Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2009 September 11

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September 11

Camera Angles on Company Of Heroes

Does anyone know how to control the camera angles on Company Of Heroes (the first one)? TIA! --KageTora - (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 00:09, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Dun't matter. Dunnit! --KageTora - (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 01:19, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Win on Mac is ok, Mac on PC = lawsuit, why?

What are the legal reasons behind it being ok to run Windows on Mac hardware, but not run Apple OS on PC hardware? They seem to be the same situation to me, but Apple will slap you in the face with a lawsuit if you try it... what gives? 218.25.32.210 (talk) 01:24, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

The EULA for Mac OS (here, section 2, subsection A), which you must agree to to install the software, says it cannot be run on "non-Apple-labeled hardware". Meanwhile, the Windows EULA has no such clause, because it isn't tied to one specific type of hardware. So even though it's possible to install Mac OS on a non-Apple machine, it's illegal to run it, because by violating the EULA, you lose the privilege of running the software. Xenon54 / talk / 01:35, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Not "illegal". In the US, and I assume in most countries, it is not actually a violation of any law to breach a contract. (You could get sued, but not sent to prison.) Also see our EULA article for a brief list of how the different federal appeals courts have ruled different ways on how enforceable EULAs are in the first place. Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:16, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

The difference is because the two companies take different legal stances on the control of their intellectual property. They do so as part of different business strategies—with Apple you are roped into buying their specific hardware, which subsidizes the price of the software, while Windows primarily sells the software and allows any hardware vendor to use it, aiming for a higher overall market share. The distinction between the apparent legality is just based on the respective company policies (as expressed in their EULAs), nothing else. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 03:44, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

It makes a big difference in development and support costs for the companies. Apple know fairly well what they are developing for and have to support. Microsoft is lumbered with weird hardware and users aren't always content with them saying it's a vendors problem. It's apples and oranges, erm no strike that, well you know what I mean. 12:14, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Apple makes it's money out of hardware, they don't want you to get the benefit of Mac OS without paying, microsoft makes it money out of licences, they don't really give a monkeys what you put Windows XP on as long as you have paid for a licence. --Cameron Scott (talk) 17:18, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Note that certain Vista and Windows 7 EULAs do prevent you from running it on a virtual machine [1] [2] Nil Einne (talk) 03:38, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

Yahoo homepage

The new yahoo homepage is god-awful. Is there any way for me to get the old one back? 76.211.105.155 (talk) 03:24, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

You can switch to compact view (in the options on the right) or make your own layout using the My Yahoo option on the left. -- kainaw™ 03:59, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

DNS servers needed

I'm in a bind here. My ISP's DNS servers are out and I'm only connected to Wikipedia because I added WP's IP address to my hosts file (happily, I have the ShowIP extension on Firefox and was able to get it from that). Could someone possibly be kind enough to post the IPs of two public DNS servers for me? I have no clue as to when my ISP will get this fixed. Thanks in advance. howcheng {chat} 04:24, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Here's a list of public DNS servers. [3] I've never used them so I don't know how well they work but it's worth a try if you're in a bind. RxS (talk) 04:29, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Something like OpenDNS? --Spoon! (talk) 04:35, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for that, but the problem is because I have no DNS, I can't actually view that site because my computer can't resolve the domain name. :( I'm asking for some kind soul to look up some DNS server IP addresses and post them here... howcheng {chat} 04:37, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

lol....doh, of course. Glad it worked out! RxS (talk) 04:43, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Oh yes, OpenDNS should work. Let me try that. howcheng {chat} 04:38, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Sweet sweet DNS! Thanks so much Spoon!! (there are two exclamation points because your username already has one) howcheng {chat} 04:40, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Sounds like this is already resolved, but 4.2.2.1 through 4.2.2.6 are useful DNS servers and ping targets. --67.171.37.222 (talk) 03:17, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

Mobile phone colour

How common are mobile phones that support downloaded apps but aren't capable of at least 15-bit colour? NeonMerlin[4] 05:30, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Um... not terribly common. In the US, PhoneScoop only lists 1 currently available phone without a color screen that also supports "games". There are more discontinued b&w/grayscale phones still in use, but their number is dwindling. Looking for something specific? Indeterminate (talk) 09:03, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

I wasn't talking about being without colour altogether. Haven't there been, at some point in the past, phones with 8-bit colour? NeonMerlin[5] 20:37, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Sure, there are phones with 4096 colours (and probably others). Look at phones produced in the early 2000's, most of the better ones have colour screen and support Java apps. --antilived^{T | C | G} 01:05, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

cmmi level 3

what are the processes we should implement to go in for cmmi level 3 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Radsri 2006 (talk • contribs) 06:24, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia has a useful page on Capability Maturity Model Integration that should get you started on this. --Phil Holmes (talk) 08:34, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Matlab function input query

Hi there all,

I'm new to Matlab so I hope the answer isn't too complicated, but I was wondering whether it's possible to define a function within another function. I want have a function f(g,a,b) where g is something like 2*x-7*sin(x), for example, and then evaluate the given function g at various points in the code of f - for which I gather I need to use feval(~,a) to evaluate at x=a, with ~ the appropriate function. However, as far as I can surmise, ~ needs to be a function name or function handle (whatever that is) but when I input 'g' into f, it is treated as a variable. If I input g as something like 'sin' (with the apostrophes) then it works, but I want to be able to input 'unnamed' functions like the one above without having to define them separately in a new M-file every time I want to use f for a different function - so is there a way I can input a function like 2*x-7*sin(x) into another function and have it evaluated at points a, b and c, say, or alternatively define a function name for g 'within' f so it works with feval, or any workaround of somesort which isn't too complicated for a beginner?

Hopefully that makes sense, and many thanks!

Spamalert101 (talk) 06:56, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes, you want to learn about and use function handles. Function handles are used to pass a function as an argument, i.e. to dynamically switch which function is called by your code. If you are interested in background theory, function pointer is a useful article (but it is written for/by C-programmers, and much terminology will be unfamiliar to a MATLAB programmer). Fortunately, there is no shortage of MATLAB documentation. Here is the official Mathworks documentation for MATLAB Function Handles. This will give you some options; but in general, you will need to define your function somewhere (otherwise, how can you pass it as an argument?) This typically means a separate .m source file defining each function, but there are other options for defining different types of functions, including anonymous functions. You might want to really read these documentation pages very well, because different types of function declarations in MATLAB have subtle effects on behavior, variable scoping, and function handles. You may find anonymous function handles the most suitable for your needs. Nimur (talk) 11:40, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Excel printing problem

In Excel 2003, how do I get the text in a worksheet to print out on successive pages so that no text is suppressed and I don't have to glue extra pages to the right hand edge?

This tip from the Web turned out not to be what I was looking for. It made text so tiny even a magnifying glass would not have made it legible.

What I want is for text in each cell to be wrapped, if necessary, to show as several lines right below each other in the cell. That way the entire row would fit onto a single sheet of paper. In other words, instead of

Title	Director	Actors	Gen
1960
Los Acusados	Antonio Cunill Jr.	Mario Soffici, Silvia Legrand, Guillermo Battaglia, Alita Román, Julián Bourges , Mario Danesi ,Osvaldo Terranova	Crime REST CUT OFF

I want this

Title	Director	Actors	Genre	Notability
1960
Los Acusados	Antonio Cunill Jr.	Mario Soffici, Silvia Legrand, Guillermo Battaglia, Alita Román, Julián Bourges , Mario Danesi,Osvaldo Terranova	Crime drama	Based on Marco Denevi play, March 10

where everything fits onto the width of the page due to text in cell no. 3 being wrapped.

--Goodmorningworld (talk) 07:45, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Format... Cells... Alignment... Wrap Text. --Phil Holmes (talk) 08:32, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Thank you! It is an improvement... text is in normal size now... But the row with the most text is only a few characters wide and that makes each of its cells impossibly narrow and tall... Wish I could somehow convert the worksheet into a Word file. In Word I am comfortable fiddling with column widths and point sizes to make stuff fit and look good. However when I tried to copy the content and paste it into Word using the Office Clipboard I got only a jumbled mess. :( --Goodmorningworld (talk) 09:37, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Just increase the column width of that column in Excel. Then you can decrease the row size. Zain Ebrahim (talk) 10:08, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Thank you! --Goodmorningworld (talk) 11:01, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Another option you may find useful is on the page setup dialog. If you select the option "fit to 1 page(s) wide" and then blank out the "by () tall" option, Excel will fit the content to fit the available page width, but will still use whatever pages are needed to hold the length of the spreadsheet. -- Tcncv (talk) 01:43, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

MIDs, tablets, android...

What I can't quite figure out is how an 'internet tablet', one with Android OS for example, connects to a 3G network? It's not a phone, does it use a simcard? Does it require a 3G modem dongle? Does it require a fee based subscription of some kind? I realise there are few of these devices out yet, but several are pending (SMiT MID-560, Archos A5S). Thanks if you can inform...

3G modems have a SIM card, just like a 3G phone. The difference between a 3G phone and a 3G internet device is rather blurry (things like the iPhone are a bit of both, as are Android tablets). How the connection is paid for just depends on the calling and data plan that you buy for (or that is packaged with) the device - you can already get unlimited-data, metered data, and pay-as-you-go data packages. The only difference between a phone and an internet device is voice calling, and it's a somewhat artificial distinction; carriers for high-end phones are trying desperately to prevent VoIP applications being run on them, but I guess sooner or later they'll fail to keep that partitioning, at which point all that's different between the devices is how big they (and their screens) are. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 12:26, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

All Keys

Is there any computer program for windows that has an assigned function for every key on the standard microsoft keyboard and the combinations of ctrl, alt, and shift? TheFutureAwaits (talk) 14:33, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

No. I believe Ctrl-Alt-Delete is a secure attention key and can not be intercepted by an application. There may be other combinations that are reserved to Windows. As for the ones you can map, no practical application is likely to have that many user-oriented functions (around 800), but it would be straightforward to write a program that detects each and says "you pressed Ctrl-Alt-Q" or whatever for each one. --Sean 15:10, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Nethack takes a good shot at it, though: it uses the entire alphanumeric area of the keyboard both with and without "shift", and has a variety of control-key sequences. --Carnildo (talk) 22:29, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

about absolute decoding technique

Could you please give me the theoretical explanations regardng the interfacing of 74138 decoder with absolute decding technique —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.161.69.211 (talk) 14:41, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

This Google search gives links to pages on Google Books where you can read about it. They're all bizarrely similar. --Sean 15:20, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Is there anyway to get Google to do a literal search?

If I search on ": IEnumerator" (with the quotes), Google strips the leading colon and space from the search string. But I want to do the colon and space as part of the search string. Is there a way to get Google to do this? If not, does anyone know of another search engine that will actually search on what you want to search. Bing and Yahoo have the same problem (at least with default settings). 204.2.252.254 (talk) 15:31, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Google (and I guess the other two) discard punctuation (with a couple of odd computer-guy exceptions) when they index pages. As this page notes, colons are one of those things they discard (the table on that page is slightly complicated to read, because colons have special meanings in Google's interface, but aren't recognised parts of search terms). So no. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 15:37, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

I just tried 20 (or so) search engines listed on our Web search engine article and all behaved the same way (with default settings). However, the following will work: "Implements IEnumerator". ;) Anyway, if anyone does know of a way to do a literal search, please post a reply here. 204.2.252.254 (talk) 16:07, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

code.google.com may handle that differently--try there. 70.90.174.101 (talk) 18:17, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

(EC) Google Code Search allows full regular expression searches on a large body of source code. It might be suitable for you. Here are the results of your query. --Sean 18:27, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

CAD-TV channels

I live in Carrollton, GA outside of Atlanta. Some of my digital television channels are what they should be on the RF channels. ABC is channel 39-1 and cw is 43-1. Others are way off: Fox is 103-2, NBC is 101-2, CBS is 103-1. Why do some conform and others not? Is there anyplace I can get an accurate listing on the HD broadcast channels in my area? 160.10.98.106 (talk) 15:41, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

It appears you are receiving your digital channels via cable. The list you linked to is for over-the-air RF channels. Digital channels over the air and over cable use different sets of RF channels and different modulation types, so RF channel lists will be different. A cable company usually doesn't provide its RF channel mapping to the public, but you may find other people in your area have documented the mapping and posted it in an online forum or website. --Bavi H (talk) 03:42, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Intel Pentium Dual Core compared to Intel Core 2 ?

which one is the best of the Intel Pentium Dual Core and the Intel Core? If a program/game's minimum specs are a Intel Core 2 with 1,6 Ghz (or equivalent) and the recommended specs are Intel Core 2 with 2,4 Ghz (or equivalent) will my Intel Pentium Dual core 2,5 Ghz computer be good enough to run it satisfactory?

Of course, there are other deciding factors too, but if one only compares the two Intel systems how will I fare?

=)

What's the game? But since *most* games now use the graphics card to do the majority of the processing/gameplay I would think your computer would be just fine as far as raw processor goes and I'd worry more about your graphics card. ZX81 ^talk 16:38, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

A Core 2 Duo processor will outperform a Pentium Dual Core processor of the same clock rate. That is, a 2.0Ghz Core 2 Duo is faster than a 2.0GHz Pentium Dual Core. However, with many new games, the processor is used far less than the graphics card, and if you have a sufficiently powerful graphics card for the game, you should be able to get away with using a processor below the minimum requirements. Keep in mind this varies depending on the game, so if there's a demo available, try it before investing money into the game. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Caltsar (talk • contribs) 16:59, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Thank you :) The game I'm waiting for is "Dragon Age: Origins".

VISTA MINIMUM SPECS OS: Windows Vista with SP1 CPU: Intel Core 2 (or equivalent) running at 1.6Ghz or greater RAM: 1.5 GB or more VIDEO: ATI Radeon X1550 256MB or greater NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT 256MB or greater DVD ROM (Physical copy) 20 GB HD space

RECOMMENDED SPECS CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4Ghz Processor or equivalent RAM: 4 GB (Vista) or 2 GB (XP) VIDEO: ATI 3850 512 MB or greater NVIDIA 8800GTS 512 MB or greater AMD Phenom II X3 Triple-Core 2.8 GHz or greater DVD ROM (Physical copy) 20 GB HD space

What graphics card I have, I do not know... however, going to the control panel, then "system" there is something called "clasification" (at least in my language, directly translated) and there the computer have a computer-performanceindex of 5,3 which seems to be quite high from what I read and understand. The computer's game-graphics score have a 5,9 score though, even better, and the only thing that drags the score down is RAM(memory) which is 5,3. The average of all the underscores is probly around 5,75. It seems good, but I've been wondering if I need to invest further to improve my computer a little bit. But from what you tell me it is probably no need to worry because I think I have a good graphics card even though I know not the name of it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.49.182.144 (talk) 17:24, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

If vista gives you a 5.9 score on graphics, your system should be at or above the reccomended requirements for graphics on that game. The CPU should also perform well enough to play as well. You may not be able to hit the maximum settings, but you should have no problem with that particular game, and your computer probably doesn't need an upgrade for quite a while yet.Caltsar (talk) 17:45, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Thank you ! :D I'm not playing that much but when I do find a game like Dragon Age which I've been looking forward to for a long time I want my computer to be up to date so that's nice to hear. You've been very helpful :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.49.182.144 (talk) 18:09, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

BIOS Password

I recently read my BIOS password can be removed just by moving a jumper on the motherboard. I don't want that to be an option. Is there a way to prevent this from changing anything at the software level? Or could I just throw some solder on top of the jumper? TheFutureAwaits (talk) 17:47, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

In the old days (1990's) that trick usually worked, but I think in recent years its gotten less common. Anyway, the low tech solution is probably to put a physical lock on the computer (desktop enclosures often have little clips that you can put a padlock through), and if possible, lock up the whole computer (e.g. if it's a laptop, lock it in a desk drawer). If your security requirements are higher than that, you probably want to move to a class of hardware that's much less generic and more expensive than PC's. 70.90.174.101 (talk) 18:21, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Resetting the BIOS password using the jumper on the motherboard will also clear all BIOS settings. This jumper is there to "reverse" any changes you may have made that can't otherwise be reversed (overclocking the CPU far too much seems to be the most common issue I've come across for this). Clearing the BIOS password is just a side effect. If you don't want people accessing your motherboard, using tamper-resistant screws or otherwise preventing the case from being opened will do just as much as soldering the jumpers together without the risk of damage to your motherboard. This will provide the additional benefit of securing your computer physically, especially if it has no way to padlock it shut.Caltsar (talk) 18:28, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

If you are worried about your privacy and not about making a thief's life harder, then imo the best way to be secure for sure is to encrypt your whole hard-drive. Unless you run a lot of both processor and hard-drive intensive programs the performance hit should be unnoticeable. --194.197.235.240 (talk) 18:38, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Windows 7

Is Microsoft having trouble counting or is Windows 7 supposed to be called Windows 7? The way I work it out, after Win 3, the next one was Win 95 (which would be Win 4), then Win 98 (which would be Win 5), followed by Win XP (let's call this one Win 6) and then Vista (which would be Win 7) - and all this after leaving out Millenium and NT and 2000.... How did Win 7 get to be called Win 7? --KageTora - (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 18:28, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

No, they have no trouble counting. The consumer versions of Windows (and Windows 2000, based on the old Windows NT versions, and upon which XP, Vista and 7.0 Windows 7 are based), have the following numbers. Windows 95, 98 and Me were very similar to each other, and all share the 4.x version numbers. It is a bit of a surprise, though, that only the minor version number is changed between 2000 and XP.

Windows 1x

Windows 2x

Windows 3x

Windows 95 (4.0)

Windows 98 (4.10)

Windows Me (4.90)

Windows 2000 (5.0)

Windows XP (5.1)

Windows Vista (6.0)

Windows 7

--Andreas Rejbrand (talk) 18:38, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

(e/c) It has to do with Windows' internal version number. After Windows 3.1, Windows 95 was version 4.0, 98 was 4.1, Me was 4.9, 2K was 5.0, XP was 5.1 and Vista is 6.0. As with any other software product, version 6 of Windows would naturally be followed by version 7, hence Windows 7. Xenon54 / talk / 18:42, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Actually, Microsoft does have trouble counting, but this isn't one of those times. 204.2.252.254 (talk) 19:09, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

The list above isn't quite right. Windows 7 is descended from the NT series of Windows, so it goes as follows:

Windows 1.x

Windows 2.x

Windows 3.0

Windows 3.1

• At this point, Windows split into two versions: Windows 95 (based on Windows 3.1), and Windows NT (a new product). Vista is derived from Windows NT, while the 3.1 line ended with Windows ME.

Windows NT 3.1

Windows NT 3.5

Windows NT 4.0

Windows 2000 (5.0)

Windows XP (5.1)

Windows Vista (6.0)

Windows 7 (6.1)

So yes, Microsoft is having a bit of trouble counting. --Carnildo (talk) 22:43, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

My list is correct. I explicity wrote "The consumer versions of Windows (and Windows 2000, based on the old Windows NT versions, and upon which XP, Vista and 7.0 Windows 7 are based), have the following numbers.". --Andreas Rejbrand (talk) 11:43, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

But you overlooked the most important part, which is that Windows 7's internal version number is 6.1, not 7.0. -- BenRG (talk) 13:32, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

OK, I give you that. Indeed, it is strange to call Windows 6.1 "Windows 7". --Andreas Rejbrand (talk) 14:28, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Official counting here. NT 4.0 isn't in the list and at a guess it's because it was the "NT" version of Windows 95 (Windows 4). ZX81 ^talk 23:28, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Hmm, so I was right, but for the wrong reasons? Or was I not? Thanks for the clarification (and subsequent declarification), guys! I'm sure we'll come to a consensus soon. --KageTora - (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 11:56, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

The problem is Windows 6.1 is a decidely unappealing name (and would also convey the association with Vista). They could call it Windows 6 I guess since Vista is not known as 6 but that has other issues including the association with Vista which MS is trying to avoid. Technically they could have made Windows 7 having the internal version of 7 but that would go against the point of the internal version numbers, since Windows 6.1 is indeed just a refined version of Windows Vista despite what MS may like to claim otherwise publicly (this isn't a bad thing BTW but it's obviously not something MS likes to acknowledge). Incidentally, it's basically the same for XP and 2k, the only major difference was the modified GUI otherwise XP was basically just an improved 2k and used the same drivers etc. The vast majority of applications designed for XP, including games, could work on 2k fine, even if it wasn't officially supported. Nil Einne (talk) 12:20, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Copying large files without overloading the processor

I often have to copy large files to removable flash memory. It always grabs 70-80 per cent of processor resources and brings all other running programs to a standstill. How is it possible to copy large files without overloading the processor? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.8.52.98 (talk) 19:56, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

That should not happen in a modern OS, such as Windows Vista. What is your OS? --Andreas Rejbrand (talk) 20:40, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

It's Windows XP SP2 and it's not strictly speaking my computer so I cannot change the hardware ( 213.8.52.97 (talk)

Try TeraCopy —Preceding unsigned comment added by Avrillyria (talk • contribs) 20:58, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

No, unfortunately TeraCopy does nothing to unload the processor, though it does help to reduce copying time to a certain extent. Thank you anyway - TeraCopy seems to be a useful program. 213.8.52.97 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 16:00, 12 September 2009 (UTC).