Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2007 June 1

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[edit] June 1

[edit] Itunes account?

Is there any way to create an itunes account without entering a credit card number? Or any way to purchas music on itunes without signing in?

SpeakoutLOUD 00:57, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

If you are a hacker, I think. AW 02:41, 1 June 2007 (UTC)


If you want to buy music from iTunes Store you dont need to give a credit card you can go get a gift card at Best Buy or Compusa or by using a Coinstar..then you creat an acount using the card ...--Nerdd 22:58, 4 June 2007 (UTC)
I also wanted to know this (mainly for the fact that iTunes will automatically download album covers for your music if you have an account), however I tried signing up to no avail. It doesn't look like it is possible, sorry. --RazorICE 23:12, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Is this reliable?

Recently I have found a very amazing free web hosting http://www.4444mb.com/ These are what they provide for a FREE account:

   *  4444 MB (4 GB) of web hosting space
   * 14444 MB (14 GB) of data transfers
   * NO ADVERTISEMENTS (only a backlink)
   * 1 domain name support (www.yourdomain.com)
   * Free subdomain (username.4444mb.com)
   * 4 MySQL Databases
   * MySQL 4 supported with PHPMyAdmin
   * PHP 5 supported
   * FTP supported
   * Powerful web-based control panel
   * Free One-Click script installs
   * Free detailed web statistics (Awstats)
   * Instant activation
   * 99.98% Server Uptime
   * Powerful Dedicated Server
   * 24/7 live technical support
   * and much more...

It's a bit unbelievable. Have anyone of you heard about this address and can you give me advice to trust this site or not? AW 02:45, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Well, why not? You are not supposed to fill 4GB in a day, in fact, you are not likely put more than 100mb content. If you do, they will realize you are using their facilities for piracy or something else. The TOS indicates that you need to show ads, that they will be able to do with the images you upload anything they want to promote their service, and some other common stuff. I would be wary because, apparently, they are new (whois indicates the domain was created on January 15, 2007). -- ReyBrujo 03:14, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
Actually, forget that. Check this, the error page states Free subdomain (username.8888mb.com). 4444mb.com resolves to s198.softwarelibre.nl, not what I would expect from a big server. And I get many timeouts trying to access the page. In fact, some reviews point that the service is below average (of course, it is good for free, but you would like something better for, say, setting something other than your personal page). -- ReyBrujo 03:19, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
And the site does not have a privacy policy. So, sign up with a spam-only email. -- ReyBrujo 03:25, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
If you care about someone caring if your site stays up, if you data isn't lost, if things actually work, then you're going to want to purchase a site. If you don't really care about that, and don't care if the site is inaccessible or vanishes tomorrow, then by all means, sign up with a free one. Note that the second your site does anything which could potentially jeapordize their plan (i.e. actually starts pulling 10 GB of data transfers a month) don't be surprised if it mysteriously violates some TOS and is shut down... (I don't know anything about this specific site, but this is basically what happens in other similar sites) --24.147.86.187 09:39, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
I'd recommend against. You get what you pay for, and the reviews are bad. Base *everything* on the reviews, in my opinion and experience (having leased many servers and hosting accounts). JoshHolloway 09:51, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Identify and play

How can you identify an unknown video file and what program can you use to play it? Dudforreal 07:27, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

You need to download codecs for them, or they might not be a video file at all. Personally, I use Totem, although i've heard a lot of people don't like it very much. -- Phoeba WrightOBJECTION! 08:34, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
I use Media Player Classic which supports just about everything. The codecs, once installed, can then be "used" on other things, so I can now play originally non-supported files on Windows Media Player JoshHolloway 09:49, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
VLC Player plays just about everything. --69.144.232.61 06:48, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] OFFICE

WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS OF AN oFFICE?

Paper. A guy who makes bad jokes that no one likes. Red staplers. Paperclips. A boss. Casual Friday.
Most "office" packages include some combination of the following:
Atlant 12:34, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

See office suite --h2g2bob (talk) 17:03, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] SVG and javascript?

I'm trying to make a simple projectile animation (no air friction) for illustration for a simple physics site and got that working but now I want to have a form to control the angle and amount of force. However, the javascript is inside the SVG and I don't think I can easily pass an variable like that but the whole thing just doesn't work if I put the javascript in the HTML instead of SVG. Here is a successful example but even if I just copied the code and run it locally it still doesn't work. Can anyone help? Also, can anyone tell me what is the "evt" variable in the examples in [1] (the basis of my animation) and where does it come from? --antilivedT | C | G 12:49, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Have you tried something like document.getElementByID("MySVG").document.angle=10; (just a wild guess, I'm a bit rusty and not sure how a SVG object fit into the DOM). Another option is to encode the value in a querrystring and have the script in the SVG pick it up in it's onload event handler. I would guess the evt variable in the example is a event object, usualy obtained from onClick(), onLoad() and things like that. --Sherool (talk) 13:12, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
I played with it and got it to work: User:TotoBaggins/cannonball. I wish wikipedia allowed animations like this in articles. --TotoBaggins 17:26, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
Hmmm is my Firefox weird or what, first it complains about the CDATA tags, then saying ball is not defined in other functions (seems like scope problem, even though it's declared it outside of the function), so I tried passing the ball variable to all the functions (start_animation(), advance()) and now it complains about evt not set, the very same problem I've encountered when I tried moving the javascript back into the HTML... Here is my modified code. --antilivedT | C | G 22:26, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
Hmm. The code I posted works for me both on an ancient Firefox, and on version 2.0.0.3, both on Linux. I'm using Firefox's native SVG handling, not the Adobe plugin. --TotoBaggins 22:34, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
I'm using Firefox 2.0.0.3 on Ubuntu, and Firebug now just keep complaining evt not defined... --antilivedT | C | G 00:56, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
Ok I've found out where problem is: MIME type. I have to change the extension to .xhtml for inline SVG to work... --antilivedT | C | G 04:22, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Hooking up internet

Hi I have verizon DSL and a PS3 and a Wii and two PCS that are about 4 years old each. I only have internet on one PC right now but want to have it on all 4 machines. I also dont have much money. Please help.

Get a cheap Linksys router. They normally have 4 ports (one for your PS3, one for your Wii, and one for each PC). A used one will cost less than a game for the PS3 or the Wii. --Kainaw (talk) 14:00, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
Or, sell your PS3 and get an xbox 360. Then, you'll have an extra few hundred dollars to buy a good router! JoshHolloway 14:21, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
Best. Advice. Ever. 213.48.15.234 15:03, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
I don't think he mentioned getting rid of his PS3 as part of the plan, and besides...he already said he has older 2 PC'S what would another PC in a smaller box do? xD (to answer...get a cheap linksys or even netgear router, one time i purchased a linksys for $USD 40 and got a rebate for $30 so it was basically $10....)200.12.231.42 16:27, 1 June 2007 (UTC) Ag for MemTech

[edit] Music Service?

Can anyone recommend an online music store where you can purchase music and create an account w/o a credit card (No P2P please)? It also needs to have readily avalilable gift cards available in Canada.

Thanks,

SpeakoutLOUD 15:38, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

iTunes Music Store sells gift cards in my local supermarket (in the UK) --h2g2bob (talk) 17:00, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
iTunes Music Store sells the gift cards in canada at Future Shop..they should be located by the mp3 players and/or by the prepaid cell card rack.--67.68.25.118 22:47, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
Yeah, but iTunes still requires you to create an account with a credit/debit card number asociated with it before you can redeem the gift card. The gift card's value is then added to your account's store credit, and as long as you don't exceed the store credit, you won't be charged by your credit card. If you don't have a credit or debit card, talk to your bank about a debit card and/or a checking account. — Kjammer  ⌂ 05:54, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Relative paths in HTML URIs

Hello. I am writing a set of tools and utilities which run on a web-based server. One of my tasks is to generate an HTML document with links to non-HTML documents. Typically, if an HTML link is written as <a href='somefile.html'>, the user's client will automatically prepend the protocol (http://), the server name (example.com), and the current path (some/directory/). The result is a full, complete URI, such as "http://example.com/some/directory/somefile.html" ... Because of my specific needs, I cannot use http protocol. Supposing I want to switch protocols (to ftp://, for example), is it possible to still have the user agent auto-complete the server name and current path? Nimur 15:46, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Clarification - I want to be able to put <a href='ftp://somefile.html'> (or some variation thereof that actually works), but still use the automatic prepending of server name and base path. I want to avoid hard-coding the server and base-path. Nimur 15:47, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
You can't in HTML. You can do it in javascript, or if you're scripting pages in PHP, etc. --h2g2bob (talk) 16:58, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
That seems to be my unfortunate conclusion as well. I will determine an alternative workaround in a scripting environment. Thanks, Nimur 17:05, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Help with PHP or AJAX, preloading pages?

one time when i was browsing a page powered by the CMS DataLife Engine...i saw that when i clicked on a link it had this mini webpage show up...i mean mini because the old one was there..but like faded like if they changed the alpha to 30% or so..and then this webpage about 250x200 px came up in the center (no frames or pop ups)...with a loading screen on it. it had this loading bar in it as well....and would fade out once the next page finished loading..i liked it because you did not see a blank screen for a milisecond...to reload a whole page..it just showed the loading screen while the background is like i said faded...is this a PHP function, AJAX feature, or just DateLife Engine only feature? (the webpage i saw it on is down now..so i cant show an example xD sorry) 200.12.231.42 16:53, 1 June 2007 (UTC) Ag for MemTech

There are many ways to do it. Here's what I would do...
  1. Load a div positions over the whole page with width 100% and height 100% and with the background consisting of a 4 pixel gif that has 2 white (or gray) pixels and 2 transparent ones. That will make the page appear to be faded out.
  2. Create an borderless iframe and put it in the middle of the page (above the previous div)
  3. Set the source of the iframe to whatever page you like.
From there, you can do a lot of things. You can resize the iframe to the whole screen and make it appear that the old page is gone. If you are nice, you will delete the content of the old page. And no - it is not PHP. PHP is server side. This is client side. --Kainaw (talk) 16:36, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
4-pixel gif!? Modern browsers support alpha in CSS :) Firefox uses -moz-opacity, IE uses opacity (I think), and it should be coming through w3c to css3 at some point. --h2g2bob (talk) 16:45, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
thx for the quick reply...but the prob is...i think it was hard coded into their (PHP possibly...i keep saying this cuz im still learning it xD ) code when someone clicked on a link...cuz i mean..what you said..requires i manually do this to all my pages...i work with Wordpress at this moment..and would like to know how to hard code it...so that every link they click on..does this...thx again 200.12.231.42 16:53, 1 June 2007 (UTC) Ag for MemTech
Lightbox (JavaScript) does the transparency business using css and javascript. Just add the links to the appropriate files in whichever wordpress file produces the header. Only for images though. →Ollie (talk • contribs) 17:00, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
Thanks i think we're on the right track...Modal windows is most likely what i saw...but i need something that is for overall links not just images...lightbox is nice tho...i think ill use it on my images..thx 200.12.231.42 17:22, 1 June 2007 (UTC) Ag for MemTech

[edit] Mercenaries on PS3

When I played my PS2 Mercenaries on my PS3 the audio would sometimes skip when people said stuff. I haven't had problems with any other games. Is this something with Mercenaries or is it probably the disk.

Where are you in the world? It might be emulation issues if you're in Europe or Australia - Sony removed native PS2 support for those regions so its all software emulation which is never perfect. If it is generally the same parts of speech which are skipped, then it may be a disk issue. But if it's seemingly random, it sounds more like emulation problems. - Рэдхот(t • c • e) 22:10, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Wii games w/ internet

What Wii games have or will have internet play?

List of Wii Wi-Fi Connection games -- Phoeba WrightOBJECTION! 18:24, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Inkscape PostScript import

Can anyone advise me how to intall the necessary files listed here for Inkscape PS import support. I'm running Windows Vista and have Inkscape 0.45.1 installed, and was wondering if anyone knows how to install them correctly so that Inkscape will recognise them, or somewhere that explains it? Thanks. - Рэдхот(t • c • e) 22:01, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

It says you need pstoedit, which can be had here, and skconvert, which seems to not exist for Windows. It looks like it only runs on Unix-y systems like MacOS and Linux. If you only need to use this occasionally, you could use a Linux Live CD, which doesn't require a hard-drive installation. --TotoBaggins 22:42, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
Thanks for that about skconvert. I actually have Fedora installed already (I just primarily use Windows) but does anyone know if Inkscape has to be configured in a special way after you install them, or will it detect them itself? - Рэдхот(t • c • e) 23:18, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Internet Explorer

I recently lost an IE session (comprising three windows of about ten tabs each) when my computer froze and I was forced to restart it (with the power button). Although IE does not (to my knowledge) have a session recovery function (I've just installed a session recovery add-on...a bit too late), which is why I almost always use Firefox, I've never had a problem simply using my history to rebuild a session by hand, but the history of any windows I'd opened during the twelve-plus hours of the ulimately frozen session appears altogether gone (as if the restarting made IE forget it had been open at all). I sometimes use the standalone IE History View program, which harvests information from the history index file, but it, of course, has nothing logged. Has anyone any idea as to what I might do? Thanks in advance, Emily 23:08, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

I don't think you can do much if the websites themselves are not recorded in histories. --antilivedT | C | G 01:05, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
You could try looking at the browser's cache, which has a better chance of having been saved correctly. You can either look at the files (IIRC, MSIE uses more descriptive names for the files on its cache) or find some program to extract the URLs from its index. --cesarb 01:50, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
I can advocate Opera again! Opera comes natively to auto-save your sessions, so even if your computer crashes, the next time you open Opera, it'll ask if you want the previous session. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 18:51, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
...so does Firefox! In fact it's so keen that it thinks you've crashed when you turn your computer off without closing it first and will offer to recover on your next boot. --antilivedT | C | G 23:02, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
I'm pretty sure that when your computer closes down programs when you shut down, it takes a longer time than you closing them. So, when I want to recover in firefox upon turning on my computer again, before I shut down, I open task manager, go to firefox, and hit end program. Then the normal firefox confirmation comes on asking if I want to close all tabs. I just hit end program again (I ignore the notice. just leave it there, it will go away). Then a windows notice comes up. Just hit the end button. It will save your computer some time if you can do this fast. --R ParlateContribs@ (Let's Go Yankees!) 23:14, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
You're saving time there by not allowing Firefox to save your profile data and such; you're not even allowing it to finish writing a particular file if it's already started! You can easily botch things doing this, so I feel compelled to disrecommend it. See also SIGKILL, although this is the Unix equivalent. --Tardis 17:35, 4 June 2007 (UTC)