Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2008 November 13

= November 13 =

Vista copy file missing "Do this for the next n conflicts"
When copying files in Vista and there is a conflict, it will show a dialog box asking you what to do. At the bottom it should show "Do this for the next n conflicts" but it is not showing up on my computer. Help? 118.93.12.200 (talk) 03:58, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

cross-vnc
Is it plausible to use 2 different VNC programs with each other? i.e., Bob's computer has RealVNC, and Bill's comp has TightVNC. Bob is at Bill's house fixing Bill's just-out-of-warranty Chinese toaster. He reaches for the instruction manual... and it's written in mandarin orange er, Mandarin Chinese. Bill is paranoid about viruses and whatnot, so he tells Bob not to use an online translator, but to use the Chinese translator that came with Bob's Vista Ultimate package. So Bob uses Bill's TightVNC client to connect to his own RealVNC server, to access his mandarin translator. Is that possible? flaminglawyerc 04:13, 13 November 2008 (UTC)


 * All VNC client and server applications should implement the same core protocols developed for the original VNC implementation at the AT&T Laboratories in Cambridge. Later implementations may have extensions that provide different levels of control, security, compression, and encryption, but these extensions will should only be activated if the client and server detect compatible features in the other though some form of handshaking.  If the extensions are not supported by both sides, operation should revert to the original protocols.  Unless the server is configured to only accept connections from clients that implement certain extensions, any two implementations should work fine together.  -- Tcncv (talk) 04:57, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

spontaneous connection combustion?
I recently (within the last 2 months) upgraded my Comcast internet service from 600 to 800 (I don't know what the numbers mean; presumably kb/s?). Since upgrading, my internet connection has been... how can i put it lightly... "on the blink." I'll be doing great with my fast new connection one second, then the next, I'll have the "page not found" button. The no-connection period can last anywhere from a few seconds to 10 minutes. I've noticed that it usually, but not always, happens during periods of high-use, i.e., downloading something or just going to a lot of different pages really fast. This can get really frustrating when I'm on Facebook, in the middle of a conversation, then I just get shut off. Or doing homework at 3 AM. flaminglawyerc 04:33, 13 November 2008 (UTC)
 * But what was your question? -- SGBailey (talk) 09:06, 13 November 2008 (UTC)


 * Check your connections, try resetting your router if you have one, bypass your router if you have one, and check to see what the modem is doing when all of this is going on. If all else fails, call tech support; there may be a signal quality issue (can also check the levels on many modems through http://192.168.100.1 if you're on the right subnet, but you'll have to look up how to interpret them). 24.76.161.28 (talk) —Preceding undated comment was added at 09:10, 13 November 2008 (UTC).

Are you living in an older house? We had a similar problem when our connection speed got bumped up, because the phoneline in the house is about 40 years old, and we solved it by moving the router closer to the place the phoneline enters the house. 88.211.96.3 (talk) 09:14, 13 November 2008 (UTC)
 * For SGBailey, my question is/was "Why is this happening and how can I stop it?", which has already been answered (but none of which have noticably changed my performance. I will add that I am not on a wireless connection, but I am connecting (with wires) through a router. So that means my cable cord goes to my thingy supplied by Comcast, and my ethernet cord goes from there to the wireless router, and another ethernet cord goes from my router to my comp. flaminglawyerc we will never forget 21:14, 13 November 2008 (UTC)


 * So you've done the router bypass and even the call to tech support? 24.76.161.28 (talk) 23:04, 13 November 2008 (UTC)
 * No, not the tech call; I'm not involving them unless absolutely neccessary (i.e., it gets worse). And - would simply skipping the wireless router (having my wire go from the cable thingy to my comp) be an acceptable method of "router bypass?" flaminglawyerc neverforget 00:02, 14 November 2008 (UTC)
 * Yeah, that's pretty much the definition. Bad routers are not uncommon, so that might tell you something. Otherwise the only other common thing left (that doesn't normally require calling tech support) is a bad ethernet or coax cable. Could try switching those around. 24.76.161.28 (talk) 03:08, 14 November 2008 (UTC)

I just want to add the the exact same thing is happening to me, also on Comcast. While surfing, every now and then I'll get a long pause while the brower bar simply says "Looking up www.google.com" (or whatever site), then goes to a Page Not Found. If I refresh, it comes up immediately, so it appears that my connection is dropping for a few seconds, then coming right back. I am hardwired (through a router). I have't tried bypassing the router, but I am almost postiive that the problem is either the modem itself or somewhere on Comcast's end. The only good thing is that it slows down my wife's online shopping and ebay bidding, so I'm not in a huge rush to fix it. :-)--Zerozal (talk) 14:30, 14 November 2008 (UTC)

Mac OS X: How Can I Stop Devices From waking sleep mode?
I have a MacBook Pro with Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger), I carry it with me almost everywhere. At home, at work, and on the go, I connect it with various devices. However when plugging and unplugging USB and FireWire devices, the machine wakes up even when the display is closed, consequently making it harder to wake the computer properly again. Sometimes I have to put my password in twice, and sometimes the "alert sound/flash" will occur once or twice afterword. Is there a way for me to disallow USB devices from waking my computer? There exists an option for bluetooth devices in preferences, but is there a thing for other wired devices? I want my Macbook to wake up ONLY when I either open the display or hit a key on the built-in keyboard. 199.165.98.15 (talk) 06:11, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

iMovie 08 Fast and Slow Motion
Could anyone tell me how to insert clips into an iMovie project in fast or slow motion? Specifically, I have a 7 minute clip of people drawing that I want to speed up so it's possible to see the image unfold rapidly and save the viewer the boredom of watching the whole 7 minutes. So far, I have heard I need a plugin, but am unsure if this is true.

Many thanks Lukerees1983 (talk) 07:48, 13 November 2008 (UTC)


 * I seem to recall there being a little slider that lets you speed things up? A rabbit and a tortoise? I can't remember where it is though. But I think you can adjust the speed of clips. Note that an alternative, perfectly valid approach is to just cut the clip down—that's probably what a film editor would do. Cut it into smaller bites. If you make a few jump cuts it can give the "frenzied work" aesthetic just as well. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 13:46, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

I've had a pretty good look and the only sliders to be found are not to do with the speed at which you can roll the footage. I'm at a bit of a loss. The feature either isn't within the software or it's too obvious for me to find. Lukerees1983 (talk) 08:34, 14 November 2008 (UTC)

Turn off automatic loading
I am (reluctantly) using Microsoft Windows XP. Whenever I plug a memory stick into my USB port, the computer automatically loads all the hundreds of images from the stick. It seems to have mistakenly been told always to do this, but I never, ever, want it to do this. Can someone tell me how to turn off this feature please? I've searched the help files in vain. (I wish there was a magic switch that told every piece of software never to do anything until specifically instructed - sigh.)--Shantavira|feed me 12:34, 13 November 2008 (UTC)
 * Does this help? --Sean 14:31, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the link. That certainly ought to work, but it doesn't, even after rebooting the machine to try to make the setting stick, it still tries to download all the photos until I click "stop".--Shantavira|feed me 17:21, 13 November 2008 (UTC)
 * There is a way to do this and it is somewhere in the settings. I have it set up so that it presents me with a list of options and I can choose what to do (like what you want I suppose). I'm on a mac now so I can't look for the relevant settings menu, but you are going to want to locate something called Autoplay (I think it's called autoplay... maybe autorun... I forget) and modify its settings. Try looking for it under the control panel perhaps? If that doesn't work try searching for programs with the search program under the start menu. When you do locate it make sure you apply the settings/set it as default if you are presented with those relevant options because just checking a bubble and closing a window might not actually cause the setting to change. 152.16.15.23 (talk) 03:43, 14 November 2008 (UTC)
 * Maybe this will help? http://www.kevinscrate.com/blog/2007/10/13/adjust-your-autoplay-settings-in-xp/
 * 152.16.15.23 (talk) 04:06, 14 November 2008 (UTC)

help with seamonkey composer
OK, so I've downloaded seamonkey composer. I added my html text but now I want to see what the html would render as. How do I go about doing so? Thanks! --217.227.100.110 (talk) 20:09, 13 November 2008 (UTC)
 * PS:If anyone can recommend a better (free) html editor please do. :) --217.227.100.110 (talk) 20:10, 13 November 2008 (UTC)


 * I suggest NoteTab Light, which is free, and pretty sweet. And it has a button to give a rendering of your text (you asked for it). I have only very recently downloaded SeaMonkey, and I'm still getting used to it myself, so I can't really give you any advice there. flaminglawyerc never forget 21:21, 13 November 2008 (UTC)


 * I've played with a bunch of HTML editors - and in the end, the one I actually use is 'vi' (or NotePad if you're a Windows person) - in other words, "just a plain text editor". I find it's just easier to learn HTML than it is to fight to get HTML right through a tool that's trying to subvert my every move! SteveBaker (talk) 21:35, 13 November 2008 (UTC)


 * nvu has been useful to me, even though it's an abandoned project. -- LarryMac  | Talk  22:11, 13 November 2008 (UTC)


 * I don't know what you mean. How did you "add your html text"? SeaMonkey Composer is a WYSIWYG editor, so usually (in Normal mode), you already see and edit essentially what it renders as. You can also use the Preview mode and it will actually render using a browser rendering engine. You can look at and edit the source in Source mode; is that where you "added your html"? I hope you didn't just type HTML into the normal mode.
 * I typically use KompoZer as my editor; it is an updated version of the abandoned Nvu, which is itself based on Mozilla Composer / SeaMonkey Composer, so the interface and stuff should be similar to what you see in SeaMonkey Composer, but with more features. For more alternatives, you can check out Comparison of HTML editors. --131.179.33.130 (talk) 22:44, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

fastest, lowest-footprint version of Opera browser (no javascript)
So I'm on this like 600 megahertz computer with like a 4 MB graphics card. I installed Windows XP on it and Google chrome works great, and acceptably fast even at this speed. But Google chrome doesn't have a way to disable javascript, and opening dozens or hundreds of tabs is too slow.

So I'd like to run Opera with scripts and plugins disabled at the same time. But the newer versions seem to have way more overhead, like just a single page, all the scripts turned off, can give it a 36 megabyte memory footprint. So I'd like to know if I'm really getting speed for all that memory usage, or just more features? In sum, which verison of the Opera browser is fastest, most lightweight, when all scripting, plugins, etc, are disabled? I can't find any current benchmarks. Thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.199.126.76 (talk) 20:20, 13 November 2008 (UTC)


 * No benchmarks, but I've run Opera 5 just fine on a 400MHz computer with 128MB of RAM. You might also try Opera 6. --Carnildo (talk) 22:17, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

Recursive Functions in Matlab
Do you know how i would write a function,

function out = gcd_rec(a,b)

where out is the greatest common denominator of a and b, two intergers, where a > b? Thanks, Julia Millon169.229.75.128 (talk) 20:32, 13 November 2008 (UTC)
 * See Euclidean algorithm. --Sean 20:39, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

Pausing Youtube Buffering
Is there anyway one can temporarily pause the buffering of Youtube video. When one clicks on a link to a video, the video opens up and automatically begins buffering and once a pre-set amount is buffered, the video begins to play. Is there a way I can stop the video from buffering, then re-start it again? Acceptable (talk) 23:26, 13 November 2008 (UTC)


 * Just click pause the very second the video starts to play. --Crackthewhip775 (talk) 01:43, 14 November 2008 (UTC)


 * @Crackthewhip775, I think it will still keep buffering. Kushal (talk) 03:01, 14 November 2008 (UTC)

That is correct. While the video may be paused, the video is still buffering and taking up bandwidth. Acceptable (talk) 03:08, 14 November 2008 (UTC)
 * This technique will probably be useless for whatever you are trying to achieve, but interrupting your internet connection (by pulling the internet cable for example) will stop the buffering. While offline you can watch the video and skip around within the buffered parts all you want. If you reconnect to the internet and allow the video to play until it reaches the edge of the buffered zone, the video will idle and act like it is trying to buffer (although it does nothing). Get the video to rebuffer again by dragging the scrollbar just a smidge beyond where it idled. (The previous buffering is lost because you effectively skipped ahead...) Probably useless info, but it was worth a shot... 152.16.15.23 (talk) 03:27, 14 November 2008 (UTC)


 * If you use Firefox with the NoScript or Flashblock extensions, the video won't buffer or play until you explicitly allow it to. -- LarryMac  | Talk  13:50, 14 November 2008 (UTC)


 * I have NoScript but not Flashblock and Youtube videos do autoplay for me (after short buffering period). Maybe I should install Flashblock if it will turn off Youtoube's autoplay. Opening multiple youtube tabs sucks as it is :( &mdash; Shinhan  &lt;&thinsp; talk &thinsp;&gt; 20:24, 14 November 2008 (UTC)


 * If NoScript is not stopping Youtube videos from playing, then you've probably added the site to the white list. Go into the options dialog and remove youtube from the list of allowed sites and that should take care of that.  You might have to restart Firefox.  -- LarryMac  | Talk  20:59, 14 November 2008 (UTC)

If you immediately click to the last second or so of the video, only a tiny tiny bit will buffer. ╟─ Treasury Tag ► contribs ─╢ 22:33, 14 November 2008 (UTC)


 * I am sorry if I sound overexcited but I just found this userscript and immediately thought about you, Acceptable. You will need to be using Firefox with Greasemonkey (please come back if you need assistance with that) and then you can install this script on GreaseMonkey. Hope it works for you, Kushal (talk) 10:56, 15 November 2008 (UTC)