Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2012 May 20

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May 20

How do I keep the Wikipedia logon from autofilling my user name?

If using Firefox, and Windows XP, I logoff Wikipedia, then clear history using the tool within the browser,("Tools," then "Clear recent history" with all options checked, then reenter Wikipedia as an IP and click logon, it automatically fills in my username. If anyone else has access to the computer I used, they can thus learn my username. How do I get Wikipedia to forget the username? Or is it the browser that it filling it in? Thanks. 98.220.239.210 (talk) 01:11, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

I have the same setup:

1) If I pick the "Remember me on this computer" box during logon, the next time it bypasses the logon panel entirely and puts me right into Wikipedia already logged in.

2) After I enter my password and hit enter, Firefox creates a drop-down menu that allows me to remember the logon. If I click this one (and not the first), it then offers to fill in the logon info.

Is this not how it behaves for you ? StuRat (talk) 01:16, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

Tools -> Options -> Security -> uncheck "Remember passwords for sites" 82.45.62.107 (talk) 15:11, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

iPhone Problems.

Someone tell me how I can sync my music to my iPhone without it saying "set up as a new iPhone" or "restore from the backup of: iPod" my old ipod. I just got my iPhone today, and now I want to put my music on. Help. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.176.8.75 (talk) 05:16, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

Laptop fell

My laptop fell... It takes a long time to start up. after 1-2 minutes it flashes something like this BOOT FAILED. PH4-HLD-DT-STDVDRAM GT 30F then it says information about the processor. (Intel and copyright stuff) quickly Then it appears the BIOS Boot Menu asking me how do I want to start the computer. (HDD/SSD,CD/DVD,LAN,etc...)
That means the computer can't find the OS in my HDD... It´s all hope lost? What can I do? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.158.212.204 (talk) 06:03, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

You should probably go to http://webchat.freenode.net/?nick=laptopFell&channels=##windows or http://webchat.freenode.net/?nick=laptopFell&channels=##hardware as the number of questions will be massive. It'd probably be more worthwhile to call up your friend you should have who's good with computers. ¦ Reisio (talk) 07:28, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

After reading this hope was lost.. Anyway, I installed debian on a USB.. tried to reach my HDD to see if it was the boot sector that was Damaged. No luck.. Haven't open my laptop yet.. (I'm not really good in terms of hardware.)

I think I'm going to need to replace the HDD. I will try to recover some information... Do you have anymore ideas? if not.. Do you suggesy any guide for opening a laptop? or something.. Thanks anyway. :/ --190.158.212.204 (talk) 09:04, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

If you are able to boot your laptop from a USB or Cd-ROM, then your problem is not a big deal. Changing a HDD is quite easy and a new HDD is cheap (<$100). However, repairing one for data recovery, is quite a delicate operation, that only a trained technician can do. — Preceding unsigned comment added by OsmanRF34 (talk • contribs) 12:35, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

Another possibility is that the cable to the HD was jostled loose from the connector. If so, it just needs to be completely unplugged and plugged back in again. This would be easy on a desktop PC, but probably requires a professional on a laptop. StuRat (talk) 14:28, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

That's also possible. You could buy (for $5) an external HDD case (first discover what kind of HDD you have) and remove your HDD from the laptop and test it. OsmanRF34 (talk) 15:46, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

Laptop cable? Most laptops have a hard drive bay, not cables like a desktop. It's possible the jot caused the needle in the HDD to get stuck in a location and stop moving, btw. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 23:46, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

Computer booting

Hi:I have a Dell Inspiron 620s computer with Windows 7.When I turn it on I get an error screen saying unable to load windows.The error message is on a 30 second timer saying it will fix the problem or you can opt. to load windows normally.If you let it time out on fixing itself it says loading files and stops their,if you pick load windows normally it says loading files and then the windows logo comes up and it says loading windows and stops their.If you put a windows 7 CD in and tell it to load from the CD it says loading files and then the windows logo comes up and it says loading windows and stops their.I run a diagnostic on the hardware and it said everything was working ok.The problem started when the computer was left in sleep mode and when I came back it had turned itself off and when I turned it on no go.Any help would be greatly appreciated. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rigby Veinot (talk • contribs) 10:04, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

Sounds like you may need to uninstall and reinstall the operating system. Also, did you try starting in safe mode ? StuRat (talk) 14:24, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

reinstalling the operating system often equates to wiping everything off the hard drive, so use an ubuntu Live CD first to copy everything across onto some portable drive or memory stick. Penyulap ☏ 17:01, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

If it won't boot from the CD then you have a serious problem, most likely with your hardware. There are things you could try to figure it out, but they aren't easy to explain, because there are many possible paths, depending on what happens at each step. If it's possible, I recommend taking the computer into a shop to have a professional look at it. Looie496 (talk) 17:59, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

What programming languages are used for developing applications for:

1. iPhone/iPad?

2. Android?

3. Blackberry?

4. Windows Phone?

5. Symbian?

6. What other smartphones should an aspiring developer be aware of?

Also, in cases where Java is used, is it possible to use Clojure instead? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.255.1.115 (talk) 15:13, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

An aspiring developer shouldn’t start by developing for smartphones. Smartphone programs can be more complicated, since you have to work with very limited resources. So, go for the PC environment first. — Preceding unsigned comment added by OsmanRF34 (talk • contribs) 15:49, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

I can hardly see why it matters. Programming is something one should just jump into. I don't think Smartphone programs are all that more complicated than most other programs. Programming with limited resources is arguably a better road to good practice that programming with unlimited resources. --Mr.98 (talk) 18:01, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

Well, I still stick to my first answer. However, I have to admit that it's not very relevant to the question, since the OP was not saying that he was new to programming in general, but only an aspiring developer. Anyway, starting by a full-fledge system has several advantages: lots of documentation, lots of peers, not being a beginner in a novel environment, not learning to deal with a technology that will change a lot in the time to come. OsmanRF34 (talk) 19:56, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

All environments are novel to beginners by definition; "not learning to deal with a technology that will change a lot in the time to come" — seriously? If you do real application development, expect a lot of change all the time as new frameworks are rolled out to match new OSes. (If you mean, "other than the frameworks," then sure, they don't change, but neither do the phones for the most part, which apart from their phone-specific frameworks and APIs are pretty common languages.) --Mr.98 (talk) 21:03, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

I obviously meant "new technology" by "novel environment". And yes, I mean the development framework will be completely different in the near future (that's speculative). The smartphone OSs keep fighting for market share and probably some of them will die. This is not like the PC, where these fighting among frameworks has already happened. In your line of thought, you could recommend someone o start learning to program with Assembly or other uncommon language. What happens is that no all computer languages are for beginners. There is a broad consensus about that. It's simply not a good decision, from an educational perspective. OsmanRF34 (talk) 22:15, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

Assembly, huh? My point was all along that jumping into a new task — jumping into something you actually are interested in with a real goal of results — is the best way to learn anything, including programming languages. Of the languages listed (see below) all are quite fine for (serious) beginning programmers — none are obscure, none are strange, none are even device-specific. Anyway, I guess one can tell when the end of the argument has been reached when one side gestures vaguely to "broad consensus". I think our mutual points have been made. --Mr.98 (talk) 23:57, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

"Broad consensus" probably means "everybody knows that (excluding you)"? Returning to the (sub-)topic: which language is the best first language? At college, they chose the supposedly best for educational purposed, but completely useless for any purpose, programming language Modula. I hated it, and every one hated it. I don't know if anyone obtained any benefit from it, but if we had gotten exposure to a real-life language, whatever language, we would be more motivated to learn, even with additional problems. XPPaul (talk) 18:24, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

The corresponding articles for each of those systems will have your answers. ¦ Reisio (talk) 16:08, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

1. Objective-C, C, C++, 2. Java, 3. C++, 4. C#, 5. C++. --Mr.98 (talk) 18:08, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

You can use Visual Basic for Windows Phone, too, although it requires an extra download.—Best Dog Ever (talk) 20:16, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

I suppose you can use anything that compiles to .NET bytecode, including F#, IronPython, and so on. Likewise for Android you can use anything that compiles to Dalvik bytecode, such as Scala. -- BenRG (talk) 03:32, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

Not my area, but I believe iOS [1] has an NDK which allows a fair amount of code in C or C++. There seem to be similar plans for Windows Phone [2] [3]. However I think you still normally need to develop parts in Java (or whatever) or appropriate for Windows for parts of your code like the interface, the primary advantage is with shared libraries (whether your own or third parties like Unity (game engine). Similar to what BenRG said, if you know what you're doing you can probably do other things, e.g. [4] [5] coding for iOS or Android in C# using Mono (software). Of course if your interest is more professional then hobbyist, you probably want to consider the ease of successful coding (which would include things like generally bug free, well performing and well designed apps), your target market/s and if you may want to enter employment, the chance anyone will be interested in your skills. (You may still want to consider these factors even if you're primarily a hobbyist, but it's also possible the challenge or fun may be prime consideration.) Nil Einne (talk) 15:10, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

For Windows Phone, you can use C# or VB.NET. But to make things a bit more interesting, it seems that MS is transitioning from Silverlight to a phone version of WinRT with Windows Phone 8. If so, you should be able to code in C#, C++, VB.NET and JavaScript in WP8. Also, there are frameworks like PhoneGap which allow you to code for multiple platforms using HTML5 and JavaScript. A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 16:32, 23 May 2012 (UTC)

BTW, I wouldn't worry about Blackberry or Symbian. Both are dying platforms. A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 16:35, 23 May 2012 (UTC)

How to fix my spacebar's equalizer (the metal bit that keeps it level)

While cleaning my desktop keyboard, I broke some of the plastic tabs that keep the key's metal retainer anchored. The broken keys are the Left-shift, the numpad's '+' and 'Enter' keys and the space-bar. Each of those keys currently has one tab that's broken causing the key to go off balance if I press the opposite side. While the smaller keys have little problem working, the space-bar, due to its size, has problems. It works as long as I press the right side of the space-bar. The broken tabs have since been thrown away. What's the best way to replace them? How can I keep the metal equalizer anchored without further damaging the keyboard? Thankyou. — Kjammer  ⌂ 20:17, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

I doubt that you can exactly duplicate those tiny parts. A new keyboard costs around $20. If you were dead set on fixing the old one, the way to go would be to cannibalize another keyboard of the same model for the missing parts. I'd only do something like that if I already had another broken keyboard of the same model, or if the one I was trying to fix was somehow special (belonged to somebody famous, for example). If you want the cheap and dirty fix, just mark the space bar in some way (a spot of paint, perhaps), to remind you where to hit it. StuRat (talk) 20:29, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

Way ahead of you there, I already marked it. One of the reasons why I want to fix it, is because I'm finding it difficult to find a US-International keyboard to replace my current one. I got mine (an IBM SK8806 with USB-1.0 hub) for $10 from an online store that no longer exists. The few I could find (in the United States) are 60-100+ USD (of course most of them were the tricked-out gaming keyboards and ones with fingerprint recognition). And I don't want to deal with stickers that'll bother me to no end if I don't line them up correctly. I'm not desperate for a new one just yet, it still works with the aforementioned problems. Thanks anyways. — Kjammer  ⌂ 21:23, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

Apologies if I'm missing something here, but why do you need a US international keyboard? Why can you not use a standard US keyboard and set up the dead keys in Windows (or your OS of choice)? - Cucumber Mike (talk) 21:42, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

I think the point is that they want the labels on the keys to be correct. StuRat (talk) 21:53, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

Sticky notes for Windows

Does anyone know of an application for Windows analogous to the "Sticky Notes" that come with Macs? Thanks, --Think Fast (talk) 21:51, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

[6], [7] AvrillirvA (talk) 22:16, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

Well, Windows 7, and I believe all recent versions of Windows, comes with a Sticky Notes application automatically, which you can find under Accessories. Looie496 (talk) 23:36, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

There's plenty of FOSS sticky note programs as well, if you don't want to use the built-in program. 75.187.174.165 (talk) 23:04, 23 May 2012 (UTC)

Laptop battery emergency

Hi. After taking my laptop out to another province, the battery recharge on the computer no longer seems to work. Earlier this year, I lost a previous laptop to a motherboard explosion as it had been plugged in continuously for a year. For this laptop, last night the battery charge indicator did not disclose how much of the battery was charged. Today, it remains at 3-4% charge and keeping it plugged in is accomplishing nothing. When I unplug, the laptop returns to its near-depleted battery. I was going to ask about techniques to charge the battery without reducing its lifespan and keeping its reserves as long as possible. How can I manage the current laptop problem? Is the battery or motherboard about to become extinct again, or is there some way to fix the issue? Thanks. ~AH1 ^(discuss!) 23:38, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

If it happened all at once, I'd suspect some portion of the charging circuit is bad. It might just be the cord, if it has a "wall wart" that has gone bad. StuRat (talk) 23:47, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

Also, you should run it down once, to make sure it isn't charging. The charge indicator may be lying to you. StuRat (talk) 23:48, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

Is the battery an original brand-name or a cheap generic battery? OsmanRF34 (talk) 23:54, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

I "ran down" the battery last night, and about 20 minutes after indicating a charge of 0% it spontaneously powered off. I've been charging now for almost 12 hours, and yet earlier this morning it would not turn on without an external power source. Currently, it is still plugged in, is able to turn on without external power, and stands at 43% while the charger and the computer are both on. Currently, I'm still trying to pinpoint whether the battery or the AC/DC charger is the problem. It is likely a generic battery, and I can check the specifications if necessary, but meanwhile the charger box is getting very hot. The charger now seems to be working, but is charging very slowly. Could this be another circuit problem? Any ideas on how to prolong battery life, and is the current simply not reaching the battery until recently (in other words, having the computer run directly on mains power)? Thanks. ~AH1 ^(discuss!) 16:55, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

If the charger is getting abnormally hot, that indicates the problem may be there. You might want to buy another. StuRat (talk) 02:51, 22 May 2012 (UTC)