Wikipedia:Reference desk/Computing

June 2

Anonymous Wikipedians

Hello. Just out of curiosity, how do some Wikipedia users who ask questions remain anonymous? There were a couple of questions asked on May 27, 2007 without names and there may be more on later dates. There was even a case where a Wikipedia user typed their name and UTC time. The name was not linked to their user page if he or she had one. Am I allowed to do so?--Mayfare 00:57, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

It is normally due to ignorance, not mischief of any kind. It is apparently very very difficult for most people to hit the ~ key four times. --Kainaw ^(talk) 01:05, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

(edit conflict) They didn't sign their name with four tidles (~~~~), as you did (and as I am about to). Usually, a bot will edit this to add it ("unsigned comment by <IPADDRESS>" or whatever), but if someone edits that section before the bot realises then it won't add their sig. Technically it's not "allowed", but you're not going to get banned for it either. It's just helpful when people remember to sign their comments! The person who typed their time and username obviously didn't know about the four tidles, and possibly should be alerted to them (leave a message on their talk page!) JoshHolloway 01:08, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

See WP:SIG. As a practice, you should always sign your talk page comments with four tildes. You can also sign just your name with three, or just the time with five, although uses for this are few and far between. Your sig should always contain at least a link to your user page or user_talk page. -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 03:14, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

There are many new users here, and while you always should sign your comments, if they forget it doesn't really matter. Also, I would like to add that it is perfectly fine not to identify yourself at all anywhere on wikipedia, it is perfectly allowed to remain anonymous for as long as you wish. --Oskar 06:54, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

To clarify: I don't mean that you don't have to sign your comments (outside of the "newbie"-zones you have to do that), I meant that you don't need to create a username or identity. --Oskar 06:56, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Although in reality a username offers you far more privacy/anonimity than editing as an IP. -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 07:36, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

That really depends on how you define anonymity. A user-name creates an identity, unlike an IP which is just a collection of numbers. Many people (me included) would argue that that makes anonymous users more anonymous (!) than registered ones, even though they reveal their IP. I mean, I have no idea who you really are, but I've seen your posts here and there and have formed a personal impression of you as a person (a most positive one, I assure you :D ). That wouldn't have happened if you didn't sign in. --Oskar 18:08, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

The issue is that an IP is not just a collection of numbers. It is an identity. If I told you my IP address was 153.9.17.3 (which it isn't), you can easily do a whois and find out that I'm at the College of Charleston, somewhere near 66 George St, Charleston, SC in the U.S. - which isn't very anonymous. However, if you know my username is "kainaw", what do you know? I have a dumb username. That's about it. --Kainaw ^(talk) 13:03, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

CLassic support

I have a OS9 disc, but I cant run a clean install, nothing comes up except the mac OSX screen (yes, I am pressing down C), I have 10.4.9 Any suggestions? I dont have any other discs, they were lost

You can't install OS 9 natively on an Intel Mac, so make sure you're not trying to do that.

Oddly enough, I can't install PPC linux on my iMac, even though other people with the same model have had the same OS work =/ keeps coming up with that red screen with a questionmark folder on it. I'm thinking it has something to do with the previous owner putting pirated panther on it, but it's annoying, since I'd rather not run illegal software =/ Especially since I still have a bit of respect for Apple. -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 04:00, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

I have a powerbook G4 I inherited from my sister, but she didnt leave me with any software. I have searched the internet, but my results are unsure. Any more suggestions? Thank you very much

Why do you want to install OS9 when you have OSX? --antilived^{T | C | G} 23:01, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

That doesn't really answer the question, does it?

Well but the question is like "I can go to work in my car but I want to build a tunnel. How do I do that?". Unless you have specific needs, there is no point in installing OS 9 when you have OS X; and what do you mean by "didn't leave me with any software"? No OS X? Or what? --antilived^{T | C | G} 05:54, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

I don't want to put words in the OP's mouth, but the OP may not like OS X or wish to use OS X. The question is like "I can achieve Y, but I want to achieve X. How do I achieve X?". To say "Why don't you just do Y" is rather irrelevant and unhelpful. Yes, OS X may be better than OS 9, but that's beside the point.

Note that not all G4 models can boot OS 9. They can only run it in Classic mode. There are instructions on Apple's site for installing classic on such machines. -- Kesh 06:03, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Java applets and browser refresh

I have a fairly big Java applet (30mb+) embedded in a page (using <Applet> tag). Everything works well in the first invocation of the page. However, when the user refreshes the page, causing the applet to reload, some of the memory that "old" instance of the applet used isn't freed, including the my JApplet instance and ResourceBundle instances. After a few refreshes I get to a point where the JVM throws OutOfMemory errors (heap). Is there any way of making the JVM restart / not act in such an annoying manner?

Destroy the previous stuff? --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 18:46, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

I suppose I'd go with Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) on this. Override the destroy method (or something similar) and try to suggest to the garbage collector that it clean up some things... I guess. There is also the not-quite-related page unload DOM Event (not of the Java world) which might possibly be utilized, esp. if your applet somehow gets some of its resources it uses from the DOM. It's been two years since I've written a Java program and longer since I wrote an applet, but I do recall it is possible to suggest to the garbage collector that it can clean up early as it was quite necessary for what I was writing 2 over years ago. Root⁴(one) 01:21, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Where can I go to make a formal complaint about a specific website?

By that, I mean one that's obviously a serious violation of federal law. FBI site isn't helpful.

And no, I don't mean a ROM/warez site so don't point me to that.

If it's based in the UK, you can look at the Internet Watch Foundation which links with national authorities. It has a link to an "international foundation" which is NCMEC but that is just for missing children - nothing to do with websites. Strange! In short: I can't find one for America, but if you report it to the IWF they may pass it on. JoshHolloway 13:44, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Josh seems to have forgotten the Virtual Global Taskforce. Their members include Australian, British, American, and Canadian authorities, as well as Interpol, so they'd probably be your best bet. Unfortunately, they're geared more towards child porn than anything else. Linky --saxsux 15:30, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

I've never heard of that. "Learn something new every day" as they say. Yay! JoshHolloway 17:15, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

You might like to report it to the police in the same way you would report any crime. If the website isn't based in your country, it will very probably be outside your jurisdiction. --h2g2bob (talk) 22:32, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

I assume due to the mention of the FBI, you're in the US. Is the offending site actually being hosted from within the US? If not, as bob mentioned, chances are the FBI or any other federal law enforcement agency will have little or no ability to do anything about it. Cyraan 18:45, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

You will probably need a very solid case that the website is actually in violation of a federal law. I think this qualifies as legal advice and you should consult a professional, instead of the Reference Desk. Nimur 19:15, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Thanks to those who responded. The site in question is hosted in Amsterdam, if that's any help, although I suppose that places it ouside US jurisdiction. Those links were helpful, although if what cyraan says is true, not much use in this case. Any further advice with that in mind?

The reference desk is not a soap-box, but here's my advice anyway: tolerate things that you don't like, even if it makes you uncomfortable. Unless this website poses a threat of imminent harm to anyone, (which is unlikely), it is probably not worth your time to worry about it. Nimur 21:24, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Again, not a soap-box, but kiddie porn or racism harms *someone*, even if it isn't oneself. JoshHolloway 09:16, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

But it has never been made clear what material the website in question contains. It might just be angry political rantings, which are legal so long as they are not posing an imminent threat. Nimur 21:49, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

RCT3

I have recently installed rollercoaster tycoon 3 on my computer with windows vista and i have all the necessary specs but when i try to play it says "Microsoft Visual c++ Runtime Library error, Abnormal program termination. I've tryed running it in administrator mode and compatability mode but it doesn't want to work. There have been loads of problems with the game as a whole, this is my problem. I have asked at the reference desk before but no one seems to be able to help me.Wiki.user 16:47, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Any additional information that came with the abnormal program termination? Splintercellguy 16:56, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Unfortunately, it seems to be a very generic error message. What is your operating system? I found [1] but one of the replies seems to only apply to Windows XP SP2. x42bn6 Talk Mess 17:04, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

There is not much else it says, the only other thing it has in the message is a directory to the .exe file. Please Help!!Wiki.user 17:04, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

I have got Windows VistaWiki.user 17:25, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Can someone help me. I had problems on my old computer. Wiki.user 17:47, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Er, do you have 64bit Vista? RCT3 can run in 32bit Vista but not 64bit. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 18:43, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

I have 32bit Vista Wiki.user 18:50, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

According to our own article, it says that, "There is no fix for this problem (including patches)." (RollerCoaster Tycoon 3#Criticism). Other than being oddly out of place, this sounds disconcerting. I would try patching the game anyway. The patch is available on this page: http://www.uk.atari.com/index.php?pg=product&id=81. x42bn6 Talk Mess 22:47, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

I play RCT3 on Vista 32bit, never had any problems. Reinstalling directx usually fixes that error, but you're running Vista, so it's not possible. I would suggest reinstalling your graphics card drivers or reinstalling RCT3. Search M$'s website for 'runtime library' and 'directx'. -art0rz

Java virtual machine

I'm totally new to this, so this question might seem ignorant. When trying to install my HP printer with a disk, I keep getting the following error message: Unable to start the application - the Java Virtual Machine cannot be loaded. Class not registered. What does this mean and what can I do about it? I'm really computer-stupid, so plain English, please!!!Proverbs31 wife 16:53, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Try installing the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) from Sun Microsystems. Download is here. --h2g2bob (talk) 22:13, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Do Communists like socialists?

Do Communists like socialists?

Mu Algebraist 21:10, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

More helpfully, check out communism and socialism. And be aware that both terms are used for a huge range of people with a huge range of different ideas, some of whom like each other and some of whom do not. Also, this isn't really one for computing: try the Humanities desk. (and if communist and socialist have obscure computer-related meanings of which I am not aware, please ignore) Algebraist 21:13, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

• Maybe its a question regarding Sid Meier's Civilization (computer game)? -wizzard2k ^(C•T•D) 21:57, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

I don't think there was a distinction between communists and socialists until the fourth version - and even that blurs the distinction with a revised socio-economic government mix and match feature. Nimur 01:40, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

No Office Vista

Why is Microsoft Office 2007 not called Office Vista? NeonMerlin 18:57, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

This is mainly because office 2007 can be used on multiple operating systems apart from vista. Also office 2007 is a completely different application to vista. Another reason is that previous office versions are not named with windows operating systems and are sometimes released at different times to a operating system release.Wiki.user 19:24, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Well, there was "Office XP" ([2]). --LarryMac | Talk 22:06, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Large corporations make careful decisions about how to apply brand identity to maximize sales and benefit their good reputation. For one reason or another, some high-ranking strategist at Microsoft decided that Office and Windows should be distinctly branded. A possible motive ^{(SPECULATION!)} is to capture mutually exclusive markets (people who want to upgrade to Office 2007 but not Vista, and vice-versa) without alienating them. This branding decision can be made independently of the technical details of the software (such as compatibility or development). Nimur 01:36, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Office XP was a separate application that was a mixture of things. The question was remember why office 2007 was not vista not refering to other programs.Wiki.user 10:29, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Separate application that was a mixture of things? Huh? What do you mean? (I have Office XP btw). --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 21:13, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

June 3

Reformat?

Hi, I need help fixing my older laptop. It currently has two partitions, each running a Windows OS and each is completely screwed up; wont load, freezes, all kinds of messed up basically. There's no data on it I need to save and I want to just start over: no partitions and reload Windows from disk. So, how can I do this? Thanks -- 24.19.234.96 00:43, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

You should make sure you have a copy of your operating system installation disk before you reformat. Once you have this, reboot the system with the OS installation disk in the drive. Most of the process is user-friendly and will be guided through on-screen instructions, but if you have never done this before, you may want to get technical assistance from somebody experienced. Nimur 01:38, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Followup. The disc drive on the laptop is broken. I have an external usb drive. Is there a way to boot from this external drive? The current OS's are so screwed up I cant even get the computer to recognize the new drive with the disc I want to boot from in it. Someway to get the computer to recognize the new drive on boot so I can reload from it? I'm starting to feel a strong desire to smash the laptop so any help would be appreciated. Oh, I can load up task manager and use it to run commands like msconfig, if that helps, but the cpu is running at 100% and everything is slow as hell at best. 24.18.215.108 02:46, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Check if the laptop's BIOS allows booting from your USB drive. You could also try a bootable USB flash drive. If both fail, you could also try removing the CD/DVD drive from your laptop and borrowing a working one from a friend (on all laptops I've seen, it's not only removable, but it also seems to follow some standard; see [3] for instance). --cesarb 15:26, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

I have had a lot of success booting and installing operating systems from USB drives. Another possible approach is a network boot, but this often technically difficult. Nimur 21:29, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Ok, thanks for the suggestions everyone. Final question: if I do manage to get it to recognize my external drive and boot from that, can I use a copy of Windows XP to wipe everything, unpartition it, and reinstall a clean OS? 38.112.225.84 22:42, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Yes, unless your hard-drive partitions are very corrupted. Windows XP has a reasonably robust disk reformat / repartition utility. Nimur 21:52, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

Xbox 360 and Gaming Adapters

I've just got an Xbox 360 and I want to wireless but I'm not so keen on spending the £50-60 that I'm going to get charged for the official network adapter. I just want to verify though that most gaming adapters (that is, wireless adapters which don't require the installation of drivers) will work with the 360. --Kiltman67 02:58, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

This should be the case. Splintercellguy 06:47, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

should be true, but be aware that while the original Xbox was essentially an off the shelf PC, down to the pentium 3/celeron processor, tweaked geforce 2 and modified NT kernel, the 360 is an actual custom-built console, including a PowerPC chip (based upon the same chip marketed as the G5 earlier by Apple), so anything designed for the previous generation may have some issues to say the least with the 360. -M^ask? 07:53, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Which doesn't have any effect on wireless adapters. Ethernet is ethernet (well, not exactly, but close enough). -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 23:27, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Most Wireless Game Adapters are essentially a wireless access point. They have a wired Ethernet connection to any game console (or anything with an Ethernet connection), and a wireless connection to a home network. -wizzard2k ^(C•T•D) 15:40, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Javascript and SVG object creation

This is a follow-up of previous question and the animation works pretty well now. However in the original animation new circle objects are created as the cannon ball flies to better illustrate its path. I cannot get it, or any object-creation for that matter (compare this and my converted version) to work when I put the code inside the XHTML file instead of the SVG with inline SVG. Can anyone help? --antilived^{T | C | G} 10:52, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Aw, Opera closed on me when I put 2 as the angle, and about a million for the speed. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 21:12, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Hmm so it works in Opera? --antilived^{T | C | G} 22:35, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Why wouldn't it? However, I don't see what the canon is supposed to hit. I seem to randomly say it hit. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 01:06, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

Yea I haven't drawn the target yet, so now it's just a floating invisible target at 100px x. --antilived^{T | C | G} 02:21, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

Digital Camera

Hello. I am planning to buy a digital camera. What other materials and software are needed (e.g. memory card, printer specialized in printing photos, etc.)? Thanks. --Mayfare 17:06, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Some cameras come with storage space included, but it's never much: you'll need some kind of memory card. Look up the camera you want to buy and see what kind of cards it takes (SD, XD, MemorystickDuo, CF, etc) and buy one - they're not too expensive. If you want to access the photos you took without using the camera, you can use a card reader to copy what's on the memory card to your PC. 202.10.86.63 17:14, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

You don't need a card reader. If you have one, thats great (I do and I like it). If you don't use the USB cable that usually comes with the camera to connect it to your PC. It works just as good, but requires you to carry around another thing. --R ^ParlateContribs_@ (Let's Go Yankees!) 17:20, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

I'd suggest downloading the free app Picasa, too. Especially for its one-click retouching. Down M. 17:25, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Memory card is a good idea (check what your camera supports - probably SD). You can take the SD card to some photo print places and they'll print them for you. Battery power is a problem - you'll want rechargeable batteries (may be included, otherwise perhaps UK£5) and a battery charger (about £10). --h2g2bob (talk) 18:08, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Best low-overhead anti-malware software for kubuntu?

I currently use Windows XP with the Comodo firewall, Norton Anti-Virus and Spybot-S&D. I often feel like my security software (Norton in particular) steals more of my PC's performance than any piece of malware ever would (although it's apparently blocked a few DDoS worms, numerous port scans and one instance of Trojan.Wimad). I will soon be switching almost entirely to kubuntu (already have the dual boot set up) for my desktop, as well as a laptop I intend to buy. What is the best free anti-malware software I can get that is designed around Linux's different needs and won't interfere significantly with performance? NeonMerlin 20:01, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Due to its different security mindset and its relatively low popularity on the desktop, Linux doesn't really have malware. There have been a couple of cases over the years, but none have ever really gotten any traction (to my knowledge). Any search for "linux antivirus" is likely to return products that run on Linux, but provide virus protection for Windows machines on the same network. --TotoBaggins 21:13, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

The firewall in linux is built in, just manage the Netfilter/iptables configuration to block everything except what you must have open, and for those ports, you probably want to limit it to certain known networks or number of connections. As for avoiding malware, you can avoid most if not all by sticking to using software distributed by ubuntu and using common sense. Windows Malware won't affect you at all, unless you're running windows software (with WINE), but then, why bother running linux? You're still going to be susceptible to XSS attacks and internet scamming, so keep an up-to-date firefox on the system and ignore those emails from Nigeria. --JSBillings 21:19, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, linux's best security software is linux. The biggest threat is passing on an infected file to your friends, which you had no idea about, given that it didn't effect you -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 22:19, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

How does netfilter/iptables perform on firewall leak tests? NeonMerlin 00:19, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

It'll pretty much do what you tell it to do. If you're running a web server and decide to keep it open to the 'net, then it's open to the 'net. If you don't want it to be, it won't be. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 01:56, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

There are security software packages for linux but they are mostly intrusion detection systems or increased access control schemes, these probably won't be usefull to you unless you really know what you are doing. The best way to stay secure is follow the security mailing lists so you can know when vulnerabilities are found so you can take proactive steps. Most of your security comes from properly sequestering the services and programs by running them under differnt uids with the minimum file priveleges they need. So even if a vulnerbality is exploited, the hijacked process can't do much damage. As Consumed Crustacean has said, iptables is only as secure/leaky as you configure it to be. -- Diletante 02:25, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

A bit offtopic, but kind of related: [4] --cesarb 00:54, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

Linux does not have malware, but it can have bad/suboptimal hardware drivers, which can cause bad performance. It would not cause performance degradation over time, though. -Yyy 09:26, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

When you install software on Ubuntu, you get the choice between "supported ubuntu applications", "all free sofware applications" etc. -- for an application to be in that list already, you can be reasonably sure that it's not malware (not least because the source code has to be published). Unlike Windows, you don't generally need to download software from a website and run it -- most software you need has been checked and packaged for you by the (k)Ubuntu people. Ojw 19:16, 10 June 2007 (UTC)

Greasemonkey question

Hi, I have no idea how to code.. Using Greasemonkey, can someone tell me how to erase all links that contain the string "foo" in the URL, please? Thank you. :) --Kjoonlee 23:39, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

this isnt with greasemonkey, which i do use (but know very little about) but try this if you're on firefox get adblock plus, and then use this type of filter for it *foo*, and it should do the trick...sorry but it's all i can help with xD 200.35.168.129 16:50, 4 June 2007 (UTC) Ag for MemTech

The problem is, that way, the pesky links will still be there when I try to select a long block of text. (Linky's "open all links in tabs" still picks them up.) --Kjoonlee 19:39, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

Your specification is a bit vague, but something like the code below could do it:

var links = document.getElementsByTagName("a");
for (var i = 0; i < links.count; i++) {
    if (/foo/.test(links[i].href))
        links[i].parentNode.removeChild(links[i]);
}

I haven't tested that, so it's probably buggy (I seem to recall some issues with removing nodes while iterating over a nodeList). I also suspect it could be even easier to do with XPath, but I'm not too familiar with that. Still, it could be worth a try. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 12:02, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Oh yeah, you can use XPath to retrieve the tags as well, but frankly that seems overkill since you don't even need a parent child relationship (of course, if you want in the future to only remove the links in a particular portion of the page, well, the XPath solution may prove better) Root⁴(one) 20:40, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

June 4

Domain and hosting

I've been considering getting a domain for a while now, but I have no idea who I should purchase it through, or where my site should be hosted. Does anyone here have any advice or recommendations on a reliable, low-cost solution for a long-term, low-traffic, personal site? — TheKMan 01:55, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

Godaddy.com is very reliable, and cheap. You can get .com domain names for $6.95/yr. Najim22 02:27, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

I personally have a few concerns about Godaddy. For a small personal site, there's probably no need to worry, but this is kind of a dry run for something that could have some earning potential. — TheKMan 02:56, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

I recommend ikhost.net. For your domain you also get 75MB disk space/1500MB data transfer / month for life. I host with them and are very reliable, both for my large site (10 requests a second on one) and very very small ones. They're based in the UK, but have servers in America and Germany too, so you'll get a good ping (fast to load). JoshHolloway 09:14, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

I say dotcommaker.com is an excellent choice too. Chailai 17:03, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

InterNIC has a list of registrars, although the list is so long that it's bound to be confusing. In general though, your primary concerns are going to price, features available (does it have free URL forwarding? does it give you DNS tools? and so on), and how much support is available. If you run a site that turns into a high traffic, high visibility site, 24 hour support is a must as domain hijacking can be a concern (and the faster recovery can begin, the more likely you'll recover it). As far as hosting is concerned, that's a little more complex for me because I don't know per se what you want. However, the recommendation (which I agree with) is that you should generally not register your domain names in association with your hosting account. Often times there will be host packages where you get say 10 or some number of domains as part of the package, but these domains don't belong to you--if you drop hosting with them, you'll lose the domains too, so it's probably safer not to even use the same company. Good luck with your hosting! –Pakman044 03:32, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

Whatever recommendations you get here, you should also check out the WebHostingTalk a forum dedicated to comments about web hosting and web hosting providers. Here you can see a larger number of opinions about each of the hosters. You could also first check out hosting search engine. Shinhan 12:44, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Thanks everyone! — TheKMan 01:20, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

3D Models

I have some models in Google Sketch Up and I was wanting to animate them in Blender. I was wondering of there was a way to do that? Thanks for any help. Najim22 02:21, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

I would suggest you to simply remodel it in blender or something. If you export it as .obj and import it into blender it would work but the mesh is so messy and would take a long time to untangle that you might as well model it and rig it again in blender. --antilived^{T | C | G} 02:42, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

O, thanks. Najim22 02:53, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

what happened to xoomle

So, apparently, Xoomle (not the wikipedia article [if it ever existed at all]) but the actual service itself has been wiped off the face of the Earth, with all trace of it having been erased as well. Does anyone know what happened to it? Is it forbidden to even mention it anymore? I'm requesting info from someone who knows the inside scoop. NoClutter 09:45, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

If you mean the project that uses XML with the Google API, I can't say I know the inside scoop. Google's cache of http://dentedreality.com.au/xoomle/ says it was retrieved on May 20, 2007, so the change in that site is recent, though. Can't find any other places you could download it from either. It looks like the last post on the dentedreality page was from 2004. There's this, too: "XooMLe is not officially supported by DentedReality, Google, or for that matter anyone. It was created by staff at DentedReality as an experiment, and is provided here as a general service to the web-programming community. Feel free to send questions etc to xoomle (at) dentedreality.com.au, but please keep in mind that we aren't paid for any of this..." iames 18:24, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

Another excel macro question 2 (Dates)

How would a macro that converts "abcdef" to "20ef/cd/ab" look? The macro should then let the cell with "20ef/cd/ab" in it be formatted as a date. Is this possible? Zain Ebrahim 11:00, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

I don't know about a macro, but you could simply use left and concatenate to do the work as a formula.

Yeah, you could do it quite simply as a formula: ="20" & MID(A1,5,2) & "/" & MID(A1,3,2) & "/" & MID(A1,1,2), assuming that the cell to be converted is A1. As for getting it to be understood as a date, that is a little more complicated, I think. Easiest-but-not-dynamic way would be to then copy that column and then past it as values and then indicate those cells are a Date format. --24.147.86.187 15:23, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

If you want it as a macro, here you go. I just tweaked the code from another solution I'd fixed for someone else, so the code might be a little excessive for your purpose, but it works for any number of selected cells.

Sub formatDate()
Dim i As Long
Dim daypart, monthpart, yearpart As Long
Dim datestring As String
For i = 1 To Selection.Cells.Count
    daypart = CLng(Mid(Selection.Cells(i).Value, 1, 2))
    monthpart = CLng(Mid(Selection.Cells(i).Value, 3, 2))
    yearpart = CLng(Mid(Selection.Cells(i).Value, 5, 2))
    'internal representation is now in 3 parts
    Select Case yearpart
        Case 0 To 9
        datestring = "200" & Trim(Str(yearpart)) & "/"
        Case Else
        datestring = "20" & Trim(Str(yearpart)) & "/"
    End Select
    Select Case monthpart
        Case 1 To 9
        datestring = datestring & "0"
    End Select
    datestring = datestring & Trim(Str(monthpart)) & "/"
    Select Case daypart
        Case 1 To 9
        datestring = datestring & "0"
    End Select
    datestring = datestring & Trim(Str(daypart))
    Selection.Cells(i).NumberFormat = "yyyy/mm/dd"
    Selection.Cells(i).Value = datestring
Next i
End Sub

-wizzard2k ^(C•T•D) 20:10, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

Internet Radio

To whom it may concern, This is a request for the full information regarding "internet radio". The plan that I have would be to record into the computer PC by means of a microphone information recording that information on to a DVD, And then having that recorded information posted for peoples to obtain by means of their internet connecting them to my Web Site for the information. Would you please comment on this plan.

Ok, I'm slightly confused by the way in which you phrased this. Maybe I'm tired, I don't know. Anyway, I'll answer as best I can. DVD need not come into it, but you can record voice on the microphone and then upload it onto the internet for people to download. JoshHolloway 16:25, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

Sounds like you're talking about a Podcast. --JSBillings 16:32, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

Lots of people do this, but the step of recording onto a DVD isn't necessary; it is easier to just record it to your computer's hard drive. You can then make a DVD copy from it later, if you need one. Recury 13:47, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

Privacy Safe - Wireless Video & Tap Detector

Need opinions if this product is efficient enough to detect whether someone is electronically spying: Innovative high technology device keeps you safe from wireless wiretap and video cameras. Detectable radio frequency width 30MHz - 2.4GHz. Responding distance 10-15 feet.

Does anyone have other suggestions? 18:10, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

Won't work, there's no physics behind it. --Zeizmic 23:52, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

Note that it's not proposing to catch receivers that are eavesdropping on wireless networks. It is instead proposing to catch transmitters that are sending wiretapped audio or a signal from a microphone or video camera; that's entirely practical if the transmission method from the bug is "wireless".

But even for the tap on a wireless network, there's technology that can help. Most receivers are actually superheterodyne receivers and they leak a little of their local oscillator frequency; this can be easily detected. It's one method by which the cops catch people who use radar detectors. Also, any radio is composed of active semiconductors and there are devices that detect the presence of semiconductor junctions by means of the effect that they have on radio fields (notably, the generation of harmonics of the fundamental frequency of the radio field).

Atlant 13:29, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

In theory, it could work as a spectrum analyzer. In practice, that will not work; there are way too many noise sources, not all covert microphones/cameras are wireless, it would fail to detect anything using 802.11a, and the bug could use tricks like burst transmission. --cesarb 00:29, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

Or spread spectrum. —Bromskloss 10:40, 5 June 2007UTC)

So there is no product that can effectively detect bugs or hidden cameras? 14:36, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

I mentioned several techniques that can be helpful.

Atlant 15:54, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

I am not technically savvy but could you name some brands perhaps. I am not sure what I should be looking for.... 18:49, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

Portable Media Player

I'm looking to buy one for myself. More accurately, an MP3 player with a large memory. Nothing less than 30GB. Any recommendations? I have a budget of about $200-250.

Apple's iPod immediately comes to mind. But I've also heard good things about Toshiba's S Gigabeat. I've read plenty of reviews of both, but cant seem to make up my mind.

I've heard good things about the gigabeat as well. There's also the possibility of the Zune, but I hear it has somewhat strict DRM software. --GTPoompt 20:26, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

Another thing, if I wait for the 6th Gen iPod, will this reduce the prices of the 5th Gen items? That way, I could buy the 80GB iPod using the same amount of money. Any advice would be welcomed. Thanks. Hasanclk 18:45, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

How about a Creative Zen Vision:M? I own one, and I paid that price range for a 30 gig version (actually, less, because of a rebate). It's full of features, don't have strict DRM, won awards, etc. However, as a warning, they do have bad customer support if you ever happen to need it, and batteries aren't easy to replace (and Li-ion batteries lose about 50% of their capacity after 2 years even without use unless stored in the fridge, but that's not really an issue since they all use Li-ion). I'm not advocating for them or anything, but it does fit what you need. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 22:27, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

Oh, and there's the Zen Vision:W as well, which has a rebate, which brings it to $219.99 after rebates. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 22:31, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

In my opinion, the creative players sound much better in therms of audio fedelity than iPods, if that's important to you. 213.48.15.234 08:23, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

Just my two cents, you should avoid buying an ipod. They're really just ridiculously priced- the components don't come to anywhere near the price of the whole, and that's an important relationship given I could probably build one myself for the price of the components. Also the DRM on the ipod/itunes application is restrictive (same with the zune) --froth^t 17:11, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

June 5

Internet devices under 400$?

Are there any (full featured) portable devices capable of using at least 802.11b for under 400$? There's the somewhat limited but more portable Nokia Internet Tablet thing, and I've also seen an Acer laptop selling brand new for 400$. Just wondering if there's anything cheaper out there that would also be new, or the same price but more powerful. -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 12:28, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

My conversion is terrible, but ill look Lmc169 12:38, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

Oh, right, to be precise, that's in USD, and computers sold in the US. Or at least able to be got at that price including shipping -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 12:48, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

To be clear, by fully featured, I mean capable of performing tasks as a desktop computer, laptop computer, etc., such as being able to use most x86 based OS, and be operated in the same manner as a desktop computer would be. I don't have any specific hardware requirements, but at least being able to look at Youtube and watch movies smoothly is preferred. Assume 700-1GHz, the Acer laptop is 1.8GHz Celeron I believe. -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 12:56, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

It will be very difficult if you're looking for something portable. Maybe OLPC? :) --froth^t 13:36, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Asus has recently announced a very small computer for US$189. --JSBillings 18:49, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

A Wii? --saxsux 15:03, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

power supply units

i recently brought a new power supply [5] and i plugged it in and nothing happens, i get a front LED light to light up when the power is turned on but nothing else on the motherboard powers up. i tried just plugging the motherboard in and it still didnt work. i plugged the old 350 watt power supply in and everything works. i have this motherboard [6]. all the specs on the new power supply are equal or higher than the old power supply. any ideas on whats gone wrong? my first thought was possible problem as motherboard is 20 pin and power supply has 24 pin, but wikis acticle says there shouldnt be a problem--137.205.8.2 16:10, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

Looks like you're not the only one with that problem [7]. It might be a bad unit. -wizzard2k ^(C•T•D) 17:11, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

I strongly urge you to buy something better, from a more well-known brand like thermaltake and the like. A bad PSU can destroy all your components (potentially $$$) and corrupt your data. Wattage is not meaningful when comparing between brands (kinda like clock speed in CPUs). --antilived^{T | C | G} 06:40, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

dont tire my friends

okay i need some help. 1.how do i encrypt a folder so that to open it u need a password. 2.i installed a software called atomix virtual dj.but when i play videos the screen has some vertical lines running down.its not clear and it says when i launch it that the internal database is corrupted.what do i do 3.i recently downloaded game called bank robbers it has an extension .swf what programme opens it. 4.ooh and i did sumthing and on my computer dektop the icons have colour blue on their background.how do i remove it. 5.anybody knows what site or a link i can easily download a free simple game or wallpapers that what disturb me.most sites i go to have the never ending links.ive tried google.

1. Maybe TrueCrypt? I know NTFS has encryption capabilities but dunno about the passwording part.

2. Re-install?

3. .swf files are Macromedia Flash files, they can be opened in your browser if you have the Flash plugin.

4. Desktop Properties should be the place to look.

5. Google Images? Splintercellguy 17:04, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

for #3, maybe the extension .swf is misleading, and it's a trojaned binary. Check it with antivirus before opening it. --JSBillings 18:56, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

cd-r

My computer will not recognize or acknowledge that i have cd-r in the player it will other cd-r , just not the blanks that i want to record on. Is there any way to record on these ?

Did you install the driver for your cdr? --Kainaw ^(talk) 23:32, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

But your computer recognizes that the drive exists? (Go to my computer, see if it's listed. If not, you have to delete something in the registry.)

It sounds like you don't actually have a CD-R/RW drive on your computer. Have you written to discs before? If it can read CD-Rs which have been recorded onto, but not recognise blank CD-Rs then it seems like you have a standard CD-ROM drive, rather than a CD-RW drive. JoshHolloway 02:43, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

If you have Windows XP, bring up "My Computer" then right-click on the CD-drive, then click Properties. On the "Recording" page, there should be a check box labelled "Enable Recording on this drive". Make sure that is checked. --LarryMac | Talk 12:47, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

I have an external DVD burner and Windows wouldn't burn on it natively until I installed Nero. Now it works but I still use nero essentials, it's really much better --froth^t 13:34, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

June 6

Midtown Madness-Type Games

My brother is very fond of realistic car simulation games, in which the user is allowed to drive freely in a large city, such as Midtown Madness and Midtown Madness 2. These games, however, are quite old, and he would really love a more recent game of this genre. The desired platform is Microsoft Windows (Vista). Could anyone please recommend me a suitable software for my brother? --81.231.187.228 11:26, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Midnight Club II is a game by the same company that is a slightly more recent (2003). He might also be interested in the Grand Theft Auto series which are probably the best of the free-roam type games. There is some driving in it, but it is more focused on shooting people. The cities are huge though and you can do pretty much whatever you want in them. See also Sandbox (video games). Recury 14:10, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Need for Speed: Carbon - both involve very large cities and lots of racing around them (circuit tracks, sprints, drags, drifts in the latter, etc.). x42bn6 Talk Mess 14:12, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

For mindless driving, I like Carmageddon and Carmageddon II. You don't always have to worry about some mission. You can just aimlessy race around and run over people. --Kainaw ^(talk) 17:37, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Rounding error with doubles

I have rounding errors with the C# doubles that I'm subtracting, because the two numbers are only slightly different and really long and so their difference just gets cut off, and, while I know this will make my answer slightly incorrect, it's better than dividing by zero, so what I figured out is that I just have to multiply one by a number, e.g. 99% (the exact number is my question), to change it a little then subtract. So my question is: what is the smallest number I can make the number that I multiply by without the computer rounding it back to the original? The reason I want to know this is I don't need a perfect number but it shouldn't be too far off from the original, thanks for the help, Jeffrey.Kleykamp 17:23, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Not knowing much about C#, might a simpler solution be declaring your variable as long double; assuming this is allowed and works the way it does in C, this should give you about 18 more decimal digits of precision: http://babbage.cs.qc.edu/courses/cs341/IEEE-754references.html

Dlong 17:47, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

C#, unfortunately, doesn't have long double, however, that link might help, I need to study it first before I can say if it does. Jeffrey.Kleykamp 17:59, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

I take it that what you want is the greatest double $x\ni \forall y\;x\otimes y<y$, where the circle-times represents floating-point multiplication of doubles. This x is simply the greatest double less than 1, which is $1-2^{-53}$. (I did numerical testing of this; in some 50 million tests I seemed to find one counterexample, but I don't know what multiplicand it was.) There's no way that you're going to improve the quality of your final answer with this trick, though. You're evaluating $x-y\;(x\approx y)$ as $(x-fy)+(f-1)y$, and your original error will just be regenerated by the catastrophic cancellation of f and 1. --Tardis 19:38, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Don't you mean $\max\{x|\forall y:x\otimes y<y\}$, i.e. the maximum x so that x float-multiplied by any y is less than that y? That's the way I learned mathematical notation. JIP | Talk 19:53, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

I think that's equivalent; I was just writing "the greatest double-value x such that, for all y, x float-times y is less than y". I'll admit the switch out of English was somewhat weird; I don't know (or don't remember, one) a better way of referring to the greatest object with a property without constructing the set of all objects with that property. --Tardis 23:20, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Would it be possible for you to code your own long double from a fixed-length string representation? all you would need is some simple math functions, which you can write, (im no C# expert, but can you overload operators and do something at least like an enum?) then use some type conversion afterwards to go back to a double if you need. I remember having to do something similar to this in some CS courses. -wizzard2k ^(C•T•D) 22:33, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Why not use the decimal type? Splintercellguy 22:56, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Good call. That appears to be the equivalent of a long double (16 bytes) in C#. [8] -wizzard2k ^(C•T•D) 23:09, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

You may have already considered this and found it infeasible, but if at all possible, I'd suggest changing your algorithm so that you're not doing what you describe above. Subtracting two nearly identical floating point numbers is one of the best ways of getting rounding errors, no matter how you do it. (Another one is adding very small floating point numbers to very large ones.) —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 11:53, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Unfortunately it's math that was made by someone else and there is no other way, and I tried to make my own code for numbers but it's too complicated and I'm not motivated enough, the Decimal type, however, says the largest number is 79228162514264337593543950335m, it seems smaller than the double because the highest double is 1.79769e+308, and does Decimal have decimal spaces? Jeffrey.Kleykamp 13:30, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

What is the mathematics involved? The mathematics desk may be a better place for the question. BTW the Decimal type is for exact decimal representation with decimal point IIRC, not the powers of 2 representation you get with floating point. It would seem this is not the route you want. Floating point values are precise in binary notation. Values of the Decimal type are precise, in, well, decimal notation. Root⁴(one) 21:12, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

If you are concerned about dividing by zero, how about just assigning System.Double.PositiveInfinity, System.Double.NaN, or System.Double.NegativeInfinity to the result and/or test for one of those conditions in later processing? Root⁴(one) 21:18, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

I guess I will have to "test for one of those conditions in later processing", I would just like to know: does the Decimal type store numbers like 0.1 or does it round it down to 0? And the math has nothing to do with it, unless someone wanted to go over the work (it's not my work, so I didn't make any errors, and I tested the math and, if I don't get zero at that one spot, it works fine) and reformat it to make sure that I don't get problems but I don't really need that. Jeffrey.Kleykamp 09:00, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

Gateway GM5048

Hello. I have a Pentium 4 and a Gateway GM5048. To unplug a peripheral using a USB port from my Pentium 4 and plug it into my Gateway (rear), I must rotate the USB cable 180 degrees before plugging it into my Gateway. Why is this so? --Mayfare 17:40, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Probably because one computer has the USB port oriented 180 degrees rotated compared to the other. There is no standard which defines the orientation of the USB port, so that happens quite often. The USB port on my old laptop is perpendicular to the ports on my new one. By the way, a Pentium 4 is a CPU, and not a PC manufacturer.

Follow-up question: why are USB A plugs rectangular? Even a slight trapezoidification (a la D-subminiature) would (of course) reduce plugging time by a third... --Tardis 19:51, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

No idea, but mini-USB are shaped too. Probably a design flaw they didn't think about till stuff started being released, and thus was incorporated into USB type B and mini-USBs. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 04:53, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Movies on a playstation 2

How come when I put a movie in my playstation 2 , it doesnt always play the movie , but when i put the movie in the computer , it always works? (for example the playstation 2 can play batman begins but it cant play superman but the computer can play both)Wookiemaster 18:41, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Drive quality is the first thing I thought of. I tried my brother's Spider-man 2 in my two laptops as well as my desktop, and it didn't work in either. However, it worked in my parent's desktop as well as their DVD player. The disc may be scratched and some drives are just better at dealing with that than others. Dlong 21:25, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Which DVD player is the most effective? and how much does it cost? thank u for answering. Wookiemaster 23:41, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

I have a chinese cheapo "nintaus" dvd player I got for about $80 probably four years ago now and it plays everything I've ever put in it, including divx, wma, photos, videos, audios, vcd, burns, rips, + - RW disks, NTSC and PAL, any zone, the thing is amazing... Vespine 04:50, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Ironically the ones made for Chinese market would probably be more able in reading scratched and otherwise "bad" discs as the demand to play pirated stuff, which aren't very well cared for, is quite high. --antilived^{T | C | G} 08:22, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

DVD region codes?58.28.151.180 11:19, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

BEST DVD PLAYER EVER=LG DK142

plays a lot of formats including the following: DVD+/-R/RW and CR/RW that contains audio titles, DivX, MP3, WMA, XVID and/or JPG files. DivX (R) VOB (Video on Demand). VCD 1.1, SVCD, Karaoke CD/DVD

Playable Codec Formats: DivX 3.xx, 4.xx, 5.xx, XVID, MP4/3, 3IVX

Subtitle in format: SubRip(*.srt/*.txt) SAMI(*.sim) SubStation Alpha(*.ssa/*.txt) MicroDVD(*.sub/*.txt) SubViewer 2.0(*.sub/*.txt) TMPlayer(*.txt) DVD Dub System(*.txt) VobSub(*.sub)->Sub/idx, stream based

Sorry it was a long post xD but i would not rant about a product unless it was this good, you can also download firmwares and mod them to make your own background,screen saver, etc and then burn it on a disc and upgrade it on your player. 200.12.231.42 19:05, 7 June 2007 (UTC) Ag for MemTech

Playstation 2 does not support the current trend of copy protection on DVDs. Therefore, it fails to play many movies. I couldn't even play the Scene It DVD game on my Playstation 2. --Kainaw ^(talk) 19:12, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Automatic resizing of JPG images on Linux

I was photographing a body painting event, and the artist later phoned me and asked for thumbnails of every picture I took, so she could display them on her own site. I could make the thumbnails manually with GIMP on my Fedora Core 5 system, but it would be very tedious. Is there a way to automatically resize a number of JPG images to make them a smaller size, which would be the same for all images? JIP | Talk 18:56, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

You can certainly do it in PHP with GD. If you want me to help you code this (or just do it for you), leave a message on my talk page. JoshHolloway 21:11, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

ImageMagic! --h2g2bob (talk) 22:26, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

To get ImageMagick to resize them to a maximum of 640 pixels wide by 480 pixels high while maintaining the correct aspect ratio, do the command below. --TotoBaggins 03:20, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

for i in *.jpg; do
    convert -resize 640x480 $i thumb-$i
done

You may want to use -thumbnail instead of -resize; the difference is that -thumbnail will also remove any Exif metadata, color profiles and other junk that might otherwise bloat up the resulting files. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 11:44, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Thank you! I used ImageMagick to resize all my pictures to 320*240 (there were 115 of them) and sent them all to the artist. When she has picked her favourites I will send the originals of them to her. JIP | Talk 20:35, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

You may want to check that a good method is used to resize the images or you may have aliasing issues with the images. Bi-Cubic is an often used filter (I don't now if that is an option or not for this program, I'm just saying that if you are going to resize some images, be prepared to handle the potential problems. Root⁴(one) 20:52, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

June 7

Database icon

Looks like three watch batteries to me...

Why is the usual icon for a database three cylinders stacked on top of each other? An example of this icon is the Crystal Clear database icon (it is also the logo for WikiProject Databases) seen at the right. Thanks, --Transfinite (Talk / Contribs) 04:20, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

One random website [9] explains it as a silo of data, which certainly seems plausible. -wizzard2k ^(C•T•D) 05:34, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Tee hee, silo of data? Is that kind of like a murder of crows or a parliament of owls? Anchoress 06:49, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

File:Ramac.jpg

The IBM 350 RAMAC was introduced in 1956 and was the world's first disk drive. This unit is being restored at the Computer History Museum 50 years later. (From Early IBM disk storage article).

It might also be a stylized representation of hard disk drive disks. Original incarnations of mass-storage would have such cylinders and might have been drawn schematically. Nimur 08:03, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Capacious hard drives still have multiple platters stacked up (although not quite as many as the RAMAC); four or five platters is still common. More platters leads to faster transfer rates and fewer "seeks". Whenever you see a family of drives that offers capacities that are multiples of each other, you're (usually) seeing the use of multiple platters. For example, if a drive is offered as 125 GB, 250 GB, 375 GB, and 500 GB, you can bet that first one is a one-platter drive and the last one is the same mechanism with four platters (or, at least, four times as many active storage surfaces).

Atlant 11:38, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Silos of data are not unusual, for instance a tape silo is one such method. Also, I'm sure the word "silo" is synonymous with storage in general (not just for grain or nukes). When I looked at that picture, the first thing that came into mind was a hard disk, which consist of cylinders stacked on one another. — Kjammer  ⌂ 08:49, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

The typical flowchart icon for disk storage is a cylinder.

The 1960-1965 era Litton computers I used when I was in the Marines had a cylinder for database storage. It was not a stack of platters. It was a metal cylinder about 4 feet long and 2 feet wide. It sat on its side and rotated at high speed. A read/write head could move side to side along the cylinder. It could store about 20 kb, which isn't anything today. However, that was a hell of a lot of data back then. --Kainaw ^(talk) 13:05, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

That would have been drum memory. My first boss used to spin tales (no pun intended) of programs written specifically to take into account the latency. And since we're reaching into our pasts, the system I used when I first got to college was an IBM 7000 series (model not recalled); for storage, it used disk packs, probably the IBM 1311, which indeed, looked like the quintessential database icon. --LarryMac | Talk 15:38, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Access Yahoo mails from Outlook

Hi,

Is there any way so that one can access the yahoo mails through Outlook. example:

Yahoo ID: xyz@yahoo.co.in

Now we want that the user should be able to access his/her Yahoo mails through Outlook. Actually, I want to know how to configure Outlook to get Yahoo mails in it.

Thanks

This Microsoft Office online page might have the info you are looking for [10] — Kjammer  ⌂ 08:53, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Dear Indian dude, You cant. You must pay for it. However, Gmail users can access gmail mails in outlook. Try Gmail instead. However, gmail does not offer .co.in addresses. They offer only .com addresses. -Anandha

YPops! might be the trick. Splintercellguy 21:40, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

PDF to SVG

Is there really a good way to convert PDF to SVG without visiting PS (can't afford to lose transparency etc) in the process? (Using only free (speech) software, of course.) I am hardly the first one to want this, but I just can't find a good solution. Is there any? In particular, I was thinking about how great it would be to be able to use Asymptote (gallery) for making plots and other things for Wikipedia. While Asymptote excels in many ways (and I strongly recommend it for all your LaTeX reports), it doesn't output SVG, so conversion is necessary. —Bromskloss 12:48, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Xara? -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 13:15, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Is Google planning to conquer the world?

??

• If you mean in terms of an organized form of governance, probably not. It is easier to just make a lot of money by selling people services than it is to actually make domestic and foreign policy. If you mean in terms of knowing as much as they can about the world — including individuals who live in it — and using that to turn a profit, then probably yes, to some degree. --24.147.86.187 15:24, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

From a software standpoint, Google is trying less to conquer the world than other companies that put all of their effort into enslaving the world into using a specific operating system, a specific document format, or a specific web browser. Google simply tries to improve on what others are already doing. They were not the first search engine. They were not the first mapping service. They were not the first web mail service. As for profit, they need to turn a profit or they cannot stay in business. Now, if some billionaire benefactor were to give all his money (and investments) to Google, they would likely be less money hungry, unlike other companies that would gobble up the cash and beg for more. --Kainaw ^(talk) 16:09, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

I think Google already has pretty hefty investments as it is. I don't think they are any more or less money hungry than most companies, though they put more of their attention on the "long term" than most software companies (i.e. develop services that don't yet have obvious revenue related to them). What disturbs me personally the most about Google is that they are highly interested in networking all sorts of data in ways which hasn't been done before and at a scale which hasn't been done before, all the while encouraging people to start hooking their individuals lives up to the network in various ways (shared documents, common e-mail, even Google Desktop could be read more sinisterly as a form of this). Like those on board Battlestar Galactica, it's the networking that bugs me — it creates the possibility for all sorts of information economies that could go against privacy, for example, and even if we believe the current incarnation of Google's management to be benign there is not a guarantee that this would necessarily last into the future. But when you compare it to Microsoft, as you imply, it looks pretty standard for a mega software business, though Google still tries to project a "small startup" sort of attitude. (And in my opinion, there is nothing that Google specifically is doing that others would not have at some point thought to do and, as you note, have already done — Google is an improver as much as an innovator, if not more. But I do think that stronger oversight to information collecting practices in general should probably be considered pretty seriously.) --24.147.86.187 22:09, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Zecco.com

What's the catch behind the 0 commission online broker, zecco.com? Really bad spreads? 172.190.118.153 18:20, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Computer Malfunction

My computer has a problem. Everytime I type a letter, a number pops up with it. Or when I'm typing a number a letter will pop up with it! But it only happens sometimes for long periods of times. It is so annohying. Cause afterward I have to go back and detele all the extra letters and numbers. It takes forever, just to write emails. Then I constanly have misspled words. What's wrong with me computer? And how do I fix it?

              Thanks

Messed up keyboard? Root⁴(one) 22:02, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Sounds like you need a new keyboard. Probably something is causing the contacts under the keys to activate other contacts for other keys. Keyboards are cheap to replace. However, if you have a laptop, you might have to use an external keyboard until you get the existing keyboard fixed. Also, sometimes the laptop keyboard cable can be slightly off, which can create spurious keyboard events. --JSBillings 22:05, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

I should mention that one of the prime causes of this failure in keyboards is because "someone" poured a sugary beverage on the keyboard. --JSBillings 22:09, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

This is probably not the problem, but make sure that you are not accidentally hitting the numlock key. -- Diletante 22:08, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Call me cynical, but maybe someone has been messing about with AutoCorrect for a laugh? Sticking keys, a damaged keyboard, a bad connector, a dodgy driver and a prank virus all spring to mind aswell, on top of what JSBillings and Diletante say. CaptainVindaloo ^{t c e} 22:16, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

June 8

Removing chunks of Xvid video with freeware.

I've got a batch of Xvid videos with V2 MP3 audio that I need to cut chunks out of. I'd usually use Virtualdub, but according to the error message that greets me when I try to open the videos, Virtualdub doesn't like VBR audio. Is there any similar freeware app that will cut up video without re-compressing it? (Virtualdub will push the audio out of sync.) Down M. 00:09, 8 June 2007 (UTC)