Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2013 December 1

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December 1

Setting up a website

I posted here recently (Hiring a programmer for a job, etc.). After some discussion I realized that more information that just colloquial description is needed, in particular a clear display of formulas. I also want to set up my own website and put there the stuff regarding my patent and underlying math. I was very much impressed by the StuRat website. How does one go about setting something like that up? Thanks2601:7:7680:626:55A8:CF63:583E:F202 (talk) 02:10, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

I don't know what site Stu referred you to but you can easily set up a WordPress site in a short amount of time. Dismas|^(talk) 04:48, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

Setting up a website requires (at a barest minimum) three things:

1. A computer that's always on, and has a "static" IP address. Either your own computer - or one that you lease time on that's owned by some kind of service provider.
2. A copy of an "HTTP daemon" running on the computer (you can download "Apache" for free - which is an excellent example of such a tool).
3. A file called "index.html" in a directory known to the HTTP daemon that contains some information in the HTML language.

Actually, there is a fourth thing - which is that with the above, people would have to access your site as something like: http://208.80.154.225 rather than the more memorable: http://wikipedia.org - and for that, you need to go to a "domain name registrar" and pay some small amount of money to register your ownership of the name and to cause computers around the world to associate "http://joes_plumbing.com" with the IP address of your computer. You can go to places like "GoDaddy" who'll generally charge you $10 per year or so - depending on how "valuable" the name is.

That's the theory.

In practice, as a small business or an individual you're likely to find it hard to get your own 'static' IP address from most providers. That means that you more or less have to go to a web site service provider (I use 'Dreamhost.com') who'll charge you maybe $10 per month to provide you with a slice of one of their many computers that already has a static IP address with Apache already configured nicely. They'll probably do the domain registry thing for you too. So for about $10 down and $10/month, all you need to provide is the HTML file(s) for the website itself.

This brings us to the next complication. Whilst it's easily possible to write and maintain a simple web site using just HTML commands - you'll probably out-grow that after a while and start to want more sophisticated stuff like style sheets, fonts, images, JavaScript software, client-server stuff in PHP or C++ or something, SQL, web apps, canvas and WebGL graphics...who knows what?!. This puts you on a learning curve that can grow to encompass an entire career path. Another approach is to install some kind of infrastructure on top of the basic system I described above - and that could be WordPress or MediaWiki or any of a couple of dozen other possibilities. You might want to add blogging and forums, storefront software and advertising platforms...again, another career-spanning range of options there too.

SteveBaker (talk) 05:37, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

Also, if you create an account here on Wikipedia, you can create your own specs sheet right on your home page or as a subpage. That is free and accessible whenever Wikipedia is running, which is pretty much always. I recommend this as a first step. Later on you can copy it all to your own web site. StuRat (talk) 10:53, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

Wow, while I slept good people posted a wealth of information for me. Thank you for that. Actually at one point, perhaps 3-4 years ago I did have a static IP address from Comcast, I believe, and also had a registered domain name. Then I moved out of that area, my plans changed, I got tired of software and gave it all up. I got a static IP because somebody told me that with a static IP it would be difficult or impossible for someone to highjack my computed and transmit their junk. Indeed at one point before that while I still had to get dynamic IP addresses every few days or so, exactly that happened and my machine was quarantined I believe. Somehow I had that unlocked and I think that I resolved the issue by acquiring a static IP.

I also had a server installed on one of my machines but never got it off the ground. I guess my question is: do I have to get a server (hardware plus software or software alone) to set it up? It looks from your post that I can get by without it, correct? I will probably start with a Wikipedia.org page as StuRat recommends. Well, I have my work cut out for me for sure!

I just reread SteveBaker's paragraphs and decided that I need to clarify my objective. The whole thing of course acquired its shape after a few posts here and the criticism I met. Provided I will be able to find a programmer to verify that my patent will work in real time, I am planning to approach potential investors and show them the result. The result and the background to it should be handily displayed on a web page. That will be the easiest and most convincing way to argue about implementation. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.52.14.15 (talk) 16:30, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

Many thanks,2601:7:7680:626:55A8:CF63:583E:F202 (talk) 16:24, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

Also, how can I register here?2601:7:7680:626:55A8:CF63:583E:F202 (talk) 17:17, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

There's a "create account" link at the top-right of the screen. CS Miller (talk) 20:20, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

Strictly speaking, you don't need a static IP address. As long as your ADSL router/cable modem offers support for services like dynDNS, you can get a dyndns address, and your modem will inform them when your IP address changes. CS Miller (talk) 20:20, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

Thank you, I appreciate it. How come the Wikipedia says "do not display personal information" but you, Miller, give your own name it seems.2601:7:7680:626:1021:96A7:A1F0:3245 (talk) 04:45, 2 December 2013 (UTC)

I use my real name and provide my actual email address for anyone who cares. I have (on occasion) had problems with some of the more evil people who frequent this place because of that - but on balance, I think it's better to be open than not. Wikipedia is merely advising you not to presume privacy for *ANYTHING* you post here because everything is out in the open. SteveBaker (talk) 17:46, 2 December 2013 (UTC)

Also this question. In planning for my own website as has been recommended here by you I believe, I consider the following option and would like you to confirm that it's doable. All the formulas I will need can be easily found here in Wikipedia. I would just copy them with right click on my mouse and then paste them on the web page. I believe that pretty circle with radians above has been made this way. Do you think it will work? Correct? Thank you 2601:7:7680:626:D31:C668:489F:577F (talk) 22:34, 2 December 2013 (UTC)

No! Certainly not! Formulae that you just copy/paste into an HTML file on a web page remain just that...formulae. If you want to convert them into a graph or some other kind of diagram then you need some other software to do that...maybe a spreadsheet program or something like Mathematica. Then you need to take a copy of the resulting image and upload that to your server. With the right skills, you could perhaps write Javascript code to convert a formula into a graph or something - but the mere fact that you're asking this question means that you're not going to be able to do that. IMHO, you need six months or more of learning how web pages work, how HTML is involved and a myriad of other subjects before you're ready to do what you need. SteveBaker (talk) 00:50, 3 December 2013 (UTC)

Steve, I did not expect it from you. Please read my question. Where in the world did I imply that I expect the formulas to be converted into a visual presentation? NEVER. In fact your first sentence seems to answer my question that I can copy and paste formulas in Wikipedia. This is all I wanted to know. The circle with radians was brought as an example because I suspect that it was done exactly this way, by copying and pasting.2601:7:7680:626:56:2051:F86A:547E (talk) 00:24, 4 December 2013 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:7:7680:626:56:2051:F86A:547E (talk) 00:23, 4 December 2013 (UTC)

Firefox settings

I had a minor problem with McAfee. The support technician, among other things, deleted cookies and other stuff from IE, but now when I go into Wikipedia from Firefox, the format has changed. For one thing, I have to scroll down toward the bottom to get the search box. How can I get my old format back (search box on the left)? Now that I try other sites, the format's screwed up there as well. Clarityfiend (talk) 09:11, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

Your Wikipedia "skin" may have changed from Monobook to Vector. See here for information on how to change it back. -- 140.202.10.134 (talk) 18:49, 2 December 2013 (UTC)

That wasn't it, but thanks. In the end, I just reset and crossed my fingers. Eventually, I got everything back the way I had it. Clarityfiend (talk) 03:20, 4 December 2013 (UTC)

Laptop touchpad location

Is there a reason that laptop touchpads (mousing interface) are located below the keyboard and not above the keyboard? If they were above the keyboard, accidentally mousing (correct verb?) whilst typing would not be an issue and it would not be necessary to enable/disable the touchpad as needed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.215.5.255 (talk) 13:05, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

If the touchpad were placed above the keyboard, there would be the problem of accidentally pressing keys whilst "mousing" on the touchpad. With care, of course, neither should be a problem. My touchpad on this ancient laptop is slightly recessed, so I've never experienced accidental "mousing". Is it an issue for many people? Dbfirs 17:08, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

It's a common and irritating issue on older systems but most new computers have software functions that detect the difference between a deliberate finger and an accidental palm or brush-past, and ignore the latter. Often you can enable these functions by downloading updated software for your trackpad (Synaptics drivers, or other as appropriate). I suspect that would be much more difficult to achieve if the keyboard and trackpad were switched--how would the keyboard detect whether your keypresses were deliberate or not? —Noiratsi (talk) 18:00, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

There's this acer device.

I think I'd probably like it, but maybe it's a grass-is-always-greener thing and it would annoy me just as much. Hard to tell without trying it. APL (talk) 21:34, 2 December 2013 (UTC)