Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2009 September 27

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September 27

Emulator for running Windows Mobile apps on PC

Is there some kind of (preferably free software) emulator that will allow me to run a Windows Mobile app binary (i.e. I don't have the source code) on a desktop PC (Windows, Linux, doesn't matter)? --164.67.235.98 (talk) 00:45, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

MIDI interface

Is MIDI hot swappable? Or do I risk causing my system to freeze? If you're wondering, it's a separate (modern) audio card.

I think it is, but I just want to be sure. --Glaesisvellir (talk) 00:56, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes - the MIDI interface is okay to disconnect while software is running. Are you sure your audio card connects to the PC via MIDI interface? It's unlikely - if the card supports MIDI, it probably connects to some external device (like an electric-piano keyboard). That part is safe to hot-swap. But the audio card itself probably connects to the PC using PCIe, or something like that. Removing the audio card while the system is running is less likely to be a stable option. Some external audio cards operate over USB, and are a little more resilient to unexpected disconnects - but I wouldn't recommend it. Nimur (talk) 07:13, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Thanks. I was wondering about an external component, not the card itself (seeing as how it's PCI). --Glaesisvellir (talk) 22:12, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Google tracking my web visits

A while back I saw Google's record of the web sites I had visited. I recall there was controversy about that. Is the information still available? If so, to whom? How do I find it? --Halcatalyst (talk) 02:36, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes! Google enables you to keep track of your entire web history in one place. Dubbed "Web History" and available at google.com/psearch

Web History (Previously Google Search History / Personalized Search)

Web page tracking, which records Google searches, Web pages, images, videos, music and more. It also includes Bookmarks, search trends and item recommendations. Google released Search History in April 2005^{"From lost to found"}, and then expanded and renamed the service to Web History in April 2007 as it started to also record browsing history.^{"Your slice of the web"}

From List of Google products. You can read the privacy policy at http://www.google.com/searchhistory/privacy.html Ciao! Kushal (talk) 03:27, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

• I see that my history goes back to 2007, when I bought this computer. I still have some questions about how the information might be used (by others). It seems that I access the history on this computer by signing into my Google account. What if I signed into the same account on another computer (not my own)? Would I be able to see the search history on that computer? --Halcatalyst (talk) 15:31, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes, you would. Your search history is tied to your Google account, not a specific computer — Matt Eason ^{(Talk • Contribs)} 17:12, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Hmmmmm. But I would be seeing that computer user's search history, no? And would that history then become "my" history? --Halcatalyst (talk) 18:23, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

If you go to Google, right now, and click "sign out", you will no longer be storing any search history; as soon as you "sign in", you will be storing history to whichever account you've just signed into.

If you use someone else's computer, and they've left their browser signed into their Google account (presumably they don't mind you accessing their stuff!), then as far as Google is concerned it is them doing the searching, so yes it will be stored in their history. But if you sign out, and sign in as yourself, you won't be stealing any of their history, Google will just know that it's you browsing right now.

Does that help? - IMSoP (talk) 20:56, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

I notice that when I sign in, Google provides a check box to "Remember me on this computer for Web History." I take it then that I have access only to my history. I think I have it now. Thanks! --Halcatalyst (talk) 21:26, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Windows Resetting Defaults

A while ago I installed a program that was titled something along the lines of "Seven Transformation Package" on my windows XP operating system, which was supposedly supposed to make my computer look more like Windows 7. Unfortunately, it was poorly designed and crashed halfway through the installation. When I tried to uninstall it it also crashed halfway through, so as a result, some of the remnants of the "transformation" are still left on my computer. They're all style changes, such as icon styles, bootscreen image differences, a change in the background image for the shutdown dialog, etc. They're tiny things and don't affect the way that the computer runs as a whole, but I'd like my computer to look like it looked like before I even bothered with the "Seven Transformation Package." I know there is something called "System Restore" but I do not have any restore points before that. I have no real experience with system restore, so I don't even know if something like that would fix this but I just wanted to say that first so I don't get suggestions for that, since I know it won't work. Also, I won't use backups because this happened so long ago, the amount of files I'd lose would be more of a disadvantage than the advantage of the nice aesthetic appeal of a regular Windows XP operating system. Anyway, my question is: is there any way to restore all the defaults of windows without losing any of your computer data, installed programs, files, etc.? If anyone has an idea or a solution, please reply. Thank you! :-) Yakeyglee (talk) 02:52, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

You can try a Repair Windows from your XP install CD. But it can cause a lot of problems if something goes wrong, so I don't recommend it unless you're having serious problems. It might be easier if you reinstalled the Seven Transformation Package and then uninstall it again. That might clear out the extra files, but if it's poorly written then, well, no guarantees. Indeterminate (talk) 05:57, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

New speakers

I'm sorry if I'm coming across as a total noob, but I had to replace my computer speakers because my cat bit through the speaker cable. I had speakers which came with the PC, they just say "FLC Presario Speaker system". They came with a light green plug which plugged into the back of the PC, and a USB plug which plugged into one of the USB ports on my PC. I bought Creative Inspire 245 speakers. They come with the same light green plug which I plugged into the back of the PC, and a power cord which I plugged into the same power jack which is powering my monitor, my PC and my printer, but I don't have any sound. I went to the device manager on Control Panel and clicked on "Sound, video and game controllers", but there is nothing listed for Creative or Inspire. Do I need to download a driver? Or what do I need to do to get my new speakers to work? Yes, the power is on on the speakers, and the volume is turned all the way up. Who then was a gentleman? (talk) 03:22, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Make sure the green cable is plugged into the right port on the back of the PC. You'll have at least 3 ports, maybe 6, and you might have to try each one until you get sound. Usually you want to plug it into the light green port that matches the plug. If you have an mp3 player or stereo sitting around, you can also try plugging the green speaker plug into its headphone port to make sure the speakers work. You don't need any new drivers for new speakers, only if you change your sound card in the computer. Indeterminate (talk) 05:49, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

The cables are damaged and so you replace the speakers? Talk of the effluent society! Many years ago I went on a long vacation and somehow rats got in. As well as breaking into bags of cereal, eating virtually all, and pissing copiously, they had a great time chewing through cables (including those of my speakers). Luckily no rat was electrocuted. (Given the choice, I'll take the aroma of dried rat piss over that of decomposing rat corpse.) I replaced the cables and the speakers are even now working just fine. -- Hoary (talk) 13:37, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Is an effluent society one that generates a lot of liquid sewage ? :-) I don't think you need to be affluent to replace speakers when the wires are damaged, you just need to have cheap speakers with wires that don't unplug. True, it is possible to splice in some new wires, but the average consumer isn't able to do this. StuRat (talk) 14:16, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

I replaced the speakers because the cable is hard wired to the back of the speaker. If I could have just replaced the cables, I would have. Who then was a gentleman? (talk) 18:59, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Is there an indicator light on the speakers ? Does it turn on ? Make sure all the connections are good, you might have to wiggle them to get them to work. Check the wires between the two (or three) speakers, too. You can also verify the volume settings on the PC to make sure all are at maximum and the "mute" check box is not checked. In addition, the application you are using to make sound may have it's own volume settings and/or mute box. StuRat (talk) 14:16, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

I got them working. I fiddled with the "audio manager" settings. They were set by default to 2CH speaker. When I changed the setting to 4CH speaker, it worked. It may have something to do with the fact that the old speakers had the USB plug, I don't know, but anyway, now that it's 4CH, it's working. Who then was a gentleman? (talk) 18:59, 27 September 2009 (UTC))

Internet

On my desktop computer, whenever I start up the internet, it becomes unresponsive for about 3 minutes. I don't know what's causing the problem. I've tried a virus scan, but there are no results. So what's causing the problem and how can I fix it? Jc iindyysgvxc (talk) 05:29, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

• What do you mean "start up the internet"? What actions does that involve. Are you running windows? What version. What method do you connect to the internet? Cable modem, dsl, dial up modem, other? Do you have wireless in your home? If it is, what is the brand of router you use, and what's that router physically connected to?

Let us know the answers to these questions and we might be able to provide some more specific advice. Shadowjams (talk) 05:39, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

WinXP, and by start up the Internet, I mean double-clicking the Internet Explorer icon to have Internet Explorer come up. I don't know what metohd I use to connect to the Internet - I think it's cable modem. And no, I don't use wireless - at least not for my desktop computer. I do use it for my laptop - but I'm not talking about my laptop here. Jc iindyysgvxc (talk) 05:48, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

So your desktop is connected by an ethernet cord to something.... what is it connected to? I assume by unresponsive you mean it hangs. Or does it say "page cannot be displayed" (or something like that), and then if you refersh it a little bit later it works. Are you on a university network of some kind, or at a residential connection? Shadowjams (talk) 05:54, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

By unresponsive, it freezes for about 3 minutes, then works again. If, by resedential connection, you mean at home, then yes. And my desktop is connected by an ethernet cord to a wall plug. Jc iindyysgvxc (talk) 06:07, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Well, this is hard to diagnose without more information. Here's what I'd do for diagnostics: Try to use another program to connect to the internet while IE is failing. So maybe an instant messaging app, or even something as simple as ping (go to Start>Run>type in "cmd" hit enter, in the black window try "ping www.microsoft.com"). See if you get any internet connectivity while you're sure IE is down. If you do then I would suspect you have some sort of spyware or proxy setup in IE that's causing you problems. If you don't have a connection then you need to do more testing. The first question is if you have an IP address, and if you do, what is it (only post the first 2 sets of numbers, like 192.168.x.x if you want to preserve your anonymity). If your IP comes out to 169.x.x.x (with x being numbers) then you have a connectivity problem. Why that's resolving only after 3 minutes probably involves the network you're connected to, so you'll need to know through what method you're connected. Shadowjams (talk) 06:16, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Home PC connected directly to a wall plug? Sounds like dial-up to me. The delay could be the dialing to connect to the ISP. -- kainaw™ 12:33, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

A lot of houses have ethernet jacks in the walls. APL (talk) 18:48, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

Has the computer always had this problem or is it something that just recently developed? If it's recent, did you make any changes to any part of your system at around the same time? Install any new programs? Have you tried connecting the internet with any other programs besides Internet Explorer? For example, if you use Outlook Express or something similar to check your email, does it experience any problems? Does all of Internet Explorer seem to freeze up or just the page being loaded? For example, while it's frozen, can you still access the menus and buttons? If not, it could simply be a bad install of IE. Re-installing might help, as might switching to another browser, like Mozilla Firefox. We're asking a lot of questions here because there are literally dozens of different things that might be responsible. Matt Deres (talk) 23:02, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

I wouldn't be suprised if it were some sort of spyware that was screwing up your system. Try scanning with something like Adaware. APL (talk) 18:48, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

Bridge connection question

So, I am runnining Ubuntu jaunty. It turns out that to connect to the machines at work I need to have XP. So, I installed a copy of XP on a virtual box. I was able to connect to the internet via NAT, but NAT is not good for VPN, since the virtual box does not have its own IP address. I tried port forwarding and that did not work. So, I tried bridging my ethernet connection so that both operating systems (host,ubuntu ; geust,XP) would receive an IP. I have, after many late nights, nothing to show for it. I manage to get br0 to work, but then network capability become non-existent in the virtual environment. Furthermore, when I have br0 working, my connection is not detected in Ubuntu, firestarter (firewall) complaints that there is no active connection, yet, I can browse the internet and "shields UP" (website where they test your firewall) shows my firewall as working... Has anyone succeeded in doing this? If so, what type of configuration worked out? Thanks in advance, Brusegadi (talk) 08:42, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Vista sidebar gadget

On my Dell laptop, I run the Windows Vista (home premium edition) that came preinstalled. Soon after I got it,I made a minor modification to the default weather gadget on the sidebar, so that it would always start with my hometown rather than Redmond - in C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\Gadgets\Weather.Gadget\en-US\js\localizedStrings.js I changed these 3 lines: L_localizedStrings_Text['DefaultCity'] = 'Redmond, WA';
L_localizedStrings_Text['DefaultLocationCode'] = 'wc:USWA0367';
L_localizedStrings_Text['DefaultUnit'] = 'Fahrenheit';
Everything was fine for a year or more. However, the other day, I noticed that the little "spanner" icon which enables me to change the weather location had disappeared (it was definitely there for a long while after my edit). If I close the weather gadget and then restart it, it still comes up with the weather for my hometown, but the spanner icon is still missing and I now cannot change the location when I am travelling. Any ideas how I might fix this, preferably without reinstalling Vista? Astronaut (talk) 10:26, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

"Wirelessness" with Dell Inspiron 1545

Hi, i recently had to reset my laptop (Dell Inspiron 1545) to its 'factory settings' and then reinstall Windows Vista, as you do. I have also been able to re setup my Belkin Wireless G Router and can now use the internet. However i have not been able to get my laptop to work wirelessly with the built in wirless 'thing' with the router, as i was able to do before. I have assumed i need what i believe to be called a 'driver' for the built in wireless thing, bu i dont know how to get it. A quick look on the Dell website has given me numerous options for download but i dont know what i want, can anyone help? :)

--84.66.153.11 (talk) 12:59, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Please go into Device Manager (Start -> Control Panel -> System & Maintenance -> Device Manager, curse Vista!), find the model of your wireless card, and then come back here and tell us. If you know that information, here are all the network drivers (expand the "Network (6)" group) for your laptop. Xenon54 / talk / 13:08, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Im not really sure how to find the model of my wireless card. Under the 'network adapters' bit it says 'Marvel Yukon 88E8040 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller' if that is it? --84.66.153.11 (talk) 13:16, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

No, Ethernet is a wired connection. Check in the other categories for something that says "WLAN" or "Wireless" or "Wi-Fi". Also, some laptops have a switch to turn Wi-Fi on or off...please check if that switch is on. Xenon54 / talk / 13:47, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

There doesn't seem to be anything of that description. I do have a button that 'previously' did turn the wireless on and off, but that doesn't work or seem to make any difference anymore. In the part 'Other Devices' there is a 'network controller' which has a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark in it next to it. Is that anything. Also would it be worthwhile downloading all the Dell drivers in the 'network' section and see if that works? --84.66.153.11 (talk) 14:05, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

The "network controller" might be it. The yellow triangle indicates a problem - it doesn't necessarily have to be the driver, though. Since we can't determine which card you have, I would say to download all the drivers and see which one works. Xenon54 / talk / 14:26, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

You might check in the BIOS -- the computer's firmware, reached by hitting a key or combination of keys very quickly as you're invited to do immediately after the computer is reset -- to see whether wireless (or near-synonym) has been turned off. ¶ i recently had to reset my laptop (Dell Inspiron 1545) to its 'factory settings' and then reinstall Windows Vista, as you do Actually, no we don't. My own Dell 15-something had Windows for only a matter of minutes, till I zapped it in favor of Kubuntu (which has since worked perfectly well with the computer's wireless connector). No, don't worry, I'm not about to suggest that you dispense with Windows (an idea guaranteed to make some regulars on this page see red). However, this is one of the times when a bootable Linux CD could be handy. If you boot off, say, antiX and can get problematic hardware to work, then you know that you've had a software rather than a hardware problem. -- Hoary (talk) 21:50, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

To narrow down the choices, you could visit the Dell support site for your country, then enter the Service Tag for your particular laptop (it is usually printed on a label attached on the bottom of the laptop, and contains 6 or 7 alphanumeric characters). Dell's support site should then let you download all the correct drivers for your particular laptop )assuming of course, you haven't upgraded something). Astronaut (talk) 08:59, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

Using Internet Explorer, head to http://support.dell.com/, from there click System Configuration from the left menu under Product Support. Click on the Current System Configuration tab, then accept the terms of use. Once you have accepted, it will prompt you to install the an ActiveX control. Continue and allow it. Once it has installed and completed it's scan, you will be presented with a full list of hardware/software/etc that is currently installed in your computer. Terrapisces —Preceding undated comment added 15:31, 30 September 2009 (UTC).

Basic Java Question

Could someone explain the difference between a local class and an non-static inner class? 66.133.196.152 (talk) 14:08, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Here's the official documentation from Sun: Nested Classes. I think the word "local class" is being used generically to refer to all types of non-public classes - those which are defined in the same .java file. It's possible that it is also referring to in-line definitions - those which are defined "nested" inside another class or function definition. These Non-static inner-classes specifically refer to those which can be instantiated. Really, there's two questions here - what's the definition of "non-static"; and what's the difference between "local" and "nested inner class"?

To really get going, you need to thoroughly understand instances and the "static" keyword. In Java, "static" means that a variable or function can be used even without instantiating a particular object of the class. The values of static variables are the same across all members of the same class. Anything can be static or non-static - variables, functions, and even inner classes.

Now that you get "static" - on to "local" vs. "nested" classes. Inner classes can be defined and used conventionally (with instances; or statically - which means you access it with the class-name, but never instantiate it; or anonymously, which means that you can have and use instances of classes which have no names. Here's some pseudo-code to demonstrate the difference:

Source code example

public class OuterClass{ /* I can define an inner class inside the outer class */ class InnerClass { private int counter; public static int computeSomething() { return 2 + 2; } public int computeSomethingNonStatic() { return counter++; } } // End of Inner Class definition // Code for Outer Class ... public someFunction() { /* First I will use a Local Inner Class */ OuterClass.InnerClass inst = new OuterClass.InnerClass(); // instantiate a local class OuterClass.InnerClass.computeSomething(); // I can use static functions inst.computeSomethingNonStatic(); // ...and non-static functions /* Now I will define a nested class, anonymously */ JButton j = new JButton(); j.addActionListener( new ActionListener(){ // This is the start of a class definition - inside a function call! // Here I'm defining a nested inner class (and an anonymous one, too) // (I should make this a valid ActionListener or this code won't compile) }); } }

I think my local class is pretty straightforward - it's just like a regular class, except that it's intended for use that's compartmentalized inside the OuterClass. You can see how static or non-static features of such a class might be used.

The nested class is a bit trickier. I instantiated it anonymously (without a handle) and then defined it during instantiation - creating a new, anonynmous, nested local class. We now have neither a handle to the instance, nor any way of naming the class definition, of this new ActionListener. Its definition is intended for this local usage only - so I nested it inside my function. The actual definitions of its functions are floating around in memory somewhere though - so when the JButton I assigned it to needs to call its methods, it knows how to find their definitions. Also note that this class, even though it has no name, is still non-static - I needed to instantiate one with a "new" keyword.

Hopefully this has helped clarify. In practice, nested classes almost always implement some standard interface - so other code can use them. There isn't much use for a nested class without an interface - because nobody can see its methods (the definition is locally scoped)! Again, the official Java tutorials might be very handy; and playing around with a few examples is a good idea too. Nimur (talk) 14:55, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Adobe Flash Player/Firefox timeout setting

I'm using FireFox 2.0.0.20 (yes, I know it's out of date) and I allowed Adobe Flash Player to upgrade itself to Version 9 the other day. Since then, I've been frequently getting an error box "A script on this page is causing Adobe Flash Player to run slowly. Do you want to abort it?" (or words to that effect). Is it possible to increase the delay before this message is displayed (it seems to be about 20 seconds at the moment)? Tevildo (talk) 16:12, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

According to this article, "The timeout of this alert cannot be altered, however, 15 seconds is about as long as one might want to wait for an application to become responsive." Basically the article says that this can't be modified, and recommends that Flash programmers themselves optimize their code to avoid it.

Is it all Flash files that do it, or just one page? There's a question as to whether it's one bad SWF or if it's all of them.

In any case, using an outdated browser with a new plug-in is a recipe for trouble... --Mr.98 (talk) 17:20, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

It happens with most of the embedded videos on the BBC website. If it's not variable, then I'll just have to live with it until my normal machine is feeling a bit healthier. You'd have thought that a simple "Show this message again?" checkbox would be an option, but - these are the breaks. Thanks anyway. Tevildo (talk) 17:49, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

If you have AdBlock, you may be blocking advertisements from their media server. Some (but not all) BBC News videos require the advertisement to be viewed, or the main video will not play. Nimur (talk) 18:58, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

The videos are _playing_ OK, I'm just getting the timeout message while they start. It's not a critical issue. Tevildo (talk) 19:28, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Update script

Would it be possible to write a script in greasemonkey that would automatically update a web page every 5 minuets and load any changes to the page (text, images etc), and automatically stop updating if the script detected the page no longer existed (404 error)?

Yes, that would be possible. --Sean 15:13, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

Awesome! How exactly would I do it, I've looked at userscripts.com and I can't find any so I assumed it couldn't be done

Well, that's a very specific request, so you're unlikely to find it pre-canned. You'll probably either have to code it yourself or convince someone else to do so. If you want to try doing it yourself there are many free Javascript tutorials on the web, and you can always come back here if you get stuck. --Sean 19:44, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

Study Question

Dear, am an IT student from london and I need your advices ,I would like to know the best to study at moment between lunx (red hat)certificate and Mcse (microsoft certify system engeneer) Thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by Skyese55 (talk • contribs)

First, define "best". Until we know what you mean by "best", we can't give you any references on the matter. -- kainaw™ 21:01, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Before you certify, you might want to check the proper spelling of linux and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. We also have an article on the Red Hat Certification Program. These articles might point you in the right direction. Nimur (talk) 23:15, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

indenting on word 2002

How do I Make it where the first line of each entry is at the left margin: extra lines are indented 0.5Accdude92 (talk) (sign) 22:03, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

You go to Format --> Paragraph and click on the drop-down box under Special. Then, you select Hanging and enter 0.5 to the right of it.--Drknkn (talk) 22:08, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Ctrl-T is your friend --Tagishsimon (talk) 23:45, 27 September 2009 (UTC)