Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2015 December 19

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December 19

Word font change

I was working on a Word document for a client using tracked changes. When they sent it back with their responses to my comments/changes, the font got too small for me to read clearly for some reason. I can select the main document and increase the font, but that doesn't help with their comments. Clarityfiend (talk) 05:36, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

If you can't find a way to change the font size at which their changes are displayed, you might try enlarging the entire screen. On Windows, try WINDOWS++ to increase zoom level. (Note that the Windows key is typically marked with the flying Windows logo, not the word, and that you must press both together.) There are also options to just enlarge the document, if you prefer that. StuRat (talk) 06:32, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

See if any of this helps. ―Mandruss ☎ 10:11, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

From one of the linked suggestions: ctrl-alt-shift-S, then changing the balloon text font worked. So obvious! Thanks. Clarityfiend (talk) 01:23, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Making Ubuntu-Firefox interface to be more Windows-Firefox like?

The reason I need this is when I use Ubuntu's Firefox's Bookmarks' menu everything looks very compressed (it's especially uncomfortable in my case as I have many folders and bookmarks).

Anything you could suggest me of doing about it? Ben-Yeudith (talk) 11:55, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

Change the theme and fonts. Ubuntu might be able to apper very similar to Windows. --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 14:33, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

The only difference I noted was Settings moved form Extras to Edit in the conventional menu. Also the user profile can be migrated by copying the files and folders of the Firefox user settings to the new computer or user. --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 20:14, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

Linux

Why does Linux have such a tiny market share on desktop pcs despite literally being given away for free? Supposedly it's the best OS around but in 30+ years it still can't hold a candle to Bill Gates. Why is that? Why has the year of the Linux desktop ever come? Is Linux just a bad OS for common folk? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.37.237.15 (talk) 18:36, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

Depending on the license, further changes and contributions to the source needs to returned to or published and making it avail for the community. Many bugs were fixed by interests, many develtopment is done as well. It would take a huge investment to revinvent the whole operating system. --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 20:01, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

The common folk never install an OS; they buy a computer with an OS preinstalled. So your question boils down to why so few consumer PCs come with Linux preinstalled. I don't know the answer, but I suspect it has to do with support costs. Inevitably some fraction of buyers will try to install a third-party printer or game or office suite that doesn't support Linux and will complain to the computer vendor about it. The cost of handling that sort of thing might exceed the cost of OEM Windows licenses. -- BenRG (talk) 21:28, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

I'd believe it. Dell has been known to sell laptops with Ubuntu preinstalled, but they're marketed more towards developers than the average consumer. ([1]) clpo13_(talk) 21:56, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

As of November 2015, when I last called, Dell is not selling any computers that do not have Windows. Every offering must come with Windows. I escalated by request and pestered sales people on the phone, through email, and through chat. There was absolutely no way around it. Even when going to their Linux offerings site which includes a number to sales, the sales people claimed that those offerings are not active and the page is there to allow historical purchases easy access to Dell support. So, I think it is important to emphasize the "has been known" part of "has been known to sell laptops". 209.149.113.52 (talk) 14:03, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

Yeah, I wasn't sure if that was something they were still doing. Although now that I think about it, Chrome OS (on Chromebooks) is Linux-based, though it's heavily-modified and locked-down, so not quite the same as getting Ubuntu on a laptop (though Crouton (computing) looks interesting). clpo13_(talk) 16:15, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

Vendor lock-in and first mover advantage. Also Linux hasn't quite hit 30 yet; it dates back to 1991. (The GNU Project was founded in 1983 and insert here long discussion about the difference between GNU and Linux and what name you should use for a system using the Linux kernel and GNU userspace.) --71.119.131.184 (talk) 04:28, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Our article, Usage share of operating systems, provides much discussion on the topic.

Purchase price of software is only one of many factors that drive market-share. Linux distributions are frequently available at zero cost, but consumers may value other important details, and may be willing to spend well above the zero price point. Among these factors are perceived and actual software quality; compatibility with hardware and application software; estimated maintenance and other total cost of ownership considerations; and so on. Nimur (talk) 04:43, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

Don't forget that Linux is at the heart of Android - and Android runs on 80% of the 6.8 billion cellphones in the world. Also, Apple's computers run software based on BSD Unix - which, these days, is mostly rehashed Linux and GNU stuff. Linux also dominates cloud computers, IoT devices, televisions (you probably didn't even notice that your smart-TV is running Linux - but I bet it is!) pretty much anywhere beyond desktop/laptop computing is now dominated by Linux. What you don't see is Linux penguin logos all over everything - because each vendor changes it to make it their own...which is actually what is intended to happen.

Linux "computers" outnumber Windows "computers" by an enormous factor - but just not in the narrow area of laptops and desktops.

So clearly the problem isn't with Linux itself. It is with vendor lock-in. SteveBaker (talk) 16:05, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

Add to this the fact that ever since MS-DOS debuted in the late 1970s to early 1980s, people have thought of "PC" and "Microsoft" as synonymous. To this day, major software vendors market their software as being compatible with "PC, Mac and Linux", meaning "Windows" when they say "PC". I have heard that when people have trouble using Windows, they say "This computer is shit!", but when they have trouble using Linux, they say "Linux is shit!". I myself only heard about Linux when I started studying at university, but once I heard about it and tried it out, I was fully enamoured with it, and for the past decade and a half, have only used Windows at work or when helping relatives. JIP | Talk 22:50, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

traceroute

when u do a trace route u see many different companies in the hops. can they see your internet traffic? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.37.237.15 (talk) 18:37, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

If they have to route your traffic, they can "see" it somehow. However, if your traffic is encrypted, they will only make sense of the metadata. That is, where it comes from, where is going to. Notice, however, that most emails are not encrypted, so, they can see and read them, in the same way a postman can read a postcard. --Denidi (talk) 19:00, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

They need to capture cyper key exchanges or brute force decode or recalculate the key in another way. When the route changes to other providers, they see Your computers packets no longer. But YOur ISP sees all Your internet fraffic. He can not change the route to You. --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 19:57, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

Most emails are not themselves encrypted, but they are usually sent over encrypted (SSL/TLS) connections these days, so they are only visible to whoever runs the mail servers, not other network providers like Level 3 that may show up in traceroute. -- BenRG (talk) 21:41, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

How to stop Twitter sending me messages on my iPhone?

Please how to stop Twitter to send me messages on my iPhone? These messages sound like I receive a text message, it looks like I receive a text message, so I slide the message just like I do when I receive a text message in order to read it, but it doesn't open the Messages app. It opens the Twitter app and it appears to be a tweet from some journal or some company or some political party or such. I don't want them to use my text message warning sounds or my iPhone ringtones for their tweets. I don't want Twitter to use my iPhone's sounds and ringtones in any way. Twitter didn't get intrusive for years, it was just silent and invisible except when I did open the Twitter app myself. Why has it become so intrusive since a few weeks? Have I changed a setting by mistake? Or is it that Twitter got themselves such new intrusive behavior? Thanks in advance for your answers. Akseli9 (talk) 20:11, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

Disable notifications for the Twitter app. (The Twitter app has supported notifications for a very long time. Possibly since it was first introduced.) Nil Einne (talk) 08:04, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Thanks. I did that, from the Notifications Center within iPhone's Settings (didn't find anything to change in Twitter's Preferences anyway). Akseli9 (talk) 08:48, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Games for learning leadership skills

In Superbetter, Jane McGonigal writes on p. 112ff: "Multiplayer and massively multiplayer video games can teach important skills [...] People who frequently play games that require them to organize groups and lead others in like-minded efforts, such as Guild Wars and World of Warcraft, are rated by others as • better leaders • more effective motivators [...]". Do people here share that impression, and which games would you recommmend other than the two mentioned? I am particularly interested in knowing if there are some that are less fantasy war themed, but focus more on construction, economic simulation and real world issues. I-just-ask-questions-at-Wikipedia (talk) 23:12, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

I play Electronic Arts' Tiberium Alliances, which has alliances of up to 50 people, in coalitions of several alliances, each battling other coalitions to get to the center and take down the Fortress first. To be in the leadership requires lots of organizational skills, diplomacy, and flexibility, as old enemies frequently become allies. The leaders also need to learn to delegate authority, as personally controlling every action in a coalition of hundreds of players isn't possible. Thus, each alliance has a Commander-in-Chief, Second-in-Command, officers, etc., each assigned different roles and tasks. I can go into more detail, if you are interested. (One very specific thing I've learned there is that it's best to put a person's name in the title of e-mails if you expect a response from them. Otherwise, they might just assume it's a general message that doesn't concern them and never open it.) Note that this is a "freemium" game, and I pay about $5 a month to stay competitive (some others spend far more). StuRat (talk) 04:35, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Thank you for the tip and the good explanation of the organizational structure. I found the article Command & Conquer: Tiberium Alliances, which already has more detail, but thank you for the offer. This isn't quite the genre I've been looking for, but it's interesting. I also just asked two questions about that game on its talk page; if you have the time, it would be nice if you could answer them. I-just-ask-questions-at-Wikipedia (talk) 06:29, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Answered there. StuRat (talk) 08:22, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

Eve Online is probably the most well known MMO with a strong focus on "construction [and] economic simulation"; one of the standard jokes among the player base is that it's really a spreadsheet simulator, and the company that runs it has an economist on staff. I don't play it myself so I can't vouch personally for it. --71.119.131.184 (talk) 16:26, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

"syntaxicity"

hello, is there any objective measure of how much syntax a language has. I mean that thing of which Lisp obviously has pretty little, C just the right amount and Perl too much. Asmrulz (talk) 23:22, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

Well, one could form syntax descriptions of each candidate language using a meta-language like Backus–Naur Form - then compare the number of rules - or the number of tokens used in writing the rules. I'm not aware of any studies that did that - but it is at least possible in principle. SteveBaker (talk) 06:50, 20 December 2015 (UTC)