Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2007 May 27

= May 27 =

Cancelling AOL, keep AIM?
I've recently been thinking about cancelling AOL. However, I use my screenname as my major IM contact and I can't find a definite, recent yes or no on whether cancelling AOL will stop me from using the name on AIM. Could anyone point me in the right direction about it? flatluigi (talk/contrib) 00:23, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
 * I had no trouble using my AIM name after canceling with AOL. Your real worry should be making sure AOL actually stops billing you. I got billed twice after I canceled. Watch out for that. Dlong 00:54, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
 * It is impossible to cancel an AOL subscription. I've never had to do it first hand, but I've heard many stories, and let me tell you. They were not pretty. --Russoc4 03:02, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Indeed. --Proficient 05:25, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
 * We actually have information here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aol#Account_cancellation Dlong 15:55, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

Buying a website
My last name is quite unique, and when i go to www.(insert my last name).com, nothing comes up. It says this page could not be found, yadayada the usual. There's no option "to buy from owner" that you see on other sites. Now how would I go about registering and buying this site? Who do I get it from? 140.180.7.197 04:51, 27 May 2007 (UTC)


 * You'd want to look for a domain name registrar on the Internet, like GoDaddy.com Splintercellguy 05:01, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Or TOSDomains which I find to be cheaper and better. Mind that you'll also need hosting, but registrars tend to rip you off. IKHost have a good deal in that if you buy a domain you get a comfortable amount of hosting space. Josh Holloway  12:16, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

It's usually a good thing if you visit a domain name that you want and they're not there trying to sell it to you - because if they did that would mean that someone already owns that domain name and wants to sell it to you (oftentimes for a profit) - and there are often complications in the transfer of domain name ownership. So the fact that nobody owns it means that you can go in and grab it. Rfwoolf 16:15, 27 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Websites are two things: a domain name, which tells computers how to connect to it, and the web server, which actually hosts the web content. Buying just the name will make sure nobody else can use it (you are basically reserving the name), but it won't make it a website yet — that takes buying space on a web host, making content, etc., and then pointing that URL name there. All of which is pretty easy, if you know what you are doing! --140.247.240.18 15:08, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

Font used during booting
What is the name of the font used during booting (see here) and used in the BIOS (see here). It seems to be the same font across all BIOS / mainboard manufacturers. Thanks in advance. --Abdull 10:17, 27 May 2007 (UTC)


 * (http://www.procon.com.au/HVVCBIOS.htm) seem to suggest it is a hardware OEM font (no idea what this means but may mean something to you). ny156uk 10:50, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
 * OEM = Original equipment manufacturer, and it basically means that that's what's shipped with the hardware. So all Intel chips will have the same font, etc Josh Holloway  12:18, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
 * I guess these fonts are embedded in the Video BIOS. But still, it always seems to be the same font, no matter whether it's an Intel GMA or a NVIDIA graphics chip. Maybe it is a VESA standard? All important video graphics card manufacturers are members of it --Abdull 12:35, 27 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Might have something to do with the clean-rooming of the original IBM BIOS, also those look like they're both Phoenix AWARDBIOS, which would explain it. I believe there's only two real BIOS makers nowadays, Phoenix, and some company I can't think of off the top of my head -- Phoeba WrightOBJECTION! 15:07, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Is it so that the original IBM PC was the first computer to use this font? It would make sense as the IBM PC introduced many novelities. --Abdull 07:58, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

Odd standoff.
Just bought a new PC case, and in the center of where the motherboard will sit is a large, unusual standoff. It's longer than the others, and doesn't have a space to screw anything into it. Is this standard? Will it kill me while I sleep (or worse, crack my motherboard when I'm screwing it into the other, shorter standoffs)?Down M. 15:48, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
 * I suggest you ask the manufacturer of the case, or the seller. Don't try install your motherboard until you're sure. Josh Holloway  18:49, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
 * I guess this standoff is made for supporting your mainboard in moments when force is applied so it does not bend too much - for example when you try to insert a graphics card or RAM. I figured that out when i took this kind of standoff out of my PC case, guessing it has no function, then hearing the crackling sounds of my stressed mainboard PCB while inserting some components. --Abdull 08:10, 28 May 2007 (UTC)
 * I had an odd standoff in the middle of mine - it wasn't really longer than the others, but had a little post in the middle rather than a screw-hole. It was to make it easier to locate the board properly before screwing it down, I guess. Rawling 4851 12:07, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Can someone recommend a discussion group platform?
I'm looking to set up a *private* academic discussion group platform for 2 groups at different universities. Ideally people would have their own profile pages and the ability to set up their own subgroups, and perhaps there would be some social networking capability. The atmosphere should be fairly professional rather than casual studenty. Does anyone have any recommendations for innovative new websites for this? (I don't think facebook as it is now is suitable for various reasons). thanks for any leads!!!!

0x10001: Which is the "High Word" and which is the "Low Word"
Note: I have looked for high word and low word and found nothing

I am reading a pretty bad manual on something and it refers to the "high word" and "low word" in the following parameter: 0x10001.

This is rather baffling, because what the hell type of information is 0x10001? What is the "0x" for?

Please explain the difference between a high word and a low word?

Here is the text: High word is open mode (0 means private, 1 means share) and Low word is module number (0 to 15). 0x10001 means log in module 1 in share mode Thanks!

Rfwoolf 16:12, 27 May 2007 (UTC)


 * 0x means that 10001 is hexadecimal (0x10001 = 65537). The number could be written with leading zeroes - 0x00010001 - for a 32-bit integer. You could split this into 2 16-bit words of 0x0001 and 0x0001 - that is 2 words of value 1. The high word would be the one to the left. How this is actually implemented in memory depends on endianness. --h2g2bob (talk) 16:39, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Thank you sir! Rfwoolf 16:41, 27 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Just adding to h2g2bob's answer: the reason the word on the left is called the high word is that the digits there have a higher value, just like the left-hand digits in the usual base-10 number system do. --TotoBaggins 23:05, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

Computer out of "balls and wood"
I read, in the article Strong AI, that it would be possible to make a computer out of "balls and wood", what would that look like and how would it function, it mentions "wood channels" and "rolling balls" but nothing more. Thanks, Jeffrey.Kleykamp 17:59, 27 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Here's a definition of a computer taken from dictionary.com: "a computer that represents data by measurable quantities, as voltages or, formerly, the rotation of gears, in order to solve a problem, rather than by expressing the data as numbers."
 * I think what happened is that you forget that computers existed before their electric form, so it's possible that all they meant was a machine capable of computing, created from balls (bearings?) and wood (gears?). --Wirbelwind ヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 18:22, 27 May 2007 (UTC)


 * I know (knew) that computers existed before their electric form but I don't see how they compute something, I really don't even understand how modern computers compute but I'm interested in the "balls and wood" version right now. And how can the definition of computer include the word "computer" in the definition, but I just want a description of a balls and wood computer, e.g. how it would do commands, take in and process input, etc. Thanks, Jeffrey.Kleykamp 18:44, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

Depending on how you define computer, you can make one out of Lego, so other mechanisms are possible. And if you still aren't happy, you can Google as well as I can. --Zeizmic 20:08, 27 May 2007 (UTC)


 * I've previously read about marble machines made by Matthias Wandel. One of the elements of his machines is a flip-flop. Using various combinations of marble flip-flops it seems possible to build simple computers. For example, see Marble Computer or search for "marble computer" for similar ideas. -- Bavi H 20:15, 27 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Wow, that marble computer website is very informative, it even had two videos. Thanks, Jeffrey.Kleykamp 20:49, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

Abacus would be the simplest method I could think of for figuring this out. -- Phoeba WrightOBJECTION! 20:52, 27 May 2007 (UTC)


 * You might also be interested in reading about the concept of Universal Turing Machines  which are very simple but extremely powerful 'machines' for computing 'computable' algorithms. Johnnykimble 22:26, 27 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Here's a very good Scientific American article on a tinkertoy computer: . An interesting bit of trivia is that nanocomputers might work in a way more like the tinkertoy computer than like today's electronic computers, only on a molecular scale.  --TotoBaggins 23:15, 27 May 2007 (UTC)


 * You might also be interested in the Digi-Comp I and more specifically the Digi-Comp II, although that article is not very detailed.  They are two products from E.S.R. Inc. that I never had, although I still have a Think-a-Dot (it's on the shelf above my monitor), and I wish I knew what had happened to my Dr. NIM (regular kids lament their loss of valuable baseball cards, geeky kids lament the loss of their pseudo-computers).  -- LarryMac  | Talk  02:05, 28 May 2007 (UTC)


 * http://goldfish.ikaruga.co.uk/logic.html --⁪frotht 04:18, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

how to find
can anybody help me to under stand in a very simple way not in a bookish way that how i can find the external path length and internal path length of a binary search tree.
 * This sounds like homework - bad! I don't know of a shortcut, but just go round the tree counting. If you draw a solid line around the search tree then you can count how many times it passes on the left (external) or right (internal). I can't really explain it without a diagram, and I'm not doing your homework for you. Josh Holloway  19:05, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

it is not at all a homework,my exam is very near and this concept is still not clear,thats why i consult this help desk. so it will be great help if anyone help me to under stand the procedure..
 * Ok, I've drawn something up for you. View it here. Hope it helps, and good luck in your exam! (Also, remember to sign your comments with four ~s!) Josh Holloway  21:43, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Have you missed a purple line by the number 3? →Ollie (talk • contribs) 04:24, 28 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Yes, oops. Fixed now. Josh Holloway  09:58, 28 May 2007 (UTC)