Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2013 February 16

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February 16

downloading the songs

How to download or buy the songs ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 197.173.97.237 (talk) 08:00, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

With a downloader, or money (or credit). ¦ Reisio (talk) 09:38, 17 February 2013 (UTC)

File splitter for mac

Anyone have a suggestion for a completely free file splitter for a mac? I want to cut an mp4 movie in half and have each half playable. I am not computer great so it needs to be a pretty easy program. I have no idea how to compile or use terminal or any of that stuff.--108.54.26.164 (talk) 12:44, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

Use iMovie and import the video. You can then make it in two, three or four parts and export them back out! Andrew Wiggin (talk) 14:25, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

You could use MP4Box from GPAC. MP4Box -split timeInSeconds foo.mp4 ¦ Reisio (talk) 09:47, 17 February 2013 (UTC)

Good practices for facilitating open-source collaborative software development

I've seen many open-source software projects that ask for developer participation. When I looked at the source code of a few of them, I got the impression that it would take quite a bit of effort to set up a development environment (e.g. downloading tools from multiple sources, reading the documentation to configure and troubleshoot the set-up.) It also struck me that a new contributor would need to study a lot of code (and documentation, if available) before he or she can begin to contribute.

I came to the conclusion that, to tap into a large pool of volunteer developers, a software project should be structured in a way that the minimum required effort for meaningful participation is quite low.

My question is: what are some good practices tha make it easy for volunteers to contribute to an open source software project?

I have a few ideas of my own, but would like to learn from the wisdom of others. Thanks. --108.2.210.178 (talk) 16:31, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

Maybe its an obvious point but following principles such as SOLID (object-oriented design) is probably good to help people play nice together --_nonsense ferret 19:30, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

I don't think you necessarily need object-oriented design. On the contrary, since that requires knowledge of the exact definition of every object you need to use, that does have a high learning curve. But modular design, where each separate task is performed in a different module, is important. For example, if we have a graphing program, the main module could be maintained by the core team, while individual tasks, like making a pie chart, could be farmed out to others. They would only need to know the parameters to be passed to and from their function/subroutine, and wouldn't need to know the bigger picture. The core programmers might have provided a stub function, which passes the variables, but just returns "This function not currently available". StuRat (talk) 19:48, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

1) Have a project that is useful or interesting 2) Don’t use an awful/obscure language or coding style 3) Be nice ¦ Reisio (talk) 09:49, 17 February 2013 (UTC)

Installing gcc on android?

Hi all, having a bit a problem here. I've downloaded gcc's tar.bz2 "release" file onto my android and unpacked it into it's own directory, but I'm not exactly sure what to do next - the gcc docs are horrible! Looks like I have a bunch of source files that need to be compiled to make the compiler?! I just want a binary I can run from bash. Any ideas? Thanks! 12.14.132.2 (talk) 17:14, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

Good quality headphones.

What are some headphones or earphones (that aren't too bad for your hearing) of good sound quality that is reasonably priced. I often find budget headphones have very poor sound quality. Clover345 (talk) 19:41, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

The "aren't too bad for your hearing" constraint is an odd one. Any headphones, if turned loud enough, are bad for your hearing. Do you want headphones that can't possibly produce enough volume to cause hearing damage ? StuRat (talk) 19:52, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

What type of headphones did you have in mind ? There are ear buds, which go inside the ear canal, then there are the type of earphones which sit outside the ear, but make no attempt to block background noise, then there are some with padding, and even some with active noise reduction. Also, what do you want them for ? Listening to music requires better sound than, say, the spoken word. StuRat (talk) 19:55, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

Basically listening to music. My current ones have terrible quality and also it picks up too much outside noise so that I have to turn it up too loud. So basically I want a reasonably priced headphone or earphone for listening to music in good quality and without having to turn it up so loud. Clover345 (talk) 20:21, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

By "picks up" you mean "doesn't block" ? If so, I suggest padded headphones. I'd skip active noise reduction, as it can mess up music and is more expensive. Go to a brick-and-mortar store that lets you try them out, so you can find the best pair. Classical music is the best test, as it has periods of silence and pure tones. Also, I suggest headphones with built-in volume control, as that gives you quicker control over it. StuRat (talk) 20:49, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

I personally like these "Apple EarPods with Remote and Mic" for $29 and I unfortunately don't own any Apple stock. You can read a review of them here. Compatibility with an intended device is another important consideration. Bus stop (talk) 01:47, 17 February 2013 (UTC)

If you said what your “current ones” were, this forum would be able to better serve you in finding an alternative. ¦ Reisio (talk) 09:29, 17 February 2013 (UTC)

Also, what sort of music do you generally listen to? For some, extra bass is a good thing, but for classical music it can sound like the bassists and bassoonists are staging a coup. If you want to block outside noise without the bulk of padded headphones you can try the "in-ear" earphones that Sturat suggested above. If you have ever worn earplugs these feel similar, and block most outside noise (when I am wearing mine I am oblivious to people behind me calling my name, and can hardly hear traffic at all). For general headphones I like sennheisers (I have never tried their in-ear ones). Some people consider them not "punchy" enough and too "flat", but for the acoustic and classical music I listen to they are just right. One thing to consider with headphones it whether you get open back or closed back. Open back sound, well, more open but tend to block much less noise and annoy everyone around you with sound leakage. Closed back headphones don't sound quite as nice (they can still be great) but don't have these problems. I second the idea of trying them out in person (you probably won't be able to do this with in ear though, for hygiene reasons). Oh, and please, when you try them out, take them off, cover the inside with your hands and see whether you can hear any sound leaking out. If everyone did this test public transport would be a much more pleasant experience. Equisetum (talk | contributions) 12:39, 17 February 2013 (UTC)

You mention the desire to block out external noise, so closed-back 'phones may be best. I got a pair of Panasonic RP-HTX7s from Santa - after dropping hints to Santa based on them being judged best budget (<£50) headphones from What Hi-Fi. Their review is here but be aware that the set I got which I think came from Amazon don't have the 2m extension cable or 6.3mm extension mentioned in the review - though this won't be a problem for portable use.

I also have some Sennheiser open-back headphones - these are good, but only for where noise leaking in or out is not a problem.

If you specifically want in-ears, perhaps so they're visually unobtrusive, I've only got experience at the cheap'n'cheerful end of the market, where I find JVC's "Gummy" model comfortable enough.

Thanks, davidprior ^t/_c 23:58, 17 February 2013 (UTC)

Secret sharing with public standing-committee vote

Are there any Web-based applications that will allow me to put my master password under secret sharing such that I can add and revoke users, change the secret, get a warning if someone votes to unlock while I have access to e-mail, and use a weaker layer of encryption to enforce a time lock? NeonMerlin 21:21, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

You're asking for a permission based system, which could do everything you ask I guess, except there's nothing "secret sharing" about it, or any true encryption based around it. There are no true encryption timelocks, at least not right now... so long as I can turn back my computer's clock to whatever I want, or if you have to rely on some external server for time, or whatever... it's not "cryptographically" secure. You can get a lot of security out of systems like that, but their strength is not in their math like true cryptography is. Shadowjams (talk) 11:19, 19 February 2013 (UTC)

Help

What does this mean Ads related to http://cingular-oac.qpass.com/oac/xhtml/mobile.do;jsessionid-fECLIDI8EC3CF3402F7A57AD400B64D5.UindcmAppserver.mime type text/html;charset=Iso=8859-1 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.235.3.18 (talk) 23:43, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

Pardon? ¦ Reisio (talk) 09:26, 17 February 2013 (UTC)