Wikipedia:Reference desk/Computing

Welcome to the computing section
of the Wikipedia reference desk.

skip to bottom

Select a section:

• Computing
• Entertainment
• Humanities
• Language
• Mathematics
• Science
• Miscellaneous
• Archives

Want a faster answer?

Main page: Help searching Wikipedia

   

How can I get my question answered?

• Select the section of the desk that best fits the general topic of your question (see the navigation column to the right).
• Post your question to only one section, providing a short header that gives the topic of your question.
• Type '~~~~' (that is, four tilde characters) at the end – this signs and dates your contribution so we know who wrote what and when.
• Don't post personal contact information – it will be removed. Any answers will be provided here.
• Please be as specific as possible, and include all relevant context – the usefulness of answers may depend on the context.
• Note:
  • We don't answer (and may remove) questions that require medical diagnosis or legal advice.
  • We don't answer requests for opinions, predictions or debate.
  • We don't do your homework for you, though we'll help you past the stuck point.
  • We don't conduct original research or provide a free source of ideas, but we'll help you find information you need.

Ready? Ask a new question!

How do I answer a question?

Main page: Wikipedia:Reference desk/Guidelines

• The best answers address the question directly, and back up facts with wikilinks and links to sources. Do not edit others' comments and do not give any medical or legal advice.

See also:

• Teahouse
• Help desk
• Village pump
• Help manual

July 16

my xbox

win i plug in my power to my xbox it will not come on why is that —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.205.201.13 (talk) 02:14, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Are you getting the Red Ring of Death? Any error codes? Perhaps call 1-800-4MY-XBOX. Useight (talk) 03:10, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

I can attest that their support does not suck. Try it out! Is this an original Xbox or Xbox 360? --mboverload@ 05:32, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

If you have to send it back for repair remove all accessories including the disk cover and faceplate if you have a xbox 360; they remove those and you don't get them back..87.102.86.73 (talk) 11:09, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

iPod touch and comcast

Does anyone know if the iPod touch allows someone to access Comcast email through the Mail application? I know how to access it through Safari, but I really want to figure out how to use Mail. --Dem393 (talk) 03:28, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Does Comcast email have POP3 or IMAP access? --antilived^{T | C | G} 05:21, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Comcast POP3 access on iPod Touch. Or try their web portal built for mobile devices. [1] Forgive me if I'm out of line but you should try gmail.com. I'm not telling you that it's better - just that it provides a lot of interesting and cool features. Good luck! --mboverload@ 05:31, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the help! I guess I can use gmail someday. If I happen to delete a message from my iPod, then that doesn't affect my actual account, right?--Dem393 (talk) 13:44, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

itunes

if a song u bought gets erased off ur computer...how can u get it back from itunes without paying again? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.14.124.175 (talk) 03:58, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Apple considers all tracks bought from iTunes the same as selling you a physical copy. If you "loose" it there is no way to get it back. Apple has not figured out the difference between physical and digital yet I guess. Sorry mate, you're out of luck =(. However, I'm sure Copyright Jesus won't smite you if you download it off a P2P application. --mboverload@ 05:27, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Is this the case even on the DRM infected stuff? If so, what's the point of the DRM? Nil Einne (talk) 11:24, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Yes. DRM files as well. The point of DRM is so that you can't give it to someone else, not for Apple or anyone else to keep a running database of everything that you ever bought from them. Dismas|^(talk) 12:58, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

That's right, Digital Rights Management is completely one-sided, with only protections for companies and none whatsoever for consumers. Another consumer protection which should be offered is the right to get any song you've paid for in any digital format. If you paid for a song and some day want it in the "new MPEG-9 format, which allows you to remix the song as desired, since it contains separate tracks for each instrument and voice", there shouldn't be an extra charge for that (or at least not as much for a song upgrade as for a new purchase). StuRat (talk) 15:27, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Why shouldn't there be a charge? Just because I buy a cassette today doesn't mean I get a CD tomorrow (and don't tell me it's because the medium costs money, because we all know that's a very small part of the overall price). --98.217.8.46 (talk) 02:22, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

The basic issue is what you bought when you bought the cassette: Where you only buying the physical cassette or the rights to the music on the cassette or both ? If they argue you only bought the physical cassette, then this is saying the music on it has no value and thus can be copied freely. For this reason they argue that you are buying both, so that either stealing a blank cassette or copying the music on it is a crime. However, if they have sold you the rights to the music, distinct from the medium which carries it, then it's not proper for them to try to sell you the rights to the same music repeatedly, every time they change the medium on which it's carried. Some charge for the new medium itself is reasonable (although, as you've said, this cost is negligible), but you shouldn't be forced to buy the music on it again, as you've already paid for it. This is similar to buying other information, like a computer program. Upgrades are either free or much lower cost for most computer programs, you aren't normally expected to pay the full cost again. And, in this case, the program has (presumably) been improved, it's not just the same old program on a new medium. StuRat (talk) 13:13, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Well and freight and shelve space and rent and wages and other assorted costs, which are basically removed by digital distribution. --antilived^{T | C | G} 10:35, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

← Simply put, there's a reason Apple has a backup feature in iTunes. Any time you buy new songs/albums, you should make a backup of your purchased music to CD/DVD with that feature. From what I've read, the DRM isn't Apple's fault as much as the music industry was unwilling to allow end-users to copy files on their own, and they imposed fees on Apple for each song downloaded (so it costs Apple a lot of money to let users re-download songs free). At least EMI is allowing non-DRM songs to be sold on iTunes. I just wish more labels would follow suit. — The Hand That Feeds You:^Bite 13:11, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Call Apple. They allow a one-time re-download per lifetime. In the future, back up your music. And/or use Time Machine --70.167.58.6 (talk) 18:47, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Websites, directories, subdirectories, and the like....

How does one go about creating something like a subdirectory but ending up with a web address such as "www.abc.com/def" and not "www.abc.com/def/". nat.utoronto 08:45, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

(please nothing too complicated...thx) nat.utoronto 08:46, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

You can't. example.com/abc refers to the file named abc whereas example/abc/ refers to the directory named abc. --antilived^{T | C | G} 08:52, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

I see... nat.utoronto 08:55, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

so how do you get an html file without the .html (i.e. "www.abc.com/def.htm" → "www.abc.com/def") nat.utoronto 08:58, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

You can have a file named anything you want, as long as you set up the web server to somehow know what type of file it is and send the correct MIME type. It might not even be a regular file; it might be some kind of script; again, the web server would have to be set up to run this script. --Spoon! (talk) 09:15, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

If you wanted an address such as "www.example.com/abc" one would create the folder named "abc" in the document root and then create a file called "index.html" in the "abc" folder. When someone enters the URL "www.example.com/abc" the server or the browser (I forget which) would automatically add the trailing slash "www.example.com/abc/" and the server would then serve the file "www.example.com/abc/index.html". Depending on your browser and/or the server the URL showing in the address bar would show "www.example.com/abc/". -=# Amos E Wolfe ^talk #=- 09:11, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

The above answer is probably the one you want. The rest of them do not seem to answer the question correctly. The way you have it display a directory like that is by using the index file, which is the file automatically displayed by a server whenever you go to just a directory and don't specify the file. It is usually "index.html" or something like that (index.htm, index.php, index.cgi, etc.), but this can usually be configured at the server level. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 13:12, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

You could set it up with mod_rewrite, but I'm not really sure why you would. Any half-decent web server (certainly Apache) automatically redirects the unslashed version to the slashed version — Matt Eason ^{(Talk • Contribs)} 12:27, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

The question is ambiguous. He could be asking whether you could have http://abc.com/def display a page but http://abc.com/def/ display a different page or a 404 or something. This obvioulsly could be done, I don't know if mod_rewrite would do it but you could write a mod_xxx that would look at the original request URL. I don't know why you'd want to though. -- Q Chris (talk)

The server can't just quietly rewrite the URL. If the browser asks for a directory without the trailing slash, the server must redirect it to the URL with the trailing slash, or else relative links won't work correctly. For example, if a page at:

http://abc.com/def

has the link:

<a href="something.html">link</a>

the browser will interpret it as "http://abc.com/something.html". But if the page is at:

http://abc.com/def/

then the browser will interpret it as "http://abc.com/def/something.html". In action:

$ telnet www.gnu.org 80
Trying 199.232.41.10...
Connected to gnu.org.
Escape character is '^]'.
HEAD /software/tar HTTP/1.0
Host: www.gnu.org 
HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently
Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:42:21 GMT
Server: Apache/2.0.55
Location: http://www.gnu.org/software/tar/
Cache-Control: max-age=-8031789
Expires: Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:39:12 GMT
Vary: Accept-Encoding
Connection: close
Content-Type: text/html; charset=iso-8859-1
Connection closed by foreign host.

--Sean 13:45, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

A typical url of http://example.com/some/path/file?a=b can be split into different bits. The host ("example.com") is used to connect to the correct computer on the internet. All the rest ("/some/path/file?a=b") gets fed into the web server software running on that computer. Normally this software will treat the path ("/some/path/file") as giving the location of the web page to return, but it doesn't have to do this (Django, for example, looks up the path in a list of accepted paths to decide what to do). The details depend entirely on the web server software.

Common web server software like Apache have configuration files which describe what file to display in a number of different situations, such as what file to display if the path given refers to a directory and not a file. It also describes what other programs are used on the file before it is displayed: for example, any file ending in .php will be passed through the PHP software before the web server returns it.

This is all general advice really - we can be more specific if you say which web server you're using (Apache, IIS, ...?) --h2g2bob (talk) 22:03, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Disable mouse shortcuts in Firefox

How do I disable mouse shortcuts in Mozilla Firefox 3.0? NeonMerlin 19:28, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Compile it without mouse shortcuts support.

I suspect that thats not that useful of an answer given the circumstances. What shortcuts do you wish to modify? ---J.S (T/C/WRE) 19:16, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

• • • • If you type 'about:config' in the address bar you will get a lot of config options. In the filter field type 'mouse'. Try editing some entries. Be careful though, as it can really mess up the Firefox installation, for which I may not be held responsible. :D Link -Google Spider (talk) 16:54, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Audio Files (eg WAV, AIFF, MP3) to MIDI converter?

Does anyone know if such a thing even exists? And were might I find one if it does? 76.166.21.149 (talk) 23:17, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Search for program called mp3 to midi" or mp32midi ;)

Note that converting to MIDI is very difficult and rarely works well, as the software has to distinguish the different instruments playing in the recording, plus filter out noise and vocals. — QuantumEleven 15:28, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Audio hosting on the Internet

I was wondering if there exists any site similar to YouTube but with the focus on audio files, not video. There is Flickr for images, but I don't know of any audio equivalent. Is there anything like this? I don't mean just a place to store files, but one with the focus on listening to them. I'm also aware that YouTube has some audio focussed videos with little or no visual component, but it's hardly a paradise if you just want audio. Richard001 (talk) 23:22, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

- There is: www.wrzuta.pl  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.222.86.16 (talk) 23:41, 16 July 2008 (UTC) 

There are a bunch of sites that are kind of like that. The first two that come to mind are Last.fm and Muxtape, neither of which are really directly comparable to YouTube, but both of which let you browse things and listen to music. (Muxtape in particular is pretty cool.) Oh, and as slow, clumsy and horrible as MySpace is to use, it's still very popular with a lot of bands, so you can certainly find a lot of music there as well. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 00:07, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

There are www.anywhere.fm and www.mybloop.com, anywhere.fm only allows uploads of music files, while mybloop allows all types of files less than 1 GB in size, but has ads between music playback. Both can stream music and have no limit on the number of uploads... SF007 (talk) 02:26, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

July 17

Bluetooth headsets with USB charging

Anyone know of a guide or chart of Bluetooth headsets that feature USB charging? If I have to carry around another AC adaptor, I'm going to scream! :) --70.167.58.6 (talk) 00:15, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

NY Times recently^{LG Decoyt} featured a Verizon Wireless phone that had a spot for you to put your bluetooth headset when you did not need it. And yes, the cell phone charger charges up the bluetooth headset as well. Please take a look at it. Kushal (talk) 14:34, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Not really interested in a new phone, thank you. I'm looking for Bluetooth headsets that have USB charging. --70.167.58.6 (talk) 18:45, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

The Jawbone (headset), very high quality!, charges with USB per their userguide [2]. Others: [3], [4], [5], . More results here [6]. --mboverload@ 05:37, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Well? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.24.216.90 (talk) 00:43, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Woodchucks don't chuck wood. 86.154.195.19 (talk) 00:47, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Depends on how much wood it ate. (If you don't get this, check the slang meaning) bibliomaniac15 00:51, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

As much wood as a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood. Useight (talk) 01:19, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Is this a digital woodchuck? We might be able to set up a simulation... The Evil Spartan (talk) 01:20, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

*ZOT* --tcsetattr (talk / contribs) 01:37, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

According to the Oracle, a woodchuck can't chuck wood. --Carnildo (talk) 20:19, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

That may be so, but the question accounts for that possibility - " ... if a woodchuck could ..." I know Cecil Adams addressed this (and I know the guy who mailed in the question), but I can't access the Straight Dope site from this computer to see if it's online. --LarryMac | Talk 20:50, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

A woodchuck would chuck as much as it could chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 02:20, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Almost ... "A woodchuck would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood." StuRat (talk) 12:54, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Mine rolls of the tongue better, which has priority over fitting another redundancy in there. I stand by it. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 03:12, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

50 cords. 84.239.160.166 (talk) 06:33, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

I thought it was "a woodchuck would chuck all the wood he could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood." you get that extra "could" in there. --Russoc4 (talk) 13:11, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Right, but you have to put an "all the" in there which screws it up. Again, I stand by mine. You could endlessly add redundancy but if it doesn't fit with the meter then its worthless, you'll trip over your own tongue. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 03:12, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Isn't the whole point of a tongue twister to cause you to trip over your own tongue ? Also, how would you add more redundancy than my version ? StuRat (talk) 19:36, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Streaming/storing video

I have always had something that bugged me about streaming video. It seems that it would eat up a criminey-load of bandwidth in order to stream it, let alone store it on the servers. So my question is: How are sites able to store and stream video at small enough cost to provide it for free? (youtube is bad quality, but dailymotion or metacafe seems to be much better). The Evil Spartan (talk) 01:24, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Lots and lots of compression (probably of different types—you can lop off a lot of audio quality, for example, and still have it be acceptable for streaming. Cut down on max pixel dimensions, bit rate, etc. and you've easily lowered your final video size without doing anything unexpected for the web). That's it. It does take a lot of bandwidth. There's no secret trick. Storing it on the servers is no problem—hard disk space is cheap cheap cheap. Bandwidth is more of the problem. (As a simple example—I've probably got a TB of space here in my home residence. But I couldn't in the world upload all of that at once. Storing is easy. Streaming is harder.) Nothing's really "free" here—they are offsetting everything with ads, etc. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 03:27, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Foreign character recognition

How are websites able to recognize which language a foreign character belongs to? I know that sometimes a site can include the language in the header of the file, but how is Wikipedia able to figure out the language of and parse this: الأردن,日本語,ישראל, 中文(简体)‬, Русский, Ukrainą i Białorusią. I've checked out the text before, and I could have sworn I only saw unicode characters for each one. So how does it know which Unicode set to use? The Evil Spartan (talk) 01:30, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the character encoding specifications in the HTTP header send by the server. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 02:19, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Unicode is simply a mapping of integers to characters, of every writing system. "which Unicode set" doesn't make sense. There is only one Unicode mapping -- the Unicode mapping. Wikipedia does not need to "recognize" which writing system a character belongs to at all. Unicode includes all writing systems. Characters from different writing systems have different code points in Unicode.

How Unicode is stored on the computer is a separate matter. There are different encodings, like UTF-8, UTF-16, etc. But each of these encodings are able to represent all characters of Unicode; just in different ways. Wikipedia uses UTF-8 I think. --Spoon! (talk) 04:13, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Most websites use UTF-8 for Unicode. --grawity 16:14, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Ubuntu Super Edition

Hi, has anyone heard of Ubuntu Super Edition?
I read it is a new distro based on Ubuntu, and it looks promising, but... is it any good? has anyone already tried it? 87.196.41.21 (talk) 02:42, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

It's just Ubuntu with more software pre-installed. Most of the extra software seem reasonable, although a big WTF is WinRAR. You can have the exact same software through repos on Ubuntu if you just take the time and install them through Synaptics. --antilived^{T | C | G} 05:37, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Printing circles

What is the easiest way for me to print out circles of specified radius, for example, a circle of 4.125" radius? Microsoft Paint doesn't seem to be coming through for me... any ideas? -97.113.54.71 (talk) 07:45, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Try using microsoft word? They have auto-shapes and you can specify the height/width. It doesn't seem to have a radius/diameter setting when you draw a circle (or oval) but I expect with a little tweaking you could get to the specified size a bit easier than with MS Paint. 194.221.133.226 (talk) 09:29, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

I'm afraid my solution isn't easy but you can do it in Flash studio using ActionScript, which will allow you to export the circle as an image in almost any format you wish.^[7]--Hello. I'm new here, but I'm sure I can help out. (talk) 09:56, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

NO, Flash is definitely NOT the way to go. You can use and office suite (like OpenOffice) to draw circles, or Inkscape or basically most drawing programmes. But why go through all this trouble when you can use a pencil and a compass? --antilived^{T | C | G} 10:32, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

No, they want to draw a circle with a specific radius. You cannot do that in OpenOffice. I don't know about InkScape, but it probably won't since even Illustrator won't let you do it. I imagine that they want an electronic copy, too, rather than a hard copy.--Hello. I'm new here, but I'm sure I can help out. (talk) 10:41, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

You can definitely do it in Illustrator. Set your units to inches, select the ellipse tool, click on the artboard and enter the diameter in Width and Height. — Matt Eason ^{(Talk • Contribs)} 10:55, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

I know. It can do width and height, not the radius. That's what I meant. If you want to do it that way, be sure to constrain the proporitions, or else you'll have to adjust the width, then the height manually.--Hello. I'm new here, but I'm sure I can help out. (talk) 19:27, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

And indeed Inkscape can as well (draw circle, select it, units to inches, set width and height). And OpenOffice Draw will too - draw circle, right click on it, "position and size", and set the width and height (in cm at least). -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 12:24, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

What are your resources? What drawing applications do you have? What type of printer? If your printer supports PostScript, then there are snippets of code available that you can edit in Notepad and dump to the printer. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 10:48, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Either way flash is NOT the way to go. In order to draw a circle of a specific physical size on screen you need to know the PPI of the screen, which is often wrong and unreliable, and there's no solution to that problem unless the user actually used a ruler and measure how big physically a 200px square is or something. I don't know about Illustrator but Inkscape allows units such as cm, mm, in, ft, and so you are perfectly able to define a circle of 4.125". Don't think that just because something is unavailable in commercial software it's definitely not available in open-source software. --antilived^{T | C | G} 10:57, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

If you want printed circles of a specific size then use the drawing tools in MS Word or a similar WP or drawing tool. MS Paint won't help you because it stores a circle as a bunch of pixels, not as a specific "circle" or "ellipse" object. MS Word, however, stores a circle as an object with its own properties. So you can draw a rough circle and then edit the circle's properties (right click - Format AutoShape - Size tab) to set height and width to whatever values you want (note that if you want a given radius then set height and width to twice that value). And Word can use physical units (inches, cm etc.) because it knows the dimensions of the printed page size and so it sizes objects on the page relative to these dimensions. Gandalf61 (talk) 11:10, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Simply telnet to your PostScript printer and type the following:

/inch {72 mul} def
    4.25 inch
    5.5 inch
    4.125 inch
    0 360
arc
stroke
showpage

You're done! --Sean 14:02, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Sean, you're my nerd hero. I'm freaking serious. --mboverload@ 05:28, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Plug ins for Eclipse in Windows and Linux

Are the plug-ins the same for both OSs or do each need its plug-in?Mr.K. (talk) 10:39, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Depends on the plugin, but many are platform-independent. Care to tell us which plugin you are talking about? « Aaron Rotenberg « Talk « 16:07, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

light tree

is light tree same as optical packet switching ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.90.206.19 (talk) 11:51, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Light tree switching is a method/type of optical switching, optical package switching does not have to use a light tree.87.102.86.73 (talk) 14:15, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Audio Files (eg WAV, AIFF, MP3) to MIDI converter?

Does anyone know if such a thing even exists? And were might I find one if it does? 76.166.21.149 (talk) 23:17, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Search for program called mp3 to midi" or mp32midi ;)

Note that converting to MIDI is very difficult and rarely works well, as the software has to distinguish the different instruments playing in the recording, plus filter out noise and vocals. — QuantumEleven 15:28, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

I'd still like an answer to this... 76.166.21.149 (talk) 19:39, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

If nobody has given you an answer till now, then nobody knows for sure. This means you should research this yourself. If you want my two-cents, I don't see the point. MP3 to MIDI would be pointless to try and convert. It would be almost impossible to retain the original instrumental samples and play them back with fixed-sample general midi or MT32 or whatever. Don't even think of converting voices etc. Now - MIDI to MP3 - that would make sense. Sandman30s (talk) 22:19, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Well, just doing a Google search for "mp3 to midi" gives a bunch of hits. I couldn't tell you if any of the software you can get that way is any good, but clearly it exists. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 20:05, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

When I have tried the software it is not good. For a pure tone like a flute, it works OK, but for more complex music, the results are pretty messy. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 02:40, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

I am not sure what you are trying to do. MP3 and MIDI are two completely different things. MP3 is like a concert. MIDI is like the sheet music. Please read the MIDI article and I think you'll understand my confusion. It's like converting a picture of a sunset into braille. --mboverload@ 05:24, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Or converting a recording of someone's spoken words into a text file. I'm not sure why so many people are treating this as a useless or bizarre request. Yes, the output isn't going to be identical to the input, but I'm sure there are legitimate and interesting uses for such a tool, just as there are for speech recognition or OCR tools. -- Coneslayer (talk) 11:57, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Coneslayer, I agree with you - but I think a more apt comparison would be "like OCR in the 1950s", in theory it's doable but it's exceptionally difficult and currently there is no good way of doing it for all but the simplest of sounds. — QuantumEleven 13:48, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Garageband for PC?

Hi, I'm looking for some free/open source multitrack recording software for the PC, similar to Garageband. Hopefully, it should be fairly easy to use, but also able to do effects and filtering and things. It's to record a song or two on several instruments. I've had a look at Free_audio_software#Recording_and_editing, but none of the PC ones seem to fit the bill. Ardour looks good, but linux only unfortunately. Any thoughts very much appreciated. Thanks, LHMike (talk) 22:34, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

I hear Audacity is good, but I've never tried it. bibliomaniac15 01:03, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Audacity is not like Garageband at all—it's just a waveform editor. (As for it being good; I think it's OK. It's not anywhere near as good as some of the commercial ones, but it's free, and it basically works fine most of the time. If I were an actual audio engineer it wouldn't be enough for me. If I'm just doing things on my own for fun and giggles, well, it's fine.) --98.217.8.46 (talk) 04:03, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Sony ACID Pro or Ableton Live might work, both have free (limited) versions available last I checked. --LarryMac | Talk 13:21, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

July 18

Photo Printers The Norm?

I am looking to buy a new printer as my current one is totally ready to break soon. With all the searching i have done the only type of printers to my liking that i can find are only photo printers with all in one features. Could i use a photo printer as a regular document printer with the occasional photo. I just can't seem to find a printer these days that is regular. Also will regular inks and inkjet paper work with these types of printers.--logger (talk) 01:15, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Yes you can use photo printer to print normal documents. You can use regular paper but you need to use a compatible cartridge for the printer. --antilived^{T | C | G} 07:22, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

I've used a photo printer by Samsung and the first time the paper jammed, it refused to work ever again. The quote to fix it was too much. After some investigation, I found it out it was more expensive to buy the photo paper and ink for the printer than taking your pictures to a convenience lab for printing. Sandman30s (talk) 07:34, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

What are you defining as "regular"? I mean, I think that's the problem. There are a million inkjet and laserjet printers out there. If you get something that requires expensive inks it'll cost you a lot in the long run. Inkjet printers are generally dirt cheap because the ink subsidizes the cost. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 11:32, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

To answer the question... yes, you could use an all-in-1 photo printer to print out regular documents, but I think you would find it expensive to run, especially if you use the fancy photo paper as well. If you don't need colour, perhaps a better solution would be a small b&w laser printer. A new one can be bought for around £50/$100 and they last a long time - I've used the same HP Laserjet 6L for nearly 10 years and the cartridge is only now coming to the end of it's life. Astronaut (talk) 15:00, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Yes, and it does seem very difficult to find an inkjet that doesn't include photo printing nowadays - though if you find one that doesn't I wouldn't expect much price discount. The laser printers are a good choice in general (even colour ones are afforable) - but I think if you require v.fast draft prints the inkjet will be better than the laser. If you want quality printing (note the ink on laser printers doesn't run like on inkjets) then the laser is a good choice.87.102.86.73 (talk) 12:38, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

(Correction) laser printer can be as fast or faster than inkjets, and not all inkjets have ink that runs.87.102.86.73 (talk) 17:10, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

(Correction 2) - I've found lots of print-only printers on the web - though they do seem to be getting rarer in the shops.87.102.86.73 (talk) 17:12, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

System Volume Information

How do I access my system volume information file (C:\_system volume information)? It's driving me nuts. I set the computer to boot in safe mode. I logged in on Administrator and tried to access it via command prompt. Access was denied. I looked for it with the "show hidden files" on. I still couldn't see it. The only way I can tell it was there is that SUPERAntiSpyware scanned it. If a program can access it, it is obviously accessible so how can I get to it? Thanks, Ζρς ι'β' ^¡hábleme! 01:40, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

By default the folder is only accessible by "system", all you have to do is give yourself (administrator) access rights through the security tab of the folder properties. Let me save you some time, it's not very interesting. ;) Vespine (talk) 05:16, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

This is the directory that stores System restore save points. There is no reason to access it as it is self cleaning and managing. If you wish to truely "start fresh" disable system restore and then reenable it. The easiest way to access it is to use something like the "Ultimate Boot CD for Windows". It's a Windows environment that boots off a CD and lets you fully access the NTFS volume on the main computer.

Let me stress this again - there is really no reason to access it that I know of. Of course geeks will be geeks and want to know whats in there so here's a guide to opening it. [8]. Please skim though this as well [9]--mboverload@ 05:19, 18 July 2008 (UTC

Just an encrypted .log called "tracking.log"? That's it. That's kind of disappointing. It really isn't that interesting. Thanks for helping me access it though :), Ζρς ι'β' ^¡hábleme! 16:06, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Odd watches

I'm looking for a digital wrist watch that displays either Unix time or Metric time. I can't find any mention of said watch on Wikipedia. The closest thing I can find is Swatch Internet Time, but it appears the company has stopped production. 68.59.171.147 (talk) 02:22, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is an LED binary watch. Pretty geeky. [10]. All the wierd watches I know of are located here [11] --mboverload@ 05:26, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

I concur that ThinkGeek is probably your best bet. Gary King (talk) 08:24, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

You will most likely get the same response that I received when looking for a watch with red LEDs instead of black... make it yourself. Nobody is going to waste time setting up a manufacturing and shipping process for a watch design that may be lucky enough to produce 10 sales. -- kainaw™ 12:33, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Do you perhaps mean LCDs? Otherwise I'm reminded of the controls in Hotblack Desiato's ship - "Every time you try to operate one of these weird black controls that are labeled in black on a black background, a little black light lights up black to let you know you've done it." --LarryMac | Talk 13:18, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

And I'm reminded of a friend of a friend who was building an amp for his guitar. He said he wanted black LEDs for indicator lights. To which my friend said "Like blacklight light bulbs?". To which the other guy replied, "No. They'd shine black light. It would be like red or green or whatever but instead be black." He's not the smartest guy in the world... Dismas|^(talk) 15:22, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

OR and slightly off topic, but black light LEDs suck. They have warnings that it's unsafe for your eyes (and they are), and don't give remotely good glow effects like normal black lights. --129.108.40.143 (talk) 18:00, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Did his knobs go to 11? -- kainaw™ 15:27, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Spinal Tap indeed. Cheers, 10draftsdeep (talk) 19:10, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

usenet

Asking for some sort of oversight here. Who actually uses use-net nowadays, is it very popular? Has it a useful purpose?87.102.86.73 (talk) 10:57, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

A lot of people still use it, though it's nowhere near as its popular as it used to be. (I, for example, occasionally use it, though it has been at least six months now.) I wouldn't call it very popular, but I'm under the impression that the binary groups still see a great deal of use. As far as a useful purpose goes, it's just about as useful as any other discussion forum on the internet, which is to say that that it's usefulness depends largely on what people talk about on it. For some people, it's undoubtedly very useful; for a lot of others, it means nothing. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 13:41, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Thanks - is is primarily academic use ? - I got that impression.87.102.86.73 (talk) 12:34, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Not so much, anymore. It's mostly for people who want to discuss a narrow subject, which might not have a bulletin-board forum on the web, or for sharing large files. Both functions are being wiped out by the web and P2P, respectively, but some folks still prefer the old ways. — The Hand That Feeds You:^Bite 13:17, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

generating pdfs

I have a pile of old paper documents that I need to convert into pdf files. Many of the documents are multi-page, and these multi-page docs need to become a single pdf file. I do not have Adobe Acrobat. I am willing to spend some money on software, but hopefully less than what acrobat costs. I have looked through downloads.com, but it wasn't clear to me if any of these applications would be particularly good for what I want to do. Do you have any recommendations? ike9898 (talk) 13:38, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Do you want the PDFs to be searchable (that is, to have been OCRed) or just a-bunch-of-scans-in-a-pdf? -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 13:42, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

• One option is to use CutePDF. There's both a freeware and professional version. It works as a printer - you print from any application, but select CutePDF as your printer instead of whatever you normally pick. That aside, your main issue will be that which Finlay McWalter raised - you can scan in a document ok, but to convert it to text you'll need OCR software. - Bilby (talk) 13:50, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

I would check around for office places (like Kinkos). Most office work centers (scan/fax/copy machines) also do scan to email. So, you can go there, put your papers in the scanner, and scan them to your email account. They arrive as PDF documents. It shouldn't cost much since you won't be printing anything. -- kainaw™ 14:06, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

It's kinda expensive, but the best solution I've seen is the Fujitsu ScanSnap 510. It comes with Acrobat, so you're effectively getting a nice scanner with a copy of Acrobat Standard for free. I've got experience with their higher-end products, and am trying to scrape up the cash for this one, as I'm wanting to do the same thing you are. I've seen lots of good recommendations on this product. — The Hand That Feeds You:^Bite 13:24, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

I second the "check with Kinkos" bit. Most of them should have high speed photocopier/scanners with feeders on them that can scan to PDF. Alternatively, if you have your own scanner, it is not hard to compile individual scanned PDF pages into a single PDF without the use of Acrobat (a tool like pdftk can do it), but it is more time intensive than would be just taking it to Kinkos or somewhere else with a copier/scanner. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 21:10, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

High-end multi-feed scanners include "Scan to PDF" software that includes the kind of feature your looking for. Expect to pay about 300$. ---J.S (T/C/WRE) 03:02, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Motion detection

I suspect, though I'm not sure, that my apartment may be entered by unknown persons while I'm away. Motion activated video captures by my webcam seem rather unreliable. Short of moving, is there a low-cost solution to detecting intrusions in my apartment? Thanks. Imagine Reason (talk) 14:40, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Why do you need such a high-tech solution? Wedge a matchstick or small piece of paper in the door frame (a few inches above the floor near the hinge should do). If it's missing/moved when you return, then your door has been opened. Astronaut (talk) 15:08, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Use the movie cliche' spy trick of plucking a hair and matting it down with a bit of saliva so that it bridges the gap between the door and the door jamb. Or you could do the same with a piece of transparent tape ("Scotch tape"). Dismas|^(talk) 15:09, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

These solutions assume that the intruder isn't savvy enough to figure these things out. Is this a hypothetical question, Imagine Reason? I mean, could we expect the intruder to be a ninja who is wily to matchstick tricks and such? (Also, you want a solution that is essentially foolproof -- if the detection device can be triggered by accident, such as the hair becoming loose of its own accord or a breeze moving a piece of paper, that's no good -- you'd definitely want to avoid a false positive.) If this is a real-life situation, what makes you think that someone has been there? Could you, for example, photograph items you think someone is messing with with a digital camera and thus record their exact positions, and carefully and methodically see if something has moved when you return? Or could you perhaps buy a voice-activated recorder (preferably a digital one that operates silently, so the intruder doesn't hear it start) and see if you can here sounds of movement or talking in the apartment when you're gone? Should you perhaps consider changing your locks? Or, if someone is really entering your apartment -- presumably with a key, but without your permission -- should you just call the police, if only to establish a history, even if they can't do anything right now? -- Captain Disdain (talk) 15:35, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

The low-tech alternatives are great idea, but the false positives would be a problem. Captain Disdain, yes, this is a real world problem. I suppose I'll call the cops and also look into a voice activated recorder as well as perhaps a magnet alarm that sounds when separated? Imagine Reason (talk) 00:37, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Keep in mind that the door might seem like the obvious entry point but for someone entering surreptitiously it might not be. Any thief worth a damn knows not to go in the front door. I would give the low tech ones a shot before calling the cops, personally, because without compelling reason they're not going to treat you seriously, and it's not going to help you at all for them to think you are crying wolf. A very small piece of tape up on the top of a doorjam will probably not fall off. If you want to avoid false positives just build a little redundancy into the system. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 00:41, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

I get the impression (which may be wrong, but that's what you get for providing a bare minimum of information, Imagine Reason...) that we're not talking about a thief so much as someone who has access to the apartment, like a landlord or a friend with a spare key, but who isn't supposed to use it. If this was a case of money, valuables or other items clearly missing, he wouldn't need to convince himself that someone is doing this; that'd be enough evidence in itself.

Also, I really would call the cops, Imagine Reason -- just explain to them why you think that someone might be doing this and admit that you don't have any really solid evidence for this right now. Then, if you have to call them again if something else happens, they should have a record of this happening and know that this has been going on for a while, or if your neighbors report similar incidents, that'll probably get their attention. Of course, this kind of assumes that you have some reason to suspect these intrusions other than a strange feeling or intuition or something. And then again, if you suspect it's a friend or an ex of yours or something, involving the cops may not be what you want to do. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 02:14, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Theft isn't always so easy to detect. Say he has a relative with a drug addiction who has a way to get into his place. They may just steal enough to buy that day's drug supply. A few dollars each day may not be noticed, but only give you the vague feeling that you have less money at the end of the week than you expected. StuRat (talk) 19:26, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Sure, it's possible. Without knowing much of anything about the circumstances, this is all pretty much speculation... -- Captain Disdain (talk) 19:50, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Yes, it's something like what StuRat said, except it'd be more likely the landlord or a former tenant than anyone I know. Imagine Reason (talk) 21:06, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

I know this might not exactly what your looking for, but why not set up time-laps program for your webcam? Assuming 8 hours and photos at 1 min increments you'd have about 480 photos per day to glance though. ---J.S (T/C/WRE) 03:00, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Actually, that's a great idea. Imagine Reason (talk) 21:06, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Scumware

Some scumware has found it's way onto my brother-in-law's PC (XP-professional). The most visible effect seems to be that just after accessing the internet, a new Internet Explorer window will pop up advertizing something from a short list of sites (no, these are not regular pop-ups). A short while later, McAfee will leap into life saying it has disabled "Generic Rootkit.a", but the new IE windows continue appearing. Looking round the system and searching the internet, I have narrowed it down to something called "lanmandrv.sys" and it's associated files: lanmanwrk.exe, qmopt.dll. Unfortunately, something has disabled the XP taskmanager (no longer have enough privileges to run it) and lanmandrv.sys is hidden (both in explorer and regedit) by a rootkit. Anyway, this weekend I'm going round armed with Icesword and McAfee Rootkit Detector and I'll download some others too. I'm pretty experienced at removing scumware from his PC, but is there anything else I need to be on the lookout for? Any particular tool that is recommended above others? And how do I get the XP task manager back into action? Astronaut (talk) 15:27, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

This page might help with the Task Manager. A LiveCD of your choice of Linux flavors might be useful as well. Good luck. --LarryMac | Talk 15:46, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Good idea, I'll take a Live CD. I've already tried using gpedit to get the task manager back on, but the "remove taskmanager" setting wasn't "enabled". Could the rootkit hide that from me as well or could the taskmanager.exe be locked out from me by another method? Astronaut (talk) 15:59, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Astronaut - you have to go into GPedit and force Task Manager enabled. Don't leave it default. --mboverload@ 02:14, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Well that was a lot of hassle to get rid of. It had hidden at least 5 different programs!! The hint to use a linux live CD was a good one and helped me get rid of the scumware when all else failed. I'm pretty impressed with IceSword too. Thanks for all your help. Astronaut (talk) 18:30, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

e mail

sir i want to know about the origin of e-mail.who invented it? i want to know how e-mail related to MASS MEDIA.121.247.108.36 (talk) 15:50, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Have you considered using a cool site called Wikipedia? It is an encyclopedia and has all kinds of cool articles, including electronic mail. -- kainaw™ 15:53, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Transatlantic Internet meltdown?

Is there something of a Transatlantic Internet meltdown going on? I'm struggling to access a lot of sites hosted in the US, failing in many cases - news sites, Microsoft's services, eBay, not Wikimedia yet, though. It's the same on all the computers in the house - there are four currently working. Yet I can find no evidence of some major problem anywhere. Anyone know what's going on? Have I just bust something here at home, or is something more important damaged? It's interesting to note that both a relative's Hotmail account and eBay were accessible momentarily at one stage - at exactly the same time, suggesting again some link. Thoughts? Blood Red Sandman ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 16:10, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Further, I just failed to access an Australian site, too. Blood Red Sandman ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 16:20, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

It's most likely a local problem -- perhaps your ISP's DNS server is not working right, for example. That could account for why you have trouble accessing some sites but not others, and why when you do have access, you have it to all affected sites. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 16:51, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

That would be Demon. For now, they aren't mentioning any problems. Not that that means they don't have any. Blood Red Sandman ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 17:34, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

You can always call and ask. I use RoadRunner and their site rarely mentions anything that the customer support actually knows about. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 18:05, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Note: When a user claims that a website is down, it is usually a failed DNS lookup. The website is working just fine and everyone with a functioning DNS can access it. -- kainaw™ 18:11, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

I had a similar experience two weeks ago with Tiscali ISP. Symptoms were all BBC domains were not found. I narrowed it down to Tiscali's Domain Name Servers, using these useful tools:

• downforeveryoneorjustme.com - which told me "It's just you"
• samspade.org - which gave me the IP address of bbc.co.uk so I could access it direct

I then used a different DNS to finally establish it was just Tiscali. -84user (talk) 23:24, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

You can run a traceroute and it'll tell you where the packets are getting hung up. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 00:36, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

After a little fighting tracert I got there. It seems one of the international servers/whater-they-call-them is down somewhere. A message has been sent to one of the ISP's with a server immediatly before the dead bit, so they should know what's up. Blood Red Sandman ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 12:57, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

I've been using Internet Traffic Report for years. It's a great summary of what web traffic is doing, and includes up-to-date information on which central routers are down/overloaded. —Preceding unsigned comment added by HandThatFeeds (talk • contribs) 13:28, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

That site is wonderful, thank you. The dead one seems to be a Sprintlink system in New York. Blood Red Sandman ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 13:49, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

I'd been wondering about this. I can't remember the exact day, but one night for about an hour only half of the internet worked (I'm on SBC-Yahoo). I had google, but none of the results would work. AOL and Wikipedia were down, www.uu.net came up properly, myspace and facebook worked, Yahoo worked, and a number of video sites (youtube, myspace videos, google video, clipser) would work, but none of the videos would load. Some other sites would work with none of the images loading, and it was about half-and-half with other sites working or not. I hypothesized something had killed a connection between some of the tier 1 networks. It lasted from about 3AM to 4AM Eastern time, then everything started acting normally again. JeremyMcCracken (talk) (contribs) 01:06, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Admin Rights

So, it's well known that when one boots a computer in "safe mode", there is a default profile called "Administrator". Is there any way I can turn this account on in normal boot mode or give my account these rights? (The computer is not registered to my profile, but my profile has admin rights. It's just that the "Administrator" account and the account to which the computer is registered have more rights than just the run of the mill admin account.(?)) Thanks, Ζρς ι'β' ^¡hábleme! 23:50, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

WinXP Pro? The "Administrator" account and any account in the "Administrator" group have the same rights. If not XP, then we'll need to know your OS. ---J.S (T/C/WRE) 00:09, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Oops, sorry about that. Yes, it's Windows XP 5.1.2600 SP2 Home Edition. Ζρς ι'β' ^¡hábleme! 00:14, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Note that running your computer in admin mode (esp. with XP) all the time is a considerable security risk. (As is having an admin account without a non-default password.) If you do get a virus it will exploit that to the fullest extent. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 00:20, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Yes, I accept that risk.

J.smith, are you sure they have the same rights? I wrote and compiled some C++ to see if I could make a .exe to shutdown my computer. It worked fine but when I decided to delete it, it gave me an error message. I safebooted and logged on the Administrator account and deleted it without any problems. Ζρς ι'β' ^¡hábleme! 00:23, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

I'm 90% sure. It was most-likely the act of logging out and then logging back in that "unlocked" the file. ---J.S (T/C/WRE) 00:53, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Log into your main account. Right click on "My Computer" and go to "Manage". Go to "User and Groups" then go to "Users". Enable the Administrator account if enabled. Right click and set the password if you want. Log off. Hit "Ctl-Alt-Delete" twice to bring up the logon window. Type in "Administrator" and your new password. TaDa. --mboverload@ 02:12, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Drilling holes in a circuit board

This is going to sound like a stupid question, but how safe is it to drill a few holes in a circuit board? I have a wireless access point that gets very hot (as in, painful-to-the-fingers hot), so I bought a tiny little fan for it that I'm going to rig up on the inside. There are some air vents in the top and the bottom of the case, but the main circuit board seems to completely block any airflow from bottom to top, so I'm thinking of drilling a few small holes in it. It's a pretty sparse circuit board, so I've found some rather large areas with no components or connections on either side (a square centimeter here, a square centimeter there), and obviously that would be where I would want to drill. Is there a significant danger of fracturing the board or something? This is a pretty cheap WAP, so if I do break it life goes on, but I'd like to know before I begin if everyone thinks this is the worst idea ever and guaranteed to fail spectacularly. —Bkell (talk) 05:23, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Holes won't do too much to cool it down. Find a small heatsink and glue it onto the chip with epoxy. That'll lower the temperature right away. --antilived^{T | C | G} 05:29, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Hmm, I hadn't thought of that. Will a heatsink be enough by itself, or should I include the fan too? —Bkell (talk) 06:01, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Well a fan without heatsink is basically useless. It's designed to stand that temperature (~70°C?) so I wouldn't worry about it that much, but a heatsink should increase the convection efficiency so much that you wouldn't need a fan to increase the airflow. --antilived^{T | C | G} 06:05, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

I wouldn't necessarily say that a fan alone is useless, if it's positioned properly. In this instance, if the circuit board completely blocks the airflow, that sounds like a situation that could be improved by a bit of ventilation -- it's probably not that it runs so hot, just that it kind of "cooks" in its own casing because the air doesn't move properly -- the idea isn't so much to cool it down as it is to move the hot air out so it doesn't get as hot in the first place. That said, though, I'm not sure that just a couple of tiny holes drilled in the circuit board (which should be safe to do, by the way, as long as you avoid breaking anything on the board itself) is enough to insure ventilation. Then again, depending on where they are and what the device itself is like, it might be! If you're willing to give it a shot, you probably don't have a whole lot to lose -- it's not as if buying replacement is going to be terribly expensive, and it sounds to me like you're resigned to doing so anyway if you can't get this thing to cool down a little. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 10:38, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Not convinced? Do a little experiment: remove the fan on your relatively modern CPU and see how long before it freezes, then remove the heatsink but maintain the fan and see how long before it freezes. A bare chip has like 50°C/W for thermal resistance, and even if you put a fan on top it'll still be around 30°C/W, whereas a heat sink will instantly lower it to less than 10°C/W. --antilived^{T | C | G} 11:00, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, but but we're not talking about modern CPUs, which -- unless they shut themselves down in time -- get so hot that they'll scorch themselves and the circuit board they're on pretty quickly unless equipped with a heat sink and a fan. They run much, much hotter than the itty bitty processors used in small devices (like the wireless access point in question), which don't even have any fans or heat sinks at all. I'm not saying that a heat sink isn't more efficient -- sure it is! I'm just saying that he may not need one to cool it down, any more than I needed a heat sink or a processor fan in my old 386. They generate heat, but not that much of it, and a bit of ventilation may well be enough to cool it down. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 11:23, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

It's probably safe for this device, but note that many circuit boards have traces sandwiched in multiple layers, not just on the surface. --Sean —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.182.119.200 (talk) 11:45, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Why not just open up some holes in the case? ---J.S (T/C/WRE) 02:23, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Or you can do what I did, and remove the computer case entirely. This allows it to run nice and cool. (In theory, it could run cooler with the case on, if it was designed with a proper "wind tunnel", but they seem to have put no thought into this and completely blocked the air flow, just like yours.) It's a bit ugly, though, so I put a "computer cover" (really a small table cloth) on it when I put it to bed at night or when company comes over. StuRat (talk) 18:58, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Hmmm, that gives me an idea for a new home industry - computer cosies. Matt Deres (talk) 19:03, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Yep, my idea exactly. The table cloth is my first prototype. StuRat (talk) 22:36, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

code execution by kernel

if we provide various whitespaces in the code and its passed to the kernel will it execute the code incuding those spaces or will change it?Prachi 08 (talk) 06:23, 19 July 2008 (UTC) Ρrachi

If by "whitespaces in the code" you mean spacing out your source code to make it easier to read, most compilers will ignore the spacing and produce exactly the same object code (and ultimately the exact same executable) as the source without any additional spaces.

If instead you mean using some kind of patch program to insert space characters into an executable program, it will almost certainly break the program. Astronaut (talk) 07:47, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Check the documentation for your compiler. Some really don't do well with white-space formatting and others dont' care. ---J.S (T/C/WRE) 02:25, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Buying a new Computer

My Sony Computer is now 5years old and after ram upgrades is still running slow. I have looked at HP and Apple and am completely confused regarding the processors. The Apple has a Intel 2 core dual processor up to 3.06 Ghz. The HP has a Intel 2 Quad processor Q9300 2.5 GHz. Is four 2.5 GHz going to process work faster than two 3.06 GHz? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.241.241.73 (talk) 11:35, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

In general, yes.87.102.86.73 (talk) 12:31, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

But as the apple and HP use different operating systems (apple OS and microsoft OS) that might complicate things.87.102.86.73 (talk) 12:33, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Is your computer "running slow" compared to other computers, or compared to past performance of the same computer? If it's the former, go for a new PC. The 2.5 GHz processor is not necessarily going to run "faster" than the 3.06 GHz. It depends on everything else, specifically the FSB, L2 cache, RAM size and speed, and hard drive speed. If it's the latter, simply reformat your hard drive and start anew. --Russoc4 (talk) 14:57, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Could you tell us the specs of your current computer as well as what you will use the new computer, if you buy one? Russoc4 made a valid point. It might be possible to salvage your older computer. If its possible, it would be the best of both worlds — you can save some money and there is one fewer working computer in the dumpster. Kushal (talk) 15:41, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

I'd start with this and go from there. But that's only if you were planning on building it yourself. Useight (talk) 17:30, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

On the question of quad v. dual cores, it depends what you are going to do with it. Many programs cannot take advantage of quad cores effectively—the program has to be written in a way that it can deal with such things, and it's not a trivial matter to write a program that can successfully split its processing tasks into four pieces. Here's a nice blog post showing how a few sample programs deal with four cores. Some get you 2X the performance of a dual core; some give you no performance increase, and in the case of many games, they will run faster on your dual core of a higher clockrate than on the quad core of the lower clockrate. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 17:54, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

I don't do anything particularly exciting on my computer, and it gets away with two cores easily. If want to crunch numbers, you could get a Mac Pro with eight cores.78.151.50.55 (talk) 15:03, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Processor with 4 cores is faster only if you are simultaneously running at least four CPU intensive programs, or if you are using one of those few programs that support multi core. For example, I have a dual core processor, but I don't have a single program that would take advantage of multiple cores, so a single core processor would be just as fast. Some 3D rendering programs do support multiple cores. For example Poser 7 would support up to 4 cores (but I have only Poser 6 which only supports one core). I believe there are some games that support multiple cores, but most games do not. --PauliKL (talk) 03:13, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Firefox 3 & preview errors / edit conflicts

My FF3 appears to behave differently from FF2 in one point crucial to Wikipedia: In FF2, when I got edit conflicted, or some error occured during preview, I could go back, and the text I typed in would still be there. Now in FF3, when I get an ec or some other error and return to retrieve my posting or other edits, they are lost. The edit box I see when I go back looks like the one I originally opened, everything I typed is gone. I've tried to find something about this in Mozilla forums, but it's probably either an issue with my installation/config or something that only really matters on a wiki. It's kind of annoying, because despite having adopted the habit of copying anything before hitting preview or save, I still lose edits all the time, and it's bloody annoying. Do I have to go back to FF2 or is there some way the behaviour of (my?) FF3 could be changed? user:Everyme 13:46, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

That's odd. I recently upgraded from FF2 to FF3 (on WinXP Pro 2002 SP3, no apparently relevant add-ons) and got no change in this functionality. Algebraist 15:53, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Oh crap. I was half-hoping it was something to do with FF3. Hm. Ok, thanks for crushing my hopes for a quick fix or at least the reassurance that it's a general issue ... :D — Guess I have to start looking deeper into those forums then. user:Everyme 17:41, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Second-life rip off PS home

Questions:

1. In PShome will combat be allowed either melee eg swords,cudgels etc or ranged eg archery,pistols etc.

2. Also will it be possible to steal from other people houses?

3. Is it possible to play in 1st person perspective?

87.102.86.73 (talk) 14:08, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Why does your choice of title make me think that this is not an entirely serious enquiry? - X201 (talk) 14:16, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

I believe the "rip-off" refers to the second question, stealing from other's homes within the game. StuRat (talk) 18:48, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

WEP Key

Hi I'm using an EchoLife HG520s wireless router and have forgotten my wep key. Well my dad has. It's not a problem cos the computer has stored it automatically, but I want to use my new DS wirelessley. there is an option to enter 3 more WEP keys but we are frightened we will lose the original and mess it up or something. Can we enter a new wep wihtout losing the old one, and then go back to the old one when necessary? 84.13.111.201 (talk) 16:23, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

That would depend on the specifics of that router, I don't know for sure. But if you've got admin access to the router itself (i.e. you can add, edit, or remove WEP keys), so what if you lose the old one? All your dad needs to do is re-enter the new WEP key if that happens, and then his wireless connection will work just fine, right? It's not exactly a big hassle. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 17:13, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

WEP is such low security that if you really need to find out what it was, you could probably crack it. There are lots of pages on how to crack WEP keys on the internet if you google around (e.g., here's a nice one for Windows XP). --98.217.8.46 (talk) 17:45, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Another option is to use a "password revealer" to figure out what that password is. I won't provide a link, but you can find them if you look around. Have you tried logging into the router and just setting a new one? ---J.S (T/C/WRE) 02:26, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Also, depending on the router, it may store it in plaintext in the admin screens. My father forgot his router password awhile back but his own machine was connected to it. I fired up the router admin, assumed he had not changed the default admin password (which was true), and then just viewed the source of the password page, and there it was in a hidden INPUT field. (I think this was a Linksys.) --98.217.8.46 (talk) 21:28, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Depending on the router (mine, for example,is a Belkin) you could "hard reset" the router by pressing the tiny button on the back with a pin, sharp pencil, or other pointed object. This will restore the factory settings and allow you to enter a new WEP key. -=# Amos E Wolfe ^talk #=- 22:17, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

File organization on disk

I have purchased a new mp3 player. It is a very cheap mp3 player: when I place mp3s on the disk, it organizes them in a random fashion, supposedly by the order at which they're stored on the disk, not by filename (like most mp3 players). Is there any sort of software to verify that files are stored in a desired order on the disk? Windows is preferrable, but I use Linux at the library sometimes. The Evil Spartan (talk) 18:41, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

ls -f shows filenames in the order they're found in the directory, which is probably what you want. --tcsetattr (talk / contribs) 20:12, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Being able to see the order is well and good, but it doesn't help me organize them (especially on a Linux system without a usable terminal). The Evil Spartan (talk) 23:37, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

If the directory order (ls -f) is the correct one, I have some bad news for you: there's no mechanism in unix to explicitly request a specific ordering of the entries in a directory. The filesystem lays out the directory however it sees fit. A tool that presents a list of filenames in a directory is supposed to sort them, like ls without -f does. Simple filesystems just keep the filenames in the order they were created, until one is deleted, which leaves a hole, then the next one goes in the hole (if the hole is big enough to contain the new name). Then there are more complicated layouts in which the order might be based on a hash of the filename making it completely impossible to get the order you want.

So the only suggestion I can make is to make a new directory, and move the files into it in the order you want them listed, then remove the old empty directory and rename the new one. That might work, although it'll be annoying if you change the contents frequently and have to move all the files in and out every time. Or maybe there is a reorganization tool that I don't know about, and some other refdesk person will tell us about it... --tcsetattr (talk / contribs) 00:36, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Does your MP3 player support sub-folders? That might worth a try. ---J.S (T/C/WRE) 02:53, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

It does support subfolders, though I'm completely lost at what tcs is suggesting above. The Evil Spartan (talk) 18:14, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Your MP3 player uses some variant of the FAT file system. In FAT, a (sub)directory is just a list of files in arbitrary order. Some software will show the file names in alphabetical order, but that's because it sorted the file names itself after reading them in. Most if not all FAT implementations will just add new files to the end of the list. So if you create a new directory, move the files into it in the order you want, then remove the old (now empty) directory and rename the new one to the old one's name, you'll end up with a directory with the same files as before, but listed in a new order. This is probably the order used by your MP3 player. -- BenRG (talk) 13:04, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

I've heard of, but never used, FATSort, which is designed for this type of problem. --Bavi H (talk) 20:27, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Internet use in non-English

Do people who speak and use on their computer languages other than english type web addresses with the english alphabet or with their own alphabet/character set? For example, do spanish web addresses make use of the characters á, é, í, ó, ú, ü, and ñ? Do arab web addresses use the arabic alphabet? Do chinese web addresses use chinese characters? Or does everbody only use abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz and whatever symbols are normally allowed?--71.175.123.61 (talk) 19:07, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

I think everyone uses the same characters as us for now, but I also think that's set to change very soon - as in it's already been decided, just not implemented. I'd apreciate someone who actually knew backing me up or teling me I'm wrong, though. Blood Red Sandman ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 19:19, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

article:: Internationalized domain name --tcsetattr (talk / contribs) 20:05, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

credit card security

Hi folks, we all know not to give our credit card numbers out etc. etc., but some time ago I heard of something more sinister, where people like computer hackers could search for numbers using some computer algorithm, without having to read the number where the user had entered it. The algorithm, as I understood it, simply detected or generated valid numbers, and that was enough. Is this true, and how does it work? If it is true, does it generate numbers that belong to actual cardholders, so the transaction would appear on their bill, or does it generate numbers that belong to no one, but simply fool the receiving system into thinking they are genuine? thanks, 203.221.127.240 (talk) 19:56, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Generating bank card numbers is trivial - the prefix identifies the issuer, most of the remaining digits are just a serial number, and the last digit is a simple checksum using the Luhn algorithm. Most numbers won't correspond with actual accounts, but bruteforce will find those that do. But a number by itself isn't useful - you need to know the expiry date (that's trivial to bruteforce, if you can do so without setting off the accepting bank's security system - for current cards there are only a few years worth of monthly digits). So it's not very hard for brute force to find a valid credit card number and the associated expiry date. But that's not enough to commit fraud. For a card-present transaction (where you give the card to the merchant) the terminal sends a bunch of other info (that's encoded on the mag stripe); there's no practical way to brute force or guess the name etc. encoded there. For a card-absent transaction (that's where the merchant doesn't touch the card, e.g. over the internet or phone) then the transaction has to be accompanied by other information (name, address, security code) which again is impractical to guess.

Excepting very small amounts in out-of-the-way places that have offline stored authentication terminals ("zipzap machines", which don't validate small transaction online but instead store a recent blacklist of stolen cards) all transactions are verified live online, and Visa (etc.) check through to the issuing bank and make sure the account really does belong to a specific person and they're in good credit. And they verify all that additional info I mention above. So generating random numbers is futile.

Rather than brute force, the way most credit card fraud is done is to steal the numbers, and the associated authentication details, pertaining to a live account and a live person. Most common is places like hotels and restaurants, where crooked workers swipe a victim's card through the criminal's card reader as well as the hotel's own, so they get a copy of all the mag stripe track contents - the crooked worker can also take note of additional info (hotels are best for this) like customer's address. Then the criminals make a new card with those same details and buy resettable goods with it. The industry's main defense against this is sophisticated spending-pattern heuristics (that block cards that do uncharacteristic things, such as buying a speedboat in Macao when you normally buy gas in Tulsa); increasingly Chip and PIN and its ilk are being deployed to back this up. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 20:53, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

I should correct myself - "serial number" should be "number based on account number"; numbers are generally not issued in plain dumb series, although there is often a serial element. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 21:18, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, that was a great answer. Does anyone know if there are any vendors who nevertheless don't bother with all the authentication (Finlay mentioned above that some don't for very small amounts, but I mean for larger ones), or is this simply banned by the credit card companies (meaning the merchant would automatically bear the cost of fraud)? 203.221.126.187 (talk) 15:41, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Visa (etc.) sets all the terms of the deal - if a merchant doesn't follow the procedure for authentication then the merchant doesn't get paid; worse, if a merchant gets too much fraud or too many charge-backs the credit card company will drop them (technically the accepting bank from which the merchant leases their terminals will drop them). For a credit-card based business like a hotel or gas station not being able to accept credit cards is a death sentence. The one exception I can think of is pre-auth (where a hotel reserves an amount on a guest's credit card, in anticipation of a future bill); hotels that have an existing relationship with a regular guest (or a company that regularly has its people stay at the hotel) might well not bother with the preauth.; In that circumstance the guest could theoretically leave without paying and the hotel couldn't get the money back from their credit card. But hoteliers are rarely silly enough to extend such unsecured credit to anyone they don't already trust. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 15:57, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

In the case of hotels, the guest may be required to sign a lodging agreement prior to each stay. This agreement would state that the guest must pay all fees incurred during the stay, whether they are planned or incidental (such as pay-per-view movie rentals, phone charges, or even damage to the room). If the guest's credit information is on file, the hotel can then charge the card for the total amount when the guest leaves. The lodging agreement allows them to make this charge without further authorization. Similarly, I have heard of restaurants occasionally doing a "pre-auth" of the expected tip on a bill paid by credit card, in case a guest doesn't leave a tip. This practice, if it exists, does seem to fall on the more illegal side of things. --Several Times (talk) 20:48, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

cd

can anyone please tell me what a number followed by the word DRIVE means when displayed on a portable cd player thanks Ken Robinson —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.13.215.119 (talk) 21:08, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

what is the make/model? 71.164.103.123 (talk) 21:40, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

PDF from Scanner

I need software that will take pages scanned from my all in one machine and output them to a PDF. My all in one does scanning with an automatic document feeder, however, it only does one sided. All of my originals are two sided. I would like to scan the document, flip the pile over, and scan the other sides, and end up with a PDF with all of the pages in order. The document does not need to be scanned OCR, just needs to be a PDF with all of the pages in order. Is there anything out there, preferably open source or freeware, that will do this--for people with one sided machines with 2 sided originals? Thank you so much

John 71.164.103.123 (talk) 21:38, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

pdftk + this -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 22:09, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Thank you so much. I've installed the windows binary. You wouldn't happen to know the command for inserting a page from pdf2.pdf after every page from page1.pdf, would you? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.164.103.123 (talk) 22:20, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Date format in PHP: WHAT WAS WRONG?

echo date($A_Date) . ' ---- ' . $A_Date;

Output: 2001-12-11 00:00:00 ---- 2001-12-11 00:00:00

echo date(ymd, $A_Date) . ' ---- ' . $A_Date;

Output: 691231 ---- 2001-12-11 00:00:00

echo date(Ymd, $A_Date) . ' ---- ' . $A_Date;

Output: 19691231 ---- 2001-12-11 00:00:00

$A_Date is retrieved from MySQL. The original data set is compiled on Microsoft Access and imported into MySQL. What was wrong with this? Does the PHP parser reads 00:00:00 as the date? -- Toytoy (talk) 22:07, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

date() works on Unix timestamps, not date/time strings. You need to run $A_Date through strtotime() before you pass it to date(). — Matt Eason ^{(Talk • Contribs)} 01:22, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

It is working correctly. In the first one, you asked it to print "2001-12-11 00:00:00" using the current timestamp. Notice that you didn't ask for any year, month, or day. You told it to literally print "2001-12-11 00:00:00" - which it did. In the next two, you gave it a completely invalid timestamp. So, the timestamp is 0, which is the stroke of midnight between Dec 31, 1969 and Jan 1, 1970. Therefore, it is printing the year, followed immediately by the month, followed immediately by the day. All in all, it appears that you haven't taken the time to read the documentation here. -- kainaw™ 18:39, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Also, beware: for mysql allows day and month to be zero, but functions that parse date-strings tend to give (sometimes very cryptic) error messages if day or month is zero. I once spent days trying to find the cause of a "strptime parsing error" reported by some Python library. 195.35.160.133 (talk) 15:00, 22 July 2008 (UTC) Martin.

What's the easiest way for me to vertical sync in Windows (2D)?

Say I want to do something very simple but in a way that is synced vertically, it has to be fast enough to work on an OLD computer (pentium III, < 500 mhz) and with a very very old graphics card. But it is only 2D. I'm willing to consider: C; C++; Python; Perl; Java; anything else. THe point is for me to be able to get to there as FAST as possible, I've listed the languages I know... Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.199.57.103 (talk) 22:59, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

What is ADFU?

I know it is related to MP3 players. But what this acronym stands for? 93.80.171.61 (talk) 23:33, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

I've been able to find out that DFU stands for "Device Firmware Update" [12], at least in the context of IPhones. I suspect that ADFU is something similar. My Google searching hasn't revealed much about it, except that it's a mode that some people seem to get stuck in. ---J.S (T/C/WRE)

Automatic Device Firmware Update, perhaps? - SigmaEpsilon → ΣΕ 02:48, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Maybe, but no google results, so I didn't have any confirmation. ---J.S (T/C/WRE) 02:51, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

July 20

Help

I have a strange folder: \AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\digital locker\

It has one file inside, called Urls.bin

Is this malware or something? What is this?--71.175.123.61 (talk) 01:47, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Have you done any business with Windows Marketplace? ---J.S (T/C/WRE) 02:50, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Cue sheet syntax for multiple titles in a single FLAC file

I'm trying to create a FLAC file where the track information (title/artist) will change visibly in a media player display (XMMS or Winamp, for example) as index points are crossed. I've seen this done in streams, and I'm pretty sure I've seen this in single files, but I've not come across instructions for creating a file that works this way. (This page, for example, has 11 examples and none of them are what I'm looking for.)

I believe the metaflac command I want is this:

metaflac  --import-cuesheet-from=Doom_for_the_ADD_Generation.cue test.flac

The abovementioned cue sheet looks like this:

TITLE "Doom for the ADD Generation"
PERFORMER "Martha's 2008 WFMU Marathon Premium"
FILE "test.flac" FLAC
  TRACK 01 AUDIO
    TITLE "Jack Frost [excerpt]"
    PERFORMER "Saint Vitus"
    INDEX 01 00:00:00

    TITLE "The Still Lake"
    PERFORMER "Great American Desert"
    INDEX 02 05:13:00

    TITLE "Embittered Darkness [excerpt]"
    PERFORMER "Striborg"
    INDEX 03 10:43:00

What am I doing wrong here? I've tried a couple variations of the above, and none come close to what I want.

Bonus if someone can give me instructions for doing the same thing to an Ogg Vorbis file. I don't know the metaflac-equivalent tool for importing cue sheets into single .ogg files. / edg ☺ ☭ long-time listener, first time caller 02:25, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

the data types in c++ & JAVA

why do we see same data type having different number of bytes range in c++ and JAVA

e.g.-->>in c++ the datatype int uses 2bytes while in JAVA int uses 4bytes?Prachi 08 (talk) 05:14, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Actually, the C++ standard does not specify the exact width of the "int" or the other integer datatypes. The width is implementation-dependent. So for example, on my computer (32-bit Linux x86 GCC; and I believe on most implementations out there today), an "int" is 4 bytes wide. The "int" type is guaranteed to be at least as wide as "short", and at most as wide as "long" (neither of which have precisely-defined widths wither). "short" and "long" are guaranteed to be at least 2 and 4 bytes long, respectively, but can be more. Java does define exact widths for its datatypes. But there is no consistency of naming between languages (why should Java or any other language have to name its types the C way, for example?). For example, "long" in Java is 8 bytes long; whereas in most 32-bit C implementations "long" is 4 bytes long; and "long" in Python is arbitrary-length. --Spoon! (talk) 06:50, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

What was wrong with the hidden form input?

<form action="<?php echo $_SERVER['PHP_SELF']; ?>" method="post">

<input TYPE=hidden NAME=A VALUE="0">
<input type="submit" value="A = 0" />

<input TYPE=hidden NAME=A VALUE="1">
<input type="submit" value="A = 1" />

<input TYPE=hidden NAME=A VALUE="2">
<input type="submit" value="A = 2" />
</form>

<?php
$A = $_POST['A'];
echo 'A = ' . $A;
?>

No matter which button I click, the post always assigns 2 to variable A. -- Toytoy (talk) 06:02, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

It doesn't work that way.

First, the "value" attribute works all the same for all inputs. For example, if you clicked <input type="submit" name="foo" value="hi" />, then it would assign "hi" to variable foo.

Second, because you have three inputs with the same name, they all get submitted, and the last one overrides the others. (You can use the get method to see how it works.)

I really can't explain this (my English is not good enough), so I'll just give the fixed code:

<form action="<?php echo $_SERVER['PHP_SELF']; ?>" method="post">
<input type="submit" name="A" value="0" />
<input type="submit" name="A" value="1" />
<input type="submit" name="A" value="2" />
</form>
<?php echo 'A = '.$_POST['A']; ?>

oh, and try writing VALID code. In your example, you're using XHTML's /> but you're using uppercase attributes and you don't quote their values, which isn't valid XHTML.

--grawity 13:52, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

(edit: frikkin wikiformatting fixed by removing a <p> from the question --grawity 13:54, 20 July 2008 (UTC))

keys jamming

these days how many concurrent keys can be pressed without problems? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.199.57.103 (talk) 06:26, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

As far as I know there isn't a standard for internal wiring of keyboards. In theory they could have a microcontroller with a GPIO pin for each key, which would mean each key would be completely independent. But people have gotten used to paying trivial sums for keyboards, so instead they generally are built around an ultra low cost keyboard matrix encoder. In this case depressing a key closes a connection between a "horizontal" and a "vertical" wire in a matrix - this arrangement is cheap (because the keyboard controller only needs about 30 input pins, rather than over 100) but means it can't properly distinguish keystrokes when multiple keys on the same row or column are depressed. The specifics vary by keyboard encoder chip: from some basic research it seems the Alcor AU9462 controller (info) has an 19x8 controller, the Philips Semiconductors ISP1130 an 18x8, and others up to a 20x8 ((info)). So in short "you'll need to experiment". See Rollover (key) too. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 16:39, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

For regular run of the mill keyboards, I belive it is still quite low, something like 4 - 6. The reasoning would be unless you are gaming you rarely need to press more then 2 at a time. So even though technically these days it might be easy to make a keyboard with the capability to send a lot of simultaneous keystrokes, 99.9% of the time there is no need for it. Vespine (talk) 00:40, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

[13] A little expensive but SOOOOOO worth it if you do a lot of typing. You can hit every key at once. --mboverload@ 03:33, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

The site says "up to 12 keys to be pressed simultaneously", and given that combination keys like ctrl and alt are generally wired separately, that's not much better than the average. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 08:41, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

(yes, I do realise that in practice you only have 10 or fewer fingers typing, but the devil is in the detail of how they wire keys - that "up to" and the details of which keys mean that, on the face of it, this doesn't guarantee that you'll be free to use a given configuration, particularly for gaming). -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 08:43, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Thank you for pointing my error out. I know there IS a keyboard out there where you can hit every key at once. Obviously not that one though. --mboverload@ 15:38, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

And doubtless someone, somewhere has developed an Emacs key binding that depends upon that ability to hit every key at once ;-).

Atlant (talk) 16:23, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

I guess you're aware of Emacs pedals, for when there aren't enough fingers or enough keys. But really to fully utilise the power of emacs one must be Cthulhu. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 16:29, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

What would this batch file do?

I recently reverted some dubious additions on our Batch file article, in which someone was repeatedly adding a section encouraging readers to "try this" and make a batch file containing: @echo
:1
start
goto :1


As I'm not familiar with batch files, I was just wondering what that would actually do - my guess is that it just creates an infinite loop as in the standard "20 GOTO 10" prank, but I'm assuming someone here knows. Cheers ~ mazca ^{t | c} 10:17, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

This would just repeatedly start the command prompt again and again. (A better one would be using start "%~dpnx0") --grawity 13:45, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Careful with it though. If you just let it continue to run it would lag you out. Ζρς ι'β' ^¡hábleme! 21:09, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. Evidently the person was malicious, but not very good at it. ;) ~ mazca ^{t | c} 13:01, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

iptables question

Is it possible to use iptables to redirect incoming connections on one destination ip/port to different ips/ports depending on the connection's origin IP?

For instance, is it possible to do this:

if 2.2.2.2 connects to 1.1.1.1:443 then forward to 1.1.1.1:10443

if 3.3.3.3 connects to 1.1.1.1:443 then forward to 1.1.1.2:10022

etc.

I guess it's kinda like NAT. We are trying to provide several secure services on one common port (because of firewall rules). Each IP will only need to access one service, so it's logically no problem. I'm just new to iptables and wondering if it's the correct solution to this custom setup. Thanks 58.150.240.103 (talk) 16:14, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Messed up my MBR

i was trying to redo my MBR, as i had grub installed from when i tried a Linux distro decided i didn't want Linux but couldn't get rid of grub. Now i tried to do FIXMBR from the repair option on a windows xp home cd but now all i get when i boot up is after POST screen "media is not a bootable floppy please insert bootable media and try again", how can i recover windows without reformatting everything? i have a backup image made with drive xml but i dont want to use it unless i have to cheers--90.207.78.105 (talk) 17:10, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Do you have a floppy disk inserted? Remove it, if so, and try again. --Russoc4 (talk) 17:13, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

nope nothing in any of the drives--90.207.78.105 (talk) 18:04, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Did you do a fixboot as well? Nil Einne (talk) 18:39, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

There's a good collection of rescue cds at http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Livecd that will help, assuming that MBR is the problem. The GParted one has worked for me. --212.149.216.13 (talk) 18:51, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

I didn't know that GParted fixed MBRs but I can vouch for it. The GParted livecd is one of the best opensource projects in the world in my opinion. It just works. --mboverload@ 05:21, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

iTunes stores

So I go to the US iTunes store to buy a German song, but they don't have it. I switch to the Germany store, and there are about 5 versions of it. When I try to buy it, I have to create a new account. Why the hell are there completely different iTunes stores with different music to buy??? It's just as simple to universally purchase and sell a single set of all music. Reywas92^Talk 18:56, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Apple have to negotiate rights to sell the music separately in different countries, so they need to try and restrict sales on each country's iTunes store to people within that country. It's a holdover from when all music was sold on physical discs, but it's still pretty much a fact. ~ mazca ^{t | c} 20:51, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

In this case copyright Jesus will not smite you for grabbing it off a P2P application. Hey, you wanted to buy it but they wouldn't let you. OR buy the cd from somewhere like SecondSpin.com. I have bought over 500 bucks of stuff from them and they are awesome. --mboverload@ 03:31, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Open Office 2.4 and Word 2007

My trial version of word 2007 just locked up on me, so I downloaded Open Office 2.4. However, I am unable to access my word documents because my version of open office does not have the 'filter' for word 2007 (only word 2003 and back). Where can I find the filter I need? --Ghostexorcist (talk) 20:56, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Would this be what you're looking for: odf-converter-integrator ? — QuantumEleven 10:57, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

That is exactly what I am looking for, but open office is still asking me to pick a filter when I try to read a word 2007 document. The instructions for the upgrade just say install and "that's it". --Ghostexorcist (talk) 18:01, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Never mind, I figured it out. --Ghostexorcist (talk) 18:04, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

system("pause") function of C++

I read on a webpage that one should avoid using the system(*) command in C++ because it is taxing. For the system("pause") function it said it causes the program to:

1.suspend your program
2.call the operating system
3.open an operating system shell (relaunches the O/S in a sub-process)
4.the O/S must now find the PAUSE command
5.allocate the memory to execute the command
6.execute the command and wait for a keystroke
7.deallocate the memory
8.exit the OS
9.resume your program

It said to use the cin.get() function instead because it is a native command and works on all OS's (whereas system("pause") would only work on Windows). Well, I tried the cin.get() function to pause the program and it did not work. It did the same thing it would have done without either command. My questions are what are your thoughts on this and how else can I use a native command to pause the program (using Dev-C++ on Windows XP)? (The webpage is [14].) Thanks, Ζρς ι'β' ^¡hábleme! 22:23, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

I wouldn't think the overhead would be an issue, since you are trying to slow the program down anyway. Also, system calls are fine if you only call a few times. It's only if they are in a loop called hundreds of times that it will be an issue. StuRat (talk) 03:16, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

If you are writing a command-line program, then you should run it on the command-line in the first place. None of this oh I am writing a command-line program because I don't know how to make a GUI program in my OS; and yet I expect to be able to double-click on it in my GUI environment and have it magically work flawlessly nonsense. A command-line program is supposed to do what it does and exit. Adding some extra external command call inside the program because you don't like to run it correctly is completely the wrong thing to do, and fucks it up for other people. I get really pissed off every time I get some code only to find out that some Windows/DOS dimwit decided to call a "pause" command, especially when I don't even have a "pause" command on my system. --71.141.126.37 (talk) 05:03, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Are you including iostream? Try std::cin.get();. A legacy way of waiting for keyboard input is to use getch(); from conio.h. 192.156.33.34 (talk) 05:08, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Yes, I am including iostream. std::cin.get() doesn't keep the window open.

71.141.126.37, I am not writing a "command-line program". It's a console application. If I could do what I wanted with just the command-line interface, I would write a batch file. Furthermore, I am just starting C++ and can only find tutorials for console applications. I'm sure I will eventually write Windows applications, but seeing as how I am just starting, I think it's ok to try to learn syntax and get my barings by writing console applications. Ζρς ι'β' ^¡hábleme! 17:38, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

See command line interface. A command line program isn't the same thing as a shell script or a batch file; it doesn't generally consist of commands as a user would type them, in other words. Rather, it is meant to be invoked from the command line, or from a shell script, or from a graphical program (typically invisibly), etc. I think it's clear that making such a program wait for user input before terminating prevents the use of the program by other programs, or the use of the program in an unattended fashion (as to, say, process thousands of files overnight). This is 71's complaint, that — because it makes the one use case of running things from Explorer easier — people write their programs in a way that makes them less useful in all other circumstances. The simple answer is to run your program from a terminal (or a "Command Prompt" in some dialects of Windows); just change to its directory (with cd) and type the program's name. This additionally lets you use things like I/O redirection, pipelines, command-line arguments, etc. (Those articles are written with Unix in mind, but almost every example will work unaltered on modern DOS/CMD versions.) --Tardis (talk) 22:18, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Oh, my bad. Well, I'm just starting C++ and it appears that Windows apps are much harder to write than console apps. That's why I'm starting with console apps. Also, I did not know that console applications should be invoked from the command prompt. In all the lessons I've seen, it's never specified so I just assumed you could run them from either the GUI or the command prompt. Thanks for the info, Ζρς ι'β' ^¡hábleme! 23:15, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Need to figure out sizes of directories on my computer

I'd like to figure out which directories take up the most space I have a 30gb hd and it is full already and I'd like to know what is eating all the space. I can right click, view properties in windows explorer to see what each individual folder is, but I'd like to see a list of all folders and which are the largest. Any software out there that can do this?

71.164.100.174 (talk) 22:44, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Try this. I use it, but it gets kinda slow with large folders. Admiral Norton ^(talk) 23:22, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

i have 2.5gb text file in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Dr Watson ...do i need that? i could really use the space for something else. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.164.100.174 (talk) 00:15, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Try WinDirStat. This provides a nice graphical overview of a complete disk. Trieste (talk) 00:24, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

(ec) If you want to find out where stuff is easily, try something like SequoiaView, which will visualize the whole drive. As for any specific file, tell us the file name, it will do more than just telling us the location. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 00:28, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

I agree that SequoiaView is a great piece of software. Very usefull for this sort of thing. APL (talk) 01:00, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

JDiskReport is a similar software. --71.141.126.37 (talk) 04:49, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

NOTE: Use CCleaner before you do this. It will get rid of the obvious junk. Although not needed you can check every option without harm. Yes, some things don't NEED to be cleaned out but there is no harm in doing it. --mboverload@ 03:28, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

July 21

auto scanner

I seek a device where I can put in a stack of papers and it will go through each paper in the stack and scan both sides —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.147.40.7 (talk) 04:53, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Look for a scanner with ADF. Duplex scanning is gonna cost you though. Keep in mind any copier worth its salt made in the last 5 years should have this ability. It doesn't cost any money to do so use one at work or have a friend do it for you if you're on the cheap. If you want to buy one see here [15]. Also, see how to do it oh-so-easy with Microsoft Office. [16] --mboverload@ 05:19, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

This has come up a few times in the last week or so. Your best bet is probably to go down to your local Kinkos and see if they can do it for you. It's a lot quicker and easier than buying your own. Duplexers also have a nasty tendency to break down, in my experience. Something about the amount of moving the paper required to duplex drastically increases the likelihood of paper jams and things just breaking on the inside. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 17:40, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

I think mboverload is referring to Automatic Document Feeder, as opposed to any of the other dozens of meanings of "ADF."89.240.185.90 (talk) 19:22, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

XKCD on an iPhone or iPod Touch

Since XKCD uses an alt tag on the comic image for part of the humor, it seems that iPhone and iPod Touch users may miss out. Is there a way to see those alt tags on those devices when you don't have a mouse to hover over the image? Dismas|^(talk) 10:51, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

A lot of web browsers let you right click on an image and get "image properties" or something similar. I'm not sure if that's possible on an iPhone, though.

One possible, but awkward, solution is to check the xkcd forums. Typically comics are reposted there with their alt-text. APL (talk) 12:52, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Or does the iPhone let you view the page source and scroll through to find the appropriate tags? jeffjon (talk) 13:06, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Point of information - XKCD actually (correctly) uses the "title" attribute on the image tag for the extra bit of humor, they also provide an alt attribute, but a proper browser shouldn't be showing that unless it's not showing images. --LarryMac | Talk 14:28, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Comcast Voip  ?

I currently use a conventional phone service, and for long-distance, I use a prepaid card (I call a toll-free # and place the call through the prepaid service). I am considering a Comcast VOIP service that does not include long distance (you can call long distance, but it costs more). Do you think I can still use my prepaid long distance card with the comcast VOIP? (BTW, I asked Comcast this question and the person I talked to didn't know). ike9898 (talk) 14:04, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Ah oh. I don't know how I can even recommend you to go ahead with Comcast if their people don't have answers to your questions. Although I must note that it is better than giving you convulated answers that meant nothing. AFAIK, if your prepaid long distance card has a local number to call or has a toll-free number, Comcast Digital Voice should work with it. Have you considered other options such as Skype if you just plan on calling North America or Western Europe? I assume you have access to high speed Internet. Kushal (talk) 16:15, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Hard drive enclosure

Why do some hard drive enclosures advertise a maximum size of hard drive? How does it have any effect on the size of drive?78.151.50.55 (talk) 14:59, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Some external enclosures do not directly connect the drive to the computer. The drive is connected to internal hardware and the internal hardware is connected to the computer. If the internal hardware is not capable of handling, say, more than 300G, then the enclosure cannot handle more than 300G. -- kainaw™ 17:30, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Thank you. So these limits do actually mean something, you need to match the HD size to the right enclosure. Question answered.89.240.185.90 (talk) 19:19, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

I think this only applies to budget enclosures. I've never seen limitations on name-brand enclosures. --70.167.58.6 (talk) 19:55, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

The enclosure I've just bought wasn't a cheap one, it has consistently high reviews peppered all over the internet.78.148.115.223 (talk) 21:52, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

How is SMS texting so fast?

I'm always surprised just how little time it takes for a recipient to receive text messages. It seems far faster than the time it takes to connect a voice call. Just wondering how/why it's so speedy? --70.167.58.6 (talk) 19:17, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

I haven't found it any faster than phoning. Why, what country are you in, and what network are you on?89.240.185.90 (talk) 19:20, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

For me (on U.S. Verizon), the time it takes to send a text message is slower than the time to place a call. It normally takes a matter of seconds for the called phone to ring, but can take up to 5 minutes for a text message to go through. -- kainaw™ 20:13, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Well, there is less data sent in a text message, measured in number of bytes, than a voice message. So, in theory it should be faster. However, the phone company may decide to put a lower priority on delivering text messages, which can make them slower. StuRat (talk) 22:33, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Generally, when I send a plaintext SMS, it arrives to its recipient in a couple of seconds -- at times almost immediately. If I'm in the same room with the recipient, which isn't that uncommon, this can be easily observed. As StuRat says, it's a pretty tiny chunk of data, and it's travelling essentially at the speed of light -- minus processing speed, of course. If you're in the same cell with the recipient -- covered by the same base station -- that's pretty simple stuff. If the signal needs to be bounced off several satellites or something, then the delay is going to be a little greater simply because the transfer delays add up, but even then we're usually talking about seconds, unless the recipient's phone is out of range or one of the service providers involved sits on the message before passing it on for some reason, such as network congestion or limited processing power or whatever. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 08:32, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Small data packets make sense. I use AT&T, US and it takes 2-3 seconds for someone to get my text. Or when my bank texts me a passcode. It takes 2 seconds from when I hit send on my web browse for my phone to receive a text. --70.167.58.6 (talk) 16:04, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

July 22

Installing .deb with dependencies

Hi people, I was trying to install a .deb file in ubuntu, with "dpkg- i somefile.deb" but it won't install because it has dependencies not installed, now my question is:
Are there any other parameters for dpkg that will automatically download and install all dependencies required for a deb file?
PS: Sure doing this the graphical way would be easy, but I need it to be in command line mode... SF007 (talk) 01:03, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

You can use the "gdebi" command on the command line, which is the text version of the graphical gdebi program that usually runs when you double-click on a .deb in the GUI. --Spoon! (talk) 02:05, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Worked exactly like I wanted! many thanks! SF007 (talk) 04:17, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

linear and nonlinear Quantization?

I wat to know about the Linear and nonLinear Quantization in digital Audio?please give me the answer... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lakshmanpagolu (talk • contribs) 03:53, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

see Digital audio, Quantization (sound processing) and dictionary definitions of 'linear' and 'non-linear' may be useful too.

An an example CD audio is linear quantised - if you can get an understanding of linear quantisation, it should be easy to work out what non-linear quantisation is. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.102.86.73 (talk) 08:49, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Was there something very specific you wanted to know?87.102.86.73 (talk) 07:10, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

An example of non-linear quantization is the μ-law algorithm. -- Coneslayer (talk) 16:08, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Graphical applications in chrooted terminal

I am trying to run Synaptic on a chrooted environment, in ubuntu (I am working with reconstructor), but I can't open any graphical application, I always get errors like: "(synaptic:6805): Gtk-WARNING **: cannot open display: :0.0", I tried running "xhost +" and lots of other stuff, but with no success. I am doing this in VMware Workstation with internet in NAT mode, (in case that matters...) Does anyone have any ideas? SF007 (talk) 07:17, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

The DISPLAY string ":0.0" refers to the UNIX-domain socket in /tmp/.X11-unix so you'll need to either make that available under the chroot (by bind-mounting /tmp, perhaps) or use TCP instead (DISPLAY=localhost:0.0 and make sure TCP is enabled on the server, not running with "-nolisten tcp"). --tcsetattr (talk / contribs) 07:58, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Could you provide me que specific commands and tell me where to run them? (inside or outside the chroot), this is a bit complicated to me... I tried running DISPLAY=localhost:0.0 both inside and outside chroot, and with no success... also, "-nolisten tcp" does not work either... (command not found) SF007 (talk) 14:22, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Automagically crop GIF files to remove blank pixels?

Is there a script or command I can use in Win XP or Ubuntu to automagically crop many .gif files, such that it only keeps where there are pixels? It will crop the top, sides and bottom as much as possible if they are only transparent pixels with no colour.--206.248.172.247 (talk) 13:22, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

As long as the corner pixels are transparent, Imagemagick's "trim" command should do it. Imagemagick is fairly easy to automate from a bash script or the like. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 13:36, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

This worked!! for f in `ls -1 *.gif`; do convert $f -trim trimmed/$f; done

--206.248.172.247 (talk) 15:41, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

As a side note, you should put the $fs after the do in quotes. Otherwise filenames with spaces will cause problems. Morana (talk) 16:59, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Creating an XML-driven flash website

A friend of mine asked me to create a website for his band. He said it doesn't need to be anything too fancy, although he'd like to have a flash site with it (I've already created an HTML alternative... or should it be XHTML?). My question is, how would I go about using XML files for the flash site? As in, how would I use a SWF "container" to display the content of various XML files? For example, if I had a button called "About" in flash, when clicked upon, it would call and parse the content from a corresponding external XML file, whereas it displays the members of the band, while clicking another button, say "Gigs", would load another XML file containing information about upcoming performances. How would I go about doing this? Thanks, Valens Impérial Császár 93 15:47, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Non-breaking tables in MS Word

Hello, I am writing a 300+ page work in MS Word. It is filled with various tables. It is very important that those tables would be presented as a whole in a single page and not split between two pages when there is not enough space on the first page. I have big issues tracking each table: I waste hours manually inserting blank lines and page breaks trying to preserve each of them as a whole on one page. And then I or my teammates add or delete something... and it's all over again... Is there some trick to prohibit Word from breaking tables in half between pages? Renata (talk) 01:30, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Firefox hit count

How can I get Firefox 3.01 to show me the number of hits for a search? Clarityfiend (talk) 02:54, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Hi Clarity. First we need to know what search engine you are using. --mboverload@ 04:40, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

USB keyboard doesn't work with bootloaders

For some reason when booting off of a CD or any non primary Hard disk, the system does not respond to any keyboard input. I know that the BIOS can see the keyboard, the boot loader can't, but any OS can see it again after booting. Examples: (1) When it opens GRUB, I can't boot into anything other than the default option when time runs out. (2) When the Knoppix 5.1 disk boots, I can't type any boot options ("cheats"), and have to wait for the timer to run out and boot the default configuration. (3) I can't use the Windows XP setup boot CD, it stops and says "Press any key to boot from CD" and ignores all input until the timer runs out and boots off the Hard disk. This is not a new machine, it has worked fine for years, but is failing now for no apparent reason. To reiterate, this is a USB (US-International layout) pluged into a USB 2.0 device built-into the mainboard. It doesn't work when any other USB keyboard either. I want to know what's going on and how I can fix it, permanently preferably. Please DO NOT SAY GET A NEW MOTHERBOARD, OR GET A <your favorite computer brand here> BECAUSE THAT ISN'T HELPFUL. ~Anonymous 04:29, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Look in your BIOS for "USB Keyboard support". I have seen it hidden in a lot of places. It's the only thing I can think of with the circumstances you cite. How old is the machine exactly? --mboverload@ 04:40, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

I got this computer in October/November 2005, so it's a little more than 2.5 years old. I do apologize if my post sounded exaggerated, I am as you can tell under a lot of stress lately. ~Anonymous 05:06, 23 July 2008 (UTC)