Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2011 May 22

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May 22

COM port to PS/2 converter

Dear Wikipedians:

Today I searched my garage and found a couple of ancient COM port (serial port) mouse that I used many years ago. I'd like to use them again. However, my computer only comes with PS/2 port or USB port, so I'm wondering if there exists some sort of COM to PS/2 or USB converter?

And, on a related and more importantly, I would like to re-use some of my old PS/2 mice with my laptop. Since my laptop only has USB ports, I'm wondering if there is some sort of PS/2 to USB converter? (I have a couple of USB to PS/2 converters, but they work oppositely to what I intend in this scenario).

Thanks,

70.31.153.88 (talk) 00:33, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

Try this for COM-to-USB and this for PS2-to-USB adpaters. Rocketshiporion♫ 02:16, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

That's exactly what I am looking for, thank you so much Rocketshiporion! 70.31.153.88 (talk) 02:44, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

For a very old device you'd want to be careful. Most or all PS2 to USB adapters (and also COM to PS2) are completely passive. They only work because the device is designed to be able to work with them. If your device is relatively recent, say within the past 8 years it would probably work with a PS2 to USB adapter but there's no guarantee if it didn't come with one or otherwise specify it will work. The COM to USB should be fine since I'm not aware passive adapters were common. Nil Einne (talk) 04:41, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

Resolved

Purple links

For reasons I cannot fully explain, hyperlinks' turning purple when visited sends me into near apoplexy. I have succeeded in disabling that feature in firefox, but I hate firefox. I've recently switched to Opera, and even though the settings page tells me I've changed the color of visited links to the same blue as non-visited, it's clearly a lie. The only way I am able to keep all links blue is to use private tabs. This isn't a huge problem, but private tabs cannot be recovered (if I accidentally close the tab or browser, for example) so it's mildly annoying. Is there any other way to force Opera to render all links the same blue? (If there's a way to do it in Chrome I'd appreciate knowing how to do that as well.) Thanks! 68.35.40.154 (talk) 00:48, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

I didn't understand what apoplexy meant, so I linked it General Rommel (talk) 01:08, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

One thought, maybe you should adjust the colors on your monitor, so you have less red. This might prevent that particular purple from showing up anywhere. StuRat (talk) 03:08, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

Many sites, including Wikipedia, use their own stylesheets to override the default link colour settings provided by your browser. Maybe you could look at the accessibility settings of your browser - I know Internet Explorer will let you use your own stylesheet, though I'm unsure whether that is read before or after the site's own stylesheets. Alternatively, there is something called Greasemonkey which lets you modify sites before before they make it to your screen. If it is just the particular purple used by Wikipedia that bothers you, you could sign up for a username and then you could set your own custom CSS and Javascript. Astronaut (talk) 08:02, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

What makes you hate Firefox? ¦ Reisio (talk) 04:06, 23 May 2011 (UTC)

A problem with Windows Media...

Lately, I have a problem on my computer.

When I record a video with CamStudio, and then I play it on Windows Media Player, it just shows a picture from the video and while the sound of the video is playing, there's still a picture from the video, meaning that the video isn't working. Also, when I put a CamStudio video on Windows Live Movie Maker, it just shows a gray space with a yellow "!" sign and the video and the sound are not playing. Is there anything I could do to solve the problem? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sirdrink13309622 (talk • contribs) 07:18, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

Connecting to the internet by using Samsung champ as modem.

I have Samsung champ GT-3303 mobile phone and supported USB/data cable with Samsung kies software and a computer in good condition with win7 installed in it.

now my question goes here--

1) i just want to know that is there any way by which i can use my phone as modem and connect to internet in my computer, as i can connect to internet by using Nokia 3110 as modem and software Nokia PC suite. Gopal (http://www.gopalmishra.weebly.com) 180.215.121.179 (talk) 09:01, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

2) I had forgotton my windows vista buisness startup password and i does not have password reset disk. i want to start windows and change the password. what should i do. is there any way to break the password. please help —Preceding unsigned comment added by 180.215.121.179 (talk) 09:19, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

In the first sentence you say you have Windows 7 (genuine I presume) and now you say you lost your password for Vista, please clarify. Is this another request? General Rommel (talk) 09:49, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

it is just my next question 180.215.121.199 (talk) 06:32, 23 May 2011 (UTC)

Chrome compared with Firefox

Can Chrome, or any of the other browsers such as Opera or Safari etc, do anything that Firefox cannot do? Thanks 92.15.21.174 (talk) 14:31, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

Chrome can render HTML using WebKit, and Firefox can not do this. (Safari can, though). This is the mechanism by which a page's code is translated into the text, pictures, fonts, and positioning on screen. Truthfully, if you don't already know what that means, you probably won't really care; but for the curious, here is our article, Comparison of layout engines (HTML). Additionally, Chrome implements its JavaScript interpreter with the V8 engine, instead of the SpiderMonkey engine; again, this is a distinction that only affects the pedantic JavaScript programmer. It is also claimed that Chrome is faster, better, and so on; but such metrics are highly dependent on your individual system and settings. Chrome can also run on the ChromeOS, which is something that no other web browser can do. Nimur (talk) 15:22, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

Those aren't really abilities: (except for ChromeOS, which is neither here nor there) those are just names of the underlying systems. There are a few cool features that each browser has that no other browser has: Firefox 4 has app tabs, Chrome has tab-to-search-site-specific-search engines, etc. But we live in a wonderful era where, for the most part, your browser only affects how you do things, not what we can do. Paul (Stansifer) 21:13, 23 May 2011 (UTC)

Dude :p ¦ Reisio (talk) 04:10, 23 May 2011 (UTC)

Chrome can track you and send every url you type into the address bar or visit to Google. I don't think Firefox can do that, unless you use the integrated Google search box on the toolbar 82.43.89.63 (talk) 15:28, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

Yeah, that's probably the most significant difference. The GoogleUpdate.exe app that's installed with most Google software also gives them the power to install pretty much anything they want without your consent. ¦ Reisio (talk) 04:10, 23 May 2011 (UTC)

To be fair, Firefox also sends the contents of every URL you enter in the address bar (or click on via a link) directly to Google. Google helps Mozilla to perform this benevolent service for the purpose of protecting you from malicious websites that want to track your browsing habits and/or take control of your computer by hosting a website that tracks your browsing habits and takes control of your computer. If you would like to disable this feature, you can edit the "Safe Browsing" features in your about:config in Firefox. You can also read the Google Safe Browsing Service legal and privacy policy as it applies to Firefox. Nimur (talk) 03:10, 24 May 2011 (UTC)

Thank you Nimur. I tried typing in "about:config" and was overwhelmed by what I saw. Is there any easy way to disable reporting to Google, or could anyone provide more specific advice? Thanks. Edit: Does Firefox send your urls to Google for checking, or does Google just send a list of bad-urls to Firefox? 92.15.8.217 (talk) 13:53, 25 May 2011 (UTC)

fortran PURE functions

Resolved

Hi,i must be missing something obvious, i have a module file where i declared all the functions and subroutines PURE (removing all write and stop statements and adding intent to all parameters). I have:
pure function (A) that calls a pure subroutine (B) (No complaints from compilers)
that subroutine (B) then calls several other pure functions/subroutines (C,D,E). Now C,D,E dont call any other procedures, but all are declared PURE and have intents set. But gfortran 4.5 and ifort 11.1 both complain that there not PURE,

gfortran -> Error: Function reference to 'getphase' at (1) is to a non-PURE procedure within a PURE procedure
Ifort -> error #7137: Any procedure referenced in a PURE procedure, including one referenced via a defined operation or assignmnent, must be explicitly declared PURE.
[GETPHASE]
PHASE = GETPHASE(HJD,V(19),V(20))

BUT gfortran 4.1 and ifort 9.1 both accept the code without complaining (Yes i know there old).

The function in question (from previously lets call it C) :

     PHASE = GETPHASE(HJD,V(19),V(20))

     PURE DOUBLE PRECISION FUNCTION GETPHASE (HJD,PERIOD,TZERO)
            ! Returns phase from given time and orbital ephemeris
      IMPLICIT NONE
      DOUBLE PRECISION,INTENT(IN) :: HJD,PERIOD,TZERO

      GETPHASE = (HJD - TZERO) / PERIOD
      GETPHASE = GETPHASE - int(GETPHASE)
      if ( GETPHASE < 0.0d0 ) GETPHASE = GETPHASE + 1.0d0

      END FUNCTION GETPHASE

So what am i missing that makes this function non-pure? Thanks --86.186.152.48 (talk) 15:34, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

I don't know if Fortran follows this definition, but a pure function is one (a) that has no side-effects, and (b) whose return value only depends on the arguments. It looks like (b) holds to me (but I'm no Fortran expert), since it doesn't seem to refer to any variables other than its parameters. A possible violation of (a) is the division operation: whatever happens when you divide by zero is probably a side-effect, though I have no idea whether the Fortran typechecker actually respects this, or what you can do to get around it. Paul (Stansifer) 16:29, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

Well that was silly, found the problem GETPHASE had been declared as a variable--86.186.152.48 (talk) 17:28, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

OK, I will mark it resolved. StuRat (talk) 17:39, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

bluetooth mic by plugin, not pairing

I want a bluetooth microphone which does not need pairing. It is in two parts: one part is a simple plug (the size of a USB drive) which you plug into the microphone socket. The other part is the microphone itself, which is battery powered and wireless. It's connected to the other part.

Does such a thing exist? Just a microphone, preferably not a complete handsfree kit. 81.98.97.252 (talk) 21:01, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

sound emanating from data service center

What quality and quantity of sound would emanate from a 23-acre data service center? --Anna Lands (talk) 23:35, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

See Data center. The main source of noise is going to be the cooling systems (24/7) and whatever backup power source is used for when the electricity goes out - such a large site might have something more efficient and quieter than the usual diesel generators, or it might have one diesel generator per building. There's also going to be some traffic noise, although the number of employees attending the site daily is going to be a lot less than a general industrial site of the same size. Tevildo (talk) 00:18, 23 May 2011 (UTC)

See this. You are going to be hearing a hell of a lot of air conditioning. I've been by this one in particular and from the outside all you hear is the hum of a lot of fans. Inside, the buzzing of all the computers is deafening to my ears, but others claim they don't hear a thing. -- kainaw™ 02:02, 23 May 2011 (UTC)