servers? Johnnykimble 21:22, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

No i dont think so. Thats the first I ve heard of NAS! I was talking about this new thing thats coming out Q2 this year made by HP (or another computer configured as a server). My 'network' will be my (DELL)workstation and my 'server' only--SlipperyHippo 22:11, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

In that case then, unless you do have gigabit Ethernet and given it is only you and 'it' on the network, I'd go for an external USB Hi-speed drive instead. As GB mentioned, your expansion options are enhanced with a server, but if you're going to be accessing it a lot, you should see benefits of the much faster connection via USB. Johnnykimble 22:27, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

No I dont have GB ethernet (only 100Mbps LAN cards). THank you for your advice (its cheaper too!)--SlipperyHippo 22:54, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

With an external disk server you have a lot of growth capacity - you can add many of the boxes to get a huge amount of storage. The servers can be easily shared between many users, and will have more reliability and up time than an average home PC. You PC will not have capacity to plug in many disks. If you have a gigabit ethernet on your PC and server you can get high throughput, comparable to USB connected drive.

Disadvantage will be more boxes to turn on or go wrong when the power fails, more noise and heat output, more complex to set up, more space and power points required. (A USB drive may need a powerpoint too) GB 21:32, 14 March 2007 (UTC) I don't know anything about the new HP drive. GB 21:32, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Wouldn't gigabit Ethernet offer a theoretical doubling of throughput versus the USB drive? I think though if the spec of the data storage server is the same as the one mentioned in SlipperyHippo's previous question, achieving this might be difficult. Johnnykimble 22:15, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Theoretically, yes. In practice, a hard drive is not fast enough to saturate either a USB2 or GigE connection in sustained transfer. --Carnildo 23:07, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

A SCSI drive could in practice saturate it though couldn't it? Although this is probably way beyond what SlipperyHippo had in mind for a data storage server. Johnnykimble 23:13, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Yes: the other thing I should have said is that I have a large amount of data (~ 10G ) on my other drives in the non working 'server' at present and I would really like to make this data accesible to my workstation again somehow in whatever new configuration I choose. Thats why I was interested in the new HP server system (which I cannot find the link to at present). On that system I believe you can plug in any old drives and they become available on your 'network'. --SlipperyHippo 23:49, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

SCSI's no different: sustained transfer rate is limited by the mechanical design of the hard drive. Now, a RAID 0 array could saturate the connection, or a RAID 1 array with the correct access pattern, but no single hard drive is fast enough to. --Carnildo 21:05, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

very old CD

I have a CD labelled Sega Megadrive Emulator For Windows 95 98 3.1 Dos, and a Windows XP computer. Is there anything I can do to get the CD to do whatever it does on my computer, and what does it actually do?HS7

The emulator is basically a program to mimic the functionality of a Sega Megadrive games console on your PC. Crucially, you need games to play on it. These are in the form of ROMs and are usually illegal to download. You could try installing it using the Windows XP Compatability mode (right click the installer\setup.exe then select 'Properties' then go onto the 'Compatability' tab), but I haven't had much luck with this feature myself. Take a look at the article on console emulators for a more detailed explanation of what it actually does and the legal issues surrounding ROMs. Johnnykimble 21:43, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

You can also get many old DOS programs working on XP with DOSBox.[2] Shui9 22:02, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

If you want an emulator which will run on your current system, there are a batch to choose from--the functionality on that CD is available in plenty of freely-available programs. Of course, if it has ROMs on it, those are more difficult to acquire (not to mention usually illegal), and you'd want to get those off the CD. grendel|khan 14:28, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

IE 6

How do I reset all my web settings and history on IE 6? 68.193.147.179 22:10, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Tools -> Internet Options -> Clear History. Splintercellguy 23:13, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Office 2003 Trial

Where can I get a Office 2003 Trial? 68.193.147.179 22:11, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

I don't believe there is a trial, though I could be wrong. If there is one, Microsoft.com.Splintercellguy 23:13, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Here you go. --froth^t 23:14, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

March 15

Adding Windows98 to a Vista Computer?

I'm kinda considering getting an eMachines T5082 computer this weekend (on sale) for a friend. However, the reviews I read said that, while the computer is a good value, it basically sucks with Vista (which is installed on the computer).

So I was wondering if it's possible to install and run Windows98 without deleting Vista, in case we later decide that Vista ain't so bad after all. I understand that Vista will take up a lot of room on the hard drive, but that's not an issue, as I doubt that she needs a lot of storage.

I've got the '98 installation software disk, so that's not a problem. I'm somewhat computer literate, so a complete neophyte, but I can follow directions, if kept to words not exceeding two syllables. Bunthorne 02:45, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Why would you want to install 98? Nothing works on it anymore. Install XP instead, and it should have an option to creating a separate partition in the setup. -Wooty Woot? contribs 02:51, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

I guess I have to admit, I'm a cheapskate. And I don't have an XP disk, but do have the 98. And the only programs we would use (for the near term) are the ones we now use with Win98 Bunthorne 03:14, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Wooty, *ahem*, this user still successfully contributes using Windows 98 SE. --Ouro (blah blah) 06:19, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Agree. Lots of things still 'work' on 98 SE (lots dont-- but thats another matter)--SlipperyHippo 07:30, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

An important app I had trouble with is Adobe Illustrator, which refused to work, but other than that, not really. --Ouro (blah blah) 09:08, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Plug and play? --froth^t 12:08, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Okay, I'll grant that. --Ouro (blah blah) 13:03, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

In my case At the moment, its not (generally) my apps that dont work, its aspects of 98 SE itself that dont work--SlipperyHippo 15:03, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

What do you have in mind? --Ouro (blah blah) 18:42, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Plug & Pray, noetworking, etc! --SlipperyHippo 21:06, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Parallel installation of Win98 and WinVista isn't easy if you need to install 98 after Vista. Probably your best bet is to install 98 on a second hard drive, then set the BIOS to boot from the second drive. It's easy enough for a computer geek to do, but there's enough variation between computers that I can't give you step-by-step directions. --Carnildo 21:11, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

DEADBEEF

Has anyone ever cracked the classic "example" md5 hash md5:DEADBEEFDEADBEEFDEADBEEFDEADBEEF? What hashes to that? --froth^t 02:46, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

An infinite number of strings will hash to that (assuming md5 hashes evenly). Our article on Pikachu will hash to it, assuming you tack on an appropriate string. --TotoBaggins 03:08, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

OK yeah I understand that but what's the smallest string that will hash to that? Anyone trying to figure out a string that hashes to that would go from small to large so naturally they'd stop at the smallest --froth^t 03:11, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

It's mindnumbingly hard to find out what hashes to a random md5 hash. You can find collisions using a birthday attack, but to find a value that will actually hash to a given value (assuming you can't find it in a dictionary) you have to do a pure brute-force attack. That is, start looping through from 0 to 2^128 (or even more). And 2^128 is a big-ass number (340282366920938463463374607431768211456, if you're curious). Oskar 11:34, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

OK but it seems like something like this must have been run at some point by a supercomputer or distributed computing project. I mean you at least have a chance of the original string being like 10 characters or less and being completely crackable. But apparently nothing like this has been done --froth^t 12:08, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Well, that's the thing, even with a supercomputer, it would take years and years (if not decades or centuries) to find it, so it's just not worth it. I mean, again, the chance of a random string (of whatever length) having that hash is 1 in 340282366920938463463374607431768211456. Meaning that it is possible that the string you're searching for is something like 101011 which would take not long to find, but it would almost certainly be something much longer. That probability that it would be a string under ten characters would be 1 in 288230376151711744 (that is, 2^128/128^10, assuming the standard ascii set). That's a helluva small chance, and remember that there are buttloads of 10 charater strings (about 1180591620717411303424 of them). This is why modern encryption works, all numbers are insanely big.

(and yes, I like to compute big numbers using maxima, they look really cool ;) Oskar 17:25, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Surprisingly, people often find better things to do with expensive super computers than brute force a novelty MD5 hash... -- mattb @ 2007-03-15T20:52Z

To give you an idea of how long it would take, my home computer can test five million candidate strings a second. On average, it would take 1078289752455631808069607 years for my computer to find a string that hashes to a given value, or about 71885983497042 times longer than the universe has been around. Supercomputers are faster than regular computers, but not by that much. --Carnildo 21:21, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

You could look it up on one of the rainbow tables, it might be there. --h2g2bob 09:48, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Deleted on Microsoft Word 2003

I just did a lot of work and by mistake closed the file without saving. It didn't freeze, I just closed it without looking and clicked "No" when it asked me whether I wanted to save too quickly. Is there any way to recover the information I lost? Thanks, Sashafklein 02:49, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

By default, Word should have the auto-recovery function enabled. So it should save copies every 10 minutes or so. Have a look at this Microsoft support page. Hope that helps. - Akamad 07:44, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Can someone recommend me a graphics card?

I'm about to buy my first gaming-quality PC, and as I've never been a PC gamer in the past, I'm looking for advice on graphics cards. My shop's list is here -- http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/default.php?cPath=26&page=1&sort=3a -- could anyone recommend me whichever card is the nicest for under $200? I'd really appreciate it. Cheers. __Eni —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 202.10.86.63 (talk) 05:33, 15 March 2007 (UTC).

Hi, I'm in Aus too and recently made the same choice. Read this advice from an australian forum. Before you part with your cash, i'd recommend stretch your video card budget to $250 and get a 7600GT, you won't regret it. Vespine 05:50, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Sorry to hijack the question, but I've been wondering about getting a video card myself. How about X1300? They seem decent and support a lot of things while being relatively cheap? --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 06:07, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

I'd recommend the 7600GT as well. I had to upgrade after my 6600 was not cutting it for Test Drive Unlimited. Bought the 7600GT this week and wow - turned on all settings at 1280x1024 with AAx4... and the game runs and looks better than the xbox equivalent. Apparently the 7600GS is not far behind if you want to save a third of the price. Sandman30s 07:55, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Creating Passwords

Is there any way in which i can put a password to a folder. Example whenever i double click on a private folder, it should prompt me to type a password and then only accessing the contents is possible. Can i do this in windows XP? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 61.95.191.49 (talk) 08:01, 15 March 2007 (UTC).

Encrypting the folder will do most of what you want. —EncMstr 08:20, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Use a archiving tool like Winzip and enter a password. Then your files will be compressed (saves space) and encrypted. Think outside the box 09:22, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Make sure you don't put anything in your zip that's also outside the zip or you're vulnerable to a known plaintext attack --froth^t 12:05, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Programming in excel

I have a pretty advanced knowledge of MS Excel but i dont understand how to use the VB part of it. Any websites that may help me? Preferably something with tutorials. Zain Ebrahim 12:16, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

In my experience it is best to have some idea of what you want to do in it first -- it is easier to figure out how to accomplish as task with VBScript than it is to describe generally how to program in VBScript. --140.247.248.149 16:35, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Record a macro of you doing something then review the code. This way you get to see some structure/setup. Also www.mrexcel.com (think that's the address) is a brilliant place for finding people with skills to help. I self-taught myself this way and whilst I had the help of colleagues around me when required it was a good start. A good understanding of basic programming language will help (such as for-loops, case-statements etc.). ny156uk 18:13, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Hyperlinks in Word

I'm trying to build hyperlinks in Microsoft Word 2003, so I type text, right click on it, and hyperlink it to a page. It then displays the text I hyperlinked as something like: "{HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_War_of_Independence}". If I right click it and click "Select Hyperlink" it turns into a blue link with the actual text I wrote. If I then save and close the file, however, when I reopen it, all the hyperlinks are again displayed in that technical way I quoted. a) How do I make it so that the hyperlinks automatically display as the text I typed and b) how do I make it stay that way when I close the file. Thanks, Sashafklein 13:40, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

You'd probably need to do some heavy-duty programming with visual basic macros. --h2g2bob 09:42, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

EULAs in Office 2007

Could someone tell me what volume licences count as, for the purposes of the EULA in Microsoft Office 2007, FFP, OEM, or MLK? Thanks. - ^Рэд_хот^{(t • c • e)} 15:37, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

PC Rebuild

Hi,

I have an old SK43G shuttle computer that I want to upgrade. Basically I would like to build a whole new dual core Intel, dual dvi etc system....for high end design rendering. If I bought the components for this system, but took out the hard drive of the shuttle pc (it is running XP - don't want Vista yet) would this work with the new components if I had the drivers etc ? I have a lot of software and systems in place on my old system, which means I just want to increase the performance, but this is not viable with minor component changes since the systme is now quite old. Many thanks in advance. Warhead. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 195.60.27.98 (talk) 17:03, 15 March 2007 (UTC).

Probably, though watch out: XP will freak out and probably make you buy a new copy because you've changed the hardware so drastically, unless you call MS and act like someone clueless who had their son upgrade the computer or something and demand new activation. Your software should still work. -Wooty Woot? contribs 18:41, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

You might be able to avoid the XP activation mess if you put the hard drive, CD-ROM, and network card from the old computer in the new computer. --Carnildo 19:43, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Mmm, doubt it. It'll detect a new motherboard, and know it's been significantly changed. I've had to reactivate from changnig motherboards before. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 19:55, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

A simple motherboard swap isn't enough to do it. XP tracks ten factors to determine if it's on the same computer as before. If the network card has changed, then six of the ten factors must be the same for the computer to be the same. But if the network card hasn't changed, then only four factors are needed -- and "network card, hard drive size, hard drive serial number, CD-ROM drive" makes four factors. --Carnildo 23:15, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

VAIO

What is the best VAIO laptop from Sony? 68.193.147.179 17:17, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Like a lot of things, it depends on what you need? Home, work, gaming? Splintercellguy 18:21, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Gaming. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.193.147.179 (talk) 19:46, 15 March 2007 (UTC).

Easy answer, then, is the most expensive one you can afford. --Russoc4 20:09, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Hi I'm a very happy owner of a VAIO but I use it for music production, I am a gamer as well but I have a desktop for that, I can't honestly recommend the VAIO for gaming. It's not a gaming rig, look at the video and screen specs, in particular the maximum resolutions leave a little to be desired. If I was going laptop for gaming, I'd actually be looking at dell xps, even though I'm not a fan of dell laptops for any other purpose, the xps is a laptop with a purpose. Vespine 21:47, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Pick the one with the best video/graphics card & RAM. Ideally plenty of hard-drive too. A wireless internet card will help if you plan on playing online. If it is purely for gaming you may be well served to try find sites that 'exclude' add on software packages that can drive up the cost (like MS Office). I would suggest getting an external mouse myself (if you havent' already thought of it) I try to play some games on my laptop and without a mouse the best games are hard to play. ny156uk 21:48, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Internet Explorer Name

I have two questions regarding the name of Internet Explorer:

1. Is Internet Explorer 6 named "Windows Internet Explorer 6" or "Microsoft Internet Explorer 6".
2. Is Internet Explorer 7 named "Windows Internet Explorer 7" or "Microsoft Internet Explorer 7".

Thanks! -68.193.147.179 18:08, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

IE6 was Microsoft IE6. IE7 is Windows IE7. They renamed it. --140.247.251.13 18:11, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Thanks! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.193.147.179 (talk) 19:47, 15 March 2007 (UTC).

vim: "bufdo" and "redir" not playing well together?

i thought i was being efficient when i asked vim to spit the names of all the active buffers to a temporary file with the following:

   :redir >> c:/temp.txt | bufdo echo expand("%:p") | :redir END

Unfortunately, only the name of the last buffer is there when i inspect the contents of the temp file. No matter how many buffers are active, only a single entry ever shows up inside the file. Anyone know why the command wouldn't work as expected? Anyone know an alternative way to get the desired output into a file? (gvim 7.0 on windows XP). NoClutter 19:07, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Spell Check

Where on Microsoft.com can I download MS Word 2007 Spelling/Grammar Checker? 68.193.147.179 21:10, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Full versions of Microsoft Word should install with the grammar/spelling check. If this is not the case you can try installing them by inputting the office-CD and trying to reinstall with additional features. To spell check the document you usually have to press F7. If you highlight a word and press shift-F7 then you should be presented with 'alternatives' for that word (thesaurus). Sorry other than this i'm not sure how else to help ny156uk 21:45, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

How do I change the logo in the topleft corner?

I've seen it done on some userpages with .

How can I do it on my own userpage? I think it has to do with my monobook.css, as I have tried editing it, but now it just shows nothing there at all. Thanks. --Ķĩřβȳ♥ŤįɱéØ 23:37, 15 March 2007 (UTC) Done. Thanks! --Ķĩřβȳ♥ŤįɱéØ 04:14, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

March 16

reply

I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW CAN I PURCHASE A DVD / CD REPILICATION/ DUPLICATION EQUIPTMENT FEEL FREE CONTACT ON THESE OUTLETS AN COMPUTERS THAT CAN DO THESE OPERATIONS

Any properly equipped PC can do this, so just get one together and presto. This is for small-scale needs of course. Keep in mind, though, such activity might not really be legal. --Ouro (blah blah) 08:02, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Word 2007 docs

In MS Word 2007, how do I remove the recent documents list? 68.193.147.179 01:27, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

In Tools > Options > somewhere, I think File or History, will have the option to decrease the number of recent documents. Decrease it to 0 and then set it back. I'm afraid I don't have Word 2007 but all previous recent versions have had similar steps. x42bn6 Talk 01:50, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

In Word 2007, the option for how many recent documents is shown is under Office button -> Word Options -> Advanced -> Display -> Show this number of Recent Documents --Spoon! 07:36, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

PSP/Xbox like multiplayer games on PC

(I'm not sure whether this question should be better asked in "Entertainment". Feel free to move it there.)

Are there any games that can be played by more than one person at the same time on ONE PC?

Maybe something that would need a pair of control devices?

I'm looking for something like multiplayer car race games or shooting/fighting games. Thanks Lukas 02:28, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

I know Star Wars Pod Racer is like that, and Wacky Wheels. The Queen of Hearts are nice 2-D doujin fighting games, the Melty Blood games. Ragnarok Battle Offline can be played with 3 people, and it's a side scroller based on Ragnarok Online. As for more recent ones, I have no idea. I've been out of the gaming loop for the most part. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 04:12, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

You don't know Jack, LEGO Star Wars, Heroes of Might and Magic and basically any turn-based game. Aetherfukz 14:51, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Worms (computer game) One of the classics --D3matt 23:37, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

This is about my computer,

it is not working most of the time. In a week and a half my new one should be arriving, how do I not get deleted for in activity? coffeelover63

What? If you're talking about Wikipedia, your account cannot be deleted. -Wooty Woot? contribs 04:08, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Well, someone with "developer" privilege here at Wikipedia could delete your account if they had a mind to, but it won't happen. You will have to log-in again, though, both because your login cookie will expire and it won't be present on your new computer anyway. You do remember your password, right ;-) ?

Atlant 16:13, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

But of course you could get blocked (or even banned like me) if you upset the wrong people (Admins) 8-)) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 88.110.212.53 (talk) 21:35, 16 March 2007 (UTC).

I read in news media (sorry forget citation), where if you are inactive for like 6 months, your user pages get deleted, your contributions remain User:AlMac|^(talk) 20:06, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

How do I get the exit code of a background job in bash?

I have something like,

 FINISHED=
 trap 'FINISHED=true' SIGCHLD
 do_something &
 while [ "$FINISHED" != "true" ]; do
   sleep 1
 done
 # Print the exit code of "do_something" here.

Is this possible? --Silvaran 06:03, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Use the wait builtin command. —EncMstr 06:13, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Ahh, thanks very much. I thought about that, but when I did a simple test (Ran /bin/false in the bg, then did wait %1), I let bash report its exit status to the console (like [1]+ Exit 1 /bin/false) so wait simply said "no such job". But if bash hasn't already told you about its exit status, and it exited quite awhile ago (and you're just sitting at the prompt), it still works. Thanks again. --Silvaran 15:04, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

You might be interested to know that the $! variable is the PID of the most recent job started in the background. You can do something like this:

 do_job1 &
 job1_pid=$!

 do_job2 &
 job2_pid=$!

 do_job3 &
 job3_pid=$!

 wait $job2_pid
 job2_rc=$?

 wait $job1_pid
 job1_rc=$?

 if wait $job3_pid; then
     echo "job 3 succeeded :)"
 fi
# ... etc.

Key-combo that changes the keyboard language

I am using a keyboard with the letters åøæ, but due to a random key-combo that I pressed and can't find to reset, these now appear as various other symbols like ' and \. What is the combination to get out of this mess? :) 213.161.190.228 09:27, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Alt-shift? Ctrl-shift? Note these only work on the left side of the keyboard. 203.109.167.159 09:58, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

I used to activate this combination by accident, and found it best to disable it (Control Panel -> Keyboard, something like that). --Ouro (blah blah) 10:31, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

As User:203.109.167.159 said though, LCtrl+LShift and LAlt+LShift are the most common IME settings for switching between languages in a Windows system. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 19:53, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

latest configuration for PCs

Please give the latest detailed configuration for PCs

Did you look at our article on Personal computers? There's a whole section on the configuration of modern PCs — Matt Eason ^{(Talk • Contribs)} 11:30, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Temporary files

How do I completely delete all temp internet files if I am on a shared network and am not a administrator?? (posted by 72.16.204.201) (Ouro (blah blah) 17:05, 16 March 2007 (UTC))

Not sure, but if you're accessing the internet through your company it will probably go through a proxy or router, which will log all your activity anyway. There's no escape! --h2g2bob 06:31, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

xp home edition to professional upgrade

i've just tried to upgrade (using the upgrade cds) my computer from xp home edition sp2 to xp professional edition sp2. however after doing some stuff when i put the cd it rebooted itself and gets to a stage where it says "ajlkqgjo.sys can not be found press any key to continue" however my keyboard at this point has been disabled. the keyboard works becuase i can get into the bios, i've tried telling it to boot from cd before hard drive but that then requires a keyboard input for it load up after i exit the bios, which i cnat input as the keyboard doesnt work. the keyboard seems to be disabled just after the bios finishs loading. i've tried to use the 6 recovery disks thing but that also needs a keyboard input which i cant do. i've tried googling and searching windows website for this missing file but neither cna find it. any1 have any idea how i can recover my pc to either home or professional? --137.205.164.142 16:05, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

I've no idea about the DLL, but I might be able to help with the keyboard problem. Is your keyboard USB? Windows likes to require you to click things with the mouse or press things with the keyboard before detecting the hardware. If you use a PS/2 keyboard it seems to work. --HughCharlesParker (talk - contribs) 16:58, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Vista and the Hosts File

Sometimes it's enough to drive you mad. I copied and pasted my Windows XP hosts file (the file, not the content) to my Windows Vista installation, but nothing is affected by it. I've run notepad as Administrator, replaced the proper header, and granted myself complete access to the file using the elevated command line, but it still doesn't work. Any advice? Logical2u_{Review me!} 16:40, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Worth a note to say I've flushed the DNS cache as well. Logical2u_{Review me!} 16:46, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Got it, Windows Vista hosts files require the full notation for the IP address (IE: Four segments, IE: 0.0.0.0, not just 0) in order to function. Logical2u_{Review me!} 18:11, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Displaying a bytearray as an image in a browser

Hi all,

I have a java applet that can return an image as a PNG ByteArray. Using JavaScript, I can get that ByteArray. How can I then display that image? Is there some ByteArray rendering I should know about?

Thanks! Mary, 16:54, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

This snippet from [3] might be useful (not tried it myself)

   // Write the image out as a byte array in PNG format
   var stream = new java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream();
   Packages.javax.imageio.ImageIO.write(image, "png", stream);
   var imageData = stream.toByteArray();
   // Convert the data to a URL-encoded string
   var rawString = new java.lang.String(imageData, "iso8859-1");
   var encodedString = java.net.URLEncoder.encode(rawString, "iso8859-1");
   encodedString = encodedString.replaceAll("\\+", "%20");
   // And return it all as a data: URL
   return "data:image/png," + encodedString;

— Matt Eason ^{(Talk • Contribs)} 17:01, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Ok, thanks for that. It doesn't quite work, because the "data:image/png" doesn't work on IE browsers, and all the Java stuff requires an appplet, but it's a good lead. Thanks! Mary, 20:23, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

GPU & CPU

Any difference in the type of instructions processed and computing tasks between the two?(something like why cant we put a Core 2 duo/AMD in place of Ati/Nvidia)??59.92.243.50

See Graphics processing unit#Computational functions, as well as the first paragraph of that article. Basically, GPUs are streamlined to handle large amounts of memory and heavy arithmetic used for video. They don't have all of the functions of a CPU. However, you can technically make a CPU do the job (such as software rendering), but CPUs are not as efficient in doing these functions. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 19:51, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

In terms of performance, a top-end GPU is perhaps a hundred times more powerful than a top-end CPU for 3D graphics, but less than 1% as powerful for general-purpose computing. --Carnildo 19:52, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Any idea why cant the AMD/ATI team come up with a combined processor????59.92.245.87

Many general-purpose CPUs have included SIMD and MIMD elements for a while. Part of the problem with placing a CPU and GPU on the same die is that you will probably reduce your yield while also reducing your target market (or maybe not depending on how you play your cards). I can only think of a few benefits of doing so off-hand. -- mattb @ 2007-03-18T04:09Z

AMD is indeed planning to do just that, under the codename AMD Fusion. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 06:39, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Then suppose we were to include entire GPU,CPU,MEMORY into one superchip and eliminate the BUS altogether, then would not we be having a supercomputer??59.92.244.31

Not really. Again, yield problems. DRAM and high volume CMOS processes are usually optimized in slightly different ways. -- mattb @ 2007-03-19T15:39Z

Twin boot scenario on slow computer

Is it possible to have both Win 98 SE and XP opearing sytems on a slow (200MHz) computer? What are the possible problems, and how should I go about installing?--SlipperyHippo 19:42, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

I think XP requires something around a 233 MHz, and even then, will be somewhat slow. I don't know how I remembered the exact value, but see Windows XP#System requirements. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 19:45, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Im prepared for it to be a bit slow. In fact I did try to install XP PRo, but it didnt 'take' and I had to remove it again reverting to 98 SE :(.--SlipperyHippo 22:11, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

XP on a 200 MHz PC? Friend... not the way to go. It won't be a bit too slow, it will be tortoise-wounded-in-the-leg slow. --Ouro (blah blah) 16:25, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

So LINUX would be much better?--SlipperyHippo 16:41, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Yes. Johnnykimble 16:59, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

I've managed to get XP running pretty swiftly on around 550 MHz, but the idea of it on 200MHz seems like it would be really pushing it. --24.147.86.187 17:02, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Does it not also depend upon the chipset and the actual processor (Intel MMX) and the speed of the drives etc?--SlipperyHippo 17:40, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

It pretty much depends on the speed of everything combined, that's why PC specs take up ten lines and are filled with numbers. It's fairly obvious that a faster hard drive will let the various components and apps load quicker, a faster graphics card will better take care of drawing things, scrolling and what not, more memory means the system will not rely on the swap file (that much - or at all, I have mine deactivated). BUT if a quick and big drive (I'd imagine 40 G upwards) is combined with a good graphics card and a generous amount of memory, it will still not do the trick if the CPU slows them all down in general. --Ouro (blah blah) 18:04, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Windows XP likes a lot of RAM. The definition of 'a lot of RAM' has changed quite a bit since Windows XP was released, but really, you should continue to see huge leaps in performance if you upgrade from 128mb to 256mb, or to 512mb if the cpu doesn't become the bottleneck by that stage. If you've accumulated a lot of SDRAM modules over time, and haven't dumped them, your slow machine is the perfect place for them (3 of them anyway)... Johnnykimble 18:56, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Good point. My old computer only has about 64MB RAM and I dont really want to have to search for more compatible RAM modules if i can avoid it. --SlipperyHippo 23:17, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

64 meg is not enough for windows XP, but your old computer may not use SDRAM, does it use FPO or EDO]? Be careful what memory you get. GB 09:14, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Windows Home Server

Persuant to my earlier question on servers, I think the thing i saw advertised was in fact the Windows Home Server software that would run on HP (and psooibly other) hardware. Would using this system be better than an external HDD attached to my current computer? --SlipperyHippo 20:40, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Aha! Found the HP HW it can run on [4]. What are the pros and cons?--SlipperyHippo 20:42, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Or just use an old computer, slap some harddrives on it, install Linux and save quite a bit of money. --antilived^{T | C | G} 21:15, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Yes that was suggested earlier, and I m still considering that option. But could Linux read the existing FAT32 and NT partitions on the existing drives? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by SlipperyHippo (talk • contribs) 21:32, 16 March 2007 (UTC).

Definitely FAT32, and NTFS has experimental support. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Splintercellguy (talk • contribs) 22:19, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

NTFS support is stable now, see [5] --antilived^{T | C | G} 22:21, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Thanks guys. I think I'll give Linux a try.--SlipperyHippo 22:34, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

LG by Verizon Wireless

What is the lastest model of LG by Verizon Wireless? -68.193.147.179 22:17, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Ask Verizon by finding their contact info at their website. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 10:30, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

March 17

Recording internet radio

I like listening to internet radio whilst at the computer. Is there an easy way to record this streaming data directly onto my computer?--SlipperyHippo 00:54, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Also would this be better or worse quality than DAB?--SlipperyHippo 04:33, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

NB. I want to be able to record whilst listening--SlipperyHippo 23:12, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

It should be mentioned that new copyright regulations are currently in the works that would shut down many internet radio stations for good. Based on the fact that many people are recording the streams (which is what this question is about), they're proposing that the stations be forced to pay huge fees that far outweigh their income. One site that describes the situation can be found at: http://www.saveourinternetradio.com/ --64.0.112.13 08:28, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

I only listen to BBC radio (mainly) so that should not affect me.--SlipperyHippo 00:34, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Freecorder

A program like Freecorder would do this. There is a free trial which limits the bitrate you can record at to 64. →Ollie (talk • contribs) 01:42, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Yeah but is there a way you can record directly onto Windows Media player or Cool Edit?--SlipperyHippo 02:03, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Freecorder is definately an easy way to record anything that plays on your computer. It records it and saves it as an mp3 file. You can also convert it to other formats. If you want to get it to Windows Media Player, all you have to do is open up the mp3 file in WMP. I guess you could import the mp3 files that you recorded into your WMP library if that's what your talking about.

OK I have just downloaded Freecorder and am testing it at this minute. Will report results--SlipperyHippo 22:13, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

OK just recorded about 20 mins internet radio in mp3 format. I can play back in Cool Edit!. Only problem is the recording is over modulated (exceeds the peak setting of 0 dB in cool edit). can anything be done about that?--SlipperyHippo 22:24, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Streamripper

Streamripper works with Winamp, and it saves mp3 streams as mp3s. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 02:16, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

VideoLAN can do this too I believe. Splintercellguy 02:40, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Yes VLC media player can save streamed media with File, Wizard. --h2g2bob 06:28, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

screamer-radio.com

Screamer Radio lets you record their streamed audio; it records to whatever file type the streamed content is: ogg, mp3, etc. Anchoress 03:10, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Total Commander

I just let Total Commander download the stream. --Ouro (blah blah) 16:23, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

OK I got 'Total Commander' downloaded. Now which buttons to press?--SlipperyHippo 18:50, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Update/Results

After some experimentation, I got Freecorder to work -- I just have to set the recording control (Windows controls) almost to minimum. Anyway, having found the recording controls, I also found I could record directly into Cool Edit!! (again have to have the Windows record mixer controls turned down though.) Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. Problem solved!--SlipperyHippo 04:55, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Further update

I found that if you have the 'radio player' volume too high, you cant attenuate it enough with Windows recording controls. Something to bear in mind!--SlipperyHippo 04:24, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

NetHack refusing to stay open

So recently I've discovered the joys of the hack of the net, and wish to put a shortcut to it on my desktop. However, when I move it from the folder thing it comes in onto the desktop it will refuse to open and will instead open quickly and then exit just as fast. If I move it back from the desktop to its home folder it will open fine. How can I make it work?

On an almost unrelated note, what's the deal with the 'Temp' folder? I assume it means 'temporary' because it apparently ceases to exist when I exit it, but when I download another thing Firefox 2.0.0.2 throws into the temp folder I can see it again. So it's not the same as a temporary folder, because it and the data within is kept. I just can't access it. Vitriol 01:15, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

I have solved the problem (or at least made the problem not there any more) by putting a shortcut to the Nethack folder on the desktop (should've thought of that before :/), but I still wonder about the temp folder that isn't. Vitriol 13:20, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

You might need to change the Star in bar, which might be why the desktop shortcut didn't work. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 19:30, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

How can I use web templates ?

I have a new website , and its design is awful , and I'm on my own to fix with no experience whatsoever .. I can't even figure out how to update the content ! Its on a site called cPanel X and I'm supposed to edit through file manager - but thats as far as I got - can't figure out the rest ... anyway I would rather use a template which is easier and more professional looking .. but of course I don't know how to download a template to me site . I tried everything I could think of to help myself through Google but it got me no where - please help even with a link . How can I use a template on my personal website? Hhnnrr 05:52, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

cPanel X is just software meant to help you modify the server settings and maybe the files on the server. The actual work of making a webpage is writing up the files, which can happen offline, and then uploading them to the server.

As for templates... it depends what you mean. Personally you sound inexperienced enough with this that I might, against my good instincts, recommend you purchase web-designing software like Microsoft FrontPage, which comes with a number of templates I believe. After you've gotten the page the way you want it, you can then upload all of the files to your web server via the cPanel and then it will work.

In the long-run I would recommend getting a book about webdesign and maintenance -- something simple and appropriate to your skill level (at the moment -- it will grow with experience!). It will be more coherent than a lot of the hodge-podge you will find on the web. --24.147.86.187 14:35, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

If you have to use templates because you don't know how to do it otherwise, then you might as well abandon the whole website thing until you at least know what you're doing. --antilived^{T | C | G} 21:50, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

You could try using a web content management system (CMS) such as e107. Assuming you have PHP and MySQL support on your web host, and if you can get your head around installing it, it will make the website building itsself a lot easier. (You might be able to install a CMS from cPanel, look for fantastico). →Ollie (talk • contribs) 01:18, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Computer wattage

What is the approximate wattage of a typical personal computer? − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 10:31, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

I've actually tested this before and it had a reading of 60 watts but it varied widely when you used the computer; probably due to disk access and the processer needing more power. But 60 watts for a computer doing nothing (ie on the desktop) Think outside the box 13:54, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

This system is presently using between 233 and 239 watts, according to the UPS. That's for one computer only, without the monitor. It's a mini-tower with dual Athlon 2400s (a high end 2.5-year-old system at 1.67 GHz), and three semi-modern hard drives (80, 120, and 240 GiB). The CPUs are fully loaded at all times with BOINC directing SETI@Home, Einstein@Home and http://www.malariacontrol.net/. Cool! As an experiment I suspended all BOINC projects. The power usage dropped to 195 watts. With only one task (hence using only one CPU—taskmgr says 51% cpu usage), power is 220 watts. —EncMstr 17:02, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

16.6 W right now, according to ACPI (Dothan-based notebook). Obviously varies widely with CPU clock/voltage scaling, hard disk usage, backlight brightness, etc. The most I've seen it consume is about 28.5 W. -- mattb @ 2007-03-18T03:57Z

Thanks guys. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 19:34, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Vista vs Mac OS X Tiger

I'm looking to buy a laptop, but the first big decision is whether to go Mac or Windows. Looking around, I see that Macs tend to be more expansive than their PC counterparts, and price is an issue. Are there any compelling reasons for/against each? Personal opinions would be helpful here,especially from someone whose tried both. I'd expect to use the new system for Wiki-browsing, web-page creation, programming (so Vista is preferable here for access to .NET (c#)) and working with documents - this being the day to day stuff. Like anyone, I would be working with images/video from time to time, and perhaps watching the odd DVD on it. Any thoughts, or better still suggestions for appropriate models (I'm in the UK)? Thanks, Martinp23 11:02, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

If you need anything that only exists on Windows (like programming .Net stuff), then get the PC. Otherwise, the Mac will make you happier. Windows has many more security risks, comes preloaded with a poorer set of software, and seems to constantly pop up little things to distract you from your task. I bought my teenager a Mac to replace a PC and she loves it. Everything "just works". --TotoBaggins 12:16, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Depending what kind of .Net development you're doing, using Mac OS X might not be as big a problem as you would imagine. Check out Mono. Johnnykimble 12:30, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Yeah - I'm currently in Ubuntu on my desktop, so am familiar with mono - the only difficulty being that I need to write at least some windows forms apps. I suspect, having looked at the relative prices, that I'll have to go for PC. Is there any real reason that a Macbook can cost so much more than a similarly specced pc? Martinp23 13:20, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

With the Intel based Macs you can either dual-boot (switch into Windows) or run something like Parallels. The former is fast as lightning, of course, but the latter doesn't require you to log out of one of the OSes to use the other. So let's put it this way. If you get the Windows machine you are locked into using Vista, more or less. If you get the OS X machine you have the option of switching back and forth in mid-stream. As for why the MacBooks cost more, it's likely because the hardware is proprietary (i.e. it is not a clone). But it's pretty slick stuff — I just got a very cheap MacBook and it runs like the wind, works wonderfully. (Note that any day now Mac OS X Leopard is about it come out. Vista might look snazzy now but most of its features are blatantly ripped off of Tiger, which is now two-year old software). --24.147.86.187 13:57, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Yes - I see what you mean there. Dualbooting is a fairly viable option for me, though the cost of Mac notebooks is still hugely prohibitive. Maybe when I win the lottery :). Martinp23 17:42, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Get a Windows laptop. Then remove all the crapware and make sure you're behind a router. Spend the money you saved on the laptop's parts (nice processor, maybe a video card?) or hookers and blow or something. It's really not worth getting a Mac laptop just to dual-boot (in my opinion, it's really not worth getting a Mac laptop period..). I got a DV1000-series HP multimedia laptop for $500 at a sale at Best Buy, and it hasn't failed me yet. Runs fast, I can watch DVDs even out of Windows. Something like that with a large, bright screen should be fine for your movie watching, and of course anything else. No need to spend over $1000. :) -Wooty Woot? contribs 19:09, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Hm well I have a serious problem with the hardware being proprietary as martin said, and the commercials are insulting FUD. Also I hate the GUI. I would never buy a mac. And vista is a step up from XP but probably not that much of a step up. But there are definitely different camps on this- it just depends on who you ask --froth^t 19:44, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Proprietary hardware is less of a concern with laptops than desktops, but with laptop CPU upgrades becoming more common, memory upgrades becoming even easier, and external video cards being marketed, it's still something to strongly think about. -Wooty Woot? contribs 20:01, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Yes - with PCs and laptops generally being increasingly easy to upgrade, Macs are becoming a bit of a hurdle in this area. I agree with you, Froth, about the commercial, but withhold judgement on the GUI until a few weeks from now, when a friend will be able to lend me his Mac for a while(!). Wooty, I also, in my annoyance at the prices of all Macs, tend towards your opinion of going for a PC and saving a load of cash. Dual boot is a pain for me, because I'd probably end up customising the Mac part to my liking, going to the Windows to do something and the finding out that I need to switch back to the Mac partition (if you know what I mean :)), and yet running Vista in Parallels within Mac OS would, to me, seem a doomed venture, with so little CPU speed for your money in a Mac. Even if it could get running, I doubt that running in parallel would work well, especially with the sort of high-CPU use stuff I tend to get up to in Windows. I 'm still sat here feeling that I'd be missing something by not getting a Mac, but that's probably just the try-out-all-technology bit of me - until I test out the GUI, I won't know for sure. What are your experinece with Mac OS X, anyone? Martinp23 21:19, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

My two cent's worth: I've been a programmer for 31 years, I've worked on every operating system under the sun, most of which you won't have heard of. The hardware here at home consists of a Mac notebook, an iMac, three PC notebooks, two Sun servers, several bits of Cisco kit and lots of other odds and sods. The only devices that stay on, and get used all the time, are the two Macs, one Sun server and a router. That should tell you a lot. The PCs only get powered up if it's absolutely necessary. All but 2-3% of my work gets done on the Macs. Moreover my girlfriend, of limited computer literacy, got pointed at a Mac with "Here's how you log in. You start mail like this, and the browser like this. Enjoy." I've answered perhaps two questions for her all year, both about automatic software updates. Like the man said, "It just works". Crashes are annual events. not daily like when I used Windows for my main desktop OS. Installing new software or hardware again, just works. It's easily worth the premium to have tools that I can work with rather than fight. Plus, if I want a Unix command line environment I've got it; if I have to run Windows I just use Virtual PC.

I don't see how any of that's a problem to a relatively savvy computer user though. I haven't had a complete crash on my XP system for years, and I play tons of memory-intensive games. Most literate computer users know how to install drivers, and if it doesn't just work on a Windows computer, often installing them is a "insert CD, click next five times, done" process. I for one wouldn't pay an extra $500 to never have to insert a driver CD again. My experience with the OS is limited - I used it a long time ago and was far from impressed. Dragging floppies to the trash bin to eject them wasn't my idea of an intuitive interface - of course, you know how dated that is, since floppies aren't even in use anymore. It may be worth it to go down to a computer lab or something to see if you can find a Mac and play with the GUI a bit to see if it's to your liking. -Wooty Woot? contribs 02:11, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

I agree- I have never had a crash with Windows since early XP. --froth^t 03:15, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

My feeling on the crashing windows problem is that, with knowledge, it's farily easy to keep Windows stable - just don't let it install crap onto itself. I should make it clear that the laptop would be used for MS Office tasks, as well as general stuff on the move, while I'll still have access to my main system here (Ubuntu), which I use for most things. As everyone knows, Windows is great when you first install, but the difficulty is keeping it in that state, so perhaps Mac and Linux win on this front. However, for a recurring problem which is perfectly fixable, and considering that I know my way around Windows, and like somthing that I can mess around with (not something that "Just works"), I still can't really see the point in paying double the price when Windows (Vista?) would struggle to work under dual boot/Virtual PC on the hardware provided.

I use both linux and windows. Linux doesn't have me sold on Gnome/KDE/xfce - I find Windows much more intuitive to work with for common tasks. But I appreciate the power of the bash shell- when I need something done that I know would be easy in bash, I just ssh to my Ubuntu Server box, copy whatever files or data I'm working with, and move it back to windows when I'm done. It's a lot easier than dual booting, and the 2nd computer is my school's so it's no extra cost. I wouldn't say windows or linux is better or worse, they just have different uses. A bit OT since it's not about mac but whatever --froth^t 03:15, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

I quite like Ubuntu, but like you say, there is occaisionally the need for a more intuitive GUI, and (more importantly for me) easy interoperation with most other systems - neither of which Linux seems to be able to give at the moment. Martinp23 09:19, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

"intuitive GUI"? How is it bad? To me Scale and the Cube (Beryl) is better than that taskbar crap. --wj32 ^{talk | contribs} 09:46, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Don't get me wrong - I love Linux, but from time to time I just need to use a Windows feature, or need to use the intuitiveness (word?) of a particular Windows application, often a feature which the Linux counterpart can't provide (especially when I'm already used to the Windows versions). Martinp23 09:55, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Yeah that's pretty much what it comes down to- I'm a guru at windows and I know how to do things. Not quite so with linux. I love getting really technical and DoingItMyself™ but sometimes I'm doing something more interesting and I don't really want to get caught up in the details. I'm talking about the command line- the GUIs don't even hold a candle to windows. --froth^t 13:21, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Examples? Scale > taskbar, GTK+ > Aero, Beryl > Aero, GNOME Panel > Explorer bars, Nothing > Sidebar, Kino & Cinerella < Anything else, VMware Server > MS Virtual Server, XFS & JFS > NTFS, Freedom & GPL > MSEULA, gedit > Notepad, OpenOffice.org < Anything else, VNC > RDP. --wj32 ^{talk | contribs} 21:19, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Oh and sudo > UAC! --wj32 ^{talk | contribs} 21:22, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

IPs

Okay, the article "Sinbad (actor)" was vandalised recently, saying that he was dead. The person who made this vandalism was using a South Carolina IP address range, 167.7.0.0 - 167.7.255.255, based out of Cottageville, South Carolina. Cottageville is a town of just 707 (our article), later 712 (an out-of-date website).

Is there anyway to derive any more detailed insight into this South Carolina IP? -- Zanimum 15:29, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

The ISP will very likely be able to link IP addresses with full customer details - but they do not normally hand over this information. I can think of no good reason that you'd need this information anyway. --h2g2bob 16:15, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

It's just to make sure that the person wasn't a government employee. Many companies, including the government, have things telling employees that they can't use the internet for destructive purposes. -- Zanimum 18:51, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Really, who cares? And why on earth would you assume it was a government employee? --24.147.86.187 21:14, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Why all the superfluous non-breaking-space tags in HTML email?

When I look at the source code for my formatted email messages, I see it's loaded with unnecessary non-breaking-space tags. If I want to use the code (or just want the message to appear properly), I often have to search out and replace some of these tags with spaces. Why are the messages burdened with these superfluous tags? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Richard Odin Johnson (talk • contribs) 15:56, 17 March 2007 (UTC).

That'd be a result of whatever program made the email. I normally view my emails in text-only mode, and don't pay any attention to emails which do not carry a text/plain alternative (see MIME). --h2g2bob 16:20, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

. avi No Picture

I recently downloaded a film from LimeWire to find the file has no picture, only sound when i play it in Windows Media Player. It is a .avi file, if that helps. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 91.109.49.195 (talk) 16:05, 17 March 2007 (UTC).

VLC media player --h2g2bob 16:20, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

In my experience VLC media player is your best option - because unlike Windows Media Player, it will read incomplete files (if enough data is available) even avi files. Rfwoolf 11:29, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

You are probably missing a required codec. You might try downloading a codec pack; DefilerPak is one I had good experience with in the past. VLC (linked above) is useful too though personally I have found it to be rather unstable (it crashes a fair amount on my system). --24.147.86.187 17:00, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Try downloading a package called AVICodec - http://avicodec.duby.info/ this can be used to identify which codecs you're missing in most circumstances Elaverick 18:21, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

And make friends with FFDshow. --Ouro (blah blah) 18:51, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

and mplayer --193.16.218.66 11:16, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

HP Deskjet D1360 On Mac OS X

I'm having trouble installing my HP Deskjey D1360 on my iMac with Mac OS X Tiger. Anyone got any tips? Thanks! --Fadders 20:08, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Could you describe the problem? What have you tried? Are you using the latest drivers? We can't read your mind here. --24.147.86.187 21:12, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Wireless Router

I am looking to buy a new wireless router. Is there one that is fast and could connect to a laptop and a desktop at the same time? -68.193.147.179 21:28, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

I'm not sure what you mean. Routers, by their design, are suppose to connect to multiple computers simultaneously. Any 802.11g wireless router (the most common type these days) you buy will be the same speed (54Mbps) and allow you to connect your desktop and laptop to it. Do you mean a wireless router that connect wirelessly and through wired ethernet ports? If that's the case, there are many routers out there that have 4-port switchs built into them as well. —Mitaphane _?|! 00:03, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Got it sorted! --Fadders 21:57, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Computer Ques

For gaming, is there a better computer to use than an Alienware Desktop Computer? -68.193.147.179 21:19, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Yes. Several companies make "gaming computers" (notably CyberPower PCs, Falcon Northwest, VoodooPC, Commodore Gaming, Maingear, and so on), and several other companies that build more general PCs also build gaming machines (i.e. Dell, and most of the major companies). You can also just build one yourself that is the equivalent or better, for less money. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 21:29, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Agreed, My most recent computer is a darn site cheaper than anything alienware will try to sell you, and runs every game out the with all the boxes ticked at comfortable frame rates. Built it myself and darn proud of it. Capuchin 13:00, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Website Update

Is there a way to find out when an web site has been updated and receive an email? -68.193.147.179 21:30, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

I believe that's what RSS feeds do. Coolotter88 22:32, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

What if the website does not offer RSS Feeds —68.193.147.179 (talk) 00:10, 18 March 2007 (UTC).

Take a look at RSSPECT. →Ollie (talk • contribs) 01:03, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Kubuntu wireless

Ethernet works fine, but not the wireless. I have a Dell B120 (which is a piece of ***p, at least for me), and I think I have a broadcom 1016. I dont know anything about code. I want to connect to a 2wire network. Can someone please tell me what to do?69.29.36.91 22:37, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Try NdisWrapper? It allows you to use Windows drivers for you wireless chip, in Linux. You'll also probably want a nice GUI tool for connecting to wireless networks if you don't have one already. Kwlan looks nice, and it works with wpa_supplicant to support WPA/WPA2; KWiFiManager is also a possibility. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 23:27, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

FAT-32 versus FAT-32 LBA

Dear Wikipedians:

What is the difference between FAT-32 and FAT-32 LBA?

65.95.199.72 22:49, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

The LBA refers to logical block addressing, which replaces the older cylinder-head-sector style of accessing the hard drives. Practically speaking, it lets you access more than ~8 GB of space on one hard drive. Any OS or PC nowadays will support this, so you generally don't have to think about it. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 23:20, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

CMD.exe question

In bash and the like, one can set a variable with the value printed by a process, like this:

 x=`ls`
 somecommand -foo $x -bar

Can one do something similar inside a Windows XP cmd.exe batchfile? Darryl Revok 23:14, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

The following demonstrates what you need:

 @echo off
 @setlocal
 set X=ls
 echo %X%
 @endlocal

The setlocal and endlocal make sure that any variables set within them do affect global environment variables of the same name. The echo off simply turns off echoing of each command in the file. Johnnykimble 23:26, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Oops! Didn't read the question carefully enough - mistook those backticks for quotes! Anyway, to address your actual question, I'm not aware of a way. Batch files in Windows are pretty pathetic on the whole. Johnnykimble 23:38, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

You could use cygwin and use bash itself. --h2g2bob

Hi, I'm new to this, so sorry if I'm not answering the question using the correct method... You can use a For loop with backquotes enabled to parse the output of a command, then concatenate the results together. This needs delayed variable expanansion and command extensions to both be enabled, but you end up with something like:

 @echo off
 setlocal ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION ENABLEEXTENSIONS
 set RESULT=
 for /F "usebackq tokens=*" %%I in (`dir`) do (
 	set RESULT=!RESULT! %%I
 )
 echo "%RESULT%"

This does concatenate each line separated by space (as opposed to new line characters), but it may be workable for you. You could also replace the 'tokens=' to select parts of the output lines you want - e.g. just the filenames. NB: the speech marks in the echo statement are just for displaying the result, as there are redirection characters in the environment variable RESULT. I think there is an easier method, but I can't quite remember. -- Will Mc. 81.183.221.251 09:01, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Computer

What is the most expensive home computer? 68.193.147.179 00:12, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

How much you got? I can let you have one of mine for say $10k :) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 88.110.41.242 (talk) 03:48, 18 March 2007 (UTC).

Because the limitation is "home" computer and the assumed restriction is "retail cost", I would have to say it would be a custom model. Very easy to run up the cost. Get a quad board, of course. Fill each slot with at lease dual-core if quad-core won't work. You need dual CD/DVD burners. Slip a SCSI controller in so you can slip in 15 hard drives for a raid system. There's always the new ultra-expensive video card. Get a dual-head in AGP and fill a few PCI slots with the most expensive dual-head video cards too. That'll get at least 6 monitors going. The 6 42" monitors you get for them will rack up a few bucks. Toss in some 5.1 sterio surround. You'll want a remote. Add mood lighting to the case. You're certainly up to 3 power supplies by now. If you haven't topped the bill for the most expensive computer yet, get VMWare and install fully licensed copies of both Windows Vista and Windows XP with the whole line of MS stuff (office, money...). Then, stick a Vaio label on the side, that'll add a good $5,000 to the cost. Of course, we now have to discuss what the limitation of a "home" computer is. --Kainaw ^(talk) 05:36, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Custom paint jobs and extremely expensive cases can add quite a lot on their own. The fancy "gaming PC" manufacturers tend to have extremely expensive computers, and it's partly because of that (and the markup / "labour" costs) -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 05:45, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

We also have to discuss the size of the case, and how to cool it!! You're going to need about fifty fans or a water cooling system hooked up to a 15 gallon fishtank. -Wooty Woot? contribs 07:48, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Nah, go to the Dell website and customize your system. Make sure to check off everything :). That gave me around $10000. The really strange thing is that they have checkboxes for the printer selection. So you could get 10 printers... --wj32 ^{talk | contribs} 09:41, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, you can get pretty expensive with Dell.com, but that's nothing compared to supercomputers. The fastest look to cost about US$100 million. --h2g2bob 22:01, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

As for it being a home computer, if you can afford $100m, then you can afford a very big home to put it in :D Alienware gets up to about $6,500 for just the box (no monitor or software). --h2g2bob 22:08, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Router

What is the fastest router for a home computer? 68.193.147.179 00:14, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

The fastest wired ones use 10/100 ethernet. I can find switches but no routers that use gigabit ethernet (1000Mbps). The fastest standard wireless ones are 802.11g at 54 Mbps, though I am aware of some brands which can double this to 108 Mbps. →Ollie (talk • contribs) 01:00, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Yeah by taking up a huge band of frequencies. Do your neighbors a favor and don't contribute to radio spectrum pollution --froth^t 03:06, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

If by "huge band" you mean "two 802.11g channels (~44 MHz wide each, depending on how you count)", then yes. Atheros' channel bonding is totally within FCC compliance and arguably within 802.11 spec. The rest of the tweaks used to get the higher advertised throughput rate are merely data massaging (some trickery with frame headers, LZ compression, etc). You do your neighbors' electromagnetic spectrum a far greater disservice by operating one of those awful FM-on-a-chip transmitters that have been popping up lately. -- mattb @ 2007-03-18T06:01Z

Hi mate. The best router for you would have to be the Netgear WNR854T Pre-N router. This utalises the N band (802.11n) and has a gigabit switch, which means you will acheive 10/100/1000mbps ethernet. On the wireless side of things this router can acheive upto 270mbps wireless speed as long as you have purchased the Pre-N wireless cards. Hope this helps mate, you might want to look at the Netgear Rangemax 240 WPNT834 aswell as it acheives better speeds at long distances to the pre-n router. user:pulo —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 58.179.137.106 (talk • contribs).

That's somewhat bizzarely brand-specific. There are other companies with pre-N routers, and with better non-pre-N routers. I personally just bought a Buffalo 802.11g router and put DD-WRT on it. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 07:11, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Freecorder

I havc just downloaded Freecorder to try recording internet radio. It always records a t too high a level cuasing gross distortion. Any suggestions?--SlipperyHippo 00:54, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Assuming you haven't already, naybe try lowering the volume in "Sounds and Audio Devices Properties" in the Control Panel? I'm not convinced it will help, but worth a go. →Ollie (talk • contribs) 01:07, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Well I have found the windows recording control panel does have some effect on reducing the levels, but honestly, the sound quality when played back on Cool Edit is pretty awful. Maybe something to do with the low bit rate sampling or something.--SlipperyHippo 03:46, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Slight correction: When I turn the recording level right down, the playback sound seems ok, although I havent listened to any high quality sources yet.--SlipperyHippo 05:22, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

IE7

Since upgrading to Internet Explorer 7 I've had a very irritating problem with Wikipedia:

1. Log in.
2. E-mail another user (thoughtful and researched with diffs and links).
3. Hit "Save page".
4. Wikipedia tells me I've timed out and it can't send my message.
5. Hit the back button in my browser hoping that my message still exists, but it's gone gone gone.

Grrr. Similar annoyances happen whenever my connection drops. So I've gotten into the habit of CTRL + A saving my words before posting, but of course once in a while I forget until after it's too late. Then I have to rewrite and re-research the whole thing. Sometimes it's just too much trouble.

Don't preach to me about Mozilla because even though you're probably right I'm not changing. My last version of Explorer didn't pull this irritating stunt on me. Is there a setting I can alter or an update I can download that would fix the problem? Durova^Charge! 03:50, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

You should consider switching to firefox :) --froth^t 04:34, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

While Frot his preaching to you about Firefox, I'll preach about Opera, which isn't Firefox. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 04:45, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Err, IE6 and earlier don't save form contents if you navigate to a different page, at least to my recollection. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 149.135.99.162 (talk) 05:16, 18 March 2007 (UTC).

Yes, I know this wasn't a problem with IE6. Don't pitch me about other web browsers. I'm interested in one specific question: Is any fix available within IE7? Durova^Charge! 17:26, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

i don't use internet explorer 7, and i don't log into wikipedia, but it sounds like your problem has to do with cookies. i'd poke around in the options (privacy, security, and advanced) and check if any settings relating to cookies sound like they might be causing your cookies to expire or anything. if nothing fixes it, and checking windows update for patches doesn't change anything, perhaps adding wikipedia to your "trusted sites" zone (in the security tab in your options, i believe) might do the trick. if all else fails, i suppose you could try running a spyware scan, or try temporarily disabling any internet explorer addons that might be causing problems. just some friendly suggestions! --64.0.112.13 08:39, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

ES builder

Can anybody tell me what ES builder is and what it does, please?Dudforreal 04:55, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Why not look at the homepage http://www.mcgoo.com.au/html/es-builder.htm (it assumes you know what an expert system is). --Kainaw ^(talk) 05:26, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Thankyou.Dudforreal 06:05, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

HardDisk Change File System

I currently have an FAT32 system. suppose I were to transfer the entire hard disk contents to another media(preserving all the files and data and path and folder structures, something like norton ghost), convert the present drive to NTFS and copy the data back in same order to the NTFS drive, will the programs still work?? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 59.92.244.31 (talk) 06:02, 18 March 2007 (UTC).

I would guess that the only problem would be the Master boot record. Windows should be able to fix that; the fixboot and fixmbr commands in the recovery console (start the setup CD, and press R when it tells you to) should be sufficient; whether both are required, I do not know. Mind you, I've never tried this, nor heard of it being tried. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 06:08, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

If you copy the drive over logically (eg, file copy), then sure, I guess, why not? But when you do the NTFS conversion, you shouldn't lose any data from those programs in the first place. - CHAIRBOY (☎) 06:29, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Err, that's a good point too. If you're "converting" instead of "reformatting", nothing should change. The backup is still a good plan though. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 06:41, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Picture Zoom Clarity

Any idea why when we zoom in a picture in linux Os the quality does not change much, wheras if we were to do it in windows application we would start seeing blocks? Any such program for Windows??~~ —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 59.92.251.144 (talk) 07:24, 18 March 2007 (UTC).

Because Linux picture viewing utilities does interpolation when you zoom in, while applications in windows doesn't. Try IrfanView, I think (but not quite sure) it does that is well. --antilived^{T | C | G} 09:33, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

software Testing

Question:What are the significance of v-model,when carrying out funtional testing? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 86.129.98.255 (talk) 07:37, 18 March 2007 (UTC).

March 18

Animation

Hi,
I've recently created an animation in Terragen and it's given me a hole heap of bmp's - what is some good software free/shareware which I can use to make it into a movie file (eg avi or mpeg)? --203.54.74.247 11:02, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Hmmm... try tucows.com and do a search for something like 'animation' or 'animator' and then lookout for all the shareware/freeware stuff.

I know that Microsoft GIF animator could help you with the animation, but I'm not sure if it can export into mpg format. Rfwoolf 17:09, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

I think you can use virtualdub to animate pictures into movies, but that might be tedious, as I've never done it. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 19:49, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

On Linux or BSD you could use LiVES --213.129.227.107 01:43, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Types of mouses (pointing devices) & Carpal Tunnel

Question:
What can you recommend in the way of mouses or pointing devices that are effective and would not contribute to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - would you recommend gloves, drawing tablets or any other ideas?

Context and Explanation:
Having read the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome article I don't think I'm getting it (because you have to have some forms of numbness or paralysis) - but I am growing rather concerned.

My right wrist cricks a great deal especially if I push my wrist down and then rotate or wiggle my thumb -- and I think the cause is more my mouse than my keyboard (I only get stiffness in my right hand and a lot of stiffness in my right shoulder which gets raised a lot when I use the mouse). Rfwoolf 11:26, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

The most complete solution would be to simply forgo the GUI and become a command-line purist! --froth^t 13:13, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Good luck with that! That's like trying to operate Windows without visuals and only using the XP screenreader! I'm sorry but a pointing device is essential to me, I do graphics as well. Rfwoolf 13:20, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

No, that would be far worse! I feel just as comfortable in bash as in the windows GUI, that's what I meant --froth^t 17:07, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

• UPDATE:
  

I am busy looking into a Wacom Intuos3 A5 (6 x 8) tablet with pen. Can't afford much more than that though. Yeah I know there are cheaper options for pens and tablets but this one's really good for higher-end graphic design. I'm just worried I might be getting too small a size... Any thoughts? Rfwoolf 16:29, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Usually the issue is not the mouse itself but where you keep it. Is it on the same level with the keyboard? Is the keyboard itself at the right height? You might want to look into workstation ergonomics; the odds are that it has nothing to do with the type of mouse you have but how you are actually using it. (So says someone who had carpal tunnel for years, changed his setup around quite a bit, and now rarely has any incidents at all.) As easy way to alleviate mild strain issues is to buy the wrist braces that your standard drug store will have likely in stock. They are made of cloth and faux leather and have a metal bar in them that goes on the underside of your wrist. They work remarkably well for keeping you from annoying the nerves in your wrist and force good wrist posture — lots of people I know with wrist issues wear them and they can do a lot of good. --24.147.86.187 16:43, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

I've been using computers for almost my entire life, and I don't have the problem. Right now, my mouse is level with my keyboard, both below my elbow level, so if were to rest my arm on my chair's armrest and use the mouse, my wrist doesn't touch anything. Also, when I use a mouse without the arm rest, I generally don't let my wrist touch anything, and I'm personally against those gel pads where you rest your wrists on. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 19:47, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

I have a suggestion, swap the mouse to the other side half the time, to allow the other fingers, wrist, and shoulder to take the strain. Hopefully, you can reverse the button mapping on the mouse when you swap it. It might take a bit of practice to become mouse-ambidextrous, but it will be worth the effort. StuRat 15:28, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

The problem with your mouse is that your arm is not in its natural rest position while holding the mouse. The wrist is bent backwards and the lower arm is rotated by 90° from ellbow to wrist. There are special mice that are held from the side (like you would grab a glass) that are supposed to alleviate this problem.

Ergonomic Chairs such as a Kneeling Chair

While I'm at it, I'd like constructive recommendations about ergonomic chairs - such as kneeling chairs and the like.
There's a lot bunch of nonsense on the net and it's actually hard to make sense of it all - right now I have my eye on a kneeling chair on ebay and the price is within my range, but I don't know just how effective these chairs are. Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated? Rfwoolf 13:02, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Hi, I had one of these once, and it was actually pretty good. You can get a slightly sore lower back at first, but it seems to get better. I would strongly recommend you don't see them as "the" ergonomic chair, because if they were that good, government departments would have thrown out their old chairs long ago. I would see it as an alternative to prevent a fixed bad posture from setting in, and would rotate between your normal chair and your new one. 203.221.126.212 15:58, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Forcing expressions in Python to evaluate to a float

I am writing some code that translates English calculations such as '3 over 2' into machine readable and calculable format such as '3/2' and then give the input back to the user. For example: User input '3 over 2', program converts input to '3/2', program calculates result and print it to the user '1.5'. Unfortunately, the program insists on returning the answer as an int, as both 3 and 2 are ints, giving a result of 1. Obviously, this is not correct. Does anyone know how to force the evaluation of an expression such as this to be given as a float? I do not want to have to change the input to be '3.0/2'. Thanks --80.229.152.246 13:06, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

I'm not familiar with python, but there are generally two avenues to work around this: one is to use a different operation; in some languages there's a difference between 'div' and '/' for example. You may wish to check the help files for 'div' and then see if it has anything like "see also" and "related". Finally you may wish to convert an integer to a float. Sorry I can't be of much help. Rfwoolf 13:18, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, converting it to a float won't work. The program works by modifying the input string until it is machine readable. Then, it uses python's eval function to execute it. Because it is a string, it will not convert to a float. If I wait for it to evaluate, then the answer is an integer and converting it to a float just gives the same, but with .0 on the end. Thanks --80.229.152.246 14:23, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

It's quite simple: from __future__ import division. Future versions of Python will give the behaviour you want; that import allows you to already write code depending on that future behaviour, easing forward-porting. --cesarb 15:29, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Changing the input is the easiest thing to do, but you could also do: "'%f / %f' % (3, 2)" --TotoBaggins 13:34, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

copying to cd with Linux

I am using Red Hat Fedora Core 3, and cannot copy to CD. What do I need to do to make Fedora write to CD? It's fine for reading CDs, just not writing to them. Also, does anyone know if clip drives work with Fedora 3? The Mad Echidna 13:47, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Use k3b (and make sure you have a CD burner and a writable disk in the drive). --Kainaw ^(talk) 18:53, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Verizon FiOS

Is "Verizon FiOS" the fastest internet in the US? —68.193.147.179 (talk) 15:07, 18 March 2007 (UTC).

That depends on the area and country you're in. Most Japanese have access to much faster Internet connections than FiOS provides. Droud 17:09, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Surprisingly enough, Japan is not "in the US." --205.143.37.68 14:11, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Google Search on Website

Hello, I have seen many websites where they have a google search on the page. I cant figure out how to put one on my site. Anyone know how?

Thanks!! --Zach 15:19, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Ok, it takes a couple of links to find it, but Google's [Webmaster Help Center] includes a link to [Custom Search Engine]. Hope this helps. 84.239.133.38 16:02, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Worked better than I expected!! --Zach 02:22, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Copyrighted video game soundtracks

Is it illegal to use a "chiptune" site (such as http://www.ocremix.org/ or http://snesmusic.org/) to obtain music from old video games (such as Super Metroid from the SNES)? I'm not sure that it would be legal, considering that the music exists within a copyrighted video game, but I am surprised to see that there are so many of these sites with such huge archives. Furthermore, would remixes of original songs also be illegal? Dlempa 15:42, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Remixes of the original songs would definitely be derivative works. That doesn't necessarily make them illegal, per say, unless they are being used in a way which is copyright infringement (there are non-illegal ways of using derivative works, though). The odds are that most video game companies consider the soundtracks of old games to not be worth the hassle of infringement suits at this point — they don't even sell the games anymore, and even if they did it is doubtful that they're actually losing any money off of the soundtrack being pirated about (people don't buy games just for the soundtracks), but that is a separate issue from whether they are copyrighted or not (they are, without a doubt). --24.147.86.187 16:36, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Mac Laptops and PC Laptops

Hi, I have a few questions concerning laptops. 1) How does a top-of-the-line MacBook Pro compare with a top of the line PC computer in terms of speed and relibability for everyday usage such as graphics design, web browsing and mild gaming 2) How well does a Windows parallel run on a MacBook Pro? Is it about as fast as Windows on a equivalent PC laptop? 3) Can you upgrade the MacBook Pro with more RAM?

Thanks. Jamesino 17:20, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

1) I would say Mac would have a slight edge in the graphic design, neither would have the edge browsing, and PC would have the edge gaming. But people will probably argue with me, so essentially, before I get flamed: there is no appreciable difference. there may be sites somewhere that say this is 10% faster here or that is %15% faster there, but that's not something you'll notice in the real world, unless you use the thing professionally.

2) What's a windows parallel? I believe it is possible to run windows on Macs, but unless you are a hacker and showing off your leet programming skills and are prepared to tool around for hours with drivers and such, if you want to run windows buy a PC.

3) Yes.

Vespine 21:56, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

(Parallels is a Mac software tool (a hypervisor) that allows a Windows operating system to be simultaneously booted with the Mac OS environment. Windows windows can appear right on the normal Mac OS desktop.)

Atlant 22:31, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Parallels runs pretty fast on a MacBook, but not as fast as if it were running natively, of course. I would guess, roughly, that the emulated Windows runs at about half the speed as it would if it were running natively (or dual-booted). And I don't think you can play many games with Parallels — it doesn't emulate a 3D card, last I checked, so most games are ruled out by default. But you could run games on the dual-booted MacBook. --24.147.86.187 12:02, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

I have a 2Ghz MAcbook pro with Parellels, and Windows runs very fast. Everything, except gaming, works perfectly. You can even drag files back and forth, and drag the windows programs along your mac ones. I think it works very well.--Ryan 03:52, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

The first question: I don't really know what you are talking about. As in, if you are asking about the laptop specs, or the OS. Just because it is a mac doesnt mean the specs mean different things, no. Just look at the specs as if it is a normal laptop. You can dual boot, so reliability comes down to the OS, and windows will be the same as on any pc. Vespine is a bit of an idiot, you don't need "leet programming skills" to run parrelels. It should be about the same as running it native, but perhaps a bit slower, as you are also running os x at the same time, and it still emulates some things. --91.108.193.62 00:23, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

Plotting software

I'm wanting to produce some clear, simple time-domain and frequency domain plots of audio signals for a audio processing assignment I'm working on. Audacity does both, but I want to produce more "generic" plots where the particular GUI of the audio editor is not visible. For instance, if I want to display the time-axis information in Audacity, I have to show other parts of the program which is most undesirable.

http://img.waffleimages.com/2125764ae49011cfd7de2c41f1d106b708c6cb7e/img24.png

The picture above is an example of what I'm looking for. In particular, there are horizontal and vertical lines at the marked values for the axes. Naturally, I'll want control over how "zoomed in" I am to a specific plot, vertically and horizontally, and make it simple to load in any wave file.

My assumption is that more customisable, generic plots can be produced using some kind of maths package , but if there's a nice GUI program for outputting custom generic plots that would be preferred. Thanks. 164.11.204.51 18:33, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

The URL you added simply says linking is not allowed. So, I can only assume you want a very basix XY plot. GnuPlot for Linux does that easily. In fact, that is what it was made for. --Kainaw ^(talk) 21:09, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

To copy the data from audacity, click the export button. It saves it as tab separated csv format. This will open in xmgrace, gnuplot, OpenOffice.org Calc, Excel ... anything really. --h2g2bob 21:43, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

This is ideal, since I want to plot waveform information extracted from sound files. But unfortunately I can only output a .txt of the frequency-domain information, which isn't good enough for my needs. I need to be able to load wave files into plotting software since I cannot simply mathematically "plot" the complex waveform information. I want to do both time-domain and frequency domain analysis. 164.11.204.51 22:11, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

ATI Mobility Fire GL V5250 256MB

How are the ATI Mobility Fire GL V5250 256MB graphic chip found inside Lenovo ThinkPad T60p's? Can they be used for gaming and intensive photoshop graphics design and web design? Where in the performance spectrum of graphic chips do they stand? Thanks. Jamesino 20:15, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

You might want to look at our article on ATI FireGL. They should be OK for modeling, texturing, web design, etc, but I wouldn't try to play DOOM 3 or anything on them. -Wooty Woot? contribs 20:34, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

It should be more than enough. The T60ps are built for speed and performance. I've played Neverwinter Nights 2 on a lesser chip (a Mobility Radeon X300) and it's quite capable -- and NWN2 is notorious for its graphics card requirements.

FireGL is a workstation chip, not for gaming. I think some operations used in games are actually throttled so you won't use it for gaming. You can order it with the Mobility Radeon x1400 or x1600 which are gaming cards but when I ordered mine last summer I had to dig around quite a bit to find it. --froth^t 17:03, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Would I be able to play games like Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield or Rainbow Six Vegas on it? Jamesino 22:36, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

For Rainbox Six Vegas, you might be able to, but laptop video cards are not supported. For Raven Shield, the Mobility FireGL is not listed as one of the supported chips, but it might also still run due to the card being compatible with DirectX 9.0. Best bet is to ask owners of the card and Rainbow Six. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 23:19, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

default programs for Windows Vista

I just installed Vista a few days ago, and most things are working correctly, though I am having trouble with the default programs. I have Vista business, and when I go to "Default Programs", I click on "Set program access and computer defaults", and then I change my browser to Firefox and my media player to iTunes, and then I save settings. However, next time I open Firefox, it says it is not the default browser, and when I look at the default programs again they are back as before. No matter how many times I do it, my settings are not saved. What can I do about this? —Akrabbim^talk 21:02, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Just a guess but there may be a setting in Internet Explorer itself to act as the default browser. Alternatively, you could disable the 'always use Firefox as the default browser' text in Firefox, which will stop that text coming up when you use firefoxMix Lord 23:33, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Well, I want links from other applications to come up in Firefox, so I don't want to disable that feature. The problem is that whenever I try to save the settings, I go back and it didn't change anything. —Akrabbim^talk 00:04, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Setting default applications in Mac OS X

How do you set the default applications to open certain files in Mac OS X. For example, how do you set Pages as the default file to open Word documents, rather than Word? I'd greatly appreciate any help! Thanks, --Fadders 21:59, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

1. Highlight a Word document.
2. Press <command-I> or do "File -> Get Info"
3. In the dialog box that pops up, look for "Open with:"
4. Change it as you see fit. Optionally, press "Change all..."

Atlant 22:44, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Thanks very much! That's great! --Fadders 07:39, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

WikiSVG

I'm posting this in computing because, while it could apply to Wikipedia, it could easily apply to any other wiki-format...

I know very little about the SVG format at this time. As I understand it, SVG is a text-based format, possibly even ASCII-based. Therefore, it is more of a markup language than a binary image format. Assuming it is human-readable, is it reasonable to make wiki-SVGs? My idea is that the SVG file will be a wiki-page (like this). People can go into the text and improve the SVG. Also, if that were to work, I would be interested in expanding one SVG from another. For example, have an SVG map of Hawaii. Then, instead of copying the whole SVG for a map with a big red dot on Honolulu, I can tell the Honolul SVG to use the Hawaii SVG and add the red dot. In fact, it should be possible to include multiple SVGs into one - such as comparing the size of two states. You can include one on the left and one on the right in a new SVG and then draw some milage ruler between them. Hopefully this idea makes sense. I just wanted to know if it was feasible before spending much time investigating the possibilities of SVGs. --Kainaw ^(talk) 22:51, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Yep, it's an XML markup language. What you're talking about sounds technically feasible to me. I'm not sure if it's possible to include/link to one SVG file in another, but you could almost certainly mash them together using some external script/application. I'm not sure how willing people would be to edit SVG markup by hand though - it would be cool to have a Flash/Java/JavaScript/XUL/whatever app to visually edit the SVG file in the browser. — Matt Eason ^{(Talk &#149; Contribs)} 00:38, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

I think I've read about this on WP:VPT before.. IIRC people liked the idea but doubted it would be implemented --froth^t 17:01, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

There is already a project like that, it is called "mapomatix". http://mapomatix.sourceforge.net/ --213.129.227.107 01:38, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Lack of driver

I recently bought an MP3 player. It's supposed to connect to my computer via USB and start working right away. However, it keeps registering as "Unknown device" on my computer. It didn't come with a device driver on the installation CD. I've contacted the producer's customer support line several times, and they ended up telling me to contact Microsoft. They told me to search for the device driver on the Windows XP installation CD, but that didn't work. I've been having a lot of trouble with hardware that's supposed to work right out of the box, but it always registers on my computer as "unknown device." If it means anything, I have an authentic version of Window XP Home edition. I would greatly appreciate any advice on fixing this problem. Thank you!--El aprendelenguas 23:07, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

What is the device, specifically? You should be able to find drivers on the web. -Wooty Woot? contribs 23:55, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

It might help if you could tell us a little more about your problem, for instance, if you go to My Computer, does the player show up under the Devices with Removable Storage header?--VectorPotential^Talk 00:06, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

It's an e200 Sansa MP3 player with 2GB storage, made by Sandisk. It is not listed under My Computer at all. The only listing of it I can find is under Device Manager under "Universal Serial Bus controllers" as an "unknown device." I've looked at the Sandisk website, but I've only found "firmware"—no driver—for the MP3 player, and I didn't think that would help me with this issue. Like I said, this isn't the first time I've gotten the "Unknown device" message after plugging in hardware to the USB, but then again I have successful connected other devices in the past.--El aprendelenguas 01:35, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

I have one computer that has a miswired USB port - devices connected to it cause the usb-detector thing to run, but it fails to properly communicate with the device, and so the device shows up as "unknown". So try another USB port. If that fails, try another computer. If that fails, return the player. Darryl Revok 18:16, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

March 19

MacBook Pro vs. ThinkPad T60p

Not sure if this was asked already, but which of the two laptops is faster for a) everyday usage, b) graphics, video and web design and c) gaming: a 17" MacBook Pro or a Lenovo Thinkpad T60p with the 2.33ghz processor? Thank you. 64.230.4.108 01:01, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

I would choose the t60p, by far. -Wooty Woot? contribs 01:53, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Another vote for the Thinkpad. Really I think this is a matter of preference. Both are well constructed and capable notebooks. You can nitpick meaningless specs, but the real issues will probably be cost (I don't think there's a very large difference), warranty, and whether you like Mac OS X (I dislike Aqua, but a lot of people find it attractive). -- mattb @ 2007-03-19T04:12Z

And if you really want to, you can find Mac OS X by illicit means and will run on the ThinkPad.

It's a lot easier to run Windows on the MacBook Pro (all reports I've seen of running OS X on a non-Apple machine sound hacked and buggy). But in any case if you are going for gaming in particular the MacBook is not the right answer, obviously. --24.147.86.187 12:00, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Another thinkpad vote from me. If you're looking to pay a ton for your laptop (and you will pay a ton if you're looking at thinkpads and macs) than nothing beats the thinkpad. I too dislike aqua, and the thinkpad is pretty much the most solid consumer hardware money can buy, mac or otherwise. --froth^t 17:00, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Although as a disclaimer I've only used the T60, not the T60p, and I've heard some grumbling about how the T60ps aren't quite as good. Just go for the normal T60. --froth^t 17:04, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

How long (years) do you think a ThinkPad t60/p would last when in heavy university usage? Jamesino 22:38, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Probably a loooooong time. But there's much better deals for the money as far as notebooks go if you want to use them for gaming, I'd suspect. You can get a damn good gaming laptop for the $2700 you'd spend on the thinkpad. For example, the Acer TravelMate 8204WLMi is $200 less and is one of the best-performing notebooks on the market today. It should be able to run pretty much anything you throw at it, and is an editor's choice at pcmag. It's under 7 pounds, but still packs a Core 2 Duo and Radeon® X1600. The Thinkpad has a X1600 variant, the FireGL, but is optimized for modeling and CAD, NOT gaming. -Wooty Woot? contribs 22:46, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Would Photoshop design be considered CAD? And Is the FireGL chip in the T60p better than the Radeon one in the MacBook Pro? Thanks. Jamesino 23:16, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

I'd say Photoshop is CAD very light. I'm more thinking it's geared toward 3DSMAX and engineering tools. The MacBook Pro has the same one as the TravelMate, but with probably much less efficiency for gaming:

Photoshop: MacBook = Acer = Thinkpad

CAD (Modeling, etc): MacBook >= Acer = ThinkPad

Gaming: Acer >>>> ThinkPad > MacBook. -Wooty Woot? contribs 01:41, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

IE 7... the aweful program

Hi, I have a problem with IE 7. I normally use Firefox but when thats not working, I have to use IE7. Every time I open IE 7, instead of my home page loading this page loads: http://runonce.msn.com/runonce2.aspx. It doesnt even show me anything to customize... Is there a way to turn that off? I tried changing my Home page but it doesnt work... Thanks! --Zach 02:25, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

• Have you tried clicking on this in an explorer window?--VectorPotential^Talk 04:33, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

This annoying problem occurs when Firefox is set as the default browser. What you need to do is to go to Set Access Defaults on the Windows start-menu (assuming that you are running Windows XP) and set IE7 as the default browser, then run IE7, go through the customization page and when you're done set Firefox as the default browser again. Ikrizalllid 10:10, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Both suggestions did not work I am afraid... Thanks for the effort though!! Any other suggestions? --Zach 19:46, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Hey! I have the 'exact' same problem! So far I have not been able to find a solution either. Jamesino 22:33, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Try getting HijackThis!, running it, and looking for that page under browser stuff. Check it, hit fix, and you should have no more problems. -Wooty Woot? contribs 22:39, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Tool bar customization.

Does anybody know how to change the appearance of the desktop/tool bars by modifying the registry and not using windows blinds or other apps? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Drexalot (talk • contribs) 02:37, 19 March 2007 (UTC).

For the desktop, yes, but isn't it easier to use Display Manager? As for toolbars, which toolbars? The ones in Internet Explorer? Office? Paint? x42bn6 Talk 14:36, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

i mean the startbar....and i wanna change it so that it will have the XP style but black. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.212.42.55 (talk) 19:48, 19 March 2007 (UTC).

As in Windows XP style as opposed to Windows Classic? Not as far as I know because these skins are not simple gradients built into a nice skinned environment. You need to get these themes separately, such as via WindowsBlinds. x42bn6 Talk 23:16, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

What linux distribution has more compatbility with windows programs???

What linux distribution has more compatbility with windows programs, ReactOs or Linux XP (or another)? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 201.78.237.95 (talk) 03:44, 19 March 2007 (UTC).

ReactOS is a project that aims to implement a Windows NT compatible OS (that is, it has practically nothing to do with Linux). It is far from complete and probably unusable for you. I've never heard of Linux XP until now, but some googling suggests that it's not a particularly polished distribution. In the strictest sense of things, Linux has no real compatibility with Win32 programs and you shouldn't expect any of your Windows software to work with Linux. There is a piece of software called Wine that is a Windows compatibility layer for OSes like Linux. The upshot of which is that you may use Wine to run some Windows programs with varying degrees of reliability and functionality (everything from "doesn't work at all" to "works perfectly"). Wine used to be an epic struggle to use, but it has become comparatively friendly in recent years. If you want to use all your Windows programs, you should probably stick to Windows. You may be able to get some of them working using Wine and you can probably find alternatives to many common applications (web browser, IM client, groupware, office suite, etc), but Linux is not an "alternative Windows". I'd recommend trying a distribution like Ubuntu or Fedora Core if you're interested in Linux, just throw away any preconceptions that it will be a seamless transition from a Win32 background. -- mattb @ 2007-03-19T04:08Z

Windows XP machine as a print server

I have a Dell running XP, an Apple G4 tower, and a G5 tower. I want to use the Windows machine as a print server for the other two. I'm not sure how to do this as I haven't really ever played with networking them at all. When I've searched in Google I've found a lot of unrelated info, mostly due to the broad terms I'm using such as Windows XP, Print, and Server. So, does anyone know of any sites that might offer instructions on how to do what I want done? Dismas|^(talk) 04:30, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

You need a program called Samba, there is a guide available here - [6] Elaverick 15:40, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Samba (software) runs on Unix like OS's. He wants to run a print server on windows. Sorry I don't have any pointer on how to do that. -- Diletante 15:56, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

To reply to my own comment: I forgot that OSX is a unix like OS, and samba can be used as a client, so the instructions above are appropriate. -- Diletante 16:10, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Free HTML TUTORIALS !!

Dear Sir/Madam, Can u please refer me to some sites where I can download free tutorial on html in pdf, doc, etc format —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Rohanatwikipedia (talk • contribs) 08:55, 19 March 2007 (UTC).

w3schools.com offers good tutorials of HTML and many other web building tools. I think it is in asp format, not pdf or doc. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 11:10, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Just to clarify, asp is a scripting system, pdf and html are document formatting languages. Asp is usually used to generate html though. -- Diletante 16:01, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Net hacking

somebody has hacked my yahoomail and taken the details...... how is this possible????????? what should i do to prevent this???????? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 59.162.136.57 (talk) 12:46, 19 March 2007 (UTC).

They guessed or intercepted your password to take over your account (how secure are your passwords?), and there is very little you can do besides reporting the issue to Yahoo and hoping they restore the account. You should also verify that your computer doesn't have any keyloggers or trojans installed, something malware removal tools like Spybot S&D and virus scanners are good at.

I strongly suspect the questioner got a lot of returned emails for some spam sent out and assumed that means some spammer used his/her email account. That is not the case. Email is a rather dumb protocol. You can put ANYONE'S email address in the "from" field. If the email bounces, the error email will go the address in the from field. So, it is very easy to fill a person's email box with a bunch of error emails. --Kainaw ^(talk) 14:59, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

computer translation

I would like to know, How are computers able to take words entered on a keyboard and translate them into digital information? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.40.60.1 (talk) 12:47, 19 March 2007 (UTC).

Computer keyboard#How it works. x42bn6 Talk 14:38, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

In a nutshell, characters are represented as numbers by the computer. In general, computers deal with numbers and the character representations you see are merely for your convenience. -- mattb @ 2007-03-19T15:37Z

Vista

I'm thinking of upgrading to Vista. What are the pros and cons of moving from XP to Vista? Will games run slower, due to the added requirements of Aero? Do many XP apps have compatibility errors? Does Vista crash more often?

It seems to me that, since any upgrade is fraught with potential problems, you'd need a really good reason to justify such an upgrade. The reviews I've seen of Vista mostly say it's nothing to get excited about, so I have a hard time seeing how an upgrade would be justified. StuRat 15:20, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

It's not really anything to be excited about but there are a lot of little features and conveniences that make it frustrating for me to work on an XP machine after getting used to vista. My games don't run any slower, aero is plenty snappy, and none of my XP apps have compatibility problems except BF2SP64 and of course TweakXP. Vista has never crashed on me, though XP didn't either after SP2 or thereabouts --froth^t 16:56, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

"zipped files"

I am conducting some research and would like to know what happens when files that contain large amounts of information are "zipped". I would like to know if you could point me in the right direction on my research. Thank you72.40.60.1 15:31, 19 March 2007 (UTC)jc

Try looking at Zip (file format)#Compression methods, which has quite a bit of userful information. Or for more general information, you can also read Data compression. --Maelwys 15:35, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

The actual compression method used varies, but the classic PKZIP format used a variant of the Lempel-Ziv-Welch method, and these days DEFLATE is common. I'd start there. -- mattb @ 2007-03-19T15:36Z

wine, cd-rom

What am I doing wrong with wine? It use to be that when running a windows program in Wine, there was no problem with the CD. But now, when ever I try to run a program (such as FFVII, Dungeon Keeper II, or Warcraft II) the program itself is unable to find my cddrive (whether I am using the drive it self or a mounted image) even though the install program had no problem minutes earlier. Do I have something configured wrong? Warcraft II forexample, used to run perfectly. Duomillia 17:23, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Have you run winecfg and made sure the CD-ROM links are set up properly? Cyraan 17:27, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Yes, and the installation programs have no problem - but it's almost as though some copy-protection scheme prevents the game itself from reading the cd. Duomillia 17:54, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

vandalism

when was the first time a wiki was vandalised?--Fang 23 19:13, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Dunno but this is one of the more recent events

Ringtone making

I want to be able to convert a midi or mp3 to a ringtone for my phone, for free. What program can I download? Preferably for Mac OS X, but I also have Windows XP. Thanks! My phone is a virgin mobile if that matters. [Mαc Δαvιs] (How's my driving?) ❖ 19:26, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

More information is required. What is the make of your phone? What kind of ringtones does it play? Newer phones will have the capability to play both mp3s and midis as ringtones without any further conversion. When it comes to mp3s you might want to cut out a part of it (for it to start directly on the "good" part). For this a freeware program like audacity could be used. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Clq 20:08, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

It says K10 Royale. I think it can play everything. How do I get it to download the ringtone I made? I don't think it came with a USB cord. [Mαc Δαvιs] (How's my driving?) ❖ 20:42, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

With my old phone, I had to upload the midi files to the internet, and then use my WAP access to download them to the phone. After that it gave me the option to use as a ringtone. →Ollie (talk • contribs) 22:06, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Edit conflict with Ollie: Aeons ago (about two years), I used a free WAP site to transfer MIDIs of my choice to my phone. It wasn't free since I still had to pay the data rates, but it wasn't the ridiculous rate that they charge for ring tones. The site I used is now gone, but I think Google can yield a handful of free WAP sites still in operation. If your phone has data capabilities and the service enabled, this might be a low-cost option (check the data transfer costs, first). -- mattb @ 2007-03-19T22:08Z

PowerPoint

In PowerPoint, how can I format a picture so its sides that are white format with the background?68.193.147.179 20:56, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Are you asking how to make part of an image transparent? --Kainaw ^(talk) 22:05, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

If so, I think there is a tool in PowerPoint in the...drawing palette?... basically, it allows a selected colour to be transparent with the background. However, this tool does not work well sometimes. Alternatively you can save the image as a transparency with a GIF or PNG format, which should result in much better transparency quality. However, I'm not sure if PowerPoint supports PNG's... Jamesino 22:32, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Yes, that is the tool I am taking about but, I don't know where it is in Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007. Does anyone know where it is?

-Thanks, 68.193.147.179 22:58, 19 March 2007 (UTC)!

HARDWARE REPAIRS

—Insert—76.102.106.72 22:54, 19 March 2007 (UTC)Please let me know how I could get details of different hardware components of a PC so that I could learn to fix my PC at home.Only about basic parts and compatibilty. On more than one occasion repairers have cheated me and charged exhobitant fees, also the efficiency of the equipment went down after repairs. I cannot afford to pay for this study as I found the trainer/teacher often dont answer my questions satisfactorily THRN

All you want to know and more is on the Internet - most of it here on Wikipedia. I wouldn't trust any site claiming to be a one-stop-for-everything site about computer hardware. What it comes down to is picking a hardware part (ie: a video card) and then seeing what is available. If you want one for your own computer, you need to know what will fit on your motherboard. A very easy way to do that is to take the old one out, go to the store, and tell ask them what it is. They might say it is a PCI card or an AGP card. Once you know what it is, you can search for replacements (the more money you spend, the better the replacement). Part by part, from memory to the harddrive to a new CPU, you just research it when you are interested in that part. --Kainaw ^(talk) 00:13, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

PDF

How do I convert a scanned file (.jpeg) to a PDF file? 68.193.147.179 23:09, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

You can do it with Photoshop. Barring that, an easy way to do it is to drop it into a Microsoft Word document and then convert that to a PDF. --24.147.86.187 23:59, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

There are many free utilities available that allow you to "print" to PDF format. The PDF converted is installed as a printer but actually produces a PDF file. I don't know any off the top of my head, but you should be able to track one done with google. →Ollie (talk • contribs) 00:54, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

in Linux you can simply install imageMagick, and then type: "convert image.jpg image.pdf" --213.129.227.107 01:34, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Converting GNU Info files

Is there any way to convert GNU .info files into HTML or some other format? Not converting the .texinfo source, which you can use texi2html for; something like that, e.g. info2html /usr/share/info/screen.info . Thanks. 71.123.16.229 23:40, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Interestingly, http://www.google.com/search?q=info2html. :) -- mattb @ 2007-03-20T00:14Z

Wow, I feel stupid now. Sorry about that. Thanks for your help. 71.123.16.229 00:36, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

March 20

centrino duo

why is it called duo62.240.62.168 01:02, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Because it involves a dual-core microprocessor. -- mattb @ 2007-03-20T01:05Z

Multiple user OS

Hey I had a cool idea and was wondering if anyone's thought of this before. Has anyone heard of an OS which would allow 2 users to operate a PC simultaneously, possibly on different tasks, using 2 keyboards and mice and 2 monitors hooked up at the same time? I imagine this would take a lot of power but was just wondering hypothetically. Mix Lord 01:08, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

I know this would be pretty easy to achieve with X Windows. -- Diletante 01:22, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Or any *NIX OS really. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 01:24, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

ASCII in the Netherlands have built a "three headed monster" which allows 3 users to work on one Linux machine simultaneously, using a single pentium 3 box. See http://scii.nl/projects/3-headed-monster/ for how to build your own ! --213.129.227.107 01:26, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

This sort of setup used to be how most computers worked. See X terminal for an example. --TotoBaggins 01:38, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

How to replace my computer hard drive without re-installing all the software?

What's the easiest way to upgrade my hard drive without replacing all the software I have on the old one? I ran out of space on my old hard drive and I bought a new bigger one. I have a few programs for which I don't have the install disks anymore and it seems that I ought to be able to just make a disk image (including the boot sector) but I've been snooping around on the web for a while without finding an obvious solution.

I have a Dell Inspiron 8200 running Windows 2000 SP4. I've already bought the new HD but I haven't formatted it yet for fear of messing something up.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks in advance!

Jon —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.92.143.173 (talk) 01:25, 20 March 2007 (UTC).

You can leave your existing hard drive in place, and not monkey with your existing installation at all. Just install your new hard drive and move all your porn and downloaded movies important documents to it, and leave your existing software alone. It will work fine. --TotoBaggins 01:35, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

This will save you the hassle of not having to buy another copy of XP/Vista either. :) -Wooty Woot? contribs 01:41, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

If you really want to image your drive, use something like WinHex or a commercial drive imaging product. Splintercellguy 01:45, 20 March 2007 (UTC)