Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2007 September 2

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September 2

website question how to get from .com to .index

Hello, I bought a domain name recently and built a page using frontpage. I uploaded my site to a free host called newsit.es and can access the index page like this: www.mywebsite.com/index.htm . Is there a way that I can go to www.mywebsite.com and have that be my homepage, my index page, or atleast have it redirect to mywebsite.com/index.htm

Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.56.231.40 (talk) 00:44, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Usually, anything called "index" is automatically used as the home page for a directory (otherwise the directory contents are listed). Try renaming it to index.html and see if that works - otherwise, you need to talk to your hosting provider. -Wooty [Woot?] [Spam! Spam! Wonderful spam!] 01:12, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

If you mean "when you type www.mywebsite.com you want index.htm to appear", then Wooty's comments apply. If you mean "you want to open your browser on that page" then, in MSIE, browse to the page and click "Tools | options | General | Use current". -- SGBailey 07:39, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

uxtheme.dll

does anybody know how to modify uxtheme.dll to make custom themes or how to package MSI files?

-User:Drexalot —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.212.60.74 (talk) 04:27, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Google Maps

I don't know if this is the correct desk for this or over at the miscellaneous desk if it isn't I apologize. Anyway, I was wondering if there is anyway to check when the satellite view was last updated on a certain section of the map? Whispering 14:08, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

If you use Google Earth it will generally tell you the copyright date and the name of the source. Not sure if there if there is any easier or more specific way. --24.147.86.187 15:48, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Doh! Didn't think about Google Earth. I'll try that thanks. Whispering 15:52, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Copyright date doesn't necessarily correspond to the date the image was taken, though. When fully zoomed in on my home in Google Earth, there are 3 copyright statements, all of which are for 2007. However, there's a tree in the image which hasn't been there for almost 2 years, so I don't think the photo could even be 2006, let alone 2007. I don't know of any way to find out when the photo was actually taken. jeffjon 19:49, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

Network problem

I have anetwork problem. When I turn on my computer, the network at my dad's house crashes. When I use a different computer at my dad's house, the network works fine. At my mom's house, or at school, the network and my computer work fine. For the record, my computer is a Lenovo Thinkpad T61, and my dad's network transmitter is a NETGEAR RangeMax 240 wireless router. - AMP'd 14:56, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Are you sure you don't have a worm of some sort? It's one of the most common causes of network applicances crashing Nil Einne 15:30, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

I sure hope I don't have a worm. How would I go about checking and removing one? i.e.: What good antivirus programs can be recommended? —Preceding unsigned comment added by AMP'd (talk • contribs) 00:30, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

I use Avast! anti-virus, and AVG is usually well-spoken of; both have free versions for home use. Regarding the network problem, is it possible that your notebook is set to use a fixed IP address that is in conflict with something else on your dad's network? Also, is everything operating at the same spec, e.g. 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11 "pre-N"? Or more precisely at a spec that the router is expecting, I'm pretty sure you can co-mingle B and G, not sure about the pre-N stuff. Finally, if none of that helps, can you be more precised about what happens when the network crashes? --LarryMac | Talk 20:38, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

Systems event notification trouble?

When I started my laptop this afternoon, it was behaving very badly and took a very long time to start windows, although it did eventually. I ran a scan (McAfee) with the wireless connection turned off, and didn't find anything. When I turned the wireless back on, I found that my laptop wouldn't even see the network, even though other computers (such as this one I'm using) could. It tells me that windows cannot configure the network, and maybe some other software has been set up to do it, even though windows was happily doing it yesterday. Looking through the event viewer, I see SENS errors and an Eventsystem error (The COM+ Event System detected an inconsistency in its internal state. The assertion "GetLastError() == 122L" failed at line 201 of d:\qxp_slp\com\com1x\src\events\shared\sectools.cpp. Please contact Microsoft Product Support Services to report this error.) The SENS errors are like the one described here. I looked at the System Event Notification in Services and its status is 'starting' rather than 'started'.

Any help resolving this would be gratefully received. It's all looking a bit scary.

Skittle 15:42, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Phew! Seems to have been resolved by a system restore to a few days ago. I think the problem was caused by attempting to install a VPN client. System restore borked McAfee so I had to reinstall that, but otherwise everything looks good. I hope this is a useful lesson to someone, possibly me! Skittle 16:37, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Is it time to move to Linux?

Microsoft is ending support for Windows XP in 2008 or 2009, requiring XP users to purchase Vista. When I upgraded to XP I lost the ability to access my printer port in real time and all the way back to the first version of the operating system Microsoft wrote for the TRS-80 Model I I've had to give up something in order to get something else. In that case it was the ability to enter variables as well as constants in interpreter BASIC on the Model I using the input statement. Aside from the profit motive to force user purchase of the next operating system after support is abandoned for the old, does this pattern now suggest it is time to abandoned Microsoft and move to Linux? Clem 16:05, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

As long as you don't have problems with driver support (most people don't, the few that do are normally xorg, i'll explain that in a second) yes, linux is all the desktop you'd expect from OSX or XP or Vista, shiny desktop effects and all. It really is liberating, sorta like skinny dipping. People might make fun of you, and it might leave you flustered every now and then, but... actually, I can't think of any upsides to skinny dipping, never tried it personally, but still, you get what I'm saying. I'd recommend downloading three or four LiveCDs to see what distro you want to start with-- I personally recommend Ubuntu (operating system), which is the most popular distro with plenty of incredibly easy to install software and a large community of support, however you will probably get three or four other recommendations to this because linux users are like that. What I was saying about xorg earlier is one of the reasons I'd recommend Ubuntu, especially if you're not planning on switching for a few weeks. Xorg is your graphics environment, it gives you all the pretty color and windows and in general makes your computer more than just black and white text. Of course, if this fails (say, a missing graphics driver), it can be very hard for a new user to fix it, especially if they don't have a second computer to look for help with. In Ubuntu 7.10 (coming out next month), they're including something called "Bulletproof X", which is somewhat like a Safe Mode for your graphics, so that you can fix it without having to use the command line. --lucid 16:20, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

The main thing I'm concerned about is that I have invested almost 30 years in developing application software and just as I finally had everything working (Visual Basic for Applications for the MS Office suite) Microsoft pulled the plug and all the functionality of Visual Basic that I was relying upon in office has now simply vanished and is gone. Whatever I do I need to be able to restore this functionality or face starting from scratch - something that might make a less determined user jump off a very high ledge. Clem 16:31, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Most of Visual Basic has been rolled into Visual Basic .NET now, which has some changes. Yes, if you intend to stick with VB, you'll have to move to VB .NET and Vista at some point to keep relevant with the market. Otherwise, moving to Linux and another development package, such as Java, would be the best way to go. It really depends on your business model and how much time & money you're willing to invest in switching. -- Kesh 17:38, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Linux is free, easier to install (for example, Internet works instantly -I believe in Ubuntu you even get an internet connection during installation, which can be extremely handy), you get a shitload of programs pre-installed and it's much more configurable. That last bit is rather addictive - once you've gotten used to that, msWindows feels like a straight-jacket. On the downside, as mentioned, there are not always (good) drivers for less run-of-the-mill devices (although that is becoming less and less of a problem) and if the program you want isn't installed or in the 'library' (what is that called again), it can be tricky to get it installed (although being a programmer probably means that will be less of a problem for you). If it exists for Linux at all. In that last field my only gripe is there is no Linux version of Photoshop and I don't find Gimp a good enough alternative (mostly because the keyboard shortcuts I'm used to don't work with it, and those are essential for a type of program with which you necessarily use the mouse a lot). On the other hand, there are also lots of Linux programs that are not ported to msWindows, mostly handy tools, such as KDirStat, to name but one (when organising stuff it can be very handy to know which are the largest files on your harddisks). Note, though, that there are several solutions to running msWindows programs on Linux, such as Xen and Wine (software) (still have to try those). DirkvdM 18:11, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Microsoft is not ending support for Windows XP in 2009. In April 2009 both Home and Pro versions will move into the Extended Support phase, which means security updates will be available for another five years, until April 2014. More information here. — Matt Eason ^{(Talk • Contribs)} 21:27, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

I'd like to believe you but one of the reasons I donated my copy of Windows 3.1 to my church is because the pastor wanted to be absolutely guaranteed that whatever was in his computer could not be compromised through his network card's mac address, bypassing all of the higher level security features. He simply makes a floppy disk or CD copy to transfer or to store data and to guarantee security we removed everything with a mac addresses from his computer. Wouldn't it be nice if Microsoft acknowledged such very important uses for DOS and 3.1 by continuing to give them support. They owe it to the people who supported them from the beginning by buying such software. To offer no support now is in my opinion criminal. All our pastor needed was a word processor and although we can provide it using 3.1 we do so in absence of any help or support from Microsoft. No matter what Microsoft claims I am becoming more and more convinced that Linux is the way to go. Sorry Microsoft, can't support changes made solely for the purpose of forcing me to let you stick your hand in my pocket again and again and again. Clem 00:13, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

I can see the argument Bill Gates could make for not offering support for an O/S after a certain number of years (basically, that the cost is too high for the small number of users left on that O/S), but I have two reservations:

1) The number of years after which support will be abandoned should be mentioned up front, when the purchase decision is made.

2) If other companies wish to provide support for old O/S's, Microsoft should not interfere. If they both refuse to offer support and refuse to allow others to do so, this makes it obvious this is a case of planned obsolescence.

It seems to me that what MS does should be illegal, and perhaps is. At any rate, it's very poor customers relations and likely to lose them customers in the long run. StuRat 03:38, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

My anger at Microsoft for not seeing the light and taking the initiative ahead of me prompts me to say that as a result of experiencing abandonment of support, that when Microsoft puts an operating system on the market it should be required by law to provide permanent support in the form of a cost fee download or CD set of the product, its updates, docs, etc. Clem 10:54, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

What does it mean to compromise a computer through a MAC address? How does this bypass higher level security features? Are we talking about a specific documented security issue here, or just random paranoia?

Also, what kind of support are we talking about? Bug fixes? Drivers? Tech support? The first version of Linux I used as my primary OS was Slackware 1.x with an 0.99 kernel, on a box with a whopping 4MB of RAM. I even got X working, with twm as the window manager. That's sort of the Windows 3.1 of the Linux world. I might still be able to get it running on modern hardware. It would probably have terrible driver support, and there are probably tons of known security holes which no one has bothered to patch. Is that bad? The big difference is that, with access to complete source code, I could fix the problems myself. But, unless I was a large corporation, that would be far more costly than upgrading.

What about technical support? You might still be able to get tech support for Slackware 1.x. Heck, I administered a Slackware 1.x system; you might be able to get it from me. But from Slackware, Inc.? I doubt it. They've gone through 11 9 major releases since then. Why should they provide support for their decade-old software? As far as I know, all that Microsoft is ending in 2009 is XP tech support. Bugfixes continue until 2014, at which point XP will be about as old as Slackware 1.x is now. Drivers are provided by hardware vendors, who have their own agendas. I just don't see anything I can reasonably fault Microsoft for here.

By all means switch to Linux if you can, but don't toss your rationality out the window whenever you hear the word Microsoft. -- BenRG 22:40, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Again, I recommend you download a LiveCD so you can try it out and get a feel for it, before you decide to switch. Ubuntu.com has a download, and links to very good instructions on how to boot it and get it going. You can browse the web, try out office software, play (some, not the fancier ones but still) games, all from a CD, and then simply reboot and eject the CD when you're done. Or you could try Wubi, which install Ubuntu inside of Windows, although that might make it harder when you decide to actually switch --lucid 04:46, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

What about all of my existing data and algorithms? Is there an equivalent for Excel spreadsheets and a way to convert the .xls files or will such things all have to be done by hand? And is there an equivalent of Visual Basic or must I abandon that and start from scratch with something else as well? Clem 11:02, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Yes, see OpenOffice.org. --antilived^{T | C | G} 05:04, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

Sharp VC-H942 Locked VCR

I know I'm one of eight whole people on the internet who still owns and uses a VCR, but I was hoping one of you good folks might help me. My Sharp VC-H942 has ceased responding to any amount of button mashing, either on the VCR or on a remote control. Whenever a button is pressed, the now ever-present key icon blinks, while the VCR ignores the command. Even the power button fails to respond. It is not recording. I've tried unplugging it, but the key will not go away. Could you either A) Direct me to a copy the user's manual (Google wants to bury me under a pile of eBay and Manualsparadise, a service I do NOT want to pay for) or B) Explain how to unlock the VCR. Thanks in advance. 216.178.50.171 17:50, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Why only eight whole people? Who cut up all the other online VCR users into pieces? NeonMerlin 18:41, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Although I couldn't find your model VCR on the Sharp website, their VCR FAQ seems to have an answer for your problem: My VCR is locked up and there is a key in the display. How do I turn that off? --Bavi H 21:26, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Instead of button mashing try button holding. Usually when you see a "key" and an appliance fails to respond, it is in a mode that will keep it from responding to button mashing, and requires something more deliberate, like holding down a lock shaped button or something like that. --24.147.86.187 01:26, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Large file transfer from desktop to laptop

I have with me my laptop and the hard drive from my desktop. Both are running Kubuntu 7.04. If I can convince my roommate to lend me his computer to put my hard drive in, what's the easiest way to transfer about 32GB of files from the desktop to the same paths on the laptop? NeonMerlin 18:28, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

If you have networking, one possibility is

tar -cz [files] | nc [dest-ip] [port]

on the sending side and

nc -l -p [port] | tar -xz

on the receiving side. The gzipping is worthwhile even if the files aren't compressible, because gzip also includes a checksum which will guard against transmission problems. nc is netcat. -- BenRG 21:13, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

could try rsync --Spoon! 22:28, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

rsync is much better. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.78.64.102 (talk) 03:40, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

identify this computer from the 80s

Around 1983 (if my memory is not incorrect), my first computer was a screen and keyboard, built into one another inseparable. You turn it on, and the monochrome monitor starts right in BASIC. It was black and grey. There was an external device by which I could put cassettes to load files, etc. I lived in Canada. Tandy was pretty big back then, but I dunno if that's what I had or not. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sonjaaa (talk • contribs) 21:30, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Go through Category:Home computers? Do you have a picture? Could be a Commodore.

Sounds more like the TRS-80 to me. From the TI-99 on, the keyboard and monitor were usually two separate units. Also, the disk drive replaced the tape drive by the time the C=64 hit the scene. -- Kainaw^(what?) 23:13, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

TRS-80 model III had the keyboard and monitor all as one unit.Polypipe Wrangler 23:54, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

C=64 had a port for the cassette, but the original description (keyboard and monitor in one case) rules that out. If it was a commodore, it would have to be a PET. --tcsetattr (talk / contribs) 00:30, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Yes, that's what I was thinking. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.78.64.102 (talk) 01:45, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Gonna leave us hanging, Sonjaaa? Do the pictures in the TRS-80 or Commodore PET articles look like you remember? --tcsetattr (talk / contribs) 19:40, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

It was TRS-80... thanks!!!--Sonjaaa 19:50, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

Graphic cards make computers faster?

Do discrete graphic cards make your everyday computing faster, as well as gaming faster? Everyday computing such as opening folders, copying files, opening applications, graphic editting, etc... (for a Windows btw). Thanks. Acceptable 22:03, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Yes, but not by much. Graphics cards makes games much faster, however. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.78.64.102 (talk) 22:37, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Not by much could be interpreted as not that you could possibly notice on most systems, if at all. The limiting factors on things such as opening files & apps, copying, etc is to do more with drive access times, bus speeds, then basic CPU processing, more so than the graphics as you'd think about them in gaming. --jjron 08:14, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Not only games use a lot of graphics. Image editors do to (and movie editors even more). But graphic stuff can be pretty 'labour-intensive' even for simple programs (eg when you have loads of windows open). Freeing your cpu from doing the graphics work makes a huge difference, as I once noticed when I had forgotten to install the driver for my graphics card. I suppose that the difference will be greatest if you have an old motherboard, in which case it's like upgrading the on-board graphics (if any! - that of course is the most decisive factor). Which brings me to a different observation; it's the weakest link that counts. People put way too much emphasis on cpu speed (or even clock speed). But a fast cpu can't reach its potential if, say, the hard disks are so slow they can't deliver the data to work with fast enough. Also, putting the OS+programs and data on different hard disks will make a difference. Better stil is a lot of memory (in the GB range), especially when doing any sort of graphics stuff, because it makes your computer rely less on the slower hd's. DirkvdM 09:51, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

In the bad old days, there was a distinct difference between a frame buffer and a higher-end video card. In a frame buffer, the CPU is responsible for setting the state of every pixel on the screen. Graphics cards allow the CPU to push some of those tasks off onto dedicated hardware. For instance, many cards handle drawing the mouse pointer all on their own. The CPU can just say "draw a box at these coordinates", and the video card is responsible for figuring out which pixels to set. --Mdwyer 05:12, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

But megahurtz make the computer go fast, the computer show guy said so! But seriously, a beast of a CPU is the most important part of a good system. I don't think you can underemphasize its importance- yes for certain operations you need a fast harddrive and lots of memory to even give the CPU something to do, but a computer with 128MB of memory and a 5200rpm hard drive with 4 itanium IIs will protein fold the crap out of a computer with 8GB of memory and a 10k rpm hard drive and a celeron. Isn't that what matters? Think of the cancer children :( --froth^t 23:10, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

Today's "Integrated Graphics" should have some video memory (enough to function as a framebuffer) and some dedicated hardware to handle graphical output. This is just common sense and it's been around since the Amiga. This dedicated hardware is what you need to "accelerate" everyday computing. Discrete graphics are unlikely to help much unless you want some compiz fusion or Vista eye candy. Otherwise you'll be fine. Better yet, stick with bash :D --froth^t 23:04, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

DVD Authoring in Linux

Is there a way to burn a DVD in Linux just by specifying a VIDEO_TS directory? Someoneinmyheadbutit'snotme 22:03, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Further information: Category:Linux CD/DVD writing software and Category:Optical disc authoring software

I don't know all the requirements (and I'm sure someone who does will come by) for Unix-y, command line DVD burning; however, you absolutely need an AUDIO_TS directory, even if it's empty. (I usually make a third directory EXTRA_TS for text files, art and whatnot — don't put other files in the root.) If you just make those two directories, you might get something that works in some DVD players and not others — I'm pretty sure there are further requirements for a legal, widely-compatible DVD.

K3b does the job for me. I've used it in KDE and GNOME. I believe K3b is just a GUI front end for several fairly standard CLI-level programs, but I've not used those directly.

Since multiple programs are involved, I recommend asking the forum for your particular Linux distro for specific advice. / edg ☺ ★ 23:03, 2 September 2007 (UTC)