Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2009 February 22

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February 22

Firefox 3.06 add-on

I don't remember where I got it, but I had something that let me use Google to search just Wikipedia without having to specify it every time. My old PC is kaput and I'd like to install it on my new Vista machine. Sound familiar? Clarityfiend (talk) 07:41, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Searching#Google -- SGBailey (talk) 09:04, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Thanks. That's what I was looking for. Clarityfiend (talk) 22:50, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

It's not an add-on. It comes standard with FFox. It's in your 'Google Search' box on the top right hand corner. Just click on the 'G' and choose 'W' from the drop down menu.--KageTora (talk) 13:12, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

3G/GSM/CDMA confusion

I am really confused with these technologies and how they play together - 3G/GSM/CDMA. I have read the wikipedia article on each of them, but I'm still confused, please help me out here. I stay in India, where most users use GSM, CDMA is very rarely used. I heard that it's the opposite in US, most users prefer CDMA. Is that true? Also, where does 3G figure? Is it a "higher" version of both CDMA and GSM? Is 3G available only for GSM networks? So that would mean that people in USA who want to use 3G would need to use GSM?

One more thing which surprises me - why does USA have different set of frequencies for 3G? All phones need to re-released in NAM (North American) version because of this. Is it possible for a 3G-capable phone to support both the USA set of frequencies, and "rest of the world" set of frequencies?

Thanks! --RohanDhruva (talk) 09:11, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

One possible reason why cell phones might work differently in the US is if the US "went first" in installing a large number of cell towers. With any new technology, the country which takes the lead often ends up with a large installed base of obsolete technology once the rest of the world adopts an improved version of the technology. The first country can always scrap their whole system and start over, but this is very expensive. In the case of cellular technology, this could mean replacing all phones and cell towers. So, in this way, an outdated standard can continue to be used for some time. (I wonder if there's a term for this and if we have an article.) You can later get a "leapfrog effect". This happens when the original country finally upgrades to the latest technology, which can be even newer than the rest of the nations. The rest are then in the same situation, where they have obsolete technology and would incur a large cost to upgrade, so may wait until the technology improves sufficiently to justify the upgrade. Thus, these countries may leapfrog one another, never using exactly the same technology. Besides the US, Japan and the Scandanavian countries also developed early cell phone technology, so those nations may also be stuck with more obsolete technology. StuRat (talk) 12:13, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Thanks StuRat, that might explain why USA uses CDMA and rest of the world GSM. However, can you (or someone else) please also clarify the 3G part of the question? And most importantly, why don't manufacturers make phones which work on frequencies in both USA and rest of the world, instead of having NAM versions? --RohanDhruva (talk) 22:02, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

3G should be taken literally as "third generation", representing an evolutionary step from older standards. There is 3G for CDMA (CDMA2000) and 3G for GSM (HSPA,UMTS). In the US both CDMA and GSM networks are fairly well represented. Competing companies have built separate networks based on their preferred standard. I have a GSM phone and know people who have CDMA.

There do exist GSM phones that work in most of the world. These are called quad-band phones. However, most people in the US do not travel overseas on a regular basis, and hence do not need all of the bands. Also, the US cellphone market is primarily one where new phones are subsidized by signing a long-term (typically two-year) service contract. Providers will promote certain models of phones and ship large volumes of them, cutting out the features that they do not want. Supporting more bands adds to the cost of the phone, hence the North-American versions. - mako 06:11, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Thanks, that explains everything :) --RohanDhruva (talk) 13:21, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Asking Questions on Wikipedia

How do I include a small image in my questions on Wikipedia to help clarify my question? Where do I upload the picture to so that it displays alongside the question? How do I keep it from being deleted by someone who says I have the wrong license?--KageTora (talk) 13:09, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

You upload the graphic as you'd upload any other graphic. You link to it as you'd link to any other. And of course you keep it from being deleted by ensuring that you have candidly described a suitable license. Hoary (talk) 13:14, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Thank you. Now, just what is the physical procedure for this uploading, linking, etc.? Sorry to sound like I don't have a clue, but I actually don't. :) --KageTora (talk) 13:16, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Don't worry. It seems I managed it (see question below). The picture is a little too big, maybe....--KageTora (talk) 13:27, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

I've made it smaller (down to 200 pixels wide) Click edit to see how it's done. Theresa Knott | token threats 23:07, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Links from Thunderbird

Big upheaval in the Hoary household as the missus has a new computer, new LAN, and other new goodies. Mac OS 10.5, Thunderbird and Firefox (among other stuff) are the sparkling latest versions. Thunderbird works. Firefox works. Firefox is the default browser. But when one clicks on a link in a T'bird message, Firefox pops up a new and blank window.

Googling around for this, I found numerous reminders to set Firefox as the default browser (it definitely is, not that she'd care if Safari, Opera or Shiira opened the page) and also the advice here. Not sure if the latter was relevant, I followed it anyway; going to [and I'm having to retranslate from the Japanese, so these may be a bit off] Thunderbird|Environment settings|Advanced|General|Setting editor, I found there was no entry for network.protocol-handler.app.http and so I added one, pointing to /Applications/Firefox.app — but this has had no discernible effect. Ideas? -- Hoary (talk) 13:24, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

You might try adding a command-line option to Firefox; this page lists "-new-tab <URL>" as a likely candidate. Here are instructions for setting the command-line invocation of the link handler (and for completeness's sake, here are the instructions for Windows.) – 74  14:03, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Thank you! My brain is succumbing to sleepiness right now but I'll try them in the morning. -- Hoary (talk) 14:33, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

The links were interesting, but I have to say that they didn't help. However, that inspired me to do a bit more googling, whereupon I encountered "Thunderbrowse", which does what's needed and also rather more besides. Thank you again. -- Hoary (talk) 00:30, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

What are these two icons in Firefox?

Can anyone tell me?--KageTora (talk) 13:26, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Hovering your mouse pointer over them and/or left/right clicking them provided no information? You might try Organize Status Bar, an extension that allows you to rearrange and hide statusbar icons (and determine what the icon is called and associated with). Once you know the name, it should be easy to Google for more details. – 74  14:12, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Cheers. Nothing happens whwn I mouse over these two icons, just the two on either side. Also, clicking them just crosses them out. I have no idea what they are for. Thanks, anyway, I will try that thingummyjig.--KageTora (talk) 14:26, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

From this site, I conclude that GP probably is the Google preview add-on. Dunno about the other icon. --NorwegianBlue ^talk 18:13, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Yes, that's definitely Google preview. The other one? I'll have to pass. - Jarry1250 ^{(t, c)} 18:22, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Try selectively disabling your add-ons to narrow it down. --76.167.241.45 (talk) 19:51, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

The other one is Read It Later. When you click it on any page, it saves the page so you can find it easily later... like bookmarks, I suppose, but I find it handy to differentiate between, say, a site I've bookmarked and a particular article I want to read later. --Alinnisawest,^{Dalek Empress} (extermination requests here) 22:31, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Images won't display on Ript

I am having trouble getting images to display on Ript. I drag'n'drop as I am supposed to, but nothing appears in the 'pile'. I don't have this problem with text, just images. On the website it says 'some images will not appear', but I have not had any success with a single image. I have used Ript before on older computers whose specs are not as good as the two I am using now (Vista and XP laptops), and had no problem then. I have Googled for any known issues and came up empty-handed. I have contacted the software makers (twice) and had no reply. Does anyone else have a problem with it (or had a problem in the past)? --KageTora (talk) 15:55, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

AHA! It seems to work with IE8, but not with Firefox, even though on the site it says it is compatible with Firefox...... Hmm, looks like I shall just have to use the browser I hate the most..... What a pity.--KageTora (talk) 16:12, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

FlightGear 1.9

I fly aircraft in the FlightGear, the open source flight simulator and recently, there was a new version. The new version has this problem with aircraft, notably this F-16, with a giant black screen (radar?) which takes up part of the cockpit when I fly and impedes visibility. Is there any way I can get rid of this screen? I have included a link to a photo to what I am talking about. --Blue387 (talk) 17:41, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

That looks like a graphics bug. I think there's supposed to be a HUD there, with a transparent background. Now the background is black, not transparent. Not being familiar with the software, I don't know if there's a fix to that, but you might try turning the HUD off or otherwise messing with the settings. Updating your graphics card drivers may also do the trick. And if you can't get it to work properly, you might want to submit a bug report to the developers. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 18:08, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

I've downloaded the new version of FlightGear, version 1.91, and the thing appears to be fixed. --Blue387 (talk) 01:25, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

CRON and .htaccess pasword protection

Sorry if I come across as "infuriated": I've just been on to my host's technical support. !#!*%

Anyhow, is it possible to have a password protected (via .htaccess) PHP file run by what my host calls a "scheduled job" (which I'm guessing is CRON, it's a UNIX server)? I get authentication failed because Iam unable to specify the username and password. - Jarry1250 ^{(t, c)} 18:37, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

I suppose the cron job is running wget. You can do this:

wget --http-user=USERNAME --http-password=PASSWORD URL

And send the result to wherever you want (/dev/null or some file). Replace the bold text with the appropriate stuff, of course. If necessary, use quotes to pass a string with whitespace. For example, if your password is "My Password", use --http-password='My Password'. — Kieff | Talk 18:51, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Your supposition is correct. It works! Seriously though, you deserve a barnstar for that. - Jarry1250 ^{(t, c)} 19:23, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Social Bookmarking Website

Does anyone know of a social bookmarking website by the name of 'Stacks' or something like that? It looks very similar to Cooliris, but is a bunch of bookmarks that you put together yourself. Anyone know of it?--90.195.135.55 (talk) 18:48, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Don't worry. Found it! It's called Searchme.com . Sorry. --90.195.135.55 (talk) 19:08, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Value of old laptop

I have broken the laptop of a good friend. I would like to know how much a Compaq, year 2000, running Windows 2000, 64 MB of RAM would be worth for compensatory damage. --Mr.K. (talk) 19:18, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Not very much. On eBay similar items [1][2][3] go for $10-11. Search on ebay for something similar and it'll show you what people are willing to pay for it, if anything. Old laptops deprecate pretty quickly as unlike even desktops really every part of them becomes incompatible with newer models very quickly. Desktops are a little more flexible in terms of swapping hardware in and out and can be a bit more valuable later on (I'm still using a Trinitron monitor from 1999 as a spare monitor, works just as well as it did a decade ago). --98.217.14.211 (talk) 19:49, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

I personally would be insulted by an offer of $10 in restitution. That number fails to account for time spent replacing/recovering/reconfiguring/etc., which, unless the laptop was being used as a thin-terminal, will probably be a couple of hours bare minimum. If you want to make it right, ask your friend for an estimate or err on the side of caution and send $100. A reasonably large sum also potentially has the added benefit of reminding you to be more careful with other people's property in the future. – 74  22:07, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

I agree that $10 as restitution is a bit low; it is just meant to illustrate that the price of the hardware itself, as purchased today, is quite low. Of course, it was no doubt quite expensive back then, and replacing an old laptop with a new laptop is quite expensive. If one thinks of it as "a broken primary computer" rather than "a broken decade-old laptop" then the cost of the old laptop today is somewhat unrelated to the total cost. A better metric would be thinking of the cost of the laptop back then, with some adjustments... unless you just want to buy him a new version of the old laptop. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 23:23, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

In fact... the more I think about it, if it is a friend's primary computer that has been broken, the age and make of the machine doesn't matter unless it is somehow implicated in the way it was broken. Whether it was a brand new machine or an old one, the overall cost to the friend to buy a new computer is fixed. So ethically, the issue is not that you broke an old computer, but that you have forced a friend to get a new computer. (Assuming this is the case, of course.) Thus the total amount you have likely compelled your friend to expend is far more than the cost of the old laptop on the modern market, but is in fact something like the cost of a laptop today that is comparable to what the old laptop was in its day (which is to say, not *that* fancy. 64MB of RAM was not very impressive even in 2000, unless my memory is wrong. Processor type/speed would be more revealing of its price). That's my reasoning, anyway... --98.217.14.211 (talk) 23:34, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Right now I am using a Toshiba of similar vintage, though with considerably more RAM. There is a small amount of darkening toward the edges of the screen (enough to notice, but not enough to irritate); the keytops are shiny and the white paint (?) of "M" and "N" has now completely disappeared: there are no other symptoms of age that I've noticed. It's very slim and the (full size) keyboard is one of the best I've encountered on any laptop. If you broke it, I'd want another slim notebook with first-rate, full-sized keyboard. How much would that cost? That's the figure that would be needed, though I don't know who should pay. Hoary (talk) 00:25, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

A follow-up question that comes to mind is that the data must be recovered. What kind of HDD does this laptop have? Does it have an IDE HDD that can be mounted externally or is it more difficult than that? As a side note I might add that I was not terribly negligent. The laptop was old and really not meant to be carried around. It was also not his primary computer. --Mr.K. (talk) 10:38, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

It most likely has a 3.5 inch IDE drive, which will require a special adapter to connect to a standard IDE ribbon cable. – 74  17:32, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Nah. Laptops of that era had 2.5" PATA drives similar to those in all but the most recent modern-day laptops. I still have a couple of Thinkpads from back then. www.thinkwiki.org is a good reference for vintage Thinkpads, which used similar technology to other manufacturers. Anyway I'd say your best strategy if your friend wants a replacement laptop is to invite him/her to join you in picking one out on Craigslist or Ebay, then buy it and do the file transfers. Re the disk drive, if you are talking about plugging it into a desktop computer to transfer the files, the simplest way is with a PATA to USB adapter that handles 2.5" drives. You can get those at computer stores or online. They are very handy devices. 207.241.239.70 (talk) 06:04, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Archiving old hard drives.

I'm running XP sp3.

I've got a Disk enclosure that I use for back-ups. I found a bunch of hard drives that I removed from computers years ago. The newer, larger ones have no problem. I'm able to copy the information from them onto my hard drive.

However, I've got some older ones that have an unusual problem. The computer has no problems "seeing" the drive, but I can't find it listed under Windows Explorer.

For example, after installing one of the drives, if I do the following:

My Computer

Properties

Hardware

Device Manager

Disk Drives

I can see the drive (Maxtor 7171 AT USB Drive) listed. I assume that it says "USB Drive" because it's in the enclosure. But I can't find it in Windows explorer, so I'm unable to copy the files.

Any ideas? Bunthorne (talk) 19:29, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Perhaps they are using a filesystem that Windows can't read? (like various Linux filesystems or Mac filesystems) Or they are not partitioned at all? You should get some kind of partitioning software and see what partitions are on there and what filesystems are on the partitions. --76.167.241.45 (talk) 19:49, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Well, I know that they're all Windows, of one type or another, since they all came from my old computers, and that's all I ever used. As far a partitions, I'll have to look that up. Thanks. Bunthorne (talk) 20:06, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

You can see if they show up in the Windows XP disk manager by going to Start->Run and typing "diskmgmt.msc". (unless you did that already). A thought: could it be that the enclosure doesn't support FAT16? Or are these things filesystem-independent? Jørgen (talk) 21:18, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Right click - there's been a few times I've seen a ... awww I forget the exact wording, but something like activate, or use this drive thing in that popup right-click menu. — Ched (talk) 23:37, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

I'd like to second Jørgen's suggestion of trying diskmgmgt.msc. The problem may simply be that the OS for some reason hasn't assigned a drive letter to your disk. When you assign a drive letter with diskmgmt.msc, the disk will appear in windows explorer. --NorwegianBlue ^talk 08:48, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Having worked with a lot of external enclosures and Device Manager for the finicky ones, here's something that I've seen tend to hold: if the drive shows up as simply 'USB Drive' in 'Disk drives' in Device Manager, then the system isn't properly registering the drive. Sometimes the only thing you can do is physically disconnect all power to the enclosure (while still on!!) to force the circuits to empty, then plug back in. I have to resort to this tactic on a Win2k3 Server I use at a computer shop for a workstation. CAUTION: Doing what I do is probably pretty bad for the drive and/or enclosure!! 63.135.50.87 (talk) 06:52, 27 February 2009 (UTC) (Washii)

I've tried diskmgmgt.msc (thanks for the suggestion), and no luck. It can see the C: and D: partitions on my main drive, and the F - I drives (which are really memory card readers). If I click on "rescan disks", it then finds the E: CD drive. But it can't find the drive in question, even though it shows up in Device Manager as mentioned before. It's like the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing. Other ideas, anyone? Thanks. Bunthorne (talk) 20:17, 23 February 2009 (UTC)