Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2011 July 31

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July 31

Co-op Puzzle Games: are there any?!

A friend and i are looking for a LAN/internet co-op puzzle game, but we cant find any!

We are thinking something like the popular game MYST, except maybe one person has to stand on some lever while the other person does this or that. In a way that you have to work together to advance. Does anyone know of any games that incorporate this idea or are similar?

Thanks!

216.173.144.164 (talk) 01:23, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Portal 2 perhaps?

APL (talk) 02:03, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

That's what we thought would first come up, lol. Thanks, but does anyone know any others? :)

216.173.144.164 (talk) 02:37, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Little Big Planet. Some puzzles require 4 players to solve. -- kainaw™ 02:47, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Looks nice, and i might look into that one :) However, I feel i must narrow the scope just a tad bit further and say we are hoping for games for the PC. Thank you very much for the help so far! 216.173.144.164 (talk) 03:05, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

There's an article List of cooperative video games. The list of puzzle games is short, but there might be some in other categories (I noticed The Lost Vikings, for example, categorized as a platformer). -- BenRG (talk) 07:51, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Antivirus updates

I'm sitting at work with three computers running, are wired to the same router, and all have Avast!. About five hours ago the back up computer announced an update with the main computer updating about an hour later. Then ten minutes ago my laptop updated. Why such a range of time? I would have thought they would all update about the same time. CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 12:01, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

If all the machines in the world that run Avast do stuff at the same time, they'll gang up and beat the heck out of Avast's update server. So you'd typically jitter the times (probably with a random number of minutes from 0-59) at which a given machine did its update, to level out the load. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 12:16, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Thanks. CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 03:19, 1 August 2011 (UTC)

Can VirtualBox use more than 4GB of physical memory of hosted on a 32-bit version of Windows?

Can VirtualBox use more than 4GB of physical memory of hosted on a 32-bit version of Windows? Is it still limited by the host operating system's inability to address more than 4GB of memory? --98.114.98.196 (talk) 13:14, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Using PAE I don't see why not. It might take you longer to work out the bugs than it would to earn money for a 64-bit processor, though, dunno. ¦ Reisio (talk) 16:22, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Well technically, with PAE enabled the host OS itself isn't limited to 4GB anymore either. Unilynx (talk) 18:26, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Yes. According to the documentation: In addition, the "Enable PAE/NX" setting determines whether the PAE and NX capabilities of the host CPU will be exposed to the virtual machine. PAE stands for "Physical Address Extension". Normally, if enabled and supported by the operating system, then even a 32-bit x86 CPU can access more than 4 GB of RAM. This is made possible by adding another 4 bits to memory addresses, so that with 36 bits, up to 64 GB can be addressed. Some operating systems (such as Ubuntu Server) require PAE support from the CPU and cannot be run in a virtual machine without it. --Mr.98 (talk) 17:19, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

I seriously doubt that VirtualBox attempts to search for physical RAM that isn't known to the host OS. If the host OS sees only 4GB of your 16GB of physical RAM then you won't be able to use the rest for anything, even in VirtualBox. If the host OS sees the full 16GB then VirtualBox can probably use it all even if the host OS is 32-bit with /PAE, but I don't think that was the question. -- BenRG (talk) 19:34, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Hmm, maybe. It seems to mean that if the host OS has PAE supported and is showing more than 4GB, then VirtualBox can understand that and use that as well. But VirtualBox can only see how much RAM the host OS exposes to it. Apparently 32 bit Windows limits the visible RAM to 4GB even with PAE enabled. Which would seem to imply that maybe VirtualBox will never see that RAM exposed. --Mr.98 (talk) 20:35, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Must have your help! (appending sound tracks)

It's so important for me! - a program that will make the 100+ sound tracks i have, into one long track (100 mp3 files into 1 file). while they start ordinarily (one after his precursor).

thanks!. 109.67.6.184 (talk) 18:36, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

I added to your title to make it more useful. StuRat (talk) 18:51, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

If you're rolling in money, Adobe Premiere will certainly let you do this. If not, try Audacity. Comet Tuttle (talk) 19:06, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Using SoX (with the mp3 plugin, which often isn't distributed with it for legal reason):

     sox --combine sequence *.mp3 merged.mp3

-- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 19:32, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

why is counterstrike so popular?

Why is counterstrike still so popular, even on old computers? (e.g. at net cafes all over the world, from the richest to the poorest countries). is there something technically that it got especially "right" like in Networking (quickly flawlessly join servers, etc). By comparison, someone said that the reason Skype succeeded so big was its ability to break through corporate firewalls...so I'm wondering if the game Counterstrike got something especially "right" to be so popular and ubiquitous. Thanks. 89.135.188.193 (talk) 19:25, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

I can't back this up with a reference, but I personally think it was a 'perfect storm' of a couple of different things :

1) Counterstrike first became popular at a time when most FPS games were rather goofy and unrealistic. (You know the kind, where machine-guns are like garden hoses and handguns are worthless.) Counterstrike appealed to people who wanted a solid multiplayer experience with at least "movie realism".

2) It was originally built on top of the hugely popular "Halflife".

3) A dedicated community of mod-makers and level-designers sprang up early on, and became large enough to be self-sustaining.

4) And it had a number of features which were pretty innovative for the time: The idea that once a player is killed he's out for the rest of the round. The idea that online multiplayer games could be based around "objectives" beyond simple capture the flag.

All these things added up to give it a really dedicated fan-base who weren't willing to give it up just because something newer had come out.

So I don't think there's one single thing you can point to and say "This is the thing Counterstrike got right." It's more a matter of having just the right features at just the right time. APL (talk) 02:06, 1 August 2011 (UTC)

Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud Node - Default # of VMs / CPU Core

Resolved

Hello Fellow RefDeskers!

  I refer to the Ubuntu Community Documentaion page which pertains to installation of Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud. It is stated that by default EUCALYPTUS will only run one VM per CPU core on a Node, in regard of which I have a few questions, as I'm a bit confused.

1. Does the one VM refer to a single vCPU or to a VM with any number of vCPUs?
2. Does the per CPU core refer to a physical CPU core or a single physical thread (which is a logical CPU core)?

  TIA as always. Rocketshiporion♫ 20:02, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Each instance must have at least a "core" (virtual CPU thread) assigned to it, but you can always increase the number of "cores" in a node beyond a node's limit by setting the "MAX_CORES" configuration entry. 118.96.158.221 (talk) 15:35, 2 August 2011 (UTC)

That was just the information I was seeking! Thank you, 118.96.158.221! Rocketshiporion♫ 23:33, 4 August 2011 (UTC)

Is there a mapping application that computes distance given waypoints?

Hi, experts. Looking for a capability in someone's web app (i.e., not smartphone app), so far unsuccessfully. What I want is to supply a set of waypoints -- which can be clicks on a map -- and have the software tell me the resulting route distance.

Google Maps comes close, but isn't really what I want because I have to tell it destinations and allow it to compute the route; this doesn't really match my case when I don't HAVE a destination, and isn't particularly user-friendly if you want to make a circular route that returns to the starting point.

Anybody aware of something that's a better fit for my needs?

Traveling salesman problem#External links? 67.162.90.113 (talk) 21:21, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Overkill -- I'm not trying to optimize anything, I just want to know the length of an arbitrary route. Thanks for the prompt response, though! --DaHorsesMouth (talk) 22:02, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

To clarify, do you want the straight line distance between each pair of points, or the distance along roads and such ? StuRat (talk) 22:09, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Good question. Ideally, along roads or paths; but I'd think that I could simulate sufficient detail with any old straightline distance -- on a map background. --DaHorsesMouth (talk) 22:36, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

googlepedometer is your friend. --Tagishsimon (talk) 22:09, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Indeed -- that looks spot-on! --DaHorsesMouth (talk) 22:36, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

[20 minutes later:]

Resolved

 – Oh, yeah, baby! -- That's the one!

This should help, but doesn't

GMaps tries to make the "select a destination" bit clickable by offering the option of right-clicking on their map. This does pop up a menu, but it's OVERLAID by the browser's own right-click menu. I have this issue with a couple of applications -- does anyone know how to prevent Firefox from stomping on somebody else's menus?

Thanks, as always! --DaHorsesMouth (talk) 21:00, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Hold down the alt key while right clicking the mouse. (Can't guarantee this will work in all apps, but it does the trick on Google maps.)--Shantavira|^{feed me} 07:21, 1 August 2011 (UTC)

Excellent -- how do you find out such tricks? I feel particularly obtuse in this case because I tried ctrl-right-click and shift-right-click ... neither of which worked, so I gave up! --DaHorsesMouth (talk) 01:16, 2 August 2011 (UTC)

I believe it was asked on this desk about a year ago. I didn't know until then.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 07:17, 2 August 2011 (UTC)

GM Distance measuring tool

There is a tool within Google maps, but it's kind of hidden. You have to be logged in to Google.

• Click the "Cog" button in top right corner.
• Select "Map Labs"
• Enable "Distance Measurement Tool"
• The tool is switched on/off by clicking the new "ruler" button at the map's bottom left.

It measures only by straight line, not following the paths. No such user (talk) 13:56, 1 August 2011 (UTC)

HDMI PC to TV connection

I am trying to connect my Dell XPS 15 laptop to a Sony Bravia LCD TV with an HDMI cable. However, after plugging in the cable at both ends, the TV comes up with a message saying "invalid format." Research on Google seems to indicate that this is a problem with the laptop's resolution, but I've tried changing that multiple times. Any guidance on this issue? --Simeon24601 (talk) 21:43, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

You probably need to cycle the display so that the display only goes to the external output (so that the laptop screen is blank). I have a bravia too, and it is much less forgiving of screen sizes that it doesn't like than are other TVs (others are better at black-framing smaller screens than the bravia is). -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 21:46, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

I have tried that, but the TV keeps saying invalid format. What screen size works for you? --Simeon24601 (talk) 21:51, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

1280x768 @ 60Hz. The nVidia control panel also (falsely) claims that the TV's native resolution is 1024x768. Mine is a relatively small Bravia, and it's a few years old, so newer, and larger, ones will likely accept higher resolutions. I'm using DVI, incidentally, not HDMI. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 21:59, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

I find that the order in which you boot the devices matter. So, with the cable still connected, try rebooting the computer with the TV left on a couple times, then try restarting the TV with the computer left on a couple times. Then maybe repeat the entire cycle once more. Hopefully one of those tries will work. StuRat (talk) 22:06, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Thanks everyone. I got it to work be fiddling in the nVidia control panel. However, now the TV insists on overscanning and cropping off the edges of the image. I don't know where to turn that off, although I've looked through all of the options menus on the TV. Have you ever encountered this? --Simeon24601 (talk) 22:21, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Strange sounds accompanying file operations on my MP3 player

When I connect my MP3 player to this computer and start copying files or deleting files, sometimes I hear sounds in my earphones. Like fast ticking or clicking, a little bit like dial-up noise. What are these sounds? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.74.50.52 (talk) 22:28, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

It might be intentional, to let you know the copying is still in progress. StuRat (talk) 22:31, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

When a sufficiently low-resistance speaker is near any magnetic field it will cause interference. It might be from the USB cable. I doubt they'd use a modem sound as their "file copying" sounds.

Blue lines on screen -- at my wit's end!

I'm running Windows XP SP3 with a Sapphire Radeon 9600SE graphics card (http://www.amzn.com/B000QTXONU) with a HP S2031a widescreen LCD monitor (http://www.amzn.com/B004G8QO5M). The last few days I've been getting lots of blue lines running horizontally across the screen especially in the lower half. I thought it might have been the monitor, but it did the same on another one. I reduced the screen resolution but I still have the same problem. Then I wondered if it was a problem with the cable or something, so I changed that and it did the same thing. I took a screenshot using the PRT SCRN button and checked the image on another computer, and I was suprised to find that the blue lines are part of the image, so it's not a "projection" issue, but perhaps a way the graphics are being rendered. See: http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt5/mewikime/untitled.jpg

any ideas about how do I fix this? I'm ready to tear my hair out! Also, not sure if this is related, but my sound is working intermittently. I just hope my mother board isn't rejecting the sound and graphics cards. Thanks, Matthewedwards :  Chat  23:40, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

I'm thinking that either the graphics card is bad or the driver for it is bad. You might try turning the computer off, pulling the board out, then booting it back up. Many computers have lower function built-in graphics which kick in if the premium board is absent. If so, this test should tell you if the board or it's driver are bad.

If you just get a blank screen and maybe some beeps, then your computer doesn't function without a graphics card, so this test is invalid. In that case, you need to get another graphics card to use as a test. If you don't have any handy, you might want to buy one you actually would want, try it, then return it if that doesn't fix the problem.

You can also try downloading a new driver for your graphics card, first. I think the card itself is likely the problem, but you might as well try the free things, first. StuRat (talk) 23:51, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Did you install the card yourself? One of the first things to try is just to re-seat the card, (take it out, blow some dust out and put it back in). If at all possible, try the card in a different computer. Vespine (talk) 06:01, 1 August 2011 (UTC)

I have one machine with an old ATI Radeon which is also displaying horizontal lines on the screen, though they look like random noise rather than being a nice blue color. I've yanked the board and re-seated it and have the same (intermittent) issue and I have figured it's just the graphics card having gone bad, though I haven't attempted any diagnosis beyond that. Comet Tuttle (talk) 16:28, 1 August 2011 (UTC)

The wording of the question indicates that the same configuration worked correctly for you until a few days ago. Is that correct, or is this a new configuration of equipment? Looie496 (talk) 19:24, 1 August 2011 (UTC)

That's right, a few days ago everything was fine, then one day I had a few blue lines appear. Since then the number of lines has increased and now the entire screen has a blue tint to it because the lines have all merged into one. I did take the video card out and blow in the slot and wotnot, but there was no improvement. I haven't done anything with the drivers because it's an old back-up computer and I'm not sure where to get the drivers from.

If the entire screen now has an even blue tint, that suggests a workaround: turn the blue component down on the color balance. Do you know how to do that ? StuRat (talk) 21:21, 2 August 2011 (UTC)