Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2007 February 2

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[edit] February 2

[edit] Need help buying a computer

I need help buying a computer. I would like it to have Microsoft Vista, and be under $550. I would prefer a good computer, like a Dell. Please can you help me find a computer. Thanks! 68.193.147.179 01:08, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Computers under $550 won't run vista well at all, and dells aren't good computers. Which is good for you since they actually sell a $360 dollar desktop computer with Home Basic preloaded. [1] --frothT 01:24, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Dells are okay computers, at least at the low-end ( / "mainstream"), and some of their laptops are fairly nice. Modern cheap computers will run Windows Vista, but without at least 1 GB of memory, they won't do it well. The glass interface will also be iffy. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 02:22, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
If you don't care about gaming, (which I assume you don't), there are much better options than buying a (IMO overpriced) computer from Dell, with an OS that really isn't geared for anyone not wanting DX10 (if you don't know what it is, my point is proven) - such as buying a second-hand computer, for instance, for web-browsing and word processing. You can pick up such computers for easily under $100, upgrade their RAM for smoother multi-tasking for maybe $50, and you're set. Spend the other $400 on something nice. If you're a gamer, and you want DX10, you're not going to find anything under $550 that's upgradeable or that'll work from a computer manufacturer, period. Most low to medium end premade PCs have integrated graphics controllers, cheap parts, and motherboards with no PCI-E or AGP slots, as well as proprietary everything. Local shops may be able to put together a gaming computer at under $550, but it'll be low-end at best, and I doubt that's what you're after anyway. --Wooty Woot? contribs 08:32, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
If you're not a gamer, grab any relatively recent made computer with an integrated Intel graphics card, install Linux (eg. Ubuntu) and Compiz or Beryl, and you get a faster computer with way more eyecandies. --antilivedT | C | G 11:24, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
You're not going to find anything DX 10 for any price under $1000; IIRC the only DX 10 card right now is the GF8800. Linux with Compiz is incredibly slick, and runs on just about anything recent, but some newbies might be confused by the different software and lack of compatibility with Windows (at least, lack of compatibility without some effort). If I was setting up a cheap computer for someone else, I'd more than likely go the Linux route, but I wouldn't recommend they do it alone. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 17:20, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Assuming you guys mean dual-boot, that's an excellent setup I never thought of for a new user. Windows for anything that doesn't run Linux or in WINE, Linux for day-to-day stuff. --Wooty Woot? contribs 23:24, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
If it was just one of my aunts who only surf the web and check their email, I wouldn't even bother with Windows. WINE runs a lot of the important applications with a little tweaking, and there are OSS alternatives for most of the basics. If Windows is absolutely needed, and the CPU supported hardware virtualization (unlikely in a cheap cheap computer), then you've got Xen to run Windows alongside Linux. No inconvenient dual booting required. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 03:25, 3 February 2007 (UTC)
As others have said, you're not going to find a computer for under $550 that will run most versions of Vista well. If you're looking to play games, you're going to have to spend a lot more money. If you're just looking to check e-mail, browse the web, etc., I would recommend getting Vista Home Basic edition--it doesn't have a lot of the eye candy that other Vista versions do, but the kind of computer you're talking about buying wouldn't be powerful enough to see the eye-candy anyway. Linux would be a bad idea unless you're pretty skilled and experienced with computers...and if you're talking about buying a pre-made computer with pre-installed software, you're probably not going to have an easy time with Linux at all. Silver2Falcon 19:51, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Which computer is better?

Compaq Presario V6000Z series or Compaq Presario V6000T series 68.193.147.179 01:29, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

It seems to pretty much come down to whether you prefer AMD or Intel processors. The Z is AMD, and the T is Intel, also the Z has Nvidia integrated graphics, and the T has Intel integrated graphics, negligible difference. If you plan on springing for a faster CPU however, the T would be the best bet, as the Core 2 is currently the best chip on the market. Cyraan 02:12, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Computer

What computer maker is the best? (ex: Dell, HP, Gateway, etc...) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.193.147.179 (talk • contribs).

There is no answer for that because it is based on opinion, not fact. If you like, you can ask, "Which computer manufacturer has the cheapest computer right now?" or "Which computer manufacturer has the longest warranty right now?" It all depends on what you think "best" means. --Kainaw (talk) 01:47, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

It would also help id you you told what you you would b using the computer for. schyler 02:03, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

What they said, also, if you're just getting an entry level box for email and internet, pre-built would be your best bet cost-wise. For mid-range or high-end (gaming, etx), building yourself or having a geek friend do it for you can save you a bundle. Cyraan 02:06, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

And from the examples given (Dell, HP, GAteway), I can assume the user is looking for a Windows computer (sigh), and it wouldnt really matter. Each company you buy from will probably give you the same kind of options to customize your PC. schyler 02:09, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Yourself. Period. --antilivedT | C | G 11:17, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

What if he's asking about laptops? Laptops are best bought, not built --frothT 18:54, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Exploding Coca-Cola can

An utterly misplaced closed cola can in a backpack with over $300 worth of electronics inside. IN A DESCENDING AIRPLANE. Sigh...no real damage was suffered to my poor, poor electronics, but some inconveniences showed up. The Game Boy Micro was hardest hit, with its skimpy faceplate offering no protection from the sticky liquid. Absolutely all buttons now stick, and I'm not entirely sure how to clean them. Sure, I got a toothbrush and scrubbed around with water, producing out-of-this-world recovery, but the stickiness returned in a few hours. How should I un-stick the buttons? There are also problems with the Nintendo DS Lite. It's reliable clamshell design spared it a lot of exposure, but the volume control switch can't get to an intermediate between "mute" and "full blast," and it's ridiculously difficult to push the power switch up. How should I go about all this unsticking business?--the ninth bright shiner talk 02:00, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Isopropyl alcohol maybe? I used it to unstick keys on my xbox controller and it worked pretty well, though I used the 91% stuff so theres not as much water. Cyraan 02:03, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Take all batteries out, possibly take the device apart, then soak in isopropyl alcohol 91% solution for awhile. Shake well, air dry at least overnight. Droud 02:39, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
That sounds a bit risky to me, completely soaking it. And the matter of taking it apart, which I don't think I could do, and probably wouldn't because of the risks involved.--the ninth bright shiner talk 02:55, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Soaking it is fine, unless there's a hard drive or greased/moving components. Granted that alcohol can blemish some plastics, so try it on an inconspicuous spot (blemishes will happen with a q-tip too) first. The main reason to disassemble is to clean the casing (and button rubber) with soap and water and the electronics with alcohol. Droud 13:06, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Try just taking a q-tip, dip it in the alcohol, and swab around the stuck buttons, them push them a few times, swab again, etc. That should work small amounts around the buttons, see if it makes any improvement. Cyraan 02:57, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
If the thing got well saturated, taking it apart is almost a necessity. Also, be careful about total immersion in isopropynol. It is an organic solvent, and while most plastics will be fine with it, some materials will not. -- mattb @ 2007-02-02T03:31Z
About the q-tip...it doesn't seem like it would really be able to get it those tight spaces, especially in the L and R buttons. And would the isopropyl permanently get rid of the stick? I was thinking of toothbrush, water, and then pressurized air canister...which probably wouldn't work, would it?--the ninth bright shiner talk 05:05, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Well then just kind of pour a little in around the buttons. Isypropyl alcohol has a very low vapor pressure so it evaporates extremely quickly; don't be too worried about getting it wet- but you probably shouldn't immerse it because chances are there's a clock battery inside that could short --frothT 05:22, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Its not really to get down deep, the alcohol should be able to dissolve it pretty effectively on its own without being scrubbed, the q-tip is just to make sure it doesn't all evaporate before you get it to the buttons. Cyraan 05:32, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Sounds good. Would Bausch & Lomb Sight Savers be an alternative? I don't have any isopropyl on hand, and they contain it...--the ninth bright shiner talk 06:16, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Not sure, would think as long as thats the only ingredient, it should be ok. Maybe try on a single button, or on something else to see if it evaporates cleanly (though I guess it would being used to clean glasses). Cyraan 06:42, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Limit cycle graph using GNUPLOT

How do I plot a limit cycle graph using gnuplot. I have a list of X,Y data points in a data file. 202.168.50.40 02:05, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Computer Freeze Madness

I turn on the computer. Everything is fine for about one minute, and then it freezes. I then have to restart it, and it usually freezes again after a minute. By the third time, it works fine. What could the problem be? It happens every single time. It seems to be that the computer has to "warm up" before it can start being usuable. What I did to try to fix the problem (but didn't work):
1)Scan for viruses using different programs. No, no viral problems.
2)Went into MsConfig and made it so that almost nothing loads at system startup
What in the world could my problem be? I'm going to have to format my drive and reinstall windows (or get vista) if I can't fix the problem. BTW, I've winXP.--Codell [ Talk] 03:21, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Try this. Download the ISO, burn it to a CD, and boot it. Cyraan 03:23, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Or, try Ultimate boot cd which includes memtest. At what point is your computer hanging? During POST/BIOS routines or loading WinXP drivers? Sandman30s 10:28, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
  • Whatever it is, it's not good. Make sure you get your stuff backed up while you can, just in case that computer dies on you. - 131.211.210.10 12:24, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

I agree that this is not good. Similar things for me were eventually traced to a bad Computer power supply. If you are 'lucky', the bad part will freeze out in an obvious manner, and you can replace it. --Zeizmic 13:12, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Your computer may literally need to "warm up" for it to work...you could have some faulty hardware element that changes with temperature in such a way as to cause this behavior. The above programs may reveal something about where the fault lies. If you're comfortable with the idea, you could open your computer and re-seat the various cards and socketed chips, which might fix the problem. But as 131.211.210.10 suggests, make sure you take steps to protect your data, because this problem could become essentially "fatal" at any time. –RHolton≡– 13:18, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

I'm comfortable taking my computer apart anytime, and I often do so. My computer expertise borders around intermediate-expert. What happens is it loads everything, and goes to the desktop and loads all the icons and programs, and then about one minute later, it freezes. I have to restart, and do it twice, and the third time it works. Okay, well I'll try moving around my cards and I'll try that boot program. I know about backing up, I've already formatted and de-partitioned an old 4GB hardrive which I use and keep around my computer incase I need it. --Codell«T» 02:38, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Multiple SSH servers

Hi all. Let's say I have two computers at home, and both are running SSH servers. And they both connect to the internet via the same router. What happens when I try to ssh in from externally (from work for example), which of the two servers would it connect to? Is it possible to choose one or the other? - Akamad 06:18, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Port forwarding --frothT 06:32, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Ah yes, thank you. Akamad 06:46, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
That is, if you use different ports on both ssh services and configure your router to forward actually, all the packets should hit home. Oskar 07:09, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

This raises another question. What if I were to forward the ssh port (assuming both servers use the same port) on the router to both the computers. Then which would it connect to? Or would the router simply not allow that? - Akamad 14:31, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

If the router just sent the packets to both computers then they would respond normally; the problem is going to be at the client's end when he's getting 2 different sessions on the same port. Frankly I don't really know how TCP works at a low level, but I'm thinking there are basically 2 different ways it could react:
  1. One computer responds first and extablishes a secure link with the client, then the other computer responds too late and the client ignores its handshake attempts (or does whatever it wants, but it can easily distinguish between the two)
  2. They both respond simultaneously (unlikely I think) and neither of them successfully connect (or they both ACK and both connect until the client realizes that it's getting some very un-spec responses)
I hope someone else responds though, because they're pretty much shots in the dark. You might want to look at TCP and SSH (particularly this), I don't have time right now --frothT 18:37, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
If you were to set up the router to forward the port to both computers, the result would be completely unpredictable. It could depend on things like the lengths of the wires connecting the computers to the router, or the time of day, or any of a number of other factors. --Carnildo 21:55, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Intriguing stuff (well, for me, anyway)! Thanks for your help. - Akamad 00:03, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Global and local

what is the difference between a global variable and local variable?

A global variable can be accessed from anywhere in a program, and all subroutines and functions share the same value. A local variable can only be seen within the scope of the variable (the loop, the function, the class, or whatever). See Scope (programming) for details. Oskar 07:09, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
A global variable is usually stored in the .bss or .data sections, making them easily accessible from any function. Local variables are stored on the stack as functions are entering, making it hard (or even impossible) to access other local variables. --wj32 talk | contribs 07:52, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Operating systems

imagine a file system which uses inodes to manage files on disk.each inode consists of a file name(4 bytes),user id(2 bytes),three timestamps(4 bytes each),protection bits(2 bytes),a reference count(2 bytes),a file type(2 bytes),and the file size(4 bytes).additionally,the inode contains 13 direct indices,1 index to a single indirect block,1 index to a double indirect block and one index to a triple indirect block.each of these indices is 4 bytes.the file system also stores the first 356 bytes of the each file in the inode

  1. assume a disk sector is 512 bytes and that each indirect block fills a single sector.what is the maximum file size for this file system?
  2. is there any benefit to including the first 356 bytes of the file in the inode?if so what will it be?if not,why not? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 80.255.43.45 (talk • contribs) 2007-02-01T23:45:03 (UTC)
no, because you should do your own homework. --wj32 talk | contribs 07:50, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Imagine a real world where students learn in class. Each class consists of several students, each with a name (2 syllables), student id (numbers), lunch money (two bills), and a genuine desire to DO THEIR OWN HOMEWORK! Droud 13:37, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
If you research this problem and thoughtfully answer, you should understand a good deal of filesystem theory, perhaps enough to write such a driver. The imagined filesystem strongly resembles a BSD Unix native filesystem, and its descendants. —EncMstr 23:03, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Mirrored volume...?

Is there a way to add a mirroed volume under Windoes XP to protect data nstead of using backup? -- Barringa 08:16, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Volume mirroring should never replace backups. They will not protect against accidental deletions etc. --antilivedT | C | G 11:15, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
I mean in addition to backup. Unless done immediately preceeding a crash backup won't protect against sudden catestrophic failure. -- Barringa 18:00, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Windows XP doesn't support RAID1? --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 01:15, 3 February 2007 (UTC)
These folks are correct that the function of a mirrored volume is very different from frequent backups. THe mirroring only protects you from disk hardware failure, nothing else. However, if this is what you want (it is a good idea in addition) here's how to do it i any version of windows, 2003-XP: In the control panel (classic view) choose "Computer Managment", and then "Disk manager." You'll need to turn both of your disks into "dynamic disks" byt right-clicking on the grey disk identifier and selecting that. Then, right click within the large band for either of the disks, and select "New Volume." From there, follow the wizard, selecting the type of raid that you want. If you have more than two disks, I recomend considering the raid 5 option. Good luck, 48v 07:35, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Font from Excel to Word

Does anyone know why isn't there a simple Courier font in Word but there is in Excel? I have tried to search for the font file to install it in the Fonts directory, but couldn't find it. In Word there is only Courier New.

Looking at Excel 2000, the Courier font is a simple bit-map font...change the font size to something large, like 50, and you can see the individual "pixels" as squares. This leads me to guess that this font is built into the Excel software, meaning that there will be no font file for it. I can't really say why, or why Word does not contain a similar "built-in" font. You might be able to find a similar font file if you search online. –RHolton≡– 12:51, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Try "Courier New". The difference here is between TrueType and bitmap fonts, Courier being a bitmap font. Word doesn't show Courier because it looks like crap if you try to scale it. Courier comes with Windows, not with Excel, so any software that supports bitmap fonts (most) will support that. Check out C:\Windows\Fonts\ to see all your fonts, bitmap fonts are listed with a red "A" icon on my system, while TrueType fonts have an "O". Droud 13:33, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Fonts with the "O" icon are OpenType - TrueType fonts have a "TT" icon. — Matt Eason (Talk • Contribs) 16:12, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Thank you all for your replies. I just needed the exact font since I would only use it in sizes 10 pt and 12 pt. And I think it's a commercial font, I tried to look for it on the Net a while ago, but to no avail. It's not in my C:\Windows\Fonts.

[edit] ADSL Connection

Any idea why the first parallel device from the ADSL line should be the ADSL modem for clear telephone connection,else a noise if a phone is connected before the ADSL modem??

Did you look at our DSL article? It covers signaling and filtering. Droud 12:59, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Information about AVCHD

Hi,I am a student and i have to give seminar on the topic from computer science field.i have chosen topic named 'Advanced video codec high defination'.and i want more information about it. i searched for this topic on the encyclopedia.but i want more information or any supported links on this subject.

Was this it: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC?

[edit] CSS selector

Is there a CSS selector equivalent to

tr:first-child, tr:first-child + tr + tr, tr:first-child + tr + tr + tr + tr, ...

that will select alternate table rows? I know this can be done with IE's CSS expressions, but I'm looking for something standard and cross-platform. NeonMerlin 17:59, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

What I would do is assign classes.. like
tr class="odd"
tr class="evn"
tr class="odd"
tr class="evn"
and format them separately. This is of course trivial if the rows are machine generated:
 if(($everyOther ^= TRUE) == TRUE) print 'odd';
 else print 'even';
And if you're hand-writing it anyway it's not that big of a deal to put them in. Easy --frothT 18:49, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Or just use 1 class and apply the other to the <tr> element itself. Alistapart got an article on it, zebra tables or something like that... --antilivedT | C | G 19:52, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
There isn't such selector in CSS 1 or 2, but it is already included on the CSS 3 drafts as the nth-child pseudo-class. Can't wait for CSS 3!— Kieff | Talk 21:07, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Ophcrack

How do I use Ophcrack? Thanks. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.39.182.101 (talk • contribs).

Have you downloaded an run the Win32 installer from [2]? If you can't get into Windows at all, download the LiveCD, burn it to a CD with the "Write from Image" option in burning program (don't just write the file to a CD as a file), boot the computer with the CD in, and voila. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 18:29, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Ok, one question, the CD burning program I have doesn't have a "Write from Image" Option. Is there another (free) one i could download? 24.39.182.101 19:52, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Sure, CDBurnerXP. Splintercellguy 22:58, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Definitely a nice program. If you haven't figure it out yet, to burn an ISO: choose the first of the three options when it starts up, then "Write Disc from ISO file" in the File menu. You'll probably want to finalize it as well. The other options can be left on their default values. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 03:11, 3 February 2007 (UTC)
The easy way to do it is with the powertoy --frothT 04:16, 3 February 2007 (UTC)
I'm using Toast 8. Would "write from ISO" be "ISO 9660" under burning Data? I assume under "copy" "Image File" is the correct thing to choose, but what would be the other? [Mαc Δαvιs] X (How's my driving?) ❖ 05:30, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Is this Script Code for my monobook safe?

function addlilink(node, href, text, id, tooltip, accesskey) { //THIS function allows me to make new tabs, like the "edit this page" tab. I have no clue how it works, but everyone uses it.
        // the code below is mostly copied from addPortletLink()

        var link = document.createElement( "a" );
        link.appendChild( document.createTextNode( text ) );
        link.href = href;

        var item = document.createElement( "li" );
        item.appendChild( link );
        if ( id ) item.id = id;

        if ( accesskey ) {
                link.setAttribute( "accesskey", accesskey );
                tooltip += " ["+accesskey+"]";
        }
        if ( tooltip ) {
                link.setAttribute( "title", tooltip );
        }
        updateTooltipAccessKeys( new Array( link ) );

        node.appendChild( item );

        return item;
}

// 

if(location.href.indexOf('User:TomasBat') != -1 && location.href.indexOf('action=edit') != -1 && location.href.indexOf('blank=1') != -1) { //This one is the blanker. If you are on a page that has, in the url, all three of those things, the first meaning your userspace, the second meaning it must be an edit page, and the third being added by function 3, below
        addOnloadHook(function() {
                var box = document.getElementById('wpTextbox1'); //this in the current data
                var txt = box.value; //this makes the actual data (the .vanlue) into a variable
                var newtext = '' //this makes a blank variable
                box.value = newtext; //this saves that variable to the box
                document.getElementById('wpSummary').value = 'blanking my sandbox'; //this sets your edit summary
                document.getElementById('wpMinoredit').checked = true; //this sets a minor edit
                document.getElementById('wpWatchthis').checked = true; //this sets watchlisting, remove this line if you like, it is not necessary
                document.getElementById('wpSave').click(); //this clicks save
        });
}

if(location.href.indexOf('User:TomasBat') != -1 ) { //This is the tab itself. Now we are ANYWHERE in your userspace.
        addOnloadHook(function() {
                var tbs = document.getElementById('p-cactions').getElementsByTagName('ul')[0]; //no idea what this does, but the smart ones say it is good
                var editpage = "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:" + wgTitle + "&action=edit&blank=1" //this gets the proper link - the wiki page + the title of the page you are at + the edit + the flag that tells the second bit, above, to do its magic
                addlilink(tbs, editpage, "Blank", 'ca-blank', 'This will automatically blank this userpage'); //this calls the first script, top, and makes a cute tab for you
        });
}

--TomasBat (Talk)(Sign) 21:16, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Oh he's smart. I've added little explainations so you know what everything does and you can decide for yourself :D ST47Talk 23:42, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Looks good to me. Just adds a simple "clear" link for your user page and subpages. Can I suggest that
if (location.href.indexOf('User:TomasBat') != -1 ) {
changes User:TomasBat to User:TomasBat/ to stop it adding it to your main user page, only subpages off from that. --h2g2bob 04:13, 3 February 2007 (UTC)
Be warned that, with the code you have there, someone could try to fool you into clicking a link like this and thus blanking your user page. Of course, if you happened to do that by accident, you could always just revert it, so it's not a major risk in this particular case. For scripts where it does matter, the solution is to include some private token — such as a hash of your enwiki_session cookie — in the URL and check that it matches before making the edit. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 15:25, 5 February 2007 (UTC)
Also, the code could be simplified a bit. Here's how I'd write it:
// Are you on a page in your user space?
if (wgCanonicalNamespace == "User" && wgTitle.split("/")[0] == wgUserName) {
        // If so, add the "blank" tab:
        addOnloadHook(function() {
                var editURL = (wgServer + wgScriptPath + "/index.php?title=" +
                               encodeURIComponent(wgPageName) + "&action=edit&blank=1"); 
                addPortletLink("p-cactions", editURL, "Blank", "ca-blank",
                               "This will automatically blank this userpage");
        });

        // Did you just click on the tab?
        if (location.href.indexOf("action=edit&blank=1") != -1) {
                // If so, blank the edit box and save:
                addOnloadHook(function() {
                        document.getElementById("wpTextbox1").value = "";  // blank it!
                        document.getElementById("wpSummary").value = "blanking my sandbox";
                        document.getElementById("wpMinoredit").checked = true;
                        document.getElementById("wpWatchthis").checked = true;
                        document.getElementById("wpSave").click();
                });
        }
}
The addPortletLink() function is part of the standard wikibits.js file, and is available on all MediaWiki pages. It does more or less what your addlilink() function did. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 15:53, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] I sure do come here a lot.

The next question in the critically acclaimed Windows Vista series by Orannis! So, I'm going to install Microsoft Office 2007 very soon, and I'm going to install Vista as well, but that won't be for another month. Will I be able to reinstall Office after I've upgraded to Vista?--the ninth bright shiner talk 21:29, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Yes, you should be able to. If it doesn't let you activate over the internet, you'll just have to call them up and tell them that you upgraded your OS. I've had to do it once or twice with XP due to frequent reinstallations (viruses, Partition Magic screw ups, hard drive failures, etc.), and it was easy then. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 03:16, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] OS

What is your opinion of the best OS?

The best OS is the one that does the job you need it to. I wouldn't use Windows Vista on an embedded system, and I wouldn't use VxWorks on a desktop computer. --Carnildo 22:00, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Plan 9, of course. Alternatively, OS/400. -- mattb @ 2007-02-02T22:13Z
Some information is at this question above (or here when it is archived). See also operating system.
My answer for this went on a bit, so I put it at User:H2g2bob/OS. --h2g2bob 03:19, 3 February 2007 (UTC)
Mac OS X :) [Mαc Δαvιs] X (How's my driving?) ❖ 05:28, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Java Applet, Again

I asked a questiion a week ago about an applet in Java where I can get a character to move around the screen. Now I got wonderful answers to the question I asked, but now I need more help. I was given a few links and I checked those over, but I'm not sure what needs to stay in my applet and what I need to get rid of. Like I said I would do, I asked my teacher about it, but from what I can gather, she is just a math teacher that went to some kind of week long class how to program in Java so she can "teach" computer science and she would really probably be more comfortable teaching a calculus class. All I need is what lines I need to write to get keyboard input in a Java applet. Not where it will type it, but where it recognizes what keys you're pressing. Thank you for any help. schyler 22:50, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

You mean System.in.read()? It returns an int so you have to cast it to a char if you want to display it. It's the simplest way. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 00:13, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Okay. So where do I write it? Do I have to import anything? How about having to write it each time? Sample code, maybe? schyler 02:00, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

No imports, but you should (don't remember if you have to) use throws.
class myClass {
   public static void main(String args[]) {
      throws java.io.IOException {
      char ch;
      ch = (char) System.in.read();
      System.out.println(ch);
      }
   }
}

--Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 02:30, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

No!!!! As I said before, System.in is for stdin, not for applet keyboard input. --wj32 talk | contribs 03:05, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Yah... I know how to do keyboard input in applications. My way is a little different though. I need to know how do do keyboard input in applets. There is this site that shows some smaple keyboard input, but I dont know which lines to keep and which not need for my applet. schyler 03:21, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Oh right, applets. I think this is what you need from the page you linked:
import java.applet.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;

public class Keyboard1 extends Applet
   implements KeyListener {

   public void init() {
      addKeyListener( this );
   }

   public void keyPressed( KeyEvent e ) { }
   public void keyReleased( KeyEvent e ) { }
   public void keyTyped( KeyEvent e ) {
      char c = e.getKeyChar();
      if ( c != KeyEvent.CHAR_UNDEFINED ) {
         s = s + c;
         repaint();
         e.consume();
      }
   }

I think... I didn't get to write many applets for class, and I haven't bothered to for myself. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 06:36, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Great! The program runs obsolete methods! Oh well, maybe it's just not meant to be... 15:37, 3 February 2007 (UTC)
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