Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2008 July 23

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July 23

Non-breaking tables in MS Word

Hello, I am writing a 300+ page work in MS Word. It is filled with various tables. It is very important that those tables would be presented as a whole in a single page and not split between two pages when there is not enough space on the first page. I have big issues tracking each table: I waste hours manually inserting blank lines and page breaks trying to preserve each of them as a whole on one page. And then I or my teammates add or delete something... and it's all over again... Is there some trick to prohibit Word from breaking tables in half between pages? Renata (talk) 01:30, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

One suggestion is to put each table in it's own Appendix. That way each will start at the top of that page. StuRat (talk) 07:24, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Select the table by clicking on the square in its upper-left hand corner. Then go to Format --> Paragraph... --> Line and Page Breaks. If you click on Keep with next, it will move the table as a whole onto the next page.--Hello. I'm new here, but I'm sure I can help out. (talk) 08:13, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

I tried this one and it does exactly what I wanted. Awesome! I knew there has to be a checkbox somewhere... Thank you very much. Renata (talk) 19:51, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Another trick, if you are accustomed to working with Word styles and if you use headings in the first row of a table:

• Format the headings with a specific paragraph style -- let's call it tablehead.
• Next, create a style based on tablehead, but with the added characteristic of 'page break before' -- let's call this style tablehead1.
• Now, apply tablehead to the headings of each new table. Then apply tablehead1 to the words in the first cell of the first row.

With this format, your table headings will automatically begin a new page. If you don't use headings in your tables, you can modify this trick; just create a style like tablehead1 and apply it to the text in the first cell of the table.

(You probably realize this already, but it's possible that an entire table will not fit on a single page.) OtherDave (talk) 16:04, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

I don't really want new table = new page. Much of my tables are supposed to be in between text. But I will keep this in mind for another report I will have to write in the fall... Should be very handy. Thank you, Renata (talk) 19:51, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

You're welcome. If you create the tablehead1 style, you can just apply it when necessary. The main point is to have the font and size and alignment identical to what the text would have anyway; tablehead1 just adds that page-break. OtherDave (talk) 21:28, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Question I just thought of - is it possible to have table headings repeat if the table goes onto multiple pages in MS Word? --Random832 (contribs) 21:32, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Yes. Select the row(s) of the table that you want to repeat (sometimes you want the first two rows to serve as your heading). From the Table menu, select Heading Rows Repeat. The rows will appear automatically if the table runs more than one page. Note: if you split the table, the rows will not repeat, because you've now got two tables. (You could copy the heading rows from the first one to the second one.) OtherDave (talk) 01:18, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Just out of curiosity, have you thought of using LyX or LaTeX? I find them much better than Word for documents this big. Zunaid©® 12:09, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Firefox hit count

How can I get Firefox 3.01 to show me the number of hits for a search? Clarityfiend (talk) 02:54, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Hi Clarity. First we need to know what search engine you are using. --mboverload@ 04:40, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Oops. The 900 lb. gorilla: Google. Clarityfiend (talk) 23:46, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

It is to the far right on the blue bar after your search something. Results 1 - 10 of about 23,000,000 for hippie [definition]. (0.06 seconds) --mboverload@ 14:54, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Doh, how did I miss that? Thanks. Clarityfiend (talk) 20:10, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

USB keyboard doesn't work with bootloaders

For some reason when booting off of a CD or any non primary Hard disk, the system does not respond to any keyboard input. I know that the BIOS can see the keyboard, the boot loader can't, but any OS can see it again after booting. Examples: (1) When it opens GRUB, I can't boot into anything other than the default option when time runs out. (2) When the Knoppix 5.1 disk boots, I can't type any boot options ("cheats"), and have to wait for the timer to run out and boot the default configuration. (3) I can't use the Windows XP setup boot CD, it stops and says "Press any key to boot from CD" and ignores all input until the timer runs out and boots off the Hard disk. This is not a new machine, it has worked fine for years, but is failing now for no apparent reason. To reiterate, this is a USB (US-International layout) pluged into a USB 2.0 device built-into the mainboard. It doesn't work when any other USB keyboard either. I want to know what's going on and how I can fix it, permanently preferably. Please DO NOT SAY GET A NEW MOTHERBOARD, OR GET A <your favorite computer brand here> BECAUSE THAT ISN'T HELPFUL. ~Anonymous 04:29, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Look in your BIOS for "USB Keyboard support". I have seen it hidden in a lot of places. It's the only thing I can think of with the circumstances you cite. How old is the machine exactly? --mboverload@ 04:40, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

I got this computer in October/November 2005, so it's a little more than 2.5 years old. I do apologize if my post sounded exaggerated, I am as you can tell under a lot of stress lately. ~Anonymous 05:06, 23 July 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.112.146.248 (talk)

In the BIOS configuration menu, there are 2 options, one says "USB Controller" and the other says "USB KB/Storage Support" and they are both set to "Enabled". Does the 'KB' stand for keyboard? The Keyboard is obviously working here, but as before it doesn't work until it boots into an OS. ~Anonymous 06:03, 23 July 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.112.146.248 (talk)

Try toggling off and on the USB KB support. You can also try to reset your CMOS - do you know how to do that? --mboverload@ 06:09, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

I had the same problem, and in the end, the only solution that worked, was plugging in a PS2 keyboard. USB keyboard worked in bios, worked in boot device selection (it is an extension of bios, anyway), but did not work in WinXP bootloader (where can be selected other operating systems or safe mode), it did not work in winxp installer either. After OS loading, keyboard worked just fine. It also worked firne, in windows vista installer. I suspect, this problem is caused by windows unloading bios drivers, after starting, but not being loaded far enough to have loaded OS drivers. -Yyy (talk) 09:30, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

comparing two software implementations

how would you compare two software implementations, where one is based on proper domain objects and abstractions, and another one hides complexity by just providing a way to generate code that you have to repeat through some kind of configuration files, etc.

many thanks in advance. --V4vijayakumar (talk) 10:26, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Compare using what metrics? Hiding complexity is good, and proper abstractions are good, too. --Sean 16:40, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Programming: Windows Vista API (Folder Redirection)

I'm attempting to figure out how to access the display name of a folder. Previously, my understanding was that folders (and files) had both short 8.3 filenames and long filenames. However, there seems to be a third, "display" filename on vista. For example, "C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Accessories\Accessibility" has the names:

• 8.3: ACCESS~1
• LFN: Accessibility
• display name: Ease of Access

So, I'm interested in some way to take an LFN (i.e. "Accessibility") and spit of the display name. (Also, I would want the ability to have it run on XP, in which case display name = LFN, presumeably). Ideally I'd like to do this in VB though in a pinch C++ would work. Similarly, I'd want the ability to change the display name.

I believe my issue relates to folder redirection.

Thank you --72.85.235.162 (talk) 14:55, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Found an article called What the %$#&amp; is up with localized paths in Vista? for a starting point. --Random832 (contribs) 20:09, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

I guess I was wrong in predicting it related to folder redirection, since I am pretty sure this is what I needed. Thank you. --72.85.235.162 (talk) 13:49, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Well, all of that stuff works fine for the localized names. However, I discovered that if a user renames (with the explorer) a folder which had a localized name, then the display name is still different from the LFN and 8.3 names yet is no longer a localized name (i.e. its name no longer resides in a resource file e.g. shell32.dll). Where is this new name? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.85.235.162 (talk) 14:30, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Well, I figured it out. This information is stored in the desktop.ini files. --72.85.235.162 (talk) 18:25, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Linux on a USB drive

I'd like to install Linux on my USB drive. (1 GB total, ~800 megs free.) Is it possible? What distribution should I choose? (Other than Fedora 9's LiveCD->USB tool.) --grawity 15:20, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

It's definitely possible, assuming your computer will boot from a USB drive. Here's a page on using Puppy Linux. --LarryMac | Talk 15:24, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

I know it's possible (I tried it with Fedora's tool mentioned above), but I want a real install - not something that runs off a read-only image with a few megs for user data. --grawity 16:25, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

I guess I was confused by your use of the phrase "Is it possible?" --LarryMac | Talk 17:39, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

[1] may help you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Willnz0 (talk • contribs) 22:56, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

PendriveLinux. The min requirements are 1GB though; and you gotta have windows to install it :/ Abhishek (talk) 13:48, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

This also runs out of a squashfs image. --grawity 13:54, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Unetbootin (http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/) is a very good tool to create Live USBs, it works on Windows and Linux, and can install various distros... SF007 (talk) 14:34, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

HDRI in movie industry late 80`s

Hallo,

I have a question about the "High Dynamic Range Imaging article. Specifically about the part: "Probably the first practical application of HDRI was by the movie industry in late 1980s" Does anybody know which film or by whom?

Thanks --Xelabell (talk) 16:59, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Sounds like that claim needs a citation tag. Just guessing here -- Willow (1988), The Abyss (1989), Indiana Jones 3 (1989), Back to the Future II (1989), Ghostbusters II (1989). Those were the major FX movies I can see on ILMs IMDB page [2] --70.167.58.6 (talk) 21:17, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Safari web browser

Resolved

I'm currently trying out Safari web browser after aeons of using internet explorer as default.(To be honest I didn't get much choice as apple media player constantly harassed me to download it and i-tunes and wouldn't give up till I said yes - but ignore this..)

I'd like to know what font Internet explorer uses as I'd like to try it with this font - currently the text looks blacker, and also blurred (I assumed this is 'quartz' font smoothing - but setting that to 'light' doesn't solve the problem..)

So also if someone could tell be about the safari font, and whether I can turn off the anti-aliasing/oversampling/whatever that would be helpful too. Thanks.87.102.86.73 (talk) 17:10, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

The different appearance isn't (or isn't only) because of different font(s), it is (as you say above) a different font rendering engine (even on Windows). So the same font will look (depending on your tastes) smoother or blurrier when viewed in Safari than on IE. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 18:32, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Are the internet explorer fonts in general bitmaps - and hence pixel perfect - avoiding having to use oversampling? or not?87.102.86.73 (talk) 22:07, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

No, they're both vector fonts. Indeed, they'll both render the same font, but differently. The difference is, in part at least, a philosophical difference between Apple's and Microsoft's view of how fonts should be rendered - see this and this. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 22:16, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Aaah!, very interesting - it seems that microsoft is actually rounding up/down the letter spacing to match pixel boundarys to get that 'hand made bitmap' look (the follow on article from your link http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000885.html)

I'd imagine that as monitor resolution increases the apple method becomes better (yes the article says that too)- but at 768x1024 (what I'm currently looking at) I can still see the pixels, and as a result the apple method looks inferior. So all I need is a 3000x2000 monitor with a pixel size smaller than I can possibly resolve! Good I say.

Curiously I've had clear type turned off as it looked s..t, but that's another question.

87.102.86.73 (talk) 22:37, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

{{resolved}}

Hope you don't mind me responding after you've resolved the main issue... Cleartype as with most/all subpixel rendering techniques only really works well with screens with fixed pixels and subpixels (read the article). This applies to LCDs, but not generally CRTs. It sounds like you're using a CRT since there are few LCDs I know of with a native resolution of 1024x768 (I guess that's what you mean, or is your display really vertical instead of horizontal) which would explain why Cleartype looks crap. If you are using an LCD, are you sure you're running it at the native resolution? If not, then I strongly suggest you switch to the native resolution. LCDs because of the way their designed tend to look bad at non native resolutions particularly for the display of text and other sharp details and particularly without a good interpolation engine (which most LCDs seem to lack although Nvidia cards and drivers can do some decent downsampling). Cleartype definitely won't work well at any non-native resolution. If you do have an LCD, if necessary, increase the font size and run at the native resolution (although if you're running XP there can still be some issues even with a large font size). If you are running an LCD and at the native resolution, there are tools you can use to adjust your Cleartype which may be necessary if your LCD is non standard. Nil Einne (talk) 19:50, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

files renamed

Is there a simple 'wizard' that will take a user selected block of files (eg 1.jpg , 2.jpg , 3.jpg etc ) and rename them so that they read holiday1.jpg , holiday2.jpg , holiday3.jpg etc.. (in either windows or mac or something else ie built in)

If not then can someone recommend a scripting language (or general purpose language with scripting) that I could learn to be able to do this. (It would be good if the language was not OS specific but doesn't have to be. Thanks. 87.102.86.73 (talk) 17:38, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Under Linux, there is the rename command that I think will do precisely what you want; I'm not sure this is available under Mac. Under Windows, searching for "Batch renaming" comes up with some results, but I haven't used any. Also, I suppose there may be a way to do it with a batch file, but I'm not sure - it's functionality seems limited to me (compared to linux's bash scripting). This might work on a Mac, but you (and me, too) might need to brush up on regular expressions. --Bennybp (talk) 18:01, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Well, if you've got a modern Mac you'll have access to a Terminal, which you should be able to write scripts for. In this particular case, if you can get all the files into the same directory (folder), then you'll need something like:

#!/bin/sh

Prefix="Holiday"
for File in $(ls | grep .jpg$) ; do
    mv $File $Prefix$File
done

as a script to be run from the same directory. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.86.164.115 (talk) 22:03, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Warning! The grep regular expression above will match any filename that has "jpg" anywhere in it, as long as it is preceded by at least one character. (The regular expression is not anchored, and "dot" has a special meaning in regular expressions.) So "foojpg.tiff", for example, will be renamed in addition to the files you intended. I expect the for loop will also break on filenames with spaces. Using the obvious solution (wildcards) instead of grep will produce the desired results. Note that you should also quote variable expansions, in case the filenames contain spaces:

#!/bin/sh

Prefix="Holiday"
for File in *.jpg ; do
    mv "$File" "$Prefix$File"
done

--Coneslayer (talk) 11:45, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Well spotted, thanks.87.102.86.73 (talk) 17:57, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Yes. what about if I would like to select files myself and then 'drag and drop' them to a 'program' for the above to happen.. Would I be able to work out what to do if I read a unix manual, or does the 'drag and drop' process involve stuff that is beyond unix's control -

I imagined that the selection and then drag and drop would simply make a list of files the inputs to a process/program. Does a linux/mac unix GUI make it that simple to convert 'drag and drop' to inputs and functions? (A simple answer appreciated)87.102.86.73 (talk) 22:21, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Also to say that Microsoft have started offering something for Windows called Powershell, which promises easy scripting for stuff like this. --78.86.164.115 (talk) 22:14, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Good thanks - I'm reassured to see it's free as well.87.102.86.73 (talk) 22:42, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

I swear by Lupas Rename for this sort of thing, I'm always batch renaming TV series episodes and the like. It can do Find..Replace text strings, Insert before/After filename (which is applicable in your case), Insert at position, left/right crop n characters and much more. To complement it I also use Oscar's Renamer which lists the file names in a directory like one big text file that you can freely edit. Useful for renaming all the files in a folder to different filenames quickly (e.g. putting the titles of the different episodes into the filenames. As you can tell I'm pretty anal when it comes to naming TV episode files). Zunaid©® 12:01, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Thanks as well - at least I now have a back up plan. Thanks.87.102.86.73 (talk) 17:57, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

I have an e-mail problem...

I was trying to send an e-mail to one of my friends on AIM, but there was this error message:

The message was not sent because of an error with address "(e-mail address)"

We would love to send this email but your recipient never logged onto their free AIM Mail account.

Please contact them and let them know that they are missing out on all the super features offered by AIM Mail.

And by the way, they are also missing out on your email.

How can I fix this problem? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sirdrink13309622 (talk • contribs) 17:55, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

How about doing what it says? Contact your friend by other means, and tell them to log into their free AIM mail. Algebraist 18:00, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

      How could I contact my friend?

Well, the obvious way that comes to mind is to send them an instant message. They probably already have another e-mail address they use, you could ask for that instead of insisting they sign up for AIM mail. --Random832 (contribs) 21:34, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Google ranking

Dear Wikipedians:

I'm sure this is an old question on this board, but I was unable to find it in the archives. So here it goes again:

I have a newly created site: http://kingswaycomputertechsupport.googlepages.com/

that I would like people to find if they type in "kingswaycomputertechsupport" into Google search bar. But now when I do that Google turns up with nothing, so I'm wondering how to make the site appear in Google search.

If you know of any pointers to old documents in the Wikipedia archives please also point me to them.

Thanks.

74.12.199.151 (talk) 18:27, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

It should show up in a couple of days. Please consider adding your website to Google's index. Please also try "kingswaycomputertechsupport" googlepages in a few days. I am sure you know this already but if people find your website useful and link to it, it will have greater chances of being on Google's results. Kushal (talk) 18:35, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

http://www.google.com/addurl/ Google Spider (talk) 06:16, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Best choice for a Laptop at college.

I'm going to start attending college from this fall onwards. I'm having a tough time choosing a suitable laptop. I'm taking up Computer Engineering major, so now you assist me through my choices. I was thinking of migrating from the windows platform to the Mac platform. This shouldnt be a problem cause i can run windows on a Mac notebook. so ma list is narrowed down to the Macs. so, i have a choice between the MacBook, MacBook-Black, MacBook pro. im not a very into gamer, nor am i interested in photo editing n stuff. I'm just a basic user. So kindly suggest me Accordingly about my choice, or shuld i stick to the windows platform?wat are the advantages if i do so?...thnks a lot! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 123.252.224.65 (talk) 18:45, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

The choice between Windows and MacOS will partly be determined by any software your course will require, or recommend, that you run. Surely almost everything they'd require you to know will run on both, but (particularly for a subject like yours) there may be some odd thing that they use (often that they've written themselves) that might not work on every platform you might wish. So I'd speak to the faculty. Also you might wish to wait until you've enrolled/matriculated, as some colleges can get you steep educational discounts on both computer hardware and software. Again, check with the college. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 18:57, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Consider getting a system with a decent docking station. Laptops are cool, but if you're going to be writing long papers and and longer programs you might be happier with a large screen and a fullsize keyboard. APL (talk) 01:18, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

desktop is not what im looking for, you were rite with your points, but portability is also what i have to keep in mind, desktop wouldn't be as convenient as a laptop would be to me. So plz temme the advantages n disadvantages of having a Mac platform laptop. should i go for it, or should i wait n give it a more educated thought?cheers —Preceding unsigned comment added by 123.252.224.65 (talk) 07:03, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

That's why I recommended a docking station. All the portability of a laptop, but the comfort of a desktop when it's actually on your desk. (You can plug in monitors and keyboards without the docking station, of course. But it's less convenient, which means you won't bother.)

But to answer your question, modern Mac OSs are not nearly as bad for engineers as they used to be. In fact, if you take the opportunity to familiarize yourself with Bash you may find yourself at an advantage over Windows users if the curriculum involves a lot of unix work. On the other hand A Mac machine tends to be more expensive than a similarly benchmarked PC. There are sometimes exceptions to this, but in general you're paying extra for the stylishness of the Apple brand name. (In addition, if you plan to use Boot Camp (And you may have to) you'll have to buy windows separately. )

However, the best advice here would probably be to ask your professors. If you can't wait until school starts try emailing them, or your adviser. They may even have a section on the Comp E. department's web page advising students on what type of computer to buy. APL (talk) 14:53, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

• Engineering major? =P Then be an engineer and install GNU/Linux. As you said you are not a gamer nor do you edit photos/videos, Linux can do all the basic stuff--programming, text editing, web browsing etc..Or you can just use windows. Don't spend money on a Mac when you really don't need it. Abhishek (talk) 12:56, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Computer engineering major though. You'd likely need to be running Windows/Linux a lot, as almost all tools (Xilinx and Cadence softwares, for example) require Windows (some can run on Linux, but still). I'd also save the money and get a faster Windows based laptop or just save some money overall. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 15:59, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Linux is something to worry about with a Mac. Many linux tools can now work on Mac, but not all of them. And from what I understand running Linux via bootcamp is not an easy thing to do. APL (talk) 18:20, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

For Windows and Linux, consider VMware Fusion. When you do need another platform, it will probably only be for one program which you don't need want to do a complete reboot for - particularly as many mac laptop users rarely shut it down at all, only using the sleep function. (Close the lid and all but the RAM stops. Open the lid and it restores in three seconds.)89.242.166.148 (talk) 12:13, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Onboard Video + AGP

I have an Optiplex GX260. I am currently using the AGP. I want to also make use of the onboard video. BIOS gives the option for Onboard (where AGP doesn't work) or auto (where onboard doesn't work). Does anyone know of any hack - even a BIOS hack - that will allow both to function? Is this just a motherboard limitation where it can use one or the other but not both? -- kainaw™ 19:21, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

It would seem (correct me if I'm wrong) that this machine has an Intel 845G chipset paired with an Intel 82845G graphics controller. Intel's page for this says you can do multi-monitor with a PCI card, but "Multi display is not possible with the onboard display and an AGP add-in card". -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 19:46, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

The datasheet for the 845/82845 similarly says "The BIOS will disable the [internal graphics device] if an external AGP device is detected." (this really is an instruction to BIOS authors). If this was just a bandwidth issue (the AGPx4 is more demanding than the PCI66 they do allow - List of device bandwidths) you'd think they'd just downscale your AGP to x2 (meaning you could use both for desktop work, but playing a game would force it to shut down the onboard controller) but they don't. I'm guessing (they don't say) that the issue is the way AGP uses the host memory interface directly (via the GART) conflicting with the 82845's own accesses to (UMA) "video" memory in the system memory (whereas PCI devices are more willing to be bossed around and do memory accesses when the PCI master tells them to). -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 20:17, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

That is what I figured - a memory access issue. I guess I have to hunt down a cheap PCI card since that can be activated after boot and used as a secondary device. -- kainaw™ 14:02, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

safely remove hardware... or just pull the plug?

Why is it neccesssary when using a flash drive or external hard drive to click on the "safely remove hardware" button and stop the device before removing it? I have always wondered why this is required...what damage could possibly occur if I just pull it out? I have actually done that many times and saw no noticeable problems. Thanks and cheers, 10draftsdeep (talk) 19:39, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

I must admit I have often just pulled it out and had no problems. If the computer's operating system was still writing data to the USB device it could cause corrupted or incomplete data. I usually "stop" the device just to be on the safe side. -=# Amos E Wolfe ^talk #=- 19:44, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

As long as the device is not currently operating it's almost certainly ok, if the device was working there's a chance of damage (or loss of data) especially with hardrives.

see Hot swapping.87.102.86.73 (talk) 19:58, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, if I have a PowerPoint or something like that stored on it and I close it out, I just pull it. However, I sometimes run SAS and S&D off of it to scan my computer. Then, I stop the program and stop the USB device. Ζρς ι'β' ^¡hábleme! 20:01, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Also, actual damage or loss of data other than what you were recently working with is quite a bit less likely than just losing the data you just edited/saved. --Random832 (contribs) 20:05, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

The basic problem is write-back caching. When a program modifies a file, the OS doesn't immediately write the changed data to the drive. One reason for waiting is that consecutive changes to the same sector can be pooled together and written just once. This can be a huge performance win in some cases (e.g. batch-renaming or batch-deleting files), and it will probably also extend the life of a flash drive since they can only tolerate a limited number of sector writes before they fail. Recent versions of Windows by default avoid delaying writes to removable drives to reduce the chance of data loss when people yank them out unceremoniously. You can change this on a drive-by-drive basis (in XP at least) by going to the device properties, "Policies" tab, and choosing "Optimize for performance" instead of "Optimize for quick removal". But you then need to be more careful about stopping the device before you remove it. -- BenRG (talk) 22:44, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

I can say from my own experience that I've had files get corrupted when I didn't use "safely remove" on a USB key (on more than one occasion). For that reason I'm always very sure not to unplug it without stopping it first. JeremyMcCracken (talk) (contribs) 20:06, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

Musician "Jam-with-a-friend-on-the-internet" Software

I remember looking into this a couple of years ago. There were software packages that let you jam to constant beat, then proceeded to merge the audio data a few milliseconds later to deal with the latency.

I never really got into it.

So is there a software package, or an internet technology under development, that would allow musicians to jam over a regular cable internet connection? NByz (talk) 20:16, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

sound card color ports

I was recently given a sound card, and would like to put it on my pc (in which the onboard sound went bad) so I can hook it up to my stereo receiver and listen to my music collection. The box lists the card as "PCI multi-channel sound card", doesn't list a manufacturer of the card - just that it uses the sound blaster live chipset.

There are four mini jack ports on the back: with an icon of concentric circles and an arrow pointing to the center of the circles, red - with a microphone icon, green with an icon similar to the blue one but the arrow is pointing outwards and there is a "_1" next to it, and black with a icon just like the green one but it say "_2" instead.

Am i correct in thinking that the blue and red are both input and the green and black both output? And are the green and black just the left and right channels? what kind of adapter do I need to hook this up to my stereo which takes rca inputs?

Thanks for your help, I looked at Sound Card and didn't see exactly what I am looking for so I came here (and the documentation with the card is pretty minimal.Man It's So Loud In Here (talk) 20:41, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Green and black are both stereo outputs (they'll each take a stereo 3.5mm minijack); green is generally the normal out you'd connect to your stereo system - black will either carry the same or a "rear stereo" or something, depending on what the driver sends it. Any electrical store should have cables that will allow you to connect the single green connector to both a red and white RCA. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 20:47, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

(ec) Red/microphone would definitely be an input, normally the card will apply some gain to this input. You didn't actually say which is blue, but I'm guessing it's the first one, that would be line-in. Green is line out (speakers or headphones), Black is a new one to me, perhaps the rear channels, since the card is "multi-channel" as opposed to just "stereo". This Google books link seems to confirm that for the SB Live. --LarryMac | Talk 20:51, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

PC System Design Guide shows sound card colors, but they do not seem to match your description. It would be helpful if you knew the manufacturer and model, or the FCC ID. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 21:10, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for your help, I think I've got it now. I was thinking that the black and the green were left and right channels but really they are both stereo channels, to which I could hook up four speakers if I had them. Man It's So Loud In Here (talk) 22:55, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Indeed from my experience black is usually read. Orange is subwoofer+centre. Nil Einne (talk) 19:26, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

how to integrate tomcat 6.x and iplanet 6.x versions

hi can any one tell me how to integrate tomcat 6.x and iplanet 6.x. needed explanation in proper steps 21:53, 23 July 2008 (UTC)203.99.204.99 (talk) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.99.204.99 (talk) 21:51, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Lyrics in iTunes

I've recently added a whole pile of song lyrics to iTunes (using [3] - very good). Now I'd like to add the ability to search (i.e. using the search box in the top right hand corner of iTunes) by song lyrics. On Windows. Is there any app out there which will do this? I've managed to locate a couple for OS, but none for Windows. Thanks in advance. Willnz0 (talk) 22:40, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Multi-page pdf

Hi. I'm trying to create some pdf documents to upload to my employer's website, and I've hit a snag. Some of the documents started out in Open Office format, and those were easy to export as pdfs. The other documents, however, exist in paper form only, so I'm scanning them.

My question is, how can I take scanned images of 5 pages of text, and convert them into a single pdf file? I searched on the 'net a bit, and it seems there are programs that are entirely for making pdfs. Do I really need one of those, or can I use Open Office tools? If I need a program, can someone recommend a good, free one? Thanks in advance. -GTBacchus^(talk) 22:54, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

If you scan the pages one by one as PDF, #PDF from Scanner has the solution, by stitching PDFs together (yes, on this page). x42bn6 Talk Mess 22:59, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2008 July 19#PDF from Scanner --Kjoonlee 01:44, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

Can I turn my PC into a universal remote?

I already have all of my audio and video on my computer, so I figured I would get a TV-out video card and hook it up to my stereo receiver and television. This is great but I think it would be great if I could get my PC to turn on the stereo and television, maybe put them on the proper channel without my having to use a remote. I am imagining a usb device (it could be a pci card also) which is attached by wire (or wifi?) to an IR transmitter placed where it can interact with the devices. then the software on my pc could determine what frequency to emit, the device receives said signal and turns on etc, etc.

Seems like this device would be pretty easy to make (easy for people that make things like this that is - I imagine I could do it if I just hooked an IR transmitter up to LabView and played around with it but I don't know for sure), but it seems like the demand for this piece of hardware might be pretty limited. Maybe I'm the only one who wants this device, but I do. Whenever I search for computer+remote+control I get back devices that allow you to control the PC with an IR signal, and I'm interested in the opposite.

Does anyone make something like this?Man It's So Loud In Here (talk) 23:22, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

My choice of search keywords would be: programmable infrared transmitter. Looks like what you're looking for should be among the results. --tcsetattr (talk / contribs) 05:20, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, that got me on the right path. I found two devices that seem like they do exactly what I want them to, the USB-UIRT and the tira, and a (non-free) application to control them. Man It's So Loud In Here (talk) 17:10, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Mozilla Firefox 2 + 3?

Can I have both Firefox 2 and Firefox 3 installed on the same machine? Vivio Testarossa^{Talk Who} 23:15, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Yes you can. If you are using windows, then the default installation directory for Firefox is C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox. So if FF2 is already there then to install FF3 make a different directory, say C:\Program Files\Firefox3. Google Spider (talk) 06:08, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

I can run two different Windowses on the same partition, so I see no problem with Firefoxes. Admiral Norton ^(talk) 11:33, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

However, you normally can't run Firefox2 and Firefox3 at the same time. (You need to use separate profiles for that, and mention the profiles in the shortcuts for each program. If you don't understand what this means, ask a guru for help, or don't bother. :)) --Kjoonlee 01:37, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

One other thing. If you want to run them at the same time, you need to use the -no-default option with the shortcuts as well. (You're meant to use it with versions that aren't your default browser.) --Kjoonlee 01:42, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

Kjonlee is perfectly correct. However, you can easily set up profiles and have Firefox ask you which profile to load when Firefox starts. If you want to have the profiles synchronized (so both profiles behave more or less the same), there are add-ons available for you. And congratulations on your choice of one of the world's best web browser. Kushal (talk) 15:52, 26 July 2008 (UTC)