Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2007 August 16

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[edit] August 16

[edit] What Are The Different Types/kinds Of Browsers, wap browser, mobile browser, mini browser etc

As far as I know, there are three types of mobile browsers. 1)Wap browser (ones found in low end colour phones) 2)mobile browser (ones found in smartphones) 3)mini browsers (like opera mini)

My question is 1)Is there any other type of browser? 2)I have used opera mini and mobile browser in my moto ming. But where do I get a wap browser for motoming? what wap browser?

Your phone comes with a WAP browser, it's simply the internet function (or whatever it´s called) on your phone. --antilivedT | C | G 04:49, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Printer ink cartridge

I need to put a black ink cartridge and a color ink cartrige into my Compaq inkjet printer. Does it matter which one goes and the left and which one goes on the right?

When it does matter, they will normally only fit on one side or the other. When it doesn't matter, they fit on either side. That little circuit on the printer cartridge tells the printer which one is color and which is black. -- Kainaw(what?) 13:11, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
It should say something about what cartridge should go in on the cartridge holder itself (my HP one has the cartridge number on the holder). --antilivedT | C | G 04:50, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Top IT companies in Israel

This is driving me nuts....does anyone know where I can find a list of the top Israeli IT cos? The type of classification (ie, by size, by revenue, etc.) isn't that important - I'm just wondering if this info even exists...?—Wasabe3543 13:48, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

Tel Aviv Stock Exchange might list something like that --h2g2bob (talk) 02:01, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Wireless-N backwards compatibility

I am looking into purchasing a laptop computer, and I was wondering...
At my home, we have a Linksys wireless-g router. If I get a laptop with a wireless-n card, will I still be able to access the wireless-g network at my home?
Thanks for the help...69.205.180.123 17:16, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

Probably yes. Splintercellguy 19:58, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
Refer to IEE 802.11 --PhoenixQc 13:42, 17 August 2007 (UTC)
Most likely, but this is not a function of the .11n spec. However most chip makers (like Broadcom) include "b" and "g" flavors to ensure backwards compatibility. It is technically possible to have a chipset that only supports "n". --24.249.108.133 15:23, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] VOB (DVD files) to any other format

I have a DVD (that I'm legally authorized by the creator and publisher to copy) that I need to extract a clip from. What (free) programs can do this? I need to convert it to Quicktime, MPG, or Flash. -- Zanimum 18:45, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

VLC can covert VOB to MPG and many other formats. --24.147.86.187 01:46, 17 August 2007 (UTC)
ffmpeg can do the job as well if you're at ease with command line programs. --PhoenixQc 13:35, 17 August 2007 (UTC)
Check out Handbrake if you have a Mac. --24.249.108.133 23:13, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Find / replace

Using regex or grep or something else, how would one do the following advanced find and replace:

If I have a document that contains this code:

* foo
* bar
* apple

how could I tell the computer to find everything between the bullet (space) and the line break and put it into a format like

* This sentence is new: foo.
* This sentence is new: bar.
* This sentence is new: apple.

Cheers. --MZMcBride 18:46, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

I would use sed, as in: sed 's/\(^\*\)/\1 This sentence is new;/' yourfile.txt -- Kainaw(what?) 19:07, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
More simply: sed 's/^\* /&This sentence is new: /' yourfile.txt --Anon, August 17, 04:08 (UTC).
Note, too, that sed does not edit a file in-place; it operates on a stream (which is what the s in its name stands for). If you do want to edit a file in-place, you can use a two-step procedure:
sed 's/^\* /&This sentence is new: /' yourfile.txt > tmpfile.txt
mv tmpfile.txt yourfile.txt
Make sure you do not try the "more obvious" simplification:
sed 's/^\* /&This sentence is new: /' yourfile.txt > yourfile.txt
If you have a bunch of different files you want to do the same find/replace on, there are various ways you could automate the sed-to-tmpfile-and-mv-back idiom. —Steve Summit (talk) 11:54, 17 August 2007 (UTC)
Are there any online or downloadable tools that make a find/replace like this simpler? --MZMcBride 20:48, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
It depends what you mean by simpler. Sed is downloadable and the above is simple - it just looks weird. If you mean you want something that is more readily understandable then use some form of basic.
open "file" for input as #1
open "result" for output as #2
do until eof(1)
  line input a$
  if left$(a$,2)="* " then
    print#2, "* This sentence is new: ";mid$(a$,3)
  else
    print#2, a$
  endif
loop
close

But this is actually a lot less simple that the sed script. -- SGBailey 21:38, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps a program with a GUI that's able to perform this kind of find/replace function (with or without using sed). Something that would be simpler to use (for a regular user). --MZMcBride 21:42, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
You can find "* " and replace with "* This sentence is new: " in just about any word processor. The difference being it will also replace "* " that are not at the beginning of a line, unlike the other suggestions above. iames 21:46, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
Yeah I know, but that only works for this specific (simplified) example. --MZMcBride 21:49, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
What other sorts of (maybe not so simplified) examples were you thinking of?
Strictly speaking, there are two separate questions here:
Is there a nice user-friendly GUI for the find/replace function, or do you have to use a CLI?
Does the find/replace function support fixed strings only, or also regular expressions?
However, it often seems that these two questions are linked; it's often assumed that the user who wants the simplicity of a GUI has no need for (and would be put off by the apparent complexity of) a regexp option. So finding a non-gearhead tool that does support regexps is somewhat unusual. —Steve Summit (talk) 11:54, 17 August 2007 (UTC)
OpenOffice comes with a word processor that allows regular expressions. I'd have to look at it to remember if it provides a little more help for "regular" users. iames 21:58, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
If you want such functionality on Wikipedia, you may wish to install the Replace user script (or possibly wikEd). —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 22:09, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
I was hoping someone had created a nifty and handy online tool that wouldn't require actual code writing. A bit like using this tool instead of a UNIX command like sort. I may just be out of luck. --MZMcBride 22:22, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
Interesting site. What sorts of options might a similar find-and-replace web tool have? What would it do that the ordinary find/replace tool in any text editor or word processor couldn't do? See below. —Steve Summit (talk) 11:54, 17 August 2007 (UTC) [edited 16:17, 18 August 2007 (UTC)]

Vim has versions available for most platforms. Just go to command mode and enter and enter Kainaw's regexp preceded by a % (percent sign means execute the following command on every line) -- Diletante 00:05, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

Just for fun, I threw together a proof-of-concept of a web-based sed. See http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/cgi-bin/sed.cgi. (Note: I'll be taking it back down in a week or so, as it's not production-quality code, and probably isn't even adequately secure.) —Steve Summit (talk) 16:17, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Firewall again

well i asked a question a while back about a FortiGate F60 firewall and i wanted to know how to do load balancing and fail safe type things with the 2 wan ports it has

i am working with windows 2000/server 2003 which are the 2 computers that are basically directly connected to it or can be i have been looking for 3rd party software to do this..but i have no domain server nor central server (the servers we have are used for other purposes) our schematic is 2 LANS-->SWITCHES-->FIREWALL-->INTERNET i want to use the 2 WAN ports not to make it faster, but to asign per say, 1 LAN to 1 WAN and 1 LAN to the other WAN...

any way to do this with the firewall itself and not using a server.?

THx in advance

Roger @ IntraRed 19:11, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fluctuating router

I own a PS3, and sometimes, when I am bored, I just scan the wireless environment around me to see if any new networks have been put up. Each time, the PS3 detects our family's router, and each time the PS3 puts a different strength for our signal. It has, on occasion, been as low as 47%, or all the way up to 100%, even though it is normally around 74% (steel floors...). Before you make all your comments about doors and such, there is only one door between the PS3 and the router, and it is always open. Why would there be such a huge fluctuation even though neither the router nor the PS3 have been moved, and no new obstructions (or thunderstorms) have been put in the way?69.205.180.123 21:16, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
EDIT Maybe I should move this to the science desk? 69.205.180.123 21:17, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

I think Computing is right. This site gives a few more reasons for a varying quality of signal, including interference from another radio-frequency source. iames 21:25, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Mozilla Thunderbird

When I print an email from Thunderbird, I get vast quantities of header dross. What do I have to do to make it only print Subject, From, To, Cc, Date and the message? I have asked this on Thunderbird's suppport forum and never gotten a useful reply. Several replies said "It prints what you see on the screen, collapse the data on the screen" - but this isn't the case. I get the dross no matter what I display. -- SGBailey 21:42, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

I downloaded Thunderbird 2 (The green one that holds the pods?) and that appears to have fiuxed it. -- SGBailey 11:20, 18 August 2007 (UTC)
I've been waiting for AGES now to hear someone make that sortof a comment. 68.39.174.238 21:45, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Free video streaming from input

Is there any free software for the mac that will take video input from a camera, and stream it live over a network? Preferably open source.

What you're looking for is VLC Player, http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
I can not help you about using it on a Mac but I know it should do the job.
--PhoenixQc 13:31, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

VLC for mac can't use live video from a camera though...

[edit] Vista and takeown

Infurated at vista for not letting me replace a mysteriously-changed ntoskrnl.exe with a backup, I just ran

takeown /F c:\ /R

It got caught in a loop around Application Data since c:\documents and settings\*\application data\application data\application data\application data ... ad infinitum all redirect to the real application data directory. I'm worried that since I let this run for quite awhile, I have a gigabyte sized permissions file somewhere filled with useless information. So how does NTFS work- is the metadata stored right in the file (which would be good for my case since it's just chowning the same folder over and over) or is there a list somewhere? And is it a bad idea to 'takeown' the entire filesystem? Only system level code has access to protected files, but the only difference is that now I can give myself access whereas before it was impossible to even change the permissions. --frotht 23:52, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

I suspect it's per-file, but if not, check the Master File Table, since that's probably where it would be if it was in a central place. That said, if you're only going after NTOSKRNL, why not just take ownership of that? Or even just \WINDOWS or \WINDOWS\System32? 68.39.174.238 21:47, 21 August 2007 (UTC)