Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2006 December 19

=December 19=

Memory Leakage and Solution
Can anyone please explain me What is Memory Leakage and how we can avoid...
 * See Memory leak. Also please sign your posts with 4 tildes like this ~ Aetherfukz 02:56, 19 December 2006 (UTC)


 * If you're not writing programs, you don't have to worry too much. Although, if you have a program that does leak memory, you might want to quit and reload it every now and then. 68.39.174.238 07:34, 19 December 2006 (UTC)
 * You would sound like you don't know what you're talking about if you were talking about programming, so I'll assume you aren't trying to program. A memory leak is when a program allocates memory and later, somehow, (hard to explain in "English") loses track of where that memory is; they can't deallocate memory after. So, if a program keeps on doing that, it will use up much more memory than it really needs to. --wj32 talk 08:01, 19 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Example: if a program uses a message box, then it will ask for memory to create the message. When you click on OK and the message disappears, it should give the memory back. If it doesn't, then each time it displays a message it needs more memory - so the program uses more memory than it should. There's no way to fix this unless you made the program (or unless it's open source). --h2g2bob 13:34, 19 December 2006 (UTC)
 * ...or unless the operating would do it for you. Or you are using a language featuring garbage collection, like Java. --193.16.218.66 13:00, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

wi-fi
What is a good wi-fi anywhere product for my MacBook? I want to be able to be on a car trip or bus ride and be able to be connected the internet the entire time or to play an online game. Thanks, schyler 15:09, 19 December 2006 (UTC)


 * Wi-Fi is for local connections and is not what you are looking for. If you want a connection to the internet to be constant while you travel, you'll need a special cell-phone modem. I doubt you will be able to get good enough bandwidth to play an online game, and it will cost a fortune in any case. --140.247.249.64 18:55, 19 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Unless I'm mistaken, MacBooks automatically come with wireless access. Foxjwill 02:02, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Toner Cartridge Storage
Is it okay to store a toner cartrdige for a long time? Will shaking it afterwards, revive its settled contents? --Username132 (talk) 19:37, 19 December 2006 (UTC)
 * My manual gives a 2 years life in original package, but I know we have used cartridges after almost 3 years, and did not notice a difference. Shaking is a routine for us, to get a bit of extra life out of the toner when it starts fading. We use a side to side movement with tapping at each end corner to loosen any stuck powder - keeping the cartridge horizontal and being gentle but persistent. If the stuff were really settled solid I'd probably remove all the toner and shake it in a separate bottle until it flows freely again, but who knows if that will work... I do not find any tech article on doing that. Whatever you do can be pretty messy, so good luck. --Seejyb 08:11, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

robots.txt -> mdob
Hi, my username is mdob, wich is also a sequence in the human genome (just google "mdob" and see). How do I edit the robots.txt to disallow my userpage showing up in google? Mdob | Talk 20:40, 19 December 2006 (UTC)
 * You can't, unless you're a super-super-super-special-server-admin. All the stuff outside of the Wiki  (like  ) isn't related/controllable by the Wiki. --wj32 talk 21:22, 19 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Also, technically, your wiki user page doesn't really belong to you, so I don't know what rights you would have concerning where the user page does or does not appear, my guess is not much. Vespine 21:29, 19 December 2006 (UTC)


 * Thank you guys. I will conctact Brion for more information. Mdob | Talk 12:22, 21 December 2006 (UTC)


 * Only devs could do this --⁪froth T C  07:52, 22 December 2006 (UTC)


 * Thanks, Froth. Mdob | Talk 22:16, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Virtual reality
(I decided to move my question from Science as the context may have more relevance here, but the topics somewhat overlap.) Have there been any technological advances with which a person can explore a virtual world, especially to the point where he can't tell the difference from the real world (a la The Matrix)? Not in terms of VR goggles, but in terms of every sense being convinced that the virtual world is real. Also, have there been any technological advances to literally explore yourself and your memories, similar to The Cell, like a self-imposed waking dream? Furthermore, if people could be inserted into a virtual world, what kind of engineering or programming approach would be necessary to design that world, since the world's not actually visible to outsiders on a screen and information can be neurally fed to the virtual world explorers? —Erik (talk • contrib) - 23:54, 19 December 2006 (UTC)
 * The closest thing to a self-imposed waking dream that I can think of would be lucid dreaming, although that's obviously outside of the realm of the computing reference desk. :) As for advancing VR to convince someone that they're actually there, a few key technologies are missing. While sound is doing fairly well, sight is lagging behind primarily due to the uncanny valley. Furthermore, the other senses aren't usually represented in current-day VR, which usually consists only of sight and sound. A neural interface between a computer and the human brain aren't really at any level of sufficient sophistication yet. I guess that would be a no then. --Brad Beattie (talk) 01:08, 20 December 2006 (UTC)
 * The visual and aural aspects are near indistinguishable in cutting edge systems, but the major limiting factor in current virtual reality systems is tactile feedback. While there are Wired glove haptic feedback systems and Flight simulator type motion simulators, there are no systems that can simulate the tactile feedback of the real world (if you jump against a virtual wall, how do you simulate the impact?). Droud 02:20, 20 December 2006 (UTC)