Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2008 September 22

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September 22

Itunes MP4

On itunes, every song I buy is in MP4 format. Should I trust any free download that says it can convert MP4 to MP3? The windows moviemaker version I have does not support MP4 format and I need a converter for free. If there is one converter I can trust, which one? Thanks The Reader who Writes (talk) 02:05, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Use ffmpeg. Free, reliable, open source, etc. Should be able to convert from MP4 to MP3 if that's what you want. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 02:07, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Are you buying iTunes Pro songs or standard iTunes songs? Encrypted standard iTunes songs aren't convertable using normal means. 212.219.8.231 (talk) 08:25, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Are you sure it's MP4 and not .m4p, which is actually an encrypted FairPlay format? Stifle (talk) 14:51, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

They are .m4p, but what does fairplay mean? Does the encrypted part mean I cannot convert them? Is there any way to get them on windows moviemaker? They will burn to CDs, right? Thanks The Reader who Writes (talk) 22:42, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

You can burn them to CDs fine (using the internal iTunes function) but you won't be able to convert them to MP3 format. FairPlay is Apples DRM solution to make it difficult for people to share their songs and what have you. Gunrun (talk) 17:19, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

Well, you can burn them to CD, and THEN import them as MP3. I would suggest you either only buy iTunes Plus (which are non-encrypted higher quality files) or buy from Amazon MP3 store -- in which all songs are already MP3. --70.167.58.6 (talk) 22:12, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

An  question

(header titled so that this section may be more easily ignored)

Anyone know the filename(s) that contain(s) the URL icon/logo info? It's probably browser specific so getting both the Safari and Firefox filenames would be appreciated. Thanks, hydnjo talk 02:14, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Are you referring to the favicon? -- kainaw™ 02:16, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Yes. I need to null the files so that the actual favicons will be added when the URL is called. Something happenened that put the default favicon into every URL bookmark and I need to delete those so that the actual favicon can be stored when the URL is called. The presence of the default favicon inhibits the collection/storage of the URL's real favicon. -hydnjo talk 02:19, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

That is dependent on your browser/OS. What web browser/OS are you using? -- kainaw™ 18:10, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

I am pretty sure they are on a mac os x. Kushal (talk) 19:14, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

I'm using Safari and Firefox. I managed to find the files for Safari and nulling those files works as expected: the bookmarks show the default favicon until any given URL is called and then the null (default) favicon is replaced with the URL's real favicon. However, I can't seem to find the Firefox specific files. Any help/hints would be appreciated. -hydnjo talk 20:58, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

I had to ask because the common complaint with Macs and Firefox is that the favicons are missing. So, if he is seeing them and wants to delete them, it is a rather odd complaint. Regardless, I'm going to make an assumption about which Firefox you are using and suggest that you look in your home folder and see if you see a hidden folder called mozilla. If so, that will contain a firefox folder with all the firefox stuff. -- kainaw™ 00:20, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

Agreed, that would be an odd complaint. No, my situation was that all of the favicons were the same default one and I would of course prefer to have each favicon to be the unique one for any given URL. I now see what's happening; as each bookmarked URL is called, the default favicon is indeed being replaced by the proper favicon and is being stored as such. I was being confused by the fact that not all URLs have a favicon and so the default one stays as such - I didn't know that - no problem after all. Thanks y'all for your attention and help :) hydnjo talk 13:11, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

Blackberry service

What is that 'Blackberry service' all about? What are the services offered under the heading 'Blackberry service' for which we pay 40 $s a month

Wouldn't it be great if there was, like, some big encyclopedia you could look things up in, free? Tama1988 (talk) 04:25, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Keepvidtubezoiding guardian.co.uk videos

If the videos on guardian.co.uk were on YouTube, I'd use keepvid.com to save one or two for the future. But they aren't. The "sauce" is a nightmare of Javascript that I don't relish working through in order to apply my own brain to the task. Does anyone know of a tool (Windows, Linux, OS X) or website that will let me extract and save the video? Thanks. Tama1988 (talk) 04:31, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Check your cache. It's a Flash Video. Copy it to xxx.flv. IrfanView will play it. Saintrain (talk) 06:17, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Well said! 133.25.54.53 (talk) 08:56, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Thank you both for the reminder and encouragement. I didn't bother to attempt this with Safari, but it was easy with Firefox. Tama1988 (talk) 09:58, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

How to prevent router from getting computer name?

When I connect with my computer to my wireless router, I can look at the clients table in the router administration pages and see my computer's name, as set in Windows (and I think the same happens with the hostname on Ubuntu(?)). What is the mechanism by which the router gets this information, and how can I prevent this information from getting to the router? Because I think connecting to the wireless network should only involve layers 1-3 (physical, data link, network) of the OSI model, and thus the router shouldn't really need to get into computer names and stuff, which operates at a much higher level. Plus not all OS's have computer names, right? so there should be a way to disable it. --169.232.216.46 (talk) 05:57, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Probably one of them boxes trying to be more smart than they should, what is your router ? Equendil Talk 10:06, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

It is part of DHCP. When your computer asks for an IP address, it says "Hi router! My name is JoesGameBox. Can I have an IP address?". In your network setup, where you set the computer's name, change it to something that isn't descriptive. That will be the name that the computer introduces itself as to the router. -- kainaw™ 18:16, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Subnotebook

Good day! I am thinking about getting a new PC and maybe a portable machine. As for the PC I'm knowledgeable enough to get and set up a good system, my weakness is the mobile platform. I like the idea of a subnotebook like the Asus Eee, so here's my question - is it in general a good choice? Have any of you guys used it? Is there anything similar (memory card instead of hard drive, lack of cd drive, portability, silence, low price) that might be a better choice. Another must is that the machine has to support Linux in any form. Cheers and thanks for any input! --Ouro (blah blah) 08:26, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

I've seen the Eee in use although haven't used one myself. The screen is fairly tiny, but the Linux distro that comes with it is solid. Stifle (talk) 14:54, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

The old adage still holds true. It largely depends on what you want to do with it. Could you give us some examples of how you will and how you might use the computer? That information would be of much help as we try to assist you. Cheers, Kushal (talk) 19:13, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Sure, Kushal! Most probably it would be used to work on (all sizes of) text files and some graphics, probably a little bit of photograph storage and probably some amount of web browsing. I think the specs on a 9xx series (the one with the 1,6 MHz CPU and 1 gig of ram) are enough, but I am not sure whether this hardware version comes with Linux. --Ouro (blah blah) 21:44, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. If you are still shopping, please try to get something that is not a first generation (or version) of the model line. Unless it has been around for some time. I have nothing against smaller computers but if you are into free software, please look into this. If mobility is a concern, remember to get a larger battery. 2 GB of RAM and integrated graphics card should be good enough, depending on how much photoshopping photo editing (the generic term) you do. If I were getting an Intel processor, I would probably want to go with Intel Core 2 T5750, unless it was a subnotebook which probably come with an Intel Atom. Can I ask you what main reasons are for your wanting a subnotebook? Kushal (talk) 17:51, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

Yes, Kushal, I am still shopping. I noticed the Asus Eee is here and practically readily available, while Dells are harder to come by and thus more expensive. I am looking at the subnotebook formfactor because it's small and very portable, light, and offers the features that I need - editing power and long battery life. I do not need a large hard drive, and I don't expect to need to use a CD/DVD drive very often - an internet connection, Wifi or a USB flash drive should be enough. I will need to occasionally edit a drawing or two, however I now do it on a P3/850 with 512 megabytes of RAM, and I do fine on it (running Zenwalk Linux). I was looking at the model of Asus Eee that comes with an Atom processor clocked at 1,6 GHz - it's the Eee 901. It's enough for my needs. Of course, Linux is a must - I ain't switching back to xp. What would you say about this model? Cheers, Ouro (blah blah) 21:32, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

Googled it, found this. Looks pretty sweet. If it meets your needs, I have only one more question-timing. When would be the best time to buy it? Surely, you would not want to buy it and Asus refreshes its product line the next week selling upgraded hardware at the same price. Since it is not Apple, details/gossip should not be hard to get in time, if you want to go through the trouble. Kushal (talk) 00:12, 24 September 2008 (UTC)

It's perfect, it's exactly what I need. The price is similar to what I would have to pay over here. The time of purchase would be November at the earliest I think. Maybe I'll make it a Christmas gift for myself. Yes, I believe that if a new version was to come out, details will not be able to come by - and they are available on Wikipedia as well. We will see, if a new version comes out then the price of this one should drop - which is even better. --Ouro (blah blah) 06:10, 24 September 2008 (UTC)

I have just decided to buy a Dell Mini 9. It's being custom built now. --mboverload@ 05:17, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

I like it, but the downside it's that it's hard to obtain in Poland, and more expensive. --Ouro (blah blah) 05:42, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

Q(t+1) ?

Someone please tell me the meaning of Q(t+1) here. No one has written anything about it there, just plugged it into the article. Is it 1 more second than t or 1 cycle after time t or what? Thanks 59.95.99.218 (talk) 08:53, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

It just means "at the next instant", Up until time t the signals are as the Q(t) column. After time t they are as the Q(t+1) column. -- SGBailey (talk) 11:00, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

I think in that section of the article Q(t+1) means the value of Q at the next clock cycle. The simpler notation Q_next is used elsewhere in the article with the same meaning. Gandalf61 (talk) 11:23, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

My initial thought was as Gandalf's. However the SR latch under discussion doesn't have a clock. -- SGBailey (talk) 13:45, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

There are 2 events associated with the Set-Reset flip-flop. The first is the latch initially receiving an external input and the second is from the internal feedback loop which generates input as a result of the initial external input. The animation shows this well. 71.100.160.163 (talk) 22:48, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Debian unstable packages in sources.list

What do I need to add or change in /etc/apt/sources.list so that I can install unstable and testing packages? I'm running Debian AMD64. NeonMerlin 15:40, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Is this what you want? --antilived^{T | C | G} 08:39, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

Computer Hardware

If my BIOS does not support a large capacity drive that I want to install, what are five things I can do? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.213.106.78 (talk) 18:01, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

1> Your own homework? --LarryMac | Talk 18:08, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

http://www.justfuckinggoogleit.com/search.pl?query=BIOS+does+not+support+a+large+capacity+drive

Deeper blue

Why did IBM disassemble Deeper blue after it beat Kasparov instead of answering his questions and continuing to upgrade? -isor 18:14, 22 September 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.100.160.163 (talk)

(Kasparov, not Karpov) IBM funded the Deep Blue project for the publicity; I'm just speculating here, but I imagine they decided it was no longer worth the money. After all, beating Kasparov again wouldn't have added much to its fame, and losing to Kasparov in a rematch would have subtracted from it. -- BenRG (talk) 12:22, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

To quite the contrary... refusing to give Kasparov every assistance to beat the machine and then continuing the effort to make it win beyond the point he could ever win again would have been well worth the promotional dollars spent. As is most people are now rating IBM as a second or third rate business player.

Deap Blue was not cheap. They needed those parts for some other super computer. It was a cool publicity stunt, but I suspect that people who really purchase supercomputers have specifications they need to meet other than "Must be able to defeat chess grandmaster." APL (talk) 12:57, 24 September 2008 (UTC)

IBM doesn't build Super Computers in order to gain free promotion and recognition. Their Supercomputer designs, and the internal competition that goes towards creating the best design for each system is why the World's fastest Models are all IBM, and are all so far ahead of any competitor to the degree it's absurd. That improvement has moved computing ahead leaps and bounds, as the Top level computing equipment always has. Calling IBM anything but a first rate Player is laughable, I don't think I have to explain that to anyone who knows anything about the real Computing Market. - Jimmi Hugh (talk) 12:32, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

Chess used to be the touch-stone of computer sophistication - but these days it's become too easy, a big opening dictionary - mindless (but DEEP) game tree searching in the middle - and an end-game dictionary at the end. The logic is solved - it's just a matter of pushing more hardware at the problem. Anyone who needs a real challenge has to attack 'Go'...it's a serious AI challenge that mere mindless compute-power won't ever resolve. The rules of Go are just about the simplest of any serious board game - yet it's insanely difficult to play - and it's tough to write a computer version that'll beat even the most amateur human players.

IBM has come a long way - 20 years ago they were hated by most of the industry - nasty business practices, nasty machines, even nastier software - but they've completely turned that around. IBM are cool now. It's a good thing...I really hope we'll be able to say the same thing of Microsoft in 20 years - but I suspect not. It's been a long time since I last heard someone say: "An elephant is a mouse with an IBM operating system." SteveBaker (talk) 03:06, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

myspace

hi, ok i know this is just a stupid question but how does one change ones display pic on myspace????..........i just cant find out how to:( thanks, --90.241.174.237 (talk) 20:57, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

It's physically impossible, once your details are taken, the Mug Shot associates you with your profile for Life. You want I should get you a face lift? - Jimmi Hugh (talk) 23:23, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

FAQ answer here — Matt Eason ^{(Talk • Contribs)} 23:47, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Go to the photo you want and click "Set as Default". JessicaThunderbolt 14:45, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

Align a mediawiki infobox to the right

I'm trying to align a mediawiki infobox to the right on a private wiki and I'm not sure how to do it. I have copied the Template:Infobox to my wiki and I have the Parser stuff set up so that it displays great, but I'd like to have it so that all Infoboxes align on the right. (like on Wikipedia). Is this a .css issue? or can I do it in the Template:Infobox itself? Can someone point me in the right direction? Thanks. --Rajah (talk) 23:27, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

There are doubtless many ways of doing this, but the way it's done here is as follows. {{Infobox}} creates a table with the class 'infobox'. MediaWiki:Common.css contains the code

.infobox {
    border: 1px solid #aaa;
    background-color: #f9f9f9;
    color: black;
    margin: 0.5em 0 0.5em 1em;
    padding: 0.2em;
    float: right;
    clear: right;
}

which right-aligns the infoboxes. Algebraist 23:35, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

awesome, thanks. that worked perfectly. --Rajah (talk) 02:47, 23 September 2008 (UTC)