Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2006 December 29

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[edit] December 29

[edit] iTunes/online music uploading to vox blogs

Is there a successful way to upload iTunes or other online music selections to vox blogs - thank you.

You'll have to use qtfairuse6 --frothT C 18:57, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Visual Basic 2005 — Security requirements

I've recently migrated from VB6 to VB2005 and am struggling with understanding how the .NET security permissions work.

About a quarter of the time, the code below produces an error. The rest of the time it works fine.

Dim filesys as Object
Dim filetxt as Object
filesys = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")

filetxt = filesys.OpenTextFile("test.rtf", 2, True)
filetxt.write(notebox.Rtf)
filetxt = Nothing

The code writes the contents of a RichTextObject (notebox) to a file (in this case, "test.rtf" but the file name changes in the actual code). The line that keeps triggering the exception is the one with OpenTextFile on it. The exception window reads: "SecurityException was unhandled. Exception from HRESULT: 0x800A0046 (CTL_E_PERMISSIONDENIED).

What I don't understand is why it doesn't work sometimes, and other times it does work. With the same file name, the same data, etc. The "helpful" window gives me a lot of links to things like "Use a certificate to obtain the required permission(s)" but I think I've already done that? In any case, I'm totally perplexed by what the problem is; it seems like pretty straightforward code to me. --24.147.86.187 01:22, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

The code doesn't look like .NET to me. VBScript? Splintercellguy 02:34, 29 December 2006 (UTC)
It is Visual Basic 2005, which is part of the .NET framework. --24.147.86.187 17:12, 29 December 2006 (UTC)
Thanks for that. It seems the best approach is to ditch the FSO and figure out what VB2005's own native file handing code is, which is fine by me. Thanks. --24.147.86.187 17:12, 29 December 2006 (UTC)
CreateObject() isn't a method in the VB .NET 2005 language. Splintercellguy 23:29, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] BartPE

Does msconfig work in BartPE? (like the msconfig when you go to start>run>...) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Member (talk • contribs) 02:54, 29 December 2006 (UTC).

Which version? msconfig came with 98 and XP, and they're very different. 68.39.174.238 20:08, 29 December 2006 (UTC)
XP --hello, i'm a member | talk to me! 17:44, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Two iPods on one computer

We just can't seem to get this to work. We just got two iPods, and we want different songs on each one. We tried downloading something called Libra [1], which would create a second library to iTunes, but it wouldn't work because it "couldn't close iTunes." On the help website of Apple[2], it said to create a second user account on our computer, which we already had, and start a new iTunes account on it. But when we tried that and clicked on the new link, an error report came up so it would never open. As it has only been a few days since Christmas, we have not yet exhausted all possibilities, but it is getting quite frustrating. Thank you very much in advance for your help. Reywas92Talk 03:54, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

If you use your existing iTunes library, you could set your iPod to manage songs manually, and then just drag the songs you want onto the iPod. --saxsux 07:24, 29 December 2006 (UTC)
Why do people buy ipods, the software sucks! --frothT C 18:57, 29 December 2006 (UTC)
You don't need to use iTunes. Go install Rockbox on your iPods -- then you can just copy and paste folders or MP3 files directly onto the iPod from your standard filemanager. It has other benefits, too -- you can equalise the sound quality to suit your needs, you can play ogg and FLAC files, you can scrobble your songs to Last.fm, you can easily re-upload your songs to any PC you want, and it has a number of coloured themes and styles. Pesapluvo 03:43, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Excel help!

There's a wonderful spreadsheet located here (click on it to download) for keeping track of bills. I love it, except for that I would like to rearrange a few columns on it and add some more. I am afraid I will screw up all of the code that is in the little boxes to the right of everything, because it is so carefully written. I have a few requests for any person who thinks they can help me out!

  1. The Arr. column and the Paid column should be right next to each other, so maybe move the Paid column over 1 to the left and rename "Sent" (see below).
  2. Next, after the Actual column, I want a column that says Paid for the amount of money paid towards that bill, because we all know that people don't often pay the amount in full.
  3. And after that column, one that denotes the final amount owed on the bill, (Actual minus paid).
  4. Now, if you notice, when a number is put into the current "Paid" column to denote that the bill was paid on that date, a "P" is placed in the corresponding box on the right. Now, what I'd like is for it to somehow (and I'll leave this up to you) denote whether the bill was paid in full or not by looking at if the remaining balance after pay is $0.00.
  5. Anything else you're up to doing.

The one stipulation is that it must work! Haha. I would really appreciate this, and I know that people may be busy, so I'm in no rush for this to be done, but if someone has nothing to do and would like to do me a favor, it would make me happy! Don't be afraid to do it however you want, and feel free to ask me question if you want. You may send it to my e-mail address; just ask me for it. Thank you much. → JARED (t)  04:08, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] what percentage of the total typing work does the left hand perform?

On a QWERT Keyboard, what percentage of the total typing work does the left hand perform? 59.95.40.118 05:58, 29 December 2006 (UTC) Thanks Arun

Quite a complex one this, as it will vary with how you type. Seeing as common letters seem to be reasonably well spread over the keyboard, I'd say that it's roughly 50/50. Although that's just completely guessing. You might want to notice that some really common letters (such as A and E) are both located below your left hand. --saxsux 07:27, 29 December 2006 (UTC)


I cant say for sure but often I'll just use my left hand when I dont have to type very much whuile my right hand is on the mouse. Call me lazy.
Also another thought is that [Enter] key and fullstop are on the right. Those two keys could be used just as much as [A] and [E] if not more. (196.38.244.99 08:05, 29 December 2006 (UTC))
I space with my left thumb. For me it's my left hand since my right hand never goes left of the NHU keys. And I always shift with the hand that hits the letter key, for the top row letters, and with the opposite hand for the other two rows.. strange but I think it's left hand "hands down" for me. --frothT C 09:00, 29 December 2006 (UTC)
This is a very interseting question. Here's what I'll do: I'm going to go find one of my old papers (a really long one) and figure out how many times I pressed each key. Then I'l have to do some random assigning. (I use the "2-finger" method, which works perfectly fine for me, but I'll assign them based on the home row layout.) I'll be back. → JARED (t)  14:41, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

OK, here are my findings:

  • The use of each hand relies heavily upon whether you use your left hand or right hand for spacing.
  • I've split up my results based on this (percents are for the left hand):
    • Left hand only uses space: 65.406%
    • Right hand only uses space: 48.773%
    • Both hands use space evenly: 57.090%

Results include the use of all letters of the alphabet, comma, period, quote, and space. What was left over (only 1.035%) was split between the two sides, left and right. 16.633% is the relative frequency of the space bar. I've got all the data, so if you need anything else, just ask. → JARED (t)  15:29, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

In one of my books it says that it's 56%. Nate | Talk Esperanza! 02:29, 1 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Converter needed

How to convert music files from .rm format to .mp3 format , is there a website available to do the same!

08:55, 29 December 2006 (UTC)~

RM? Ick. I don't know of any real way of doing it but I'd steer clear of shareware solutions. Install Real Alternative, play it with windows media player while recording with Audacity, and use LAME to encode it. --frothT C 09:04, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

Is there any other alternative to the one indicated above? A simpler one as Real Media Formats dont play on Quick Time applications and vice versa... At the same time to convert .rm formats to .wav formats 09:42, 29 December 2006 (UTC)~

If you don't mind the command line I would look at SoX. They say on their website [3] that they have a version for Windows XP. Conrad.Irwin 10:06, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

dBpowerAMP is a nice and easy to use audio converter. Just install the RealAudio Encoder with it and you can convert RA files to whatever audio file and codec you want. Aetherfukz 18:43, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Creative commons and GFDL compatability (2)

I hope I am not breaching any guidlines by doing this, but I am posting again, because my previous post see here did not get me the answer that I wanted. Firstly, I would like to know for sure whether material under a CC-BY license can be incorporated into a work under the GFDL. Secondly, I would like to know more about what progress is being made towards CC-BY-SA and GFDL compatibility.--Bjwebb (talk) 13:20, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

  1. Only if it can be discretely separated from the overarching work. So images can have different copyright statuses from the text they are next to, for example, but one part of an image collage probably could not be, and text is incompatible unless there are easy ways to delineate it (i.e. if you drew a box around part of it). Which is a plain way of saying, only when they can be regarded as aggregated works, that is, independent works with different copyright statuses which are being collected into one work. They are not otherwise compatible. --24.147.86.187 19:01, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

No, no, this is not what I want to know. I want to know whether a work under a CC-BY license could be used in a GFDL work, without being an "aggregate" - whether they are one way compatible. I expect they might be because the CC-BY only requires attribution, which the GFDL provides.--Bjwebb (talk) 20:34, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

OK, I understand now. From the CC-BY side of things it would be fine, except that you wouldn't be able to re-license the material as GDFL, which would conflict with the GDFL unless it was considered an aggregate work. CC-BY requires only attribution, but it also means that that particular piece of material is still licensedas CC-BY; it doesn't require all derivative works to be licensed CC-BY, but it does require that you note that it is licensed as CC-BY. GDFL would require the entire derivative work to be licenseable as GDFL, if I understand it correctly, unless it is an aggregate. That's my understanding, anyway. --24.147.86.187 20:44, 30 December 2006 (UTC)
I'm glad I've been able to make myself more clear. From what you are saying, I can NOT use a CC-BY work in a GFDL one (except as an aggregate) because although the GFDL provides Atrribution, it does not state that the original work is under CC-BY - is that correct?
Couldn't you state that the work is licensed under CC-BY in an invariant section of the deriative work (which is allowed by the GFDL).
Finally, what is it about the GFDL that confilicts with being required to say that the original work was licensed under CC-BY. What about CC-BY-SA, is there the same problem with using CC-BY content in a work there?--Bjwebb (talk) 21:41, 30 December 2006 (UTC)
I don't quite follow what you're getting at relating to invariant sections — if you're asking whether or not you could state the licensing information there, well sure (you could state it anywhere and be in full compliance with CC-BY), but that wouldn't change the fact that you couldn't re-license the CC-BY to GDFL unless it had been originally multi-licensed. That wouldn't change anything. The problem is, again, if they are not aggregate works then they have to be able to be re-licensed, which you can't do if you don't have the authority to re-license it. It would be, if I understand it correctly, the exact same problem with mixing CC-BY and CC-BY-SA material: unless you have the authority to multi-license, or the works are aggregate, they wouldn't be compatible, because CC-BY-SA would require you to relicense, as would the GDFL. (Of course I am not a copyright lawyer or a lawyer of any sort, but this is my reading of it.) --24.147.86.187 01:18, 4 January 2006 (UTC)
I cannot give an answer to the first question (I thought it was "no", but am not quite sure). Your second is discussed in this talk at Wikimania 2006. One could check http://creativecommons.org/ or the blog at http://www.lessig.org/blog/ for news. --Seejyb 23:03, 29 December 2006 (UTC)
Thanks for the links. I managed to browse through these webpages and find this [4], looks promising. I still don't know whether CC-BY content can be incorporated into a GFDL work though, can anyone help? --Bjwebb (talk) 12:57, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] cell phone reusage as prepaid

can a cell phone that is no longer under contract be used for a prepaid for? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.217.178.112 (talk) 13:32, 29 December 2006 (UTC).

If you phone is unlocked all you need to do is purchas a PAYG sim, and you are on your way! ɪŋglɪʃnɜː(r)d(Suggestion?|wanna chat?) 13:57, 29 December 2006 (UTC)
Yeah chances are you'll have to swap out your SIM card --frothT C 18:50, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] MSW German SPAG issues

My MSW has never been able to correct German Spelling and grammar, when this action is attempted is comes up with the error message

Word cannot find the grammar file msgr3GE.dll or msgrGE3.dll for German (Germany).

Any advice on where I can find these files, or by some other means correct this fault? ɪŋglɪʃnɜː(r)d(Suggestion?|wanna chat?) 13:45, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

Microsoft says you need to install "Microsoft Office Proofing Tools" which should be included on your MS Office install CD. Try putting in CD and doing modify install or some such and looking through the options for Microsoft Office Proofing Tools. Shinhan 17:02, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "Paperwork" computer game

The first part of The Fourth Protocol (computer game) is a game of a type I've never encountered since. It's an adventure game, I suppose, but there are no characters and the player has no presence in the game world. You're just a faceless bureaucrat sitting in an office, shuffling papers. You read the papers (they're secret documents, intelligence reports, memos, emails, etc.) and decide what to do (which is mostly dispatching others to retrieve other documents by various means). I know this sounds incredibly dull, but it really was great - it was really a detective game, but because you played it through an office/pc like interface, there wasn't anything to get in the way of one's suspension-of-disbelief. The game wasn't much of a commercial success, and I've never heard of any game like it. Bureaucracy (computer game) and the Carmen Sandiego games really aren't that similar, and while this is just the game style into which The Matrix should have been made, it wasn't. The CSI games (which I've not played, and whose grisly subject doesn't really appeal to me) sound a bit like this, but are there any games (now or at any time) like this? -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 15:32, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

I recall a game called The President Is Missing! which was fairly similar to what you have described, if I recall. Pretty old school though. Other than that... I can't think of anything very similar, which is too bad. There aren't too many games which really require this much reading or intelligence these days that I can think of, which is really too, too bad. --24.147.86.187 18:02, 29 December 2006 (UTC)
How about Uplink (computer game)? It's a hacking 'simulation' game. It's more like a simulation of what it'd be like to be a hacker in a hollywood movie than real hacking, but it's a lot of fun, and can feel strangely real. --Noodhoog 18:38, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] PHP mailing list script

I'm looking for a good PHP mailing list manager script that I can use without having to re-invent the wheel. It should allow people to easily add/remove their names from the list and let me easily e-mail the group if needed. Is there a well-known and well-respected one already out there? I am pretty competent with PHP but don't want to try and write a whole script for this one function I need filled. I do have access to a MySQL database as well if that helps. Thanks. --24.147.86.187 18:03, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

There's phplist, which should do what you're after. Alternatively, if it doesn't have to be PHP, you could try GNU Mailman, which is is IMO quite nice, and is written in Python. -- AJR | Talk 18:44, 29 December 2006 (UTC)
Excellent, just the sort of thing I was looking for. Thanks. --24.147.86.187 18:58, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] how can i see how much ram my accept??

How can i see how much ram I can put on my pc??, i am planning to buy more ram to my PC.

In Windows XP, go to the Control Panel and then System. It will tell you in the lower-right hand corner of this window. In Vista, just open up "Computer" and it tells you prominently. --frothT C 18:48, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

I don`t want to know, how much ram my pc have, I want to see how much is the max that i can put in my pc, because i am planning to buy one. A example: I know that my pc don't support 25GB of ram, because there is a max that pcs can handle.

Depends how many slots you have on your PC, if you don't physically have room for more ram chips, you can't increase your ram. Do you know your current PC specs? that should give us an idea of whether you have free slots or not--74.66.242.190 19:00, 29 December 2006 (UTC)
Well he could buy higher-capacity sticks.. --frothT C 19:02, 29 December 2006 (UTC)
True--74.66.242.190 19:04, 29 December 2006 (UTC)
Well as for that "max pcs can handle" a 32-bit register can hold a memory address long enough to directly address 4GB of memory. 64-bit is much much more. To find out how much your computer can take you need to open it up. I believe that if you want to use DDR memory, all your sticks should be the same size. Your mobo (mainboard) should be able to handle 1GB sticks so just put one of those in every slot and you're good to go --frothT C 19:02, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

How many memory card slots does it have and what's the max capacity of each ? The number of slots is easy to determine (just open it up and take a look), but the max capacity of each could be trickier. You may have to look through the owner's manual or look it up online. StuRat 19:04, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

Check out Crucial Technology - they are a major manufacturer of RAM. Their website features a form where you can input the make (Dell, Apple, HP, etc.) and model of your PC and it will tell you exactly what type of RAM you need, how much RAM the default model has, and what the max amount of RAM that your PC model can have is. You can buy from them if you like, but I prefer NewEgg That CS Guy 22:33, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

I used ctbios program to find the name of the bios and the program game me this:

        BIOS-Info, c't/Andreas Stiller, V. 1.5 10/00
Computer ID           : FC, SubTyp: 02, BIOS-Level: 116
Rechnertyp            : AT,typ ??,  Konfigurationsbyte  $70
Maustreiber           : Microsoft kompatibel, Version: 08.00
Maustyp               : InPort-Maus auf IRQ2
Bus                   : ISA
Hauptspeicher         : 640 KB, davon verfügbar : 640 KB
Extended Memory       : 1024 KB
BIOS Datum            : 09/17/04
AMI-BIOS gefunden      : Version 11.04, Datum 17.09.04
Processor             : 686: PPro, PentII, Pent III, Athlon, Cyrix 6x86, etc.
BIOS                  : 512 KB, Reference Number: 00
OEM ID                : 9999
URL                   : ????
Chipset               : SIS655FX
Maus via KeybCtrl     : nein
Takt-Umschaltung      : nein
Cache-Umschaltung     : nein
BIOS Modified Flag    : 0
INT-13h BIOS Extension: nein
PnP (ACFG,ESCD,DMI)   : PnP V1.0/ESCD, DMI V 2.3, SM V2.3

Weiter mit D)MI-Info,E)SCD-Info, sonst Exit:


with those informations, can you know how much is the max ram that i can put in my pc?


FORGET IT, I looked at the site and the max amount of ram that my pc can handle is 4GB, 1gb on each slot (4 slots). Thanks guys for helping me.