Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2007 June 22

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June 22

GPU as extra processor

Can a gpu be set up to be an "extra processor"? For instance, could a graphics card be added to a core duo system to make it triple core?--67.181.167.227 00:31, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Like the AMD Fusion? --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 00:53, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Yes, but with a "normal" graphics card.--67.181.167.227 00:57, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Then in a way, you're already doing it with a normal computer. If you mean letting the GPU do non-graphic intensive calculations, it won't be very proficient at it, since it's not a fully capable CPU. So the benefit would be a big chunk of energy fees for running the GPU at full with minimal improvements. You're better off getting a Quad Core or a dual Dual Core or something in that case. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 01:22, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Agreed- CPUs are so optimized for.. well take a microprocessors/digital logic course, the point is that your GPU would only have a trivial computational contribution compared to the CPU except for graphical operations. --froth^t 02:38, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Also agree, except for one thing: GPUs' graphical capabilities can also be used for calculations, and by far outperform normal CPUs in some areas. The article on General-Purpose Computing on Graphics Processing Units looks like a good starting point for more information. --Dapeteばか 08:25, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Well, GPUs can be used for non-graphics calculations, be at least a few (if not a few hundred) times faster than CPUs. But, such performance can be achieved only on certain workloads (data parallel computations, or SIMD). Multimedia data and database data are good prospects. But software has to specifically take advantage. Unfortunately, very few market software is tuned to exploit this power. So, if you use your GPU, the softwares that you have will hardly benefit. --soum ^talk 18:31, 30 June 2007 (UTC)

Router security

I have recently installed a wireless router in my house. However, I have two computers linked up to it by wire. Is my router still sending wireless traffic at the moment? My main concern is that would other people be able to use my wireless signal and gain access into my home network? It is a D-link Gold Series router and it says I can "log into" the router, but how do I do that? I am using Windows XP home. Thanks. 74.111.82.91 03:17, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Yes the router could very well still be sending out wireless. what you need to do is go to the run command and type in cmd and press enter, that starts a command prompt, in there type ipconfig. Some stuff should come up including an IP Address for your default gateway which is your router. Open up internet explorer and type in that number. That's your router, from there I'd suggest consulting the manual that came with your router. Vespine 03:42, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

You want to disable the wireless antenna. Vespine, not exactly a number :). Splintercellguy 04:47, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

To address one of 74.111's concerns, it is not likely that somebody would be able to access your home network. Yes it is possible, assuming bad intentions on the part of the person using the wireless signal, but it is much more likely that a person would just use the wireless signal to get to the internet.

Once you have determined the IP address of your router as Vespine describes (by the way, typically, D-Link routers use IP 192.168.0.1, so you might try that before using ipconfig), you will probably receive a login screen. The default username is "Admin", just leave the password field empty. You should then see the web-based configuration utility, which will have various tabs. Somewhere in there you should be able to find the option to turn off the wireless portion of your router. If you don't have the manual, you can download one from D-Link; their main support page for D-Link is [1]. You'll need the exact model number of your router, but they have a pretty well laid out site which should answer any questions you have. --LarryMac | Talk 13:32, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Mac or PC

I have been a PC user all my life. I feel my Pentium 4 is getting too old and am thinking of a new computer. I havent really looked into Windows Vista, but from what I can see and from playing around with them at BestBuy, I find them sort of slow... I have also been looking at Macs. I'm not too worried about the learning curve of a different operating system, but more the software that's available to it. I am a graphic/web designer and I want a computer that is good at that, while able to play games like the Rainbow Six series. As well, many TV commercials demonstrating software uses Macs, such as on G4TechTV. What are some pros and cons of choosing Vista or a Mac OS X? Thanks. 74.111.82.91 03:24, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

WinXP isn't obsolete yet... Why not get a new computer with WinXP that is Vista capable for the future? --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 03:54, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Ubuntu. See also Comparison of Windows and Mac OS X and Comparison of Windows and Linux. But srsly, Ubuntu. -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 04:04, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Opinionated me says no to Vista. Ubuntu for sure, perhaps dual-booting with XP. Splintercellguy 04:18, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Ubuntu, with virtual machine running WinXP for all your web developing needs (Photoshop, IE etc.), and dual-boot for games. --antilived^{T | C | G} 06:12, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Ubuntu or Mac, run all your windows programs/ games with crossover, or dualboot with win xp NOT vist(Vista has a lot of compatbily problems hardware and software wise) --Lwarf ^Talk! 08:25, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

I'm also upgrading from a P4. I would suggest a middle-line geforce 8 series card like the 8600GT and a Core 2 Duo processor. Vista has some compatibility issues but for newer games they are unlikely to pop up - however if you are concerned simply buy a OEM version of XP. Dual-booting Ubuntu is indeed a good idea. Don't buy a Mac, you'll end up overpaying for a UI and software suite you could use with Windows and a stability component you could have with Ubuntu. -Wooty [Woot?] [Spam! Spam! Wonderful spam!] 07:33, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Even one of MAC's recent ads admits this: Macs are good for anything creative, and PCs are good for anything business. Well, that's actually rather simplified. I would say that macs tend to have good screens and graphic cards - so if you're editing a movie, designing animation, or doing anything fine-art, then perhaps a MAC might be worth of consideration. Aside from that, Macs are painful. They're more expensive, they have one mouse button (and no wheel), they have their own file-system (not the end of the world), and there's so much more software and development for the PC - so a lot of the programs you'd like either take longer to get to mac, or just aren't available for mac. It's very much a PC-dominated market.

I've been in graphic design for a while using PCs, and I'll tell you PCs are just as capable as MACs with graphics: you can edit movies, use photoshop, Corel Draw, CS2, etc -- which are all available for the Max (except I think for Corel Draw).

Having said that, there are positives about the Mac OS - less viruses, apparently less bugs, etc. But I have no real problems with XP.

As for Vista, personally I don't think I'm nearly ready for Vista - I'm sticking to XP for as long as possible - I think Microsoft paved the road to hell with VISTA - they've completely overcomplicated the concept of an operating system. Rfwoolf 10:31, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Macs might come with a single mouse button, but any, and I do many any USB mouse you can buy for ten bucks will give it two button functionality. Complaining that macs have a different file system is... well, stupid. Of *course* they do, NTFS is MSonry (not to mention a horrible filesystem). Complaining that a mac isn't like windows is like complaining that 'Channel 7 In The Evening' is different from 'Channel 5 at 5'. Of course they're different, different doesn't mean worse.

The latest Macs now have two mouse buttons (no more ctrl clicking for me!) --Lwarf ^Talk! 10:48, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Just get a PC with Windows Vista. It's a great OS. Mac will lock you into mac software, hardware, service and greatly limit you. Unless you're a huge geek, forget about Ubuntu, it sucks. dell outlet has cheap laptops and desktops.

A problem with the Windows Sound Recorder...

I have Windows XP on my computer, and I like the Sound Recorder. But now, there's a problem. It doesn't pick up a sound when it's recording. It used to pick up a sound, but now it doesn't. How can I make the Sound Recorder pick up a sound in recording again?

• Check your Recording mixer. In Control Panel, Sounds and Audio, click the Audio tab, and click the Volume button under Sound Recording and make sure the proper input is selected, with an appropriate volume level. You may have to make more options available from Options -> Properties. -wizzard2k ^(C-T-D) 14:36, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

¿ʞɔəɥ əɥʇ ʇɐɥʍ

I copy-pasted this from digg. How did he write this upside down? What shud I do if I want to write more?

He's probably in Australia.? 213.48.15.234 13:35, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Part of it is IPA, it just happens that those chars are available within the common set used on the web. --66.195.232.121 14:13, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Just clever use of Unicode characters. There's a user script to do something similar to whole pages here, and a list of 'upside-down' characters in this source code (under the comment "# turn ascii text upside-down, using unicode") — Matt Eason ^{(Talk • Contribs)} 14:19, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Ahhh.. thank you. I see it now.

You might also enjoy http://www.ex-parrot.com/~pete/upside-down-ternet.html although it's not what you saw -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 23:33, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

java programming

would you pliz refer me to the best sites for personal learning of java programing language and to start me off would you pliz show me how to draw a rectangle using an applet.

Tutorial; rectangle. --TotoBaggins 17:01, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

The official website from Sun Microsystems (the creators of the Java language) is java.sun.com and should be your primary reference. All the javadoc pages are available online. Also, tutorials exist for the Java Standard Edition (J2SE) language here and elsewhere on the site for other Java technologies. Nimur 17:22, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Highlight To Copy, Middle Click To Paste On WinXP

Is there a utility that I can install on WinXP that will enable copying by highlighting and middle-clicking to paste? --Seans Potato Business 17:36, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

You're looking for Xmouse copy and paste; that may help direct your web searches. I know that Microsoft's tweakui tool enables some xmouse functionality but I do not think it includes copy/paste features. Nimur 18:16, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

This developer has released a tool to do exactly what you seek. I have never tried it; use at your own risk. Nimur 18:18, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, it works. It includes the annoying feature of focus follows mouse and you have to click on the bar at the top of the window in order to bring it to the top, though. I'll see if I can find a way to activate only the highlight-copy/paste thing. --Seans Potato Business 10:10, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

Expansion Card Questions

I recently upgraded a number of components on my PC and I have lost my multiple monitor capabilities. My old motheboard had PCI slots and an AGP, running 2 ATI Graphics cards (1xAGP & 1XPCI). My new MSI K8N Neo4 motherboard, has no AGP slots, but PCIE. I also recieved a newer NVIDIA GeForce 6600 graphics card, which I went with, because it's either that or the PCI one on it's own. But now I want to run 3 monitors again (I believe I can only run two from this card), so:

1. ) Can I run an ATI card with an NVIDIA card?
2. ) Do all kinds of NVIDIA cards run simultniously?
3. ) Would my second card need to be a PCI card or could I run a second PCIE card? My mboard does have small slots named PCIE.

1- In this setup, the second card is basically only there to give you another monitor connection, so you should be able to. 2- Again, in this setup, the cards will not run together, the second one is just there for the monitor, 3-Those PCI-e slots are for other things, the ones graphics cards use are PCI-e x16, there might be some very weak ones there but I wouldn't use them overa cheap PCI card. Unless you have something like SLI or Crossfire, you can't use multiple graphics cards at one time (at least, I think so, I can't imagine it's a good use of your time and money anyway) -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 23:49, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Don't most modern graphics cards support multiple monitors anyway? Getting a decent Geforce 7 or Geforce 8 series graphics card should do it afaik (I'm even less sure about ATI because I've never bought a ATI card), though I might be mistaken (never used more than one). -Wooty [Woot?] [Spam! Spam! Wonderful spam!] 07:29, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Like he said, he wants to run 3 monitors. I beleieve the only graphics card that can do that is a Matrox Triple Head, which won't give very good visual performance. Like I said, a secondary card to use as a dummy VGA port should work fine -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 05:24, 25 June 2007 (UTC)

"Swelled" Favorites Menu Bar

Hello. I installed Norton Confidential 2007 available from my Norton AntiVirus 2007 CD. When I select the address bar and press Alt+a, my Internet Explorer 7 Favorites menu bar swelled. There is space after the arrows and after the last folder. How can I fix this? --Mayfare 18:13, 22 June 2007 (UTC)Screenshot

Are you sure it's to do with installing that software? Can you post a screenshot somewhere please? enochlau (talk) 01:03, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

I am sure. Now that my Norton Confidential 2007 free trial has expired, I uninstalled it. The problem is gone. I tried to upload a screenshot to Wikicommons, but an administrator deleted it. Otherwise, my favourites menu bar is no longer swelled. Thanks Enochlau. --Mayfare 15:07, 25 June 2007 (UTC)

Are you sure there wasnt any entry that wasnt taking up the extra space? (Maybe the software used some non standard fonts, so it didnt render). --soum ^talk 18:33, 30 June 2007 (UTC)

Domain-name secondary market

What is the market price of a two-letter .org domain name? NeonMerlin 22:51, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

It would depend on the name. Something like qx.org is probably worth less than something like hi.org, although .org shouldn't be as competitive as .com. Keep in mind you could also go with another country's domain, and save some cash -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 23:51, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

IIRC, all domains under 4 characters before the suffix have been taken, so you'll need to buy them off the company with which the domain is parked. This would cost a few thousand dollars at least for a two letter domain. JoshHolloway 01:09, 23 June 2007 (UTC)