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Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2010 November 28

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November 28 edit

Saving a Flash Picture edit

Is it possible to save a picture on a website that appears as a flash? If so how? Whenever I right-click on the picture it just gives a sub-menu that has play or loop options, how can I save that picture as a bitmap or jpg or in paint when those options aren't even available in the save as dropdown box? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.137.254.113 (talk) 01:01, 28 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Take a screenshot. --Mr.98 (talk) 02:08, 28 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Using Firefox with the Page Info or CacheViewer add-ons works for me. 92.15.14.132 (talk) 23:28, 28 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

"content blocked" IE message edit

Hi,

In the following Internet Explorer message, does anyone know what "other content" might refer to?

"Pop-up blocked. Also, to help protect your security, Internet Exporer blocked other content from this site."

(I understand the part about "pop-up blocked". I'm not asking for an explanation of that.) 86.184.31.210 (talk) 02:39, 28 November 2010 (UTC).[reply]

Probably the "other content" being Active X controls. Although it depends on your security settings, you may want to check out what they are by going through Tools>>> Internet Options>>> Security tab. 24.189.87.160 (talk) 03:25, 28 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Fibre Optic Strands edit

Hi,

How many fibre optic strands connect Australia to the United States? Is there a diagram somewhere which shows all the international fibre optic links?

Thanks, --58.175.32.62 (talk) 10:51, 28 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Here List of international submarine communications cables? Not a diagram unfortunately - but a huuuuge list. Do remember being in a pub in Cornwall as a child (for a family meal) and there was a map showing all the comms-cables for the atlantic which fascinated my easily fascinated mind. ny156uk (talk) 14:54, 28 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Modern images of the undersea cable network are here and here, although they're not terribly easy to get detailed info from. Ny156uk may have visited Widemouth Bay or Porthcurnow, both of which have cable landing points. A map of the 1901 telegraph cable network is here. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 17:01, 28 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Actually that telegeography.com site I linked to above has a more detailed version as well, which is very informative: [1] -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 17:22, 28 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Also [2] although not as detailed and from 2009 Nil Einne (talk) 20:03, 28 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
[3] may be interesting Nil Einne (talk) 18:28, 28 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

(DOM)(HTML5)(JavaScript) Checking the size of a canvass element edit

The origin of the canvas element is on its upper left side. However, in mathematics, the origin is usually placed on the lower left side (1st quadrant). Now I have several canvas elements of various sizes. I wan to write a JavaScript function that maps the math coordinate system to the screen coordinate system. The first thing it needs to know is the height of the canvas it's working on in pixels. Certainly I can store the canvas dimensions in an object whenever I create a piece of canvas. If I am not doing this, can I get the size of a canvas from anywhere?

I tried document.getElementsByTagName('the id of my canvas'). It doesn't work. -- Toytoy (talk) 11:57, 28 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The HTML canvas object already knows its own dimensions, and these are available in the JavaScript DOM via attributes:
<input type="button" value="Click Here" onClick="dosize();" />
<br />
<canvas id="mycanvas" style="border:2px dashed;" />
<script>
  function dosize(){
    var c = document.getElementById("mycanvas");
    alert("width is " + c.height + 
          "\nheight is " + c.width);
}
</script>
-- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 13:56, 28 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Note for your future exploits that getElementsByTagName() wants a tag name like "div" or "table", not the ID of a particular element. The ID is supposed to be unique, so you'll never have getElementsById(). --Sean 17:02, 29 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Message Rules edit

Hello. I implemented two message rules for the same sender:

  1. Move email to "some" folder if sender's address is "john.doe@gmail.com"
  2. Forward email to "john.smith@hotmail.com" if sender's address is "john.doe@gmail.com"

My email applies the first rule but not the second. How can I fix this? How can I merge these rules if I use Hotmail? Thanks in advance. --Mayfare (talk) 17:53, 28 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Both rules are trying operate on the same message when the message arrives in the inbox. If rule 1 runs first, then rule 2 won't see the message in the inbox because it would have been moved to another folder. Try switching the order of the rules. Astronaut (talk) 20:59, 28 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Hotmail moves emails before forwarding. I can't reorder the rules. --Mayfare (talk) 22:36, 28 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Are you using an email client, and if so, which one? Or is this purely via Hotmail? pablo 00:29, 29 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I check my email in Windows Live Mail but my message rules are controlled from Hotmail on the web. If I configure my rules in this manner, does it matter? --Mayfare (talk) 03:34, 29 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, I don't use Hotmail, and I don't know how rules are set up there; I was thinking more of rules which you can define locally and apply to email (even Hotmail email) on receipt, using programmes such as Outlook, Entourage etc. pablo 11:46, 29 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

What's wrong with my laptop? edit

Hello. A few days ago, my laptop suffered a fall which resulted in its battery and bottom cover falling off. Before putting them back into place, I checked the hardware inside and could see no apparent physical damage.

Since then, my laptop has acquired the stupid habit of spontaneously resetting itself without warning. I have accessed files on all sectors of my hard disks without any problem, so I suspect my laptop's problems are caused by possible damage to its fan. Nevertheless, it's never especially hot or even hot at all when it resets itself, so that seems to eliminate the theory of overheating. I'm at a loss to explain what the problem is.

What is the problem with my laptop then? I can provide further details if needed, just ask. Thank you a lot to anyone who can help identify the root of the problem.

This does sound like a failing hard drive, though. Even if you can access all of the files, the hard drive could still be damaged and causing the computer to restart. Any blue screen errors? Have you tried safe mode? Logan Talk Contributions 18:44, 28 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I've tried safe mode, but it still restarted. I got no blue screen errors. Let me make a list of what seem like important details:
  • I've run the Disk Defragmenter on unit C:\ with no problems at all.
  • One of the times, Windows was unable to boot and a diagnosis screen appeared. It restored the computer to a previous restore point and, since then, the frequency of restarts has greatly diminished.
  • I've run a registry cleaner (Glary Registry Repair) with no problems at all.
  • If the computer restarts and I later try to restore the file I was using, it often restarts again.
  • The laptop has become unable to "wake" from hibernation mode.
  • The computer worked perfectly fine the first time I used it after the fall. It only started bugging later on. Leptictidium (mt) 18:50, 28 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I experienced a similar issue with an old laptop many years ago. The RAM chips had come loose and taking them out and then putting them back properly fixed the problem. It's worth a try, especially considering the hibernation issue (doing that might void the warranty though, so if it's covered by any free repair schemes or warranties go to them first) 82.44.55.25 (talk) 20:07, 28 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Almost all laptops do not like being dropped. You seem to have been lucky in that it seems to be mostly still working. However, perhaps you have cracked one of the circuit boards, dislodged memory cards or loosened one of the connectors inside, and under some circumstances, perhaps when it warms up, contact is lost with unpredictable results. Check your insurance and warranty. Alternatively, take it apart -very carefully- noting where everything came from, and see if there is anything obviously loose. I goes without saying, you should back up your stuff before any repair attempt. Astronaut (talk) 21:20, 28 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
You could also run it using a live USB that would at least discard the hard drive issues. If only the hardware is damaged, it will be easy to repair by yourself (just substitute it). Since the laptop is still running also try to make a backup of all your data before you do anything. Quest09 (talk) 09:36, 29 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

OpenVPN remote issues edit

  Resolved

Hello! I set up a simple point-to-point VPN on my home network with OpenVPN. When I connect from my LAN, it works fine, but when I connect via my router's IP, it seems to fail; even though it claims it completed the initiation, I can't ping the server. Below is the output (removed some digits of my IP). Note that the only thing I've changed between both tests is the "remote" directive in the client's conf file, from the local IP to the router's remote IP. At first, I suspected it's a problem with the router (Linksys WRT54G, latest firmware, and the VPN port is open and set to forward to the server), but I don't understand why it would forward local VPN traffic but not remote traffic.

Thank you for any advice or suggestions!--el Aprel (facta-facienda) 19:44, 28 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Silly me. It turns out my problem was that I was testing the remote connection from my LAN, which must have been too much for my router or created buggy IP reference. Getting off my couch an accessing the VPN from a remote network works fine.--el Aprel (facta-facienda) 03:00, 30 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
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