Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2009 August 20

= August 20 =

Midnight ana/cron job
Is there any way to ensure that a cron job, which is also checked by anacron, takes place at midnight if possible? The reason is that I need to update dynamic tables in a database that depend on the date but not on the time of day. Neon Merlin  01:23, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Macintosh code merging tool?
Can anyone suggest a Macintosh code-merging tool, something like Emacs emerge-mode if you're familiar with that? Basically something that diffs two source files, and puts up a three-pane window, with files A and B side by side, and the merged result underneath. It highlights the diffs between A and B and lets you move through the two files choosing which side to take each diff from, copying your choice to the merge window, and eventually you save the merged result in a new file. This is for use by my officemates who use Macintoshes. I don't use Macs myself so don't have much idea what's out there but I'm pretty sure such things exist. Thanks. 70.90.174.101 (talk) 02:01, 20 August 2009 (UTC)


 * There are Unix tools such as tkdiff which can do this, and which should run fine on the Mac. --FOo (talk) 03:20, 20 August 2009 (UTC)


 * I like Meld the best. Here is a Mac package of it.  --Sean 15:10, 20 August 2009 (UTC)


 * If you want to attack the problem before it happens, Subethaedit, a collaborative programming tool, is very good. Mac Davis (talk) 17:15, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

Tool for writing (wiki?)
I'm a bit overwhelmed by the availability of various tools and not really quite sure how to pin this down - I'm torn between thinking it should be a text editor (OpenOffice Writer, SciTE) or a wiki (MediaWiki?) or a web service (scribd?). I'd like to non-collaboratively write a story with some sort of logical break (chapter, page) but utilize a lot of wiki-esq features - versioning, and more importantly what I understand to be backlinks (?) and hopefully some form of *auto*link (so, for example, every instance of "Harry Houdini" automagically substitutes itself to (link to Harry Houdini notes page)Harry Houdini(/link), whose page has those backlinks ibid, and "diff". Setting up an Apache/MySQL/PHP stack isn't a challenge - finding the right tool is. Or even the search terms to sift through, as "authoring wiki" and vice versa conflate in meaning. Pointers would be appreciated. 69.255.26.5 (talk) 03:49, 20 August 2009 (UTC)
 * Perhaps you should look at using DocBook as the markup language, and keep all the files in Subversion or CVS? It has all the formatting features for writing a book, and has the ability to include links to references. -- JSBillings  11:40, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Printing a mail with no Header
I'm trying to print a message from my Microsoft Outlook inbox, I want the print out to contain only the body of the message and none of the fields such as To, From, Name etc. Just wondering if this is Doabl? Thanks - Foz 80.88.241.94 (talk) 09:09, 20 August 2009 (UTC)


 * I'm guessing there's a reason you don't want to do this in another application? If you don't care you just need to highlight the text copy (Control+C) and then open up Word/Notepad/Whatever and paste it (Control+V). You can then print it with only the information you want. 09:19, 20 August 2009 (UTC)


 * Actually there is a good one, Copy-Paste for some reason is not working properly, it's cutting out some lines.. have tried everything i could think of to fix this, with no success. So now trying to think out of the box!  Foz 80.88.241.94 (talk) 09:58, 20 August 2009 (UTC)
 * Perhaps rather than copy/paste you could do some kind of "save as text" (I don't have Outlook, so I'm guessing), and then edit the text file? --Sean 15:13, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

How to connect to localhost using putty ?
How to connect to localhost using putty (telnet / ssh session) in windows / cygwin environment ? thanks in advance. --V4vijayakumar (talk) 14:14, 20 August 2009 (UTC)
 * Same as any other host; just use "localhost" as the hostname. You'll need to have an SSH server running, of course.  --Sean 15:13, 20 August 2009 (UTC)
 * Also consider connecting to the IP address 127.0.0.1 (or really 127.any.num.ber) in case localhost would somehow not resolve or be redirected in hosts.txt. IP addresses begining with 127 loopback to the local machine under RFC 3330. Freedomlinux (talk) 22:26, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Using games software for animation
Some users have tweaked games software to create "3D" video animations, shown on YouTube. I do not play those kind of games, and I know nothing about animation. What software can I use to create similar animations please? 78.149.149.64 (talk) 14:56, 20 August 2009 (UTC)
 * See Machinima. --Sean 15:15, 20 August 2009 (UTC)
 * In the past (circa 2002) to hack Halo PC we used an older, differently named version of Autodesk 3ds Max. You'd create a "skin," another design for a tank or gun. This would only change how things looked, not how things acted. To actually change the functionality of something you'd open up a hex editor and tweak the parameters. This way you can get invisible characters and infinite speed rockets. To make machinima, you can just hookup your Xbox or whatnot to your PC with a video capture card and record video like that, adding voice overs and doing some light video editing to get your finished product. Mac Davis (talk) 17:12, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

Specific question about wikis
A wiki I made running Semantic MediaWiki has a page with an #ask function that creates a sortable table. The page in question is here. Now, if I choose to sort the list by the property "Debut", the Guard article is sent to the top, even though its property should place it after Zay-Kessa. This seems to be because the page its property links to does not exist. Short of creating the page, how can I stop this happening? (Note that stopping the property from creating links will not work, as I need the links.) Anthrcer (click to talk to me) 15:48, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Unexpected restart and error log
Hello there, suddenly my system restarted automatically when I connected my usb modem to usb port. When desktop appears a message pop up which is something like "The system has recovered from a serious error. A log of this error has been created. For more information about this error, click here". I clicked on the link and following message appeared: BCCode : fe BCP1 : 00000004 BCP2 : 89B2A008 BCP3 : 8933CA74 BCP4:00000000 OSVer:5_1_2600 SP:2_0 Product : 256_1. I clicked on technical information about the error report and it showed following 2 files which will be added to the error report:
 * C:\DOCUME~1\nahid\LOCALS~1\Temp\WER5eb2.dir00\Mini082009-01.dmp
 * C:\DOCUME~1\nahid\LOCALS~1\Temp\WER5eb2.dir00\sysdata.xml

What was this sudden restart and what about this error report and files?--119.30.36.39 (talk) 18:41, 20 August 2009 (UTC)


 * It is likely that your USB modem's driver is poorly written and it crashed the computer. If you experience no further crashes and the modem is functional, I'd forget about it and go on with your life.  If it continues to crash, update its driver using the manufacturer's website, and if that doesn't fix it then contact their technical support service; and if none of this helps, then return the modem and buy one from a manufacturer with better drivers.  By the way, this sort of crash is more common by far under Windows XP and previous editions than it is under Windows Vista and, presumably, the upcoming Windows 7, both of which use a different driver model that makes it harder for poorly written drivers to crash the whole machine.  Tempshill (talk) 21:39, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

High Resolution Settings and Browsing
I have a 1920x1200 display and while browsing the internet I notice I have to increase the text size a lot to make things legible. However when I do this the formatting of the pages tend to get screwed up and I can't see a lot of the text. What's the best way to browse full screen web pages on a high resolution display?

I use firefox if that makes a difference. TheFutureAwaits (talk) 18:45, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Try increasing the font size(DPI) of your operating system...it's generally available in the advanced section of your display properties(os dependent)Piyushbehera25 (talk) 19:26, 20 August 2009 (UTC)


 * Newer versions of Firefox (I think 3 onward) have an option where instead of just increasing the text size (which throws layouts out of whack), it will zoom the entire page (so the images increase in size as well). I don't know if that is advisable but it's an easy thing to play with. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 19:34, 20 August 2009 (UTC)
 * For a quick and dirty fix, if there is just some small text you can't read, hold down "control" and move the mouse "scroll wheel". This does also get formatting out of whack, but it's good if you just want to make something large for a moment to read it then put it back to normal again. I think this works on most browsers. Vespine (talk) 05:35, 21 August 2009 (UTC)


 * Right, but this is actually the problem. I keep having to press control and scroll to increase website sizes since at their native size they only take up the middle third of my screen. But then when I zoom in I lose a lot of the information contained on the bottom of the page. Is there some way I can just expanded the horizontal size of the page to fill up my screen? TheFutureAwaits (talk) 08:46, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

Research Issues in Routing
Hi, I'm a final year B-Tech(undergrad degree) student in Computer Science...i'm intrested in carrying out research in the Computer Networks field(esp in Routing). As i'm from a small college there isn't much exposure to currently undergoing research in the above said topic. If any one can suggest me any research issues(in routing) to work on I would be very grateful to them...Also it would be very helpful if you could point out any sites or other resources which are related to the Routing...Thanking you in advance...Piyushbehera25 (talk) 19:22, 20 August 2009 (UTC)


 * I can't suggest anything specific, but if no one responds with any good ideas, here's what I'd suggest: search for Routing on Google Scholar. As an undergrad, you may find some of the papers there overwhelming, but if you dig around, you'll probably find some things that look interesting. That'll give you a starting point; you can look up papers that that one references, or you can also look at the authors' faculty web pages, where they usually talk some about their current research programs. Cbogart2 (talk) 09:43, 24 August 2009 (UTC)

Privacy when using a PC
I'm currently using an XP computer attached to an old CRT monitor. I'm in the UK - not sure if this means the monitor works using PAL like UK non-digital tvs, or NTSC like old US tvs, or something else. But my question is - could someone in the next room with little or no equipment pick up the image from the monitor or elsewhere, even if a very noisy image? Years ago I think I remember I could get the ghost of an image from my computer on a nearby tv if I fiddled with the tuning - not sure if that still holds. 89.241.32.157 (talk) 21:22, 20 August 2009 (UTC)


 * You are using neither NTSC nor PAL, which as you know are television standards and not computer monitor standards. Your CRT monitor is using a variety of the VGA standard.  I have never seen the ghost of a CRT image on a nearby CRT or TV.  If you're paranoid about spies, you may become more so when you read our TEMPEST article, which concerns shielding such electronic equipment to prevent nearby snoopers with special equipment from spying on what's on your monitor.  Tempshill (talk) 21:31, 20 August 2009 (UTC)
 * Also Van Eck phreaking to freak you out even more. Vespine (talk) 01:40, 21 August 2009 (UTC)


 * In general the answer is no. I think - the signal will leak a little, but there will be so much electronic noise they'd definitely need specialist expensive equipment.
 * However as you note - it does sometimes happen that the 'moons align' and a weak signal can be amplified, and appear fairly clearly elsewhere - the problem is probably more pronounced with analogue signals


 * However with an directional aerial (built for VGA frequency communications) connected to a high frequency amplifier connected to a monitor it may well be possible to pick your signal - however the limit here is knowledge, not cost. And they'd still need some specialist equipment. Maybe someone else could verify the validity of this listening method?83.100.250.79 (talk) 21:04, 21 August 2009 (UTC)