Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2011 May 13

Computing desk
< May 12	<< Apr | May | Jun >>	May 14 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Computing Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

May 13

Are ribbons for dot matric printers still made?

Resolved

Do they still make ribbons for dot matrix printers? The ones I got recently don't seem to last very long, as if they are many years old and mostly dried up. Also, on the box Epson is advertising that they now make inkjet printers. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 02:20, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

I believe so, since there's still a market for them, mainly in businesses. (They tend to be an inexpensive but reliable black and white printer, which is good enough for printing forms.) However, since sales are certainly less than they once were, I can understand why there might be lots of old ribbons out there. Is there a date anywhere on the box ? If so, maybe you can judge how old they are before you buy them. If not, then you will have to guess, based on if they are at the back of the shelf and covered with dust and the people in the pics are wearing bell-bottom pants and tie-dyed shirts with peace signs on them. :-) StuRat (talk) 03:41, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

The only date on the box is a 1992 copyright date. A problem is that I can't see them before buying them. Stores don't carry them so I have to order them. The box also says "Try Epson's new color ink jet printers". So ribbons for this line of printers may be very old. (And they were made in the USA - that is another indication of how old they are.) Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 04:22, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

Both serial and line matrix printers are produced and used; Epson is still making these. Any reputable manufacturer will have a date code on the ribbon— usually a week and year of manufacture, although you may have to contact support to figure out how it is coded. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 04:49, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

Well there is a code stamped on the bottom: 50051690. I don't know what it means. And what I really need to know is if they are making this particular one: Epson 7753. Maybe I should contact Epson. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 05:18, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

Well, they still have them. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 05:22, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

It is also possible to re-ink them. Stamp pad ink is suitable and comes in a variety of colours.Graeme Bartlett (talk) 08:41, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

I was just about to make the same suggestion when Graeme answered above. The result of re-inking can be slightly messy printing for a short time, but it does work. There used to be simple machines for re-inking ribbons. Dbfirs 08:46, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

If you follow Bubba73 link above, the description shows "Lubricating agents in ink extend the life of print head." The actuator wires in the print head need constant lubrication for mechanical action and cleaning. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 12:09, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

This printer was unused for more than a decade, now it is being used again. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 12:39, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

Good point! Perhaps duplicator ink (that contains oil) might be a better option than stamp pad ink (though I think the latter possibly contains some oil also to help prevent it drying out?). Presumably, damage to the printer could also be caused by using old ribbons? I've never had a dot matrix printer seize up through lack of lubrication, but I'll try out a 30-year-old one if I can find it in the attic. Dbfirs 12:44, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

The dot matrix printer I'm talking about is about 25 years old and has been unused for close to 20 years. I gave it to an organization that wanted a DMP. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 00:47, 14 May 2011 (UTC)

SONY ERICSSION K510I

i BOUGHT a sony ericssion k510i phone few years ago. Now I have installed windows 7 on my computer. When I install the software for k510i from the CD, I get the following massage.

Sony ericssion pc suite 1.20.173 requires that your computer is running windows 2000 or windows xp.

I will be grateful to you if you kindly help me to find the latest software to install k510i as a modom on my windows 7 computer.124.43.25.100 (talk) 02:24, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

Try running the setup in compatability mode. To do this, right click the setup, click Properties, select compatability and Choose Windows XP General Rommel (talk) 09:41, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

basics of communication

Difference between ,RS232,TCP/IP, LAN, WAN,IEE ETC —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bml2ban (talk • contribs) 04:48, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

You can start by reading Telecommunication, and we do have articles on RS232 TCP/IP Local area network Wide area network Institute of Electrical Engineers et cetera. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 08:36, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

excel 2007

Hi, how can made excel treat the dot as thousands grouping symbol and not as decimal separator? T.I.A. --83.103.117.254 (talk) 10:35, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

Not sure about Excel 2007, but here is how you change separators in Excel 2003. In the Tools/Options dialogue, go to the International tab. Under "Number handling", switch off the "Use system separators" default option (check box). Then you can enter "," as decimal separator and "." as thousands separator (or whatever symbols you like). Excel then changes its display of values to use these separators - the underlying values stored in cells are not changed. Gandalf61 (talk) 12:30, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

Interesting. The option is not available in Excel 2000. Why did they introduce it? I know the comma is regularly used as a decimal separator in Europe, but is there any country in the world that uses a dot as a thousands separator? Dbfirs 12:37, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

Alternatively you can change your computer's settings in Control Panel / Region and Language (these are the settings that Gandalf61's method overrides). Dbfirs: the European countries that use the decimal comma also tend to use the dot as thousands separator. See Decimal_mark#Digit grouping. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 12:55, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

...e.g. see the prices of the more expensive items here. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 13:29, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

Oh yes! Thanks. Why have I never noticed this before? Dbfirs 21:58, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

Upgrading to Windows 7 when don't have old version installed, only the COA

Hi, I'm looking at 3 old PCs:

• Father-in-law's old laptop which has broken HDD following a fall caused by him tripping over power cable - has a COA for Windows XP Pro, but no installation disks and any new HDD that went in would be completely blank
• My old desktop - has COA for XP Media Centre Edition, but windows install wouldn't boot- but no may have the chance to pick up a used computers - they've all had their HDDs removed, but have the COA/Serial Number sticker on the laptop for Windows XP (most are Professional, one I've seen is Media Centre Edition)
• Laptop I've inherited - has working install of Vista Home Premium

I'd like to put Windows 7 on all 3 (all are OK spec-wise, or at least would be with some more RAM, and I have Win7 on my main laptop and I'm happy with it), so I'm looking at [1] but unsure if this'd work... I think that the COAs means I'd be OK license-wise to buy the upgrade version of Windows 7, but what I don't know is whether it will install on the machines without an O/S on them. Similarly on the vista machine, can I do a clean install, or do I have to install over the top of vista?

Also, if it does turn out there's something wrong with one of the machines (like the laptop that's had a fall, though one of the desktops has been sat in a cupboard of years), is it tough luck as far as the Windows 7 licence goes as it'll have been activated on this machine so won't work elsewhere? Or can I use it for a day or so before activating to ensure the machine is OK?

Finally, how does the rule for "within the same household" work exactly? My father-in-law is planning on getting a new laptop after his mishap so would probably give me the broken one - would I be allowed to give it back to him after doing this for him to have as another machine?

Many thanks, davidprior ^t/_c 11:55, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

You can't do an in-place upgrade from XP to 7— it has to be a clean install. The XP COA doesn't enter into this. You get 30 days trial before you are forced to activate. If you get a new laptop, it will have it 's own license. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 13:36, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

So even though I'm only paying for an upgrade, not the full version of windows 7, it doesn't check that there's an older version of windows installed? I'd hoped it'd only need the number off the old COA, but if you reckon it'll not even need that then that doesn't leave me any worse off.

Anyone got any thoughts on how I stand legally/morally on my father-in-law giving me his broken laptop; then me using the upgrade designed for three PCs "within the same household"; then me giving it back to him? Cheers, davidprior ^t/_c 20:17, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

Afternoon Wikipedians

User blocked
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
I am a Computer teacher from Tidworth, England. I am introducing using Wikipedia into the curriculum. Is it okay if a my class of 32 children edit Wikipedia and try and create some articles? It is part of the syllabus entitled Wikipedia and Me- The Virtues of Free Speech. Thank you very much. --MrPurcellsClass (talk) 12:01, 13 May 2011 (UTC) Wikipedia:School and university projects and Wikipedia:Guidance for younger editors should get you on track. Your students cannot share an account. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) talk 12:14, 13 May 2011 (UTC) User:MrPurcellsClass has been indefinitely blocked for disruptive editing. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 12:51, 13 May 2011 (UTC) Quote: Wikipedia and Me- The Virtues of Free Speech -unquote. And then he promptly makes sure he gets blocked to pove a point!? --Aspro (talk) 13:05, 13 May 2011 (UTC) Maybe an admin should follow up with an email to the school in case it is another individual that messing about. --Aspro (talk) 13:10, 13 May 2011 (UTC) The user was blocked and has had their talkpage access revoked; it would appear to be a troll.  Chzz  ►  14:02, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

UV Light emitting diodes (LED) introduction year?

Which year was Ultraviolet-LEDs introduced commercially? price?, and when were "white"-LEDs introduced? Electron9 (talk) 15:54, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

How to convert a JPG image to PPM (ASCII) ?

Resolved

I have ImageMagick, but it only appears to convert to PPM (BIN), so how can I get it into ASCII format instead of binary ? StuRat (talk) 19:29, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

A quick google yields "Use -compress none to write the ASCII version of the formats." --Stephan Schulz (talk) 19:52, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

It actually said that for the PNM format, not PPM, but it seems to work there too. Thanks, prob solved in record time. StuRat (talk) 20:08, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

I hate being nitpicky about this, but, from the same page linked above, "PNM is a family of formats supporting portable bitmaps (PBM) , graymaps (PGM), and pixmaps (PPM)." (emphasis mine). And you're welcome, of course! --Stephan Schulz (talk) 20:17, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

Xv Solves this problem very fast. Electron9 (talk) 00:17, 14 May 2011 (UTC)

I love XV on Unix, but I'm on Windows. Is there an XV for Windows ? StuRat (talk) 02:27, 14 May 2011 (UTC)

I doubt it, although it just might work under Cygwin with an X server set up. But you can still get a perfectly useful operating system for your computer, of course ;-). --Stephan Schulz (talk) 08:50, 14 May 2011 (UTC)

Video camera for lecturing

I get requests from my students to solve specific math problems and explain them. I am planning to solve the problems on a piece of paper at my home, record them and post it to my website for my students to view. What kind of camera would be best for the purpose? Any suggestions on specific brand or generic type?130.160.161.25 (talk) 20:51, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

I'm wondering whether that would be necessary. I was thinking that if you have a projector inside your classroom, you can use Powerpoint to show how to do the questions. If it requires formulas, you can go to insert-Formula. That's what our maths teacher uses.General Rommel (talk) 23:18, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

Least fuss is likely to use a digital camera that can record to a flash memory like an SD-card. And then convert it to a more suitable sharing format on your PC. Like ogg-theora or mpeg4. I think high contrast is most important. A more slimlined solution is a USB2 webcam with 2 Mpix or more that is converted on the fly and distributed directly. Electron9 (talk) 00:23, 14 May 2011 (UTC)

Writing and designing a program

Pls i need help on how to write and design a program from paper to computer coding using visual basic.pls i wil appreciate if the ans wil be sent to my e-mail box(email reomved) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Chysystems (talk • contribs) 22:24, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

I have removed your duplicate posts of this question. Nimur (talk) 22:55, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

Please do your own homework.

Welcome to Wikipedia. Your question appears to be a homework question. I apologize if this is a misinterpretation, but it is our aim here not to do people's homework for them, but to merely aid them in doing it themselves. Letting someone else do your homework does not help you learn nearly as much as doing it yourself. Please attempt to solve the problem or answer the question yourself first. If you need help with a specific part of your homework, feel free to tell us where you are stuck and ask for help. If you need help grasping the concept of a problem, by all means let us know.

Removed Email address

If you tell us what the program is supposed to do, maybe we can help. StuRat (talk) 02:13, 14 May 2011 (UTC)

Dead Live USB

I've tried to make a Live USB (with unetbootin), but the pen-drive won't boot. The pen-drive is set with the flag 'boot' and the computer can boot from a USB port. Indeed, another Live USB is working fine. Where could the mistake be? 212.169.186.84 (talk) 23:45, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

To few details to say anything Electron9 (talk) 00:26, 14 May 2011 (UTC)

USB not properly seated ? Also try a reboot. StuRat (talk) 02:11, 14 May 2011 (UTC)