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

Robot Eye
Is there a manufacture that actually sells a robotic vision software and hardware? I have searched the internet with no results. Thanks67.122.136.53 04:35, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

Internet speed record breakthroughs?
Hello All!

I'm looking for a list of internet speed breakthroughs. I see all the time on DSLreports about scientists and reasearchers experimenting on new methods to improve the throughtput of the internet. Similar example (e.g. land speed record). Wikipedia has a list for devices, but not records.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_device_bandwidths

Thank You,

--65.6.11.50 06:05, 29 August 2006 (UTC) Admiral.ross


 * The maximum bandwidth is the maximum bandwidth. You cannot exceed it.  Yes - you can overclock two computer network cards and exceed bandwidth - but that is not the internet.  That is a weirdo with two overclocked network cards.  When they claim to exceed the top speeds, they are actually compressing the data (like a zip file), sending the zip file, and then decompressing it.  They did not exceed the bandwidth of the line.  They did this: take 100MB of data, compress it to 50MB, send 50MB over the line, decompress it back to 100MB - then claim you doubled the throughput.  No - you didn't double the throughput.  You just sent a compressed file. --Kainaw (talk) 15:48, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

here an example:

New Internet speed record set (This was news posted a while ago, 2003-10-15 16:31:09 to be exact.) Two major scientific research centres said on Wednesday they had set a new world speed record for sending data across the Internet, equivalent to transferring a full-length DVD film in seven seconds. The European Organisation for Nuclear Research, CERN, said the feat, doubling the previous top speed, was achieved in a nearly 30-minute transmission over 7,000 kms of network between Geneva and a partner body in California.

Internet Speed Record Smashed 840 gigabytes sent 10K miles in 27 minutes (This was news posted a while ago, 2004-06-21 10:36:28 to be exact.) Sprint claims they've broken the internet speed record by sending 840 gigabytes worth of data 10,157 miles (From San Jose, California to Sweden) in 27 minutes. Just for reference, 840 gigabytes is roughly the data equivalent of 150 full length DVD's. The Sprint and Swedish National Research and Education Network (SUNET) team's record now sits at 69,073 Terabit meters per second (distance x transfer speed). According to PC" rel=nofollow>www.pcpro.co.uk/news/news_story.···9178">PC Pro, the data was sent via the SprintLink and GigaSunet IP backbones while other traffic was using the network.

65.6.11.50 16:54, 29 August 2006 (UTC) Admiral.ross


 * So if I had a truck full of DVDs (say... a million) and drove it across the planet, that would count as a data-transfer speed record too? :) CptJoker 12:12, 30 August 2006 (UTC)


 * You'd have to drive down a T3 line. Regardless, the questioner apparently doesn't understand the concept of compressed data.  These "records" have nothing to do with data transfer speeds.  It is all about how much you can compress the data. --Kainaw (talk) 12:19, 30 August 2006 (UTC)


 * No, the questioner seems to be talking about the Internet Land Speed Record. It has nothing to do with compression at all. --cesarb 04:04, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

WHAT DO I OPEN WITH???
Hi, I've just downloaded a music file with the extenxion called sap, what program do I open it with? Thanks Jon


 * try VLC media player, it plays almost anything. Jon513 12:30, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

accessing a UK-only site
Hello, I tried to visit a website but it said that access to that site was prohibited to non-UK users (I'm not in the UK). Presumably I would need to have a UK IP address to visit the site, so I would need to use a proxy server. I've looked at some lists of public proxies, but can't seem to find one in the UK. Any advice as to how I might visit the site, short of finding a UK-based proxy? Many thanks. --Richardrj talkemail 09:54, 29 August 2006 (UTC)


 * What's the site? I'll describe it to you in tantalising detail! (only kidding) Assuming I won't go to prison for exporting official secrets, I could put the HTML on a talk page or something. Or do you need to visit the site in person to order something? Rentwa 12:56, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
 * 'Thanks for the offer, but don't worry about it - it's far too embarrassing. No, not porn or anything like that, it was just something very cheesy in the entertainment field.  And I found a UK proxy anyway :-) --Richardrj talkemail 13:30, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

Finding my ip address
How do you find out what your ip address is? thanks --86.143.183.34 10:08, 29 August 2006 (UTC)


 * assuming your using Windows. Click on Start, Click on Run. In the Dos Box type: Ipconfig and then hit the enterkey. Your ipaddress address will be displaced along with you Subnet and Gateway.
 * However, if you're behind a router (generally, if you're on some form of broadband), that won't show you your public (i.e. useful to the world) address. To find that, I use whatismyip.com &mdash; Lomn | Talk 15:35, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Although, they sold their domain name a while back, and the new owners packed the sight full of advertising. You might be better off with the method you already know, type ~ and hit 'preview' (: -- VectorPotential 71.247.243.173 15:38, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
 * There's also hostip.info. --cesarb 04:00, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

Does anyone else find it strangely amusing that his question was signed with his IP address the moment he saved the question? --Silvaran 20:42, 29 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Yes. :) Dysprosia 02:42, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

set of objective type questions relating to computer system, processing, language.
Hello sir,

This is HITESH JAIN and I'm looking for set of objective type questions relating to the computer system, processing, language frquently used abbrevations etc. with answers.

You can mail in this regard to my e-mail (email address redacted) as soon as possible.Its really urgent.

Thanks!


 * So you want a quiz with answers ? Why do I think you're a teacher too lazy to write your own test ? :-) StuRat 13:46, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

Game boy Advanced Game.
If I could only buy two gameboy advanced games what should they be with regards to:

The most graphically advanced 2D game. The "killer title" or "Must have" game.

Thanks.


 * This is a pretty subjective question and I'm not quite sure what you are asking in any case. If you are asking which of those two options are better, I would go with the "must have"/"killer title" game. Why? Because those have generally proven themselves in the market as being good games on the whole. The most graphically advanced may not be — it might be pretty, but be a very lousy game. If you are asking what game should you buy, I was personally quite fond of Golden Sun when I had a GBA for a short while. I'm not a big RPG fan but I thought it was fun, had good graphics, simple gameplay with a lot of potential depth, and had lots of puzzle-solving which was quite enjoyable. --Fastfission 15:32, 29 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Metroid Zero Mission, and... I dunno. But that's my favourite. - Rainwarrior 15:52, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

my kingdom for a transclusion bot
Can anyone here come up with a good way to create semi-automatic transclusions? I realize the current process is a bit involved, so it might not be possible. But ideally what I'd want, is a bit of java that I could stick in my monobook, and be able to open one of the reference desk, and click on a button, let's call it, the "easy button" and have it set up the transclusion for me, rather than doing it by hand. Consider this a challenge (:-- VectorPotential 71.247.243.173 15:51, 29 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Wait, what's the difference between what you want to do and subst? (Or... do I not know what a transclusion is?) - Rainwarrior 15:53, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
 * It's the opposite, each day, old questions are supposed to be added to a new page, then linked to the origional, before eventually being archived. The problem is that it's supposed to be done by bot, only we don't have one. The process relies heavily on a some what obtuse template, which is a real PITA to use manually, and was clearly designed with a bot in mind. And, if you want to see how big a mess the template is, there's a long discussion on the talk page for the reference desk-- VectorPotential 71.247.243.173 15:57, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Just for reference purposes,, if I were to use subst, it would add the content of the transclusion to this page-- VectorPotential 71.247.243.173 16:01, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
 * And for those wondering what he's talking about, the code for the above is:

subst, it would add the content of the transclusion to this page--  VectorPotential 71.247.243.173 16:01, 29 August 2006 (UTC)


 * &mdash; D a  niel  (‽) 17:26, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

language
"what is the main difference between C and C++ (write in points)? all the input output in C are also or the same in C++"--82.148.120.147 16:30, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
 * It's undefined; you can't modify a variable and use its value at another place without an intervening sequence point. EdC 17:11, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

"what about the program C99 etc, is it a type or version or what?" "what is the standard version of Language C and C++"


 * What are you quoting? - Rainwarrior 17:28, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

Bridgehead Server
Could somebody please explain in easy to understand english what a Bridgehead Server is with regards to Windows 2003.


 * From here: "The bridgehead server is the server that manages the connections between the local routing group and one or more remote routing groups. For example, suppose that a routing group consisted of ten Exchange Servers with 100,000 users. Any mail from any of those users that was destined for a remote routing group would have to pass through the designated bridgehead server to reach the remote routing group. Likewise, inbound mail from other routing groups would also pass through the bridgehead server, and would then be distributed by the local bridgehead to the appropriate server." digfarenough (talk) 22:08, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

DVD Drive
How do you find out what kind of DVD drive you have on your computer?--Taida 20:12, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

On Windows, click Start, Control Panel, then System. Click Device Manager. The name of your DVD drive should be listed under "DVD/CD-ROM drives", although it may not be entirely accurate. Sum0 22:11, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

If you want to find out for sure... read the documentation for you PC... or remove your drive and examine it for labeling.--Frenchman113 on wheels! 14:37, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

Persistent error with Subversion over tunneled webdav connection
I have this problem with Subversion that only happens when I tunnel over SSH using port forwarding. I have a machine behind the firewall running the usual WebDAV Subversion module in apache 2. I port forward localhost:8008 to port 80 on this server when I SSH in to the firewall. When I do an svn update, and about 40-50 files (or more) have been changed, part way through I get this:

svn: REPORT request failed on '/svn/dev/!svn/vcc/default' svn: REPORT of '/svn/dev/!svn/vcc/default': Could not read response body: connection was closed by server. (http://localhost:8008)

Of course, I can simply do a second update and it continues where it left off (usually successfully). I NEVER get this when my laptop is on the same LAN, doing a direct connection to the repository (Still WebDAV). Ordinarily I'd report this to the Subversion lists, but it seems more like something to do with tunnelling than Subversion itself. Any ideas? --Silvaran 20:37, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

PAL Format
OK... so I have an American laptop that's a Gateway and has a Multi-format double layer DVD+RW/CD-RW drive... so will this play PAL formats? I'm so confused and not the smartest computer person in the world. Thanks!

~Cathy~

So I found out exactly what my drive is: HL-DT-ST DVD-RW GWA-4082N... whatever that is.

~Cathy~

Yes it will. Go to Device manager (right click "My Computer" icon. Click properties. Then Click on the hard ware tab. then click on the device manager button. Expand the DVD/CD rom devices catergory. Then Right click on you DVD drive and click properties. In the new window that opens click on the DVD Regions tab. In the country list select your country and click ok. Close all the open windows and play as many PAL DVDs as you want.

Thanks!

~Cathy~


 * Note that PAL is a way of encoding video and DVD region code is an artificially imposed limit on where a given disk may be played. If you bought a European (region 2) disk and want to play it on your American laptop, you have to change the region code of your DVD drive, as was described above. Note that you can only change this code a limited number of times (usually 5), so be careful about changing it too often. &mdash; QuantumEleven 11:42, 30 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Better yet, search the web for a region-free firmware for you PC. Then you can play any movie anywhere (although it voids your warranty).--Frenchman113 on wheels! 14:38, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

Or, alternatively, install VLC media player - it's free, and it'll play DVDs from all regions without having to install region-free firmware. VLC is our standard answer on the reference desk to pretty much all DVD region problems. --Robert Merkel 22:20, 30 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Region-free software makes no difference if your DVD drive bans discs that have a region-mismatch. RPC-1 patching is the better solution.--Frenchman113 on wheels! 16:27, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

Appending a .rar or a .zip to a .jpg or a .gif
I've heard of people doing this and actually seen the results, but am unable to find out how to do it. I've looked in google and wikipedia but no luck. Any help woukd be appreciated 137.112.141.191 02:47, 30 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Er, appending two files is trivial, but often useless &mdash; the result is rarely a valid example of either of the file types from which it was made. However, it might work in your case if an  image reader ignored trailing garbage.  Under Windows, use   (you can have more than two files with +s between them if you like).  Under any POSIX environment, do   (or, if you don't want to lose the unappended file, use cp first).  Of course, later you'd want to separate the files; in POSIX again, you can use cut, but I don't know how to do that in Windows immediately.  Hope this helps.  --Tardis 15:19, 30 August 2006 (UTC)


 * I don't think the user is talking about cat'ing them together. There are utilities that can be used to actually append one file to another while keeping the host file working perfectly normally (though at a bloated size). It probably does something to the header or something tricky. I don't have any links, but some Googling would probably turn a few up. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 15:24, 30 August 2006 (UTC)


 * You're making your explanation harder than needed. cat was meant to conCATenate in the first place, so just "cat file1 file2 >file3" and file3 will be the concatenation of file1 and file2. No need to backup any files, because the source ones aren't written to.-- Roc VallèsTalk - 15:29, 30 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Er, yeah &mdash; that's easier, certainly. I just thought "append" →   in one jump.  Appending stdout is more general, but obviously for regular files that's what you want.  Thanks for the emphaziation.  --Tardis 20:06, 30 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Maybe he wants to append .rar to the filename, ie. archive it. For that he would need a program like WinZip or WinRAR. Or maybe he wants to use steganography to hide a .rar file in (not append) a picture. Shinhan 05:44, 1 September 2006 (UTC)