Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2007 April 24

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[edit] April 24

[edit] Anyone know about Adobe Photoshop Elements?

I use Adobe Photoshop Elements a lot. Just recently, it started having a problem. Whenever I try to open certain types of vector files in Elements, the program shuts down. This happens with .pdf] files and .ai files. However, .eps files open fine. And it doesn't even list any of my.svg files in the drop-down, so I don't know what happens for those. (Also, if I happen to have a pdf or ai saved to the clipboard, even if it just happens to be the last thing I saved there, Elements won't open at all — so I go to any website, right-click on a .gif or .jpg, and then with that now in the clipboard Elements opens fine.) Elements only just started doing this. Until a few days ago, all of these formats opened just fine. What could have happened? — Michael J 00:18, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

I guess no one knows. Thanks anyway. I'll check around other sources. — Michael J 11:26, 25 April 2007 (UTC)
Check Adobe's Forums http://www.adobe.com/support/forums/ --24.249.108.133 23:23, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] windows vista and msn messenger

hi guys..basically my windows vista won't let me use my msn messenger...it won't let me sign in...it says there is a thing that potects the compute from progams running and i tried to deactivate it , but it says MSN can not function ith that sot of firewall deactivated...it HAS to have it... —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 75.69.194.105 (talk) 03:58, 24 April 2007 (UTC).

The MSN Service status seems to be OK, so it should be your computer not Microsoft. Make sure you've got the latest MSN messenger - that is Windows Live Messenger 8.1. Can you say what Firewall, Anti-virus, etc you are running? Are you connecting through a home bradband connection, or through your uni/school/work? --h2g2bob 13:21, 24 April 2007 (UTC)


This problem was caused by a compatibility problem between Windows Live Messenger 8.1 and Acer eDataSecurity. Acer eDataSecurity was created by Acer, Inc.. yeah i guess its my comp. :(


i think i have it solved, thnx :D

[edit] Smart Keystroke Recorder

I hope you can help me, I have no idea where else to ask about this.

I just became aware of a program called Smart Keystroke Recorder on my computer. Although I never noticed it before, it says it was created on my computer in January. After Googling it seems that this is a professional program used by people to record Internet activity and not a spyware program like I thought. Since I live alone, I know nobody went on my computer and installed it manually.

Can somebody remotely install a program like this on my computer? Is this someone trying to hack me or someone maliciously targetting me? Is there a way of finding out where the information is going to? (I already uninstalled it, but there seem to be files left over)

Please let me know, I'm very very concerned. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.118.254.142 (talk) 04:22, 24 April 2007 (UTC).

a) There are ways to install GUI programs remotely. b) It takes about 30 seconds of physical access to a computer to backdoor it.

You could attempt forensics (on a separate machine) and watch all inbound and outbound traffic with a packet analyzer (on a separate machine). After you are done analyzing, you need to fdisk and format that machine. Any executable on that machine is potentially backdoored, and needs to be reinstalled from clean media.172.131.17.62 04:45, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] DDR error simple explanation

Hi Wikipedia,

I was advised to send this question to you for a better result although i did get an answer from your miscellaneous desk. I just wanna know in a simple term what does DDR SDRAM at DIMM (s):1 error means. I sometimes got this error when I open my PC then I will restart again and click del tab and set up then when I go back to boot , everything went fine. Then again next day when I open the same error occurs-DDR SDRAM at DIMM (s):1Does this mean that I need to replace my memory? I cannot contact any manufacturer because my computer was set up by a Computer graduate and he cannot be found now. I spent over a thousand bucks for this computer. Please help. Thank you so much...!

Keilah Reyes 07:16, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

Probably a simple stick change for the #1 slot will do. Splintercellguy 07:36, 24 April 2007 (UTC)


[edit] simple term please

Oh I'm so sorry, the more i do not understand your reply to my query about ddr sdram at dimm (s):1 error that says "Probably a simple stick change for the #1 slot will do" I do not know what stick ad slot are. Are you reffering about the set up? Please be patient with me as i really want to know what's that error means. Thank you so much and God bless.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Computing" Keilah Reyes 07:46, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

The error is a general error, and a specific meaning can not really be given from what you have mentioned, it simply means some type of error is occurring. "Stick" is a term used for a Module of RAM/Memory. The RAM article has a picture showing this at the top. "Slot" is where the Module is placed inside your computer. Your best bet to have this fixed is to have someone test and maybe replace the Module for you (a friend with computer knowledge, or a local computer store). gorffy 10:01, 24 April 2007 (UTC)
(Question continues from #DDR error simple explanation, above) --h2g2bob 13:01, 24 April 2007 (UTC)
Computer components can sometimes just wear out, but computer memory (RAM) is quite cheap, generally UK£50 or less depending on type. Is the error a bluescreen or some other error? DDR and SDRAM are specific types of RAM. --h2g2bob 13:13, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] computer

heys am plannining to buy a new computer in a weeks time.what are some things to check on to get a great computer.i want a pretty fast comp and all the latest softwares.do you know any free sites i can download any impressive softwares.any cool things i can pimp my comp on wud be of help. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 62.24.124.23 (talk) 09:42, 24 April 2007 (UTC).

Well, that's a pretty open ended question. What do you plan on using the computer for? What operating system are you going to be running? Windows Vista, Mac OS X, Linux? Help us out here. Dismas|(talk) 10:17, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

If your looking for free software there is lots of good open source on the web for windows here's a quick list of stuff that might be useful:

  • OpenOffice.org - Office Suit can read and save most MS office files and look at lot like Ms Office
  • The GIMP - Free Image editor does most formats .bmp, .jpg, .gif
  • Super Tux - A cool free game based on Super Mario, with Tux instead of Mario

If you are looking for anything else take a look on Free Byte it's got loads of free stuff. Good Luck. --Lwarf 10:18, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

If you want eye-candy there's Compiz or Beryl which are way cooler than Vista, only runs on Linux though. --antilivedT | C | G 11:21, 24 April 2007 (UTC)
Like most things new and Linuxy, setting up Compiz or Beryl requires a bit of doing, and probably shouldn't be the first thing that a user tries. grendel|khan 17:01, 24 April 2007 (UTC)
Actually, setting up Compiz on Feisty Fawn (Ubuntu 7.04) isn't much of a hassle. Just sudo apt-get install compiz-tray-icon, and it works out of the box a lot of the time -- Phoeba WrightOBJECTION! 02:06, 26 April 2007 (UTC)
If you're looking for something to show your computer off with (i.e. bragging), some Demoscene stuff might work. [1] and [2] are the main sources for those, and fr-041: debris is a pretty good recent one that's got plenty of eyecandy. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 20:38, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] PrefixSpan Algorithm

(I've posted this also in the mathematics reference desk... not sure if it's more appropriate here)

Hello, I have a question regarding the PrefixSpan algorithm. This algorithm can be consulted in the following paper "Mining Sequential Patterns by Pattern-Growth: The PrefixSpan Approach" by Jian Pei, Jiawei Han, Behzad Mortazavi-Asl, Helen Pinto.

My problem is with this sentence: "To avoid checking every possible combination of a potential candidate sequence, one can first fix the order of items within each element. Since items within an element of a sequence can be listed in any order, without loss of generality, one can assume that they are always listed alphabetically."

Furthermore in the definition of a prefix say that among other things a sequence A is only a prefix of B if each item of the last set of items of A is alphabetically before every missing item of the corresponding set of items in B. Then they go on how to define a suffix of a sequence given a prefix an then that a projection of a sequence database with regards to A is a the set of suffixes given A as prefix.

I don't understand how the assumption of alphabetical ordering does not result in loss of generality. For example given a database like:
a(abc)bd
a(ac)bdef

A frequent pattern with minimum support count 2 would be a(ac)bd (i.e. article a, followed by article a and c together then article b then article d. If we follow the lexicographical ordering within itemsets assumption we will fail to find this itemset since a(ac) is not a prefix of both sequences ? Or am I misreading something in the article.

Kind regards and thanks for your time.


62.48.159.19 10:19, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] networking

i have two networked computers in an office and both use windows XP, they can both access internet using the same switch but they cannot share printer how can i configure for the two to share the printer? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 212.49.91.100 (talk) 11:32, 24 April 2007 (UTC).

The first step is making sure you can ping one machine from the other. --TotoBaggins 16:47, 24 April 2007 (UTC)
Also make sure they aren't running any software firewalls that might be interfering (XP SP2 comes with one enabled by default), if both PCs are behind a router, chances are you don't even need a software firewall. Cyraan 17:44, 24 April 2007 (UTC)
Actually, many security folks recommend having both a hardware firewall and a software firewall. The firewall capabilities in most routers prevent inbound attacks, but if a PC is already running some piece of malware, a software firewall can help prevent unauthorized outbound traffic. See here for a more info.
For the original question, although the title of this article refers to a "home" network, it may be of some use in getting printer sharing to work. --LarryMac 18:33, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] catergorization

i cannot catergorize a page even though i used the guideline the link isn't the same as other pages with the same catergory. Kingspoon66 11:59, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

I assume you're referring to this? It needs to be in curly brackets ({{ }}), not square brackets ([[ ]]), and you misspelled 'category'. I've fixed it now. — Matt Eason (Talk • Contribs) 12:49, 24 April 2007 (UTC)
Erm, but it is supposed to be in square brackets. Mis-spelling category was all there was to it I think. --h2g2bob 12:56, 24 April 2007 (UTC)
Sorry, my bad. Fixed. — Matt Eason (Talk • Contribs) 13:19, 24 April 2007 (UTC)
np - both seemed to work, which is quite interesting. --h2g2bob 22:27, 24 April 2007 (UTC)
I've just had a play - using square brackets (the correct way) results in "Category: David Eddings characters", while curly brackets results in "Categories: Novels by David Eddings | Characters in written fantasy | Fictional characters by author". Turns out I was transcluding the category page (which contained references to other categories) into the article. D'oh! — Matt Eason (Talk • Contribs) 12:34, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] JPEG Image Files & Animations

Can the JPEG image format be used for animation?

Alex Brannon Digital Imaging Student —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.159.166.49 (talk) 13:05, 24 April 2007 (UTC).

No. Gif files are for that

Well, yes, but MPEG files might be a bit more analagous to JPEGs.
Atlant 14:41, 24 April 2007 (UTC)


A GIF file (of the flavor GIF89A) can contain multiple images with associated control information, meaning an animation can be contained in one file. A JPEG file can only contain a single image. Of course, individual JPEG files can be used as frames with an animation; for example, see Motion JPEG. --LarryMac 14:57, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Information Systems

How can information systems building blocks serve as a framework during system development?

Tuks,

Thank you —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 198.54.202.218 (talk) 14:07, 24 April 2007 (UTC).

We don't do homework, sorry. It's for your own good. --TotoBaggins 16:51, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] iptables firewall

hell0 everybody

i've tech seminar on firewall and demonstration of it using iptables anyone please guide me ....how to install iptables on redhat and how to demonstrate

thank you very much —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 202.65.133.3 (talk) 14:42, 24 April 2007 (UTC).

It depends on what you want it to do. Here are some resources about setting up iptables on redhat: [3] [4] [5] grendel|khan 16:59, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] FirstClass On Linux

Hi I use Firstclass for windows but am making a personal move to Ubuntu I know that there are several versions of firstclass for linux First class for linuxwhich version should I use??? And what do I do when It comes to the installation process the company has been very unhelpful .....

Thank you in advance

--Nerdd 14:52, 24 April 2007 (UTC)


Ubuntu is based on the Debian distribution, so you can usually grab the .deb file and go from there. Download this to your machine, and run "sudo dpkg -i fcc-8.315-2-Linux-i686.deb" on it. After that, you can probably run it from the "Network apps" menu, or just type "/opt/firstclass/fcc" in a shell. --TotoBaggins 17:09, 24 April 2007 (UTC)
Thanks Where would I put in the adress for the mail server?

Nerdd —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.68.30.140 (talk) 23:09, 24 April 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Is DjVu an open format?

Our article doesn't say either way. Some Googling reveals that DJVuLibre has complete support for decoding, but only partial encoding support. Would it be accurate to say "Djvu is a commercial image format...", or should one say "DjVu is an open image format..."? grendel|khan 17:20, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

Our article on DjVu does actually say that it's a free file format, in the first paragraph of the History section. It's pretty easy to miss though... Maybe it should be added towards the start of the article? --saxsux 20:34, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Word Ques.

Is there a way for Word to automatically fill in forms? ex: [StreetAddress] fills in to 123 Sample St. 68.193.147.179 21:29, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

Can you be more specific about the context? Are you looking to fill a bunch of table cells with the same text? Or is it some other application? Do you mean fill-in forms like the ones for mail merge etc? Anchoress 22:50, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

fill-in forms like the ones for mail merge 68.193.147.179 19:16, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Flipping text upsidedown in Microsoft Word

How do I do it? Thanks... Adambrowne666 22:44, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

In my version of Word (2000) it can't be flipped upside down, only 90 degrees in either direction. There are other ways of doing it though, if you don't get help from another editor. Anchoress 22:49, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

Thanks, but that's all I can get it to do too, but I need it upside-down Adambrowne666 23:52, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

Set the text as Word-Art?
Atlant 23:54, 24 April 2007 (UTC)
Perhaps try and put the text in a text box and try and flip that? Or WordArt it or stick it in Paint and flip or something. x42bn6 Talk 23:58, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

I wanted the text to be just normal times new roman, not one of the fancy word art fonts. I tried putting it in a text box, but the flip option isn't applicable to it.Adambrowne666 00:58, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

Someone sent me this link [[6]] - probably the best way to go about it, but horribly fiddly and inexact, the results are only visible in print view, and what's on screen varies from what prints out... Argh. Adambrowne666 03:58, 25 April 2007 (UTC)
Wow, that's a great site. But I think one of those applications should work well for you, depending on how you want to use it; the one where they suggest changing the paper direction to landscape and then using the flip function. Would that not work for you? It doesn't seem too fiddly. Anchoress 04:05, 25 April 2007 (UTC)
thanks for the answers, everyone. Anchoress, I feel like an idiot, but I can't find the bit where they suggest changing to landscape etc. (PS, a friend sent me this site too: http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/ingrimayne/upside-down/) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Adambrowne666 (talk • contribs) 11:03, 25 April 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Power consumption.

If a graphics card lists a 400 watt PSU as one of its system requirements, would I be correct in assuming that the graphics card could eat up to 400 watts? I'll be running three fans (2x 12cm + 1x 8cm, not counting the ones in the PSU and on the CPU), two to four hard drives and a PCI soundcard (not integrated) in addition to my 8800GTS -- too much for a 430 watt PSU to handle? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Froglars the frog (talk • contribs) 23:37, 24 April 2007 (UTC).

No it just mean you need a 400W+ PSU for your whole computer. Depends on the PSU quality, it should be able to, but be aware that a lot of the no brand ones aren't what they say: 500W may as well mean <300 watts in some cases. --antilivedT | C | G 01:15, 25 April 2007 (UTC)
And you need to be certain of more than that, namely the amperage that it can deliver on the +12V power rail. From [7], "NVIDIA recommends a minimum of a 400 watt power supply to operate a GeForce 8800 GTS, with at least 26 amps on the +12v power rail.". -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 02:07, 25 April 2007 (UTC)