Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2013 April 2

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April 2

How do I speed up the smooth scrolling? (in InternetExplorer 10, Windows7)

With "smooth scroll" enabled in Internet Explorer 10 (IE10), The mouse wheel vertical scroll speed in IE10 is extremely much slower than all other vertical scroll speeds under Windows7.
How do I increase the scroll speed of "IE smooth scroll" in particular ?
There is no help in increasing the:
WindowsControlPanel->MouseProperties->MouseWheel->VerticalScrollNumberOfLinesToScroll
because then all other vertical scroll speeds get far to quick.
(Disabling the "smooth scroll" is not a tolerable solution either!).

Could you please help me?
PS! I need the solution to be both legal and no cost (gratis).
-- 46.15.145.216 (talk) 17:41, 2 April 2013 (UTC)

Some ideas:

1) Does the mouse driver have it's own customization menu (some do, some don't) ? If so, that might allow you to set the smooth scroll and jump scroll speeds independently.

2) Try this: Press (as opposed to rolling) the mouse wheel. This should give you a white circle with 4 arrowheads inside pointing each direction. This is a special scrolling mode. In this mode, it scrolls in proportion to how far you move the mouse from that symbol. That is, if you are very close to it, you will get a very slow scroll. If you are quite far away, you will get a much faster scroll. Once you are done scrolling, press the mouse wheel again to get back out of scroll mode. This only works if you are on a screen with scrollable fields. (It will scroll vertically, horizontally, or both, depending on if there's some place to scroll to in those directions.) StuRat (talk) 18:08, 2 April 2013 (UTC)

No, the (1) mouse driver solution is not available, and the (2) special scroll mode (by pressing and holding down the mouse wheel button for a few seconds) is not helpful for me either, because the unintentional horizontal scrolling gets far to distracting (Poor eyesight forces me, most of the time, to zoom in on web pages which results in a horizontal scroll-bar in IE10 on the page).
What I would need Is a solution that I may use on any PC (running Window7 and IE10) regardless of which ever mouse is available there.
-- (OP) 46.15.5.184 (talk) 10:03, 5 April 2013 (UTC)

Running Gnu/Linux on an Android phone

Is it generally possible? Can a manufacturer restrict what OS is running? Can you just format the phone like a PC running Windows and install Linux? The 1000+ Ghz of the processor and the 32 GB of a mini SD card seems as plenty of space to have a descent OS running, but does the phone need a dual-core or better? I read something about this last requirement, but I don't know if it's general or just for some specific Gnu/Linux installation. OsmanRF34 (talk) 18:20, 2 April 2013 (UTC)

First is: I suggest you get a multi core no-contract phone. You'll be able to then update the Android os with ease – without having to wait for your carrier to pull their finger out and do it - which might take years. If you load Debian I don't think you need a multi core. If you just want to experiment, then Ubantu Android may well be the easiest. [1] and that need s multi core. To answer your question. The manufacture can only use Android if they abide by the licence which ensures it remains under the control of the user rather than the manufacturer. So no, they cant control what you run on it.Aspro (talk) 19:38, 2 April 2013 (UTC)

Ubuntu for Android actually runs on top of Android, IIRC. ¦ Reisio (talk) 02:15, 3 April 2013 (UTC)

Good point. Ubuntu for Android OS runs on top of the Android OS. Ubuntu or any other Linux flavour on an android phone means: it replaces the Android OS completely. Just getting Linux to solely run an Android phone should not be difficult itself. Yet, to have a useful phone, then there are (as already stated) hurdles to over come. As Reisio suggests below (paraphrasing): Why reinvent the wheel when you can get a GNU/Linux phone that works out the box. Once you get comfortable, you can then experimenting with your own thing. So, again, one has the freedom to run Linux 'on' or 'for' with any Android phone – the manufactures can't stop you. The choice is: which route to take to satisfy your purpose or curiosity.--Aspro (talk) 12:13, 4 April 2013 (UTC)

The other problem with phone on contract from a carrier is that they add loads of their own stuff on it that gets in the way. Also in the long run, it cost you way more than buying the phone outright in the first place.--Aspro (talk) 19:44, 2 April 2013 (UTC)

But for this you must compile the Linux kernel and all other necessary software for ARM architecture. In addition you must obtain necessary drivers for all devices that the phone has. (See also List_of_Linux_supported_architectures). Ruslik_Zero 19:42, 2 April 2013 (UTC)

The greatest obstacle will be just installing any other OS at all, compared to that the drivers might be simple. If you are buying, you can get a new phone that comes with a real GNU/Linux instead of jumping through hoops. ¦ Reisio (talk) 02:15, 3 April 2013 (UTC)