Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Computing/2006 August 21

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[edit] Microsoft Office 2000

How can I install Microsoft Office 2000 on a computer with Windows XP?

Insert the Office 2000 CD and proceed with installation as usual. I don't think there are any issues, but there will be updates you'll want to download. digfarenough (talk) 00:54, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wikibot

How do Wiki bots work, rather, how would I create one? I want to run one that simply corrects spelling errors, such as "teh" to "the", on another Wiki. Hyenaste (tell) 01:44, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

On the English Wikipedia, a lot of the spelling errors (like the one you mentioned) are fixed with "semi-bots" - mainly AutoWikiBrowser (AWB) - which aren't true robots, in the sense that every edit is manually checked before being saved. I believe AWB is specific to Wikimedia Foundation wikis, but with a bit of work in the code (it's open source) you could probably tailor it to any MediaWiki installation.
There's also the Python wikipediabot, which is more for automatic editing - adding interwiki links, dealing with redirects and categories, and solving disambiguations. You can read about that here.
Hope that helps! --james(talk) 04:53, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
For a starting overview of Wikipedia bots in general, see Wikipedia:Bots. Harryboyles 15:49, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
So what would this bot do to the alternative spellings of "the" page? --Zemylat 17:05, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
No, it doesn't have to be that complex that it bypasses certain pages. At the Wiki I want to use it on, there is no reason for any alternate spellings of "the". Hyenaste (tell) 18:35, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Center Media using XHTML Transitional

How do I center media (specifically background music)? Right now the current code is <embed src="Song_File.mp3" loop="true" />. Also, is there anyway to get rid of the little dashed box that appears around the player and says "Press SPACEBAR or ENTER to activate this control"? Is it even possible to completely get rid of the player? Even if I type in height="0/false" and width="0/false" there is still a tiny dot and that little dashed box with the notice thing appears. IE is the browser. Thanks for the help! --71.98.18.179 02:36, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

The look of embedded media depends on a lot of things, not just the browser. Depending on whether WMP, RealPlayer, Quicktime, or what other player they may have set up to play that media on a webpage, it's going to look different. (I don't know how to centre it, offhand, but if p align center doesn't work, as IE has problems centering non-text items, you might try a div with padding on both sides.) - Rainwarrior 06:00, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
Formatting issues in XHTML should be handled with CSS. The proper way to center is usually to make the left and right margins auto, but IE (as usual) has a broken implementation. An alternative is to use text-align:center, which will probably work for you. This page explains more. --KSmrqT 09:02, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
The "Press SPACEBAR or ENTER to activate this control" is probably because of the Eolas patent. See Eolas#Browser Changes for a workaround, and software patent for the heated discussion on whether being able to patent such things is a good thing or a bad thing. --cesarb 15:12, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
So what would this bot do to the alternative spellings of "the" page? --Zemylat 17:04, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
I clicked the wrong "Edit" button. ;_; --Zemylat 17:05, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for all the responses--I managed to center it using the <div></div> tags. --71.117.37.239 18:36, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] MSN 7.5 windows XP

Hi :) , I have a problem with my msn7.5:s it just won't work anymore, I log in and 2 seconds after it logs of by itself! like it has lost the conection and then it logs in by itself again... I have a really old version of msn which is the one i'm using now and i have already tryed to erase msn 7.5 and download it again and the same thing happens... could this be a virus?:S or ...what is it?:S --Cosmic girl 19:30, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

You might have an antivirus program that stops msn messenger every time it starts. Try turning it off when you log in. Also, if you are going to try to re download it again you should download msn messenger 8.0 instead.--Taida 01:17, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

ok! I'll try that! thank you:).--Cosmic girl 19:14, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

  • I won't bother. I don't have Windows XP yet, and I don't plan to either. - Mgm|(talk) 11:31, 23 August 2006 (UTC)
Or you could just download Trillian it's a great program and I haven't had any problems with it. Whispering(talk/b) 22:03, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Router

Could anyone, please, give me some advice about routers that are more or less affordable? No more than 60€ if possible. I only own one computer, so 1 port for Internet access would be more than enough. Thanks.

A router for home use is for connecting more than one computer to a single Internet connection (cable, DSL, etc...). You only have one computer, so what would you use the router for? If it is for a firewall, you can use one on your computer just as well. Windows SP2, if I remember correctly, comes with a free firewall from Microsoft. --Kainaw (talk) 21:47, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
Whilst that's semantically correct you'll find that most routers these days include the DSL or Cable modem inside them. USB solutions, such as the Alcatel "frog" as used in the UK have drawbacks, including the lack of a dedicated firewall, the inability to share, the processor time it takes on the PC and so on. With regards to the original question you don't give your country, or if you are on cable or DSL. You'd find that linksys and netgear routers are common, and all pretty much the same when it comes to basic connectivity. Shop around. --Blowdart 22:42, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Video capture software

Can someone recommend a FREE video capture software? I want to capture clips from video games. Wizrdwarts (T|C|E) 20:26, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

In Microsoft Windows a screenshot of the entire monitor, complete with taskbar, can be copied to the system clipboard by pressing the Print screen key. Alternatively, pressing Alt + Print screen will copy just the active window to the clipboard. One can then paste the clipboard into a program such as MS Paint or Paint.NET to save it as an image file (for posting online, for instance), or paste it directly into a document. If saving as an image file, it is best to use a format which uses lossless compression (e.g. PNG) (or no compression, e.g. BMP). Use a format which supports 24-bit color if the screenshot contains many colors. (copied from Screenshot). Jon513 21:26, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
oh, sorry misread your question. you want a video capture. see Screenshot#Video screen captures. if you are playing the game on an emulator often they have a recorder built in. Jon513 21:31, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
FRAPS is probably your best choice for gaming, and it's simple enough to use. Robmods 20:40, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Some easy HTML help

Hi, I have a few items I want in a drop down menu, say four, and four different websites that will open in a new window, after a user selects one of the items. How can I do that? Thank you. — [Mac Davis] (talk)

Like this? digfarenough (talk) 22:54, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
Yeah that looks right, but I haven't tried it yet. — [Mac Davis] (talk)
General concept: Add an onchange or onselect action to your select object in your HTML. So, when a person selects an item, it will call the javascript function. You will also want to wrap it in a form with a submit button. Have the submit button call the same function - just in case they are using some bastard web browser that doesn't allow actions on select objects. Next, have the function get the select object, grab the selected option in that object, then, depending on which option is selected, open a new window. Each of those steps is rather simple if you know the javascript. But, all of it in one 'howto' is a bit lengthy. Which is the part that is giving you trouble? --Kainaw (talk) 14:00, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Learning about Networking

Hello, may be this is not the right place to post this question, but since it is related to computers somehow, it could be posted here. Well straight to the point, I am willing to learn about networking, i.e. how to connect computers together manually using routers, switches, contact DHCP and other servers, setup networks and domains, how to use command prompt for configuration….etc, so my question is can someone suggest me a proper book(s),from which I can learn all those things, or suggest me some website, where I can get some useful information. Any suggestion would be appreciated.

Networking is far too broad a subject. Your question is nearly equivalent to me stating that I want to learn to cook. What should I do? The answer would be that cooking is too general. I need to state what I want to learn to cook. Your best bet would be to pick a specific task you want to do and then ask how to do it. When you understand how that one specific task works, you can ask about another one. Eventually, you'll build up a lot of knowledge about the general concepts. --Kainaw (talk) 18:59, 23 August 2006 (UTC)