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December 18

Windows 10 drivers

If you have Windows 10 drivers for a device, does that mean that you will never need new drivers as Windows 10 is updated? Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 04:37, 18 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Usually not, but it is not possible to 100% sure. Ruslik_Zero 13:47, 18 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The hardware might need or might get a new driver released. This has nothing to do with Windows 10. A new Windows version could break the backwards compatibility with drivers of version pasts, I doubt this could happen with updates within the same version. So, even when Windows moves to Windows 13, your drivers will probably run OK. Windows has also “compatibility mode” options that make the applications believe tehy are running on the old Windows still. --3dcaddy (talk) 18:41, 18 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I thought all versions of Windows were to be W10 from now on. I had a good Canon scanner, but when one of the new versions of Windows came out several years ago, there were no drivers for it, so it wouldn't work. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 01:37, 19 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

It's impossible to know what the future will bring, but I think "Windows 10 is the last version of Windows" is essentially a branding statement, not a technical one. It's unlikely that Microsoft will suddenly become more averse to major incompatible kernel changes just because they said (some years ago at that point) that every future version of Windows would be called "Windows 10". Most likely they'll change their minds and announce Windows Frobnitz, or effectively fork Windows 10 by not distributing the breaking change to incompatible systems, or something like that. -- BenRG (talk) 04:00, 19 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Can't see my 5GHz network

I have a laptop running Windows 7 with a wireless-N adapter (Intel Wireless-N 7260) and a dual-band wireless-N router. The 5GHz network is enabled on the router and set to broadcast SSID. Why can't I see it in the list of networks available for connection? Do all wirelsss-N adapters support the 5GHz band? ―Mandruss ☎ 14:05, 18 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

No. All wireless N adapters do not support 5GHZ. Many do not. I have five different adapters in my house. Three do support 5ghz and use it. Two do not and don't even see it. 209.149.113.52 (talk) 14:32, 18 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, after a little more online digging, it appears I probably have the single-band version of 7260. Nuts. Stuck with 2.4 for now. ―Mandruss ☎ 14:54, 18 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Check to enable the 5 GHz. Some use different SSID. If there are walls between, You might be out of range for connecting the 5 GHz accesspoint. --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 14:39, 19 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

One wireless adapter, two networks

Could one run-of-the-mill wireless adapter connect to two wifi networks at the same time? Mine does not support this, but I wonder where the limitation comes from. --3dcaddy (talk) 18:33, 18 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Both Linux and Windows have virtual WiFi projects that claim to allow you to connect to multiple wifi networks with one wireless device. I haven't used either one. The Windows one is here. 209.149.113.52 (talk) 19:03, 18 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

That's from 23 August 2005. It seems kind of a big deal. But, from a technical perspective, what makes multiple connections so difficult in 802.11 wireless networking?--3dcaddy (talk) 19:45, 18 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

It could be that nobody sees a market for it and therefore nobody produces one. I'm just one person but I can't think of a reason that you'd need to be able to do this. At least not on a scale that would make it profitable to produce the software/devices. Dismas|^(talk) 20:54, 18 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Perhaps the most difficult part is that any two "wifi networks" are actually separated at the physical layer (not the network layer). Most modern wifi hardware can not simultaneously transmit- and- receive- on multiple channels - the radio circuits that you can actually build and buy at reasonable price-points simply are not designed that way. This is because wireless radio PHYs are tuned circuits and have frequency-selectivity. To support multiple channels, you'd need redundant hardware transceiver circuits; or, a single wide-band transceiver with significantly higher-performance. If you want a truly simultaneous network connection, you need a simultaneous physical connection.

If you had unlimited engineering time and money, you could design an ultra-wide-band receiver/transmitter, and attach it to an ultra-wide-band digitizer; and attach it to an ultra-fast specialized controller or computer that could manage multiple instances of the network layer incarnated in these multiple physical instances of the physical layer. This work is not easy or cheap. A handful of the better recent WiFi hardware can do simultaneous dual-band (at 2.4GHz and 5 GHz); and perhaps there are some commercial systems that can manage simultaneous full duplex on multiple channels within a single band; but these features are not common. These features are more likely to be found on commercial-grade access points - like a Cisco AeroNet - than on consumer-grade end-points.

Because the hardware support for this kind of feature is rare, the software to support it is even more rare; and free software incarnations are essentially non-existent. The end result is that you can't easily get simultaneous WiFi network connections.

Nimur (talk) 21:03, 18 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Dual boot?

Can I put an XP partition on my computer fitted with windows 7 and boot into it when required?. There are some programs that dont work in W7. Help.--178.110.28.209 (talk) 23:16, 18 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe you could see if the Windows XP Mode is what you need instead.--Denidi (talk) 00:13, 19 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Instructables to the rescue! This is instructions to do exactly what you want! SteveBaker (talk) 02:24, 19 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

When Your computer is fast enough, thing to install and run Windows in a virtual machine. You will be able to recover, restore and backup completely and easly. --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 14:36, 19 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

December 19

Word font change

I was working on a Word document for a client using tracked changes. When they sent it back with their responses to my comments/changes, the font got too small for me to read clearly for some reason. I can select the main document and increase the font, but that doesn't help with their comments. Clarityfiend (talk) 05:36, 19 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

If you can't find a way to change the font size at which their changes are displayed, you might try enlarging the entire screen. On Windows, try WINDOWS++ to increase zoom level. (Note that the Windows key is typically marked with the flying Windows logo, not the word, and that you must press both together.) There are also options to just enlarge the document, if you prefer that. StuRat (talk) 06:32, 19 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

See if any of this helps. ―Mandruss ☎ 10:11, 19 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

From one of the linked suggestions: ctrl-alt-shift-S, then changing the balloon text font worked. So obvious! Thanks. Clarityfiend (talk) 01:23, 20 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Making Ubuntu-Firefox interface to be more Windows-Firefox like?

The reason I need this is when I use Ubuntu's Firefox's Bookmarks' menu everything looks very compressed (it's especially uncomfortable in my case as I have many folders and bookmarks).

Anything you could suggest me of doing about it? Ben-Yeudith (talk) 11:55, 19 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Change the theme and fonts. Ubuntu might be able to apper very similar to Windows. --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 14:33, 19 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The only difference I noted was Settings moved form Extras to Edit in the conventional menu. Also the user profile can be migrated by copying the files and folders of the Firefox user settings to the new computer or user. --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 20:14, 19 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Linux

Why does Linux have such a tiny market share on desktop pcs despite literally being given away for free? Supposedly it's the best OS around but in 30+ years it still can't hold a candle to Bill Gates. Why is that? Why has the year of the Linux desktop ever come? Is Linux just a bad OS for common folk? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.37.237.15 (talk) 18:36, 19 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Depending on the license, further changes and contributions to the source needs to returned to or published and making it avail for the community. Many bugs were fixed by interests, many develtopment is done as well. It would take a huge investment to revinvent the whole operating system. --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 20:01, 19 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The common folk never install an OS; they buy a computer with an OS preinstalled. So your question boils down to why so few consumer PCs come with Linux preinstalled. I don't know the answer, but I suspect it has to do with support costs. Inevitably some fraction of buyers will try to install a third-party printer or game or office suite that doesn't support Linux and will complain to the computer vendor about it. The cost of handling that sort of thing might exceed the cost of OEM Windows licenses. -- BenRG (talk) 21:28, 19 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I'd believe it. Dell has been known to sell laptops with Ubuntu preinstalled, but they're marketed more towards developers than the average consumer. ([1]) clpo13_(talk) 21:56, 19 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

As of November 2015, when I last called, Dell is not selling any computers that do not have Windows. Every offering must come with Windows. I escalated by request and pestered sales people on the phone, through email, and through chat. There was absolutely no way around it. Even when going to their Linux offerings site which includes a number to sales, the sales people claimed that those offerings are not active and the page is there to allow historical purchases easy access to Dell support. So, I think it is important to emphasize the "has been known" part of "has been known to sell laptops". 209.149.113.52 (talk) 14:03, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, I wasn't sure if that was something they were still doing. Although now that I think about it, Chrome OS (on Chromebooks) is Linux-based, though it's heavily-modified and locked-down, so not quite the same as getting Ubuntu on a laptop (though Crouton (computing) looks interesting). clpo13_(talk) 16:15, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Vendor lock-in and first mover advantage. Also Linux hasn't quite hit 30 yet; it dates back to 1991. (The GNU Project was founded in 1983 and insert here long discussion about the difference between GNU and Linux and what name you should use for a system using the Linux kernel and GNU userspace.) --71.119.131.184 (talk) 04:28, 20 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Our article, Usage share of operating systems, provides much discussion on the topic.

Purchase price of software is only one of many factors that drive market-share. Linux distributions are frequently available at zero cost, but consumers may value other important details, and may be willing to spend well above the zero price point. Among these factors are perceived and actual software quality; compatibility with hardware and application software; estimated maintenance and other total cost of ownership considerations; and so on. Nimur (talk) 04:43, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Don't forget that Linux is at the heart of Android - and Android runs on 80% of the 6.8 billion cellphones in the world. Also, Apple's computers run software based on BSD Unix - which, these days, is mostly rehashed Linux and GNU stuff. Linux also dominates cloud computers, IoT devices, televisions (you probably didn't even notice that your smart-TV is running Linux - but I bet it is!) pretty much anywhere beyond desktop/laptop computing is now dominated by Linux. What you don't see is Linux penguin logos all over everything - because each vendor changes it to make it their own...which is actually what is intended to happen.

Linux "computers" outnumber Windows "computers" by an enormous factor - but just not in the narrow area of laptops and desktops.

So clearly the problem isn't with Linux itself. It is with vendor lock-in. SteveBaker (talk) 16:05, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Add to this the fact that ever since MS-DOS debuted in the late 1970s to early 1980s, people have thought of "PC" and "Microsoft" as synonymous. To this day, major software vendors market their software as being compatible with "PC, Mac and Linux", meaning "Windows" when they say "PC". I have heard that when people have trouble using Windows, they say "This computer is shit!", but when they have trouble using Linux, they say "Linux is shit!". I myself only heard about Linux when I started studying at university, but once I heard about it and tried it out, I was fully enamoured with it, and for the past decade and a half, have only used Windows at work or when helping relatives. JIP | Talk 22:50, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

traceroute

when u do a trace route u see many different companies in the hops. can they see your internet traffic? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.37.237.15 (talk) 18:37, 19 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

If they have to route your traffic, they can "see" it somehow. However, if your traffic is encrypted, they will only make sense of the metadata. That is, where it comes from, where is going to. Notice, however, that most emails are not encrypted, so, they can see and read them, in the same way a postman can read a postcard. --Denidi (talk) 19:00, 19 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

They need to capture cyper key exchanges or brute force decode or recalculate the key in another way. When the route changes to other providers, they see Your computers packets no longer. But YOur ISP sees all Your internet fraffic. He can not change the route to You. --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 19:57, 19 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Most emails are not themselves encrypted, but they are usually sent over encrypted (SSL/TLS) connections these days, so they are only visible to whoever runs the mail servers, not other network providers like Level 3 that may show up in traceroute. -- BenRG (talk) 21:41, 19 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

How to stop Twitter sending me messages on my iPhone?

Please how to stop Twitter to send me messages on my iPhone? These messages sound like I receive a text message, it looks like I receive a text message, so I slide the message just like I do when I receive a text message in order to read it, but it doesn't open the Messages app. It opens the Twitter app and it appears to be a tweet from some journal or some company or some political party or such. I don't want them to use my text message warning sounds or my iPhone ringtones for their tweets. I don't want Twitter to use my iPhone's sounds and ringtones in any way. Twitter didn't get intrusive for years, it was just silent and invisible except when I did open the Twitter app myself. Why has it become so intrusive since a few weeks? Have I changed a setting by mistake? Or is it that Twitter got themselves such new intrusive behavior? Thanks in advance for your answers. Akseli9 (talk) 20:11, 19 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Disable notifications for the Twitter app. (The Twitter app has supported notifications for a very long time. Possibly since it was first introduced.) Nil Einne (talk) 08:04, 20 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. I did that, from the Notifications Center within iPhone's Settings (didn't find anything to change in Twitter's Preferences anyway). Akseli9 (talk) 08:48, 20 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Games for learning leadership skills

In Superbetter, Jane McGonigal writes on p. 112ff: "Multiplayer and massively multiplayer video games can teach important skills [...] People who frequently play games that require them to organize groups and lead others in like-minded efforts, such as Guild Wars and World of Warcraft, are rated by others as • better leaders • more effective motivators [...]". Do people here share that impression, and which games would you recommmend other than the two mentioned? I am particularly interested in knowing if there are some that are less fantasy war themed, but focus more on construction, economic simulation and real world issues. I-just-ask-questions-at-Wikipedia (talk) 23:12, 19 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I play Electronic Arts' Tiberium Alliances, which has alliances of up to 50 people, in coalitions of several alliances, each battling other coalitions to get to the center and take down the Fortress first. To be in the leadership requires lots of organizational skills, diplomacy, and flexibility, as old enemies frequently become allies. The leaders also need to learn to delegate authority, as personally controlling every action in a coalition of hundreds of players isn't possible. Thus, each alliance has a Commander-in-Chief, Second-in-Command, officers, etc., each assigned different roles and tasks. I can go into more detail, if you are interested. (One very specific thing I've learned there is that it's best to put a person's name in the title of e-mails if you expect a response from them. Otherwise, they might just assume it's a general message that doesn't concern them and never open it.) Note that this is a "freemium" game, and I pay about $5 a month to stay competitive (some others spend far more). StuRat (talk) 04:35, 20 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for the tip and the good explanation of the organizational structure. I found the article Command & Conquer: Tiberium Alliances, which already has more detail, but thank you for the offer. This isn't quite the genre I've been looking for, but it's interesting. I also just asked two questions about that game on its talk page; if you have the time, it would be nice if you could answer them. I-just-ask-questions-at-Wikipedia (talk) 06:29, 20 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Answered there. StuRat (talk) 08:22, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Eve Online is probably the most well known MMO with a strong focus on "construction [and] economic simulation"; one of the standard jokes among the player base is that it's really a spreadsheet simulator, and the company that runs it has an economist on staff. I don't play it myself so I can't vouch personally for it. --71.119.131.184 (talk) 16:26, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

"syntaxicity"

hello, is there any objective measure of how much syntax a language has. I mean that thing of which Lisp obviously has pretty little, C just the right amount and Perl too much. Asmrulz (talk) 23:22, 19 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Well, one could form syntax descriptions of each candidate language using a meta-language like Backus–Naur Form - then compare the number of rules - or the number of tokens used in writing the rules. I'm not aware of any studies that did that - but it is at least possible in principle. SteveBaker (talk) 06:50, 20 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

December 20

Finger print open source software

Hello,

I hope you all are well.

I'm searching for a reliable software that I can use via a touchscreen laptop monitor. A phone to PC, PC to phone synchronization facility/functionality is advantageous/desirable. Can someone help me please?

Space Ghost (talk) 07:38, 20 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Your question is fairly confusion. I don't think any touch screen monitors have the ability to read fingerprints as part of the touch function. They may have a seperate fingerprint sensor but that doesn't mean the touchscreen itself can read fingerprints. It's also fairly unclear what you want the finger print detection function for and how this related to the synchronization facility/functionality. Actually it's fairly unclear what you want the software to do point blank. Nil Einne (talk) 08:02, 20 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I saw it on television.

I was actually thinking of a system for MS Office login, and or, say for a customer's ID purpose. So far to date I've come across a 'Blood pressure checker' for diabetes on a smart phone. The sync I'm talking about is for 'read only' and or 'editing' purpose while you are on the go in a phone, under a present customer's permission, then of course you sync the data from phone to PC with the computer thereafter whenever... I don't know what I'll use, could be a Laptop or could be a phone.

Space Ghost (talk) 18:42, 20 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

To be clear - it's not a matter of software. The physical hardware of the touch-screen sensor isn't capable of reading fingerprints. You could possibly do it by taking a photo of your fingertip with one of the on-board cameras - but I doubt the resolution is high enough without you holding your finger so close to the lens that the picture would be too blurry to resolve.

IMHO, fingerprint scanning is a really stupid idea for security or personal identification. The "gummy bear" hack makes it easy for anyone with a sample of your fingerprint to reproduce it perfectly and fool these devices. Finding one of your fingerprints to use is really easy because your fingerprints are all over the very phone you're trying to protect! But the worst thing of all is that if your password is compromised, you can at least change it so security violations won't continue - but good luck with changing your fingerprints! You can also limit the scope of a password exposure by using different passwords on different systems - but you only have ten fingers to get prints from!

This flaw makes fingerprint scanners (and many/most other biometric approaches) not just bad security - but potential disasters for their users. It's beyond belief that companies are still promoting these terrible techniques to the public.

SteveBaker (talk) 15:44, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Lol.

The best thing I've seen so far to date is the 'three option security system' i.e. eye scan, fingerprint scan and a pin code. I could be wrong however...

Anyway, I'm not going to get into the fingerprint thing anymore, cause I recalled the existing issues; as you stated. It's just, its one of those "I want it for myself too" thing for me.

Thanks guys. Regards. -- Space Ghost (talk) 19:33, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Open source AI

I'm searching for a reliable software, something like Jarvis from Iron Man movie. Can you help me please?

Regards.

Space Ghost (talk) 07:38, 20 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Such things to not yet exist - Iron Man is a work of fiction. SteveBaker (talk) 16:10, 20 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

How lame. This world is boring...

Btw, thank you all (Wikipedians) for making my life interesting and a smart one... Regards.

Space Ghost (talk) 18:44, 20 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

There is Siri, which is real, or take a look at another fictional AI program like Her (film) or Ex Machina (film). --Jubilujj 2015 (talk) 19:30, 20 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Saw Ex Machina - now I know why the world is boring... -- Space Ghost (talk) 19:39, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

There are things like Siri and home automation is gaining ground lately but the communication between the two technologies isn't there yet. So, currently, there are a lot of the pieces that you might be after but those pieces don't all work together like Jarvis. Dismas|^(talk) 03:33, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I've added what you stated to my "If I ever have enough money to swim on" list. And thank you, I get the idea of what you are saying... -- Space Ghost (talk) 19:39, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

...and there are no services like Siri or Google-voice that are open-sourced. Note that Siri doesn't run inside your phone - the phone sends your voice to Apple's cloud servers. To have something even as good as Siri for yourself would require you to invest millions in server equipment and billions in search engine technology.

It's unclear whether the fictional "Jarvis" runs in small devices - but I think the implication is that Iron Man has enough money to own gigantic cloud compute systems that he can use for his private purposes.

SteveBaker (talk) 15:34, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

In the most recent film that I saw (and I have no idea which one it was), Jarvis was depicted as a worm that replicated itself across devices. That is how it was able to move from device to device to avoid being destroyed. Of course, it also implied that Jarvis felt pain and had the intelligence to change how it operated to hide and protect itself from pain. 209.149.113.52 (talk) 18:12, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Giving full power to 'an AI' then letting it roam on the Earth will inevitably be the most stupidest thing to do in the Universe. -- Space Ghost (talk) 19:39, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Are less people using laptops due to smartphones?

In the same way that laptops took away market share of desktops, could it be that smartphones/tablets are doing the same with laptops?--Jubilujj 2015 (talk) 19:26, 20 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Define use. Do you define use as physically touching a laptop at least once in a 365 day period? The answer is no, the amount of people who use a laptop has not drop. If you ask instead "Have the usage of laptops dropped because of smartphones" then the answer is yes because usage is defined as the number of seconds in a 365 days period in which a laptop is utilized for the purpose it was designed for. 175.45.116.66 (talk) 22:43, 20 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Do you have a source for any of those assertions? 82.44.55.214 (talk) 01:25, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

smartphone-more-popular-than-laptop-ofcom-2015 175.45.116.66 (talk) 02:24, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

desktop-suffers-drastic-decline-mobile-soars 175.45.116.66 (talk) 02:29, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

People are using their laptops less because of smartphones and tablets, but it's not true that fewer people are using laptops. Apologies for the pedantry. I know this isn't the language desk. Dbfirs 08:02, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, I resisted the urge to correct the title to say "fewer people", despite "less people" sounding like some kind of insult (something like "I'd like to thank all the little people"). StuRat (talk) 08:15, 21 December 2015 (UTC) [reply]

We have to be careful about this question.

The OP didn't ask whether there are fewer laptops in use than previously - we are being asked about the market share - meaning "Did the percentage of people using laptops versus phones shift?"

Since cellphones have penetrated markets where computers were never used in the past and laptops continue to be sold - the number of people using laptops can still increase while the market share of laptops could decline when compared to cellphones.

Let's look at some numbers:

This QZ source says that in 2013 there were an astounding 6.8 billion active cellphone subscriptions - and only 7 billion people in the world. We're pretty close to 100% market penetration - evidently some people own more than one cellphone - but even in places like Africa, 85% of people own one.
This Statistia source shows that the number of laptops sold in the world started to decline from 210 million/year in 2011 down to 174 million/year in 2014 but predicts slow growth from 2015 onwards. :* Since the sales of laptops has been fairly flat for at least the last 5 years - and 5 to 8 years is the typical lifespan of most electronic devices - we may estimate that the total number of them that are still in use cannot exceed around a billion to a billion and a half.
If around 200 million laptops are sold each year - then each one would have to last for an average of 34 years for there to be as many in use as there are cellphones - and since the first laptops were first sold in the early 1980's, even if every laptop every made were still working and in active use - there could not possibly be as many as there are cellphones.

So - we can conclude that there are perhaps four to five times as many cellphone users as there are laptop users. So the market share for cellphones is vastly larger than laptops.

In terms of absolute numbers - the number of cellphone users has pretty much reached as high as it can reasonably get - 6.8 billion phones for 7 billion people (many of whom are babies and would not be expected to own one)...but the number of laptop sales seems to be fairly flat...and predictions for the future seems to offer only very modest growth. My guess is that the market is only for people replacing broken or outdated machines - so the number of laptop users is probably stuck at 1 to 1.5 billion...but it's hard to say for sure.

Interestingly, the decline of desktop PC sales is very slow - it could easily reflect improving reliability - and the fact that the shift to cloud-computing means that people aren't needing faster machines anymore - so they are replacing them less frequently.

The really interesting figures are the growth of tablet computers - which are rocketting up - and outselling laptops and desktops combined.

Conclusion: Market share of cellphones is as near to 100% as it can reasonably get. Market share of laptops is around 20% and will probably stay that way for a considerable time - whether they'll gradually become more popular as tablet users feel the need to have a keyboard - or whether tablets will gradually replace them - that's hard to say. Honestly, these days, it's hard to say whether a device is a true laptop or a tablet-with-detachable-keyboard anyway.

SteveBaker (talk) 15:22, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I think I should point out that not all cellphones are smartphones (excuse me while I pet my flip phone lovingly). This is particularly the case in less-developed countries. The OP specifically asked about smartphones. --71.119.131.184 (talk) 16:11, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

December 21

Battery charging issue

I bought a new battery for PC today. The shopkeeper said to charge the battery for 4-5 hours, but did not say/I forgot to ask 'before use' or 'if it can be done while I'm using my PC'. What do you guys recommend? Also, why 4-5 hours when the battery becomes full after 1.5 hours? -- Space Ghost (talk) 19:59, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

1) They tend to say they are full when they are not. This makes them seem like a better product if they fill up more quickly. You might find that it drops faster after 1.5 hours of charging than after 5 hours, despite being shown to be full in both cases.

Understood! -- Space Ghost (talk) 20:17, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

2) I don't understand your use of the term "PC". To me that means a desktop computer, which is always plugged in. The only batteries they typically have is one to keep the clock going, when unplugged. Do you mean a laptop ? StuRat (talk) 21:18, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

2) I meant Personal Computer, excluding from the Computer term of course. Usually I do identify computers as Laptop Computer and Desktop Computer or Laptops and Desktops, but since every English word means something, I tend to distinguish the word PC as the one of your own... Let me know if I'm still wrong to do so... -- Space Ghost (talk) 20:17, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Do not put too much weight on what the shopkeeper said. Read the documentation of the PC. --Abaget (talk) 21:21, 21 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Found it! -- Space Ghost (talk) 20:17, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks guys -- Space Ghost (talk) 20:17, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

December 22

Excel help

	A	B	C
1	Item	Type	Number
2	apple	fruit	3
3	dog	animal	1
4	orange	fruit	1
5	rose	flower	2
6	chrysanthemum	flower	3
7	mango	fruit	2
8	zebra	animal	2
9	snake	animal	3
10	daisy	flower	1

Each Item in Column A is uniquely identifiable by a Type in Column B and a Number in Column C. None of the Items, Types or Numbers follow any particular order within their columns. What formula will, by a given Type and a given Number, display the relevant Item? --Theurgist (talk) 00:47, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The DGET function looks like it can do what you want, but you have to use another group of cells to specify the criteria. --Bavi H (talk) 01:58, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not familiar with DGET, so it might well be the best option, but I would CONCATENATE the B&C columns and then use a VLOOKUP function. 99.235.223.170 (talk) 02:35, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Not specific to Excel, but if you can sort by column C, and then by column B, without resetting after the initial sort, that should do what you want. In programs that have up and down arrows at the top of each column, this can be a convenient way to do such a sort. (This might not work for certain types of internal sorting methods, which don't attempt to conserve the initial order.) StuRat (talk) 18:30, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Spreadsheet article might need attention

The bit "Each cell of the array is a model–view–controller element^{[dubious – discuss]} that may contain either numeric or text data, or the results of formulas that automatically calculate and display a value based on the contents of other cells." might need expansion. I, personally, would be interested in the consequences of dealing processing data this way (that is, mixing the data/logic/action in the same cell).--Scicurious (talk) 16:02, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Adding two numbers in Java, without declaring variables in advance

I'm trying to figure out how to write code that understands a message

add(x, y);

where x and y are two integers, adds them, and returns the result. Seems like I can't just declare two variables, because the message won't provide any. If I don't though, my code doesn't compile. I have a vague idea about using a String argument, but I don't understand how to do that and suspect I've already failed to recognise an easier way. 2.98.138.155 (talk) 19:21, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Are you trying to operate with uninitialized variables? Java actually does not have those. You declare them and they get assigned a default value for their type. --Scicurious (talk) 19:32, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

What I hoped someone might point out is a way to have the variables automatically declared as they are provided, I guess based on a keyword. In the same way as

    this

works as a placeholder for an object whose variable name isn't known yet. 2.98.138.155 (talk) 19:38, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Java won't let you use a not-explicitly-initialized variable.--Scicurious (talk) 19:41, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

You're getting confused here. Objects and variables are different things. There's nothing stopping a variable from referring to one object at one time and to another object at another time, or an object being referred to by multiple variables simultaneously. JIP | Talk 20:07, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Your question makes it appear that you want to take a String with the value "add(x, y);" and parse it into "use the function add", "make parameter 1 the variable x", and "make parameter 2 the variable y". This assumes that you previously parsed something like "set x=3" and "set y=2". If that is what you are trying to do, it is usually handled with an array of some kind. When you parse "set x=3", you check to see if you've declared x already. It will have an index in your "declared variables" array. If it hasn't been declared, you add it to your "declared variables" array. Then, with the index of x, you place the 3 at the same index in the "variable values" array. The same for setting y. Now, when you get "add(x, y);", you look up the index for x and the index for y. You then get the values for x and for y. You call the add function using the values, not the strings "x" and "y". So, the case of "calling a function when I haven't declared the variables" does not exist. 209.149.113.52 (talk) 20:14, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

LinkedIn question

As I was recently laid off from work, I joined LinkedIn and made a profile there. One company went as far as to contact me solely based on my LinkedIn profile, without me having to apply there at all. But they didn't hire me.

As it happened, I found another job without using LinkedIn at all. Now, my question is, LinkedIn still keeps sending me e-mail about possible job offerings. How do I stop it from doing so? JIP | Talk 20:05, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Hover over your icon in the top right. Select Privacy and Settings. Now, on the menu on the left, you can find Communications and alter what they send to you. 209.149.113.52 (talk) 20:20, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Problems are fewer but I'm not updating Windows Defender

Referring to this question I have asked for help on a Microsoft web site. Once I stopped automatic updates, I haven't had to do a system restore, though I did have a weird problem this afternoon after the computer had been on a while doing a scan and then went to "sleep".

I'm not up to date on Windows Defender but someone on this reference desk suggested doing something with catroot files but didn't really explain how.

As for the new problem, I don't know if it's related. It has happened several time in recent years. Once I go to the Internet for the first time on a particular day I see something that resembles scrolling quickly, only the information actually on the screen does not move. It's like I'm seeing part of another image on top of what's really there, scrolling really fast. And the mouse wiull no longer respond so I have to turn the computer off.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 21:14, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Sounds like you might have Malicious Software on your computer. Viruses and the like sometimes disguise themselves as programs that they are not. IE you were tricked into thinking a virus was infact windows defender. In my opinion programs like Malwarebytes, AVG, CCleaner are better starting points. 199.19.248.88 (talk) 23:51, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I doubt that's what happened. Windows has been updating automatically for me for years. I didn't choose to update it, but up until now, I've never had a reason to stop the updates. I never do anything risky at home.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 15:50, 23 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

"I doubt that's what happened." is a bad attitude. You probably do have malicious software of some kind. Why? "Windows has been updating automatically for me for years." You are using an old version of Windows, so it probably has some form of malicious software. Why? "I never do anything risky at home." Your assumption that you must do something risky to get malicious software is blatantly wrong. So, you probably have malicious software on your machine. Why? Many years of reporting various trivial problems to this website, each one ending with the conclusion that you have some sort of malicious software on your computer. 209.149.113.52 (talk) 16:09, 23 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The rest of you come to that conclusion because I don't seem to explain it well enough to satisfy you. If there was a real problem of that nature, the antivirus software would have picked it up by now. And these are not trivial problems to me.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 19:54, 23 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I've come to no conclusions yet, but, when I think I might have a problem on my computer, I scan with three different malware detectors, just in case. The catroot suggestion was to force Windows to update again. Dbfirs 21:05, 23 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, well, we'll see. I'm still waiting on answers from Microsoft. The man keeps asking questions I can't answer but he suspects leftover Norton software from when I switched to McAfee so I could pay when I paid my phone bill.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 22:13, 23 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

You pay for antivirus software?...Completely unnecessary. You should look for better software.. MacAfee and Norton are garbage. "If there was a real problem of that nature, the antivirus software would have picked it up by now"... Many antivirus programs fail to detect malicious software. Try being more contemplative and open minded. 199.19.248.88 (talk) 23:08, 23 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

December 23

Main differences between Git For Windows and Acquia Dev Tool?

Can someone please detail, in the simple way possible, what I didn't find in the net? What are the Main differences between Git for Windows and Acquia Dev Tool? Aren't both of them different packages of Unix-based tools? If these are not packages of different Unix-based tools, then how would you define them? and what are they besides that? 79.178.163.10 (talk) 07:17, 23 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

That question is a bit hard to answer, because the built-in assumptions seem to be weird. It's a bit like "What is the main difference between e and -170011? Aren't both numbers?" The Acquia Dev Desktop is a collection of tools for developing Drupal websites, which conveniently integrates with Acquia's hosting services. Git for Windows is a port and package of git for Windows. Git is a distributed version control system, i.e. it allows you to keep track of changes to sets of files, and to reconcile changes made on different development branches. A version control system (and today frequently git) is part of most development environments. So both of your systems contain some tools from the Unix/Linux/Free software community, but they address different problems - Acquia is more specialised, but likely also has more functionality, and Git for Windows is more general, but just addresses one aspect of a typical development cycle. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 07:47, 23 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Undo changes in dropbox

Hi, ive messed up a file on my computer, and its in the dropbox folder. Therefore, I assume, next time i log in, it will presumably update on dropbox, and that file will be messed up too. Can i undo the update by logging in to dropbox and finding the undo button? I know you can do this if you are working directly on the web, but what about dealing with updates that happen automatically from your filesystem? Thanks IBE (talk) 13:31, 23 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

What if you rename the local file, delete it entirely, or otherwise attempt to disrupt the link between the version on Dropbox and the version on your hard drive? You can put it on a flash drive as a backup, if losing the file entirely would be worse than merely having the messed-up file. Nyttend (talk) 15:36, 23 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

But surely that will update just the same, won't it?? I mean the dropbox file will update whatever changes I make, including deletions, I would think. 58.222.111.50 (talk) 19:34, 23 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Just log in to your Dropbox account from another computer and download the important file, then copy it to your computer and all is as it should be. Dbfirs 19:47, 23 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Familiar With Microsoft Word ?? Need a bit of assistance with "Sort ascending," or making it possible to read my Tables in chronological order.

Question moved from Humanities Desk at questioner's request.

Anyone happen to be familiar with Microsoft Word ???

I am working on some documents where I make lots of different Tables with different sections, and I really need to be able to "attach" the option of reading each different section in a chronological, alphabetic, numerical order etc. I believe the English call it "Sort Ascending." You know, so that you can switch between viewing the sections as you please, in an orderly fashion. I am convinced that Microsoft Word must have this option/tool, considering how otherwise advanced it is. But I can't find the option in the toolbar above. It must be there though...

If it is somehow unclear what I mean, here's a random example from one of Wiki's articles. Here the Tables has three different sections which you can switch between reading in chronological order. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakers

Like I said, I need to be able to use Microsoft Word to include "Sort Ascending" in my tables. Krikkert7 (talk) 14:42, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

It's easy to use Microsoft's sort table function, but I assume that you want a symbol at the top of the column that when you click it produces this effect. For this you need a Word Macro. You don't have to use Visual Basic to write this, you can record the macro and assign it a shortcut key or button. The method for assigning to a button is given ~~not here.~~ If you are preparing a table for use in Wikipedia, then the procedure is much simpler, of course. Dbfirs 15:43, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The link you gave me, it is for Microsoft Excel... It works for Word also ? Krikkert7 (talk) 17:17, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, my mistake. I originally had a different link. This is the Word version, but this is simpler if you don't write Visual Basic. Dbfirs 17:32, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

We have a Computing reference desk, where this question would have attracted a more appropriate audience. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 19:17, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Jack of Oz. Yes, of course. My bad. I didn't even realize my mistake until you pointed it out to me now... Silly and unnecessary mistake. I do not know how to move the question to the Computer reference desk though. Krikkert7 (talk) 20:50, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Could any Word experts please contribute here? My "button macro" method works but the button seems to vanish after use. My version of Word is very old, so perhaps there is an easier method in modern versions? Dbfirs 15:28, 23 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Firefox needs 500 MB, to show me a 100 KB file

Firefox needs 500 MB, to show me a 100 KB file. Why is it so heavy weight? --Bickeyboard (talk) 16:04, 23 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

What plugins/extensions are running? Don't say "none" without looking. A fresh install usually has some plugins/extensions preinstalled. Then, are you certain that the 100KB file is *all* that is being loaded? Nothing else is being loaded in the background? 209.149.113.52 (talk) 16:13, 23 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

1) There's the overhead from loading Firefox itself.

2) Space might be allocated in larger chunks than the file size.

3) I believe the "rendered" version may be significantly larger than the file which created it. For example, an HTML file with just text links may be quite small in the file, but rendering that to produce actual clickable links requires more space. Or a small pic can be enlarged or duplicated when displayed, also requiring more memory. StuRat (talk) 16:34, 23 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I have 7 plugins, like DownThemAll, Adblock. Running Firefox in safe mode (hence no plugins) implies a smaller footprint, but not much less than 300 MB. --Bickeyboard (talk) 16:38, 23 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Can you tell us what's in the file ? That may offer a clue as to why it takes more space to display. StuRat (talk) 16:40, 23 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I mean any file, even this web-page or some news. In general, it's about the distance between say opening a text editor + image viewer with the text and all images of a page OR using Firefox, which implies several hundred MB. AFAIR, in the past Firefox did not need so much RAM.Bickeyboard (talk) 16:46, 23 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

There are some other browsers specifically designed to have a small footprint, especially on Linux. You might consider one of those. StuRat (talk) 17:05, 23 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

There is no relationship between opening a file in a text browser and opening it in a web browser. The web browser renders the HTML+CSS+JavaScript in a graphical way. There is a lot of overhead involved in building the DOM tree with all the elements. Further, there is no reason for a program to avoid requesting all the memory it *might* use. We are long separated from the days when requested memory was actually in main memory. Now, requested memory is placed in some form of a backing store. When used, the data from the backing store is moved into main memory. When really used, it is moved from main memory into cache. When really really used, it is moved from cache into the internal cache. Since you aren't actually using more "main memory" when requesting 500MB of space, why not request it? It doesn't do any harm. It may even speed things up since you won't have ask for more allocated space later. Now - if you really really want a very very tiny memory use for a web page, look into using Lynx. It is surprising how many web pages are still functional with a text-only browser. 209.149.113.52 (talk) 17:25, 23 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

DNS success without answer

I am hoping someone can help me understand this. I am parsing incoming DNS responses. My RCODE is 0, so no error condition. My QR bit is 1, so it is a response. However, my Answer Count is 0, which seems like I didn't have success after all. Whenever this occurs, my Additional Count is greater than 0, usually but not always 1. What is this telling me? Tdjewell (talk) 17:10, 23 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]