Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2009 June 16

= June 16 =

Determining origin of digital image
Is there some way to determine the origin of this picture? Perhaps some digital watermark? Although it was posted on a forum, I doubt that I will be able to trace it via that route anymore, although I will try. Seans Potato Business 01:26, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * I remember that PARADOX won a few awards at some demoparties. One of their winning demos had a scene that looked like that picture. I looked at the metadata for the image inside Photoshop, and it doesn't give any information of value. I imagine, though, that it was created inside a 3D application like Maya or 3ds Max.--WinRAR anodeeven (talk) 01:58, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * TinEye has no idea, just in case anyone else trying to use that. --antilivedT 02:06, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * It looks a bit like stuff from this site. Someone posted that image in this web forum, so maybe you could ask him/her?  --Sean 16:56, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * I ran strings (Unix) on the image. It has definitely passed through Photoshop CS2, and contains the following metadata (among others, mostly indecipherable):

Those document unique identifiers might help, I can't find any google results for them. Nimur (talk) 20:06, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * The image appears here:
 * http://www.bio.davidson.edu/COURSES/GENOMICS/2005/Kiley/home.html ...with the legend: "Permission pending,http://www.wpic.pitt.edu/research/sweetlab/Brain%20Bank%20Home%20frame.htm" (ie I asked if I could use it - and they didn't say "Yes" yet but I'm going to use it anyway.) Sadly - that link doesn't point anywhere - but there is an email address at the first link where you could ask about the origin of the picture.
 * It also appears on "Desktop Nexus" http://my.desktopnexus.com/zknall/uploads/ - if you create an account there, you can send a message to "zknall" and ask where (s)he got it.
 * It shows up on the right here: http://anniebernier.wordpress.com/2008/02/07/en-fait-x-200/ - with the text "Population de la Gélose * 5,461 bactéries * L'hydrogène est un gaz léger et inodore qui, si on lui en donne le temps, se transforme en animaux dotés de conscience * Dr. Robert Lamontagne"...but Lamontagne turns out to be a French-Canadian physicist...I doubt the image is his - and there is no sign of it on any other website related to him.
 * http://elementy.ru/lib/430218/430221 has the image - the site appears to be in russian. The link under the image points to http://www.wpic.pitt.edu/ - which was also the location of the "permission pending" link above...so that's probably the original source of this much-plagiarized image.
 * SteveBaker (talk) 01:28, 17 June 2009 (UTC)

What is Blogging?
how and what is blogging? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kro311 (talk • contribs) 03:40, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * We have an article blog which explains a lot about it. Basically, a blog is a website where someone posts short email-like messages on any subject that he or she feels to be relevent.  Some people treat them like a very public diary - others use them to post progress on some project or news about some subject.  You don't really need any special software to do it - you're just editing a web page.  But most people will wind up using one of the many packages that make the process easier - and allow readers of the blog to receive email notifications and so forth. SteveBaker (talk) 04:28, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

Blackberry Curve and the iPhone 3G S
I have done a ton of research and I cannot decide whether one phone is superior to the other. I currently have the BBC 8310 and I use it for
 * text people
 * surf the internet (especially Facebook)
 * use the turn by turn Navigational thing
 * take pics and videos
 * I have a tendency (not deliberate) to beat things up after a while

Really, which phone is superior? --Reticuli88 (talk) 13:36, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * I can't tell you which is best, but I can tell you how our company fared using both. I'm the IT guy who has to support them.
 * The iPhone's browser and email client is excellent. The ones we have will not do turn by turn navigation. The camera is acceptable, as is the texting. But phone reception is exceptionally poor; they often drop out in rural locations where cheap nokias get several bars. Of the four iPhones we have, two have broken beyond repair (leaving us with the contract). Everyone who has an iPhone in the company tells me they don't want anther one.
 * One person has a Curve, bought to replace an iPhone. Its email client seems slightly basic to me, but he's very happy (he says its faster than the iPhone). Its browser seems very rudimentary to me.
 * If it was my money, only the people who travel a lot would get either; the total cost (when you include the expensive call and data packages you need) is very high, and it doesn't seem like good value for money for anyone else.
 * One thing you might consider: one person got a cheap nokia for phonecalls and texts, and has an iPod Touch with his email configured. He uses the iPod on public wifi connections for email and web browsing - it's the same as the iPhone in that regard.  This way he's getting a good phone (which the iphone isn't), good email (which both do), good browsing (which the iPhone has), and doesn't pay the expensive plans that the smartphones demand. Carmangled (talk) 14:33, 16 June 2009 (UTC)
 * FYI you can create a nice neat bullet list by using asterisks at the start of a line. Observe the aforementioned post, and enjoy! --Jmeden2000 (talk) 15:04, 17 June 2009 (UTC)

Vandal fighter
Whenever I try to download version 3.3 of vandal fighter, I get this: "Safari can’t open the page “http://hekla.rave.org/vf/3.3/vf33-English.jar” because Safari can’t find the server “hekla.rave.org”. I use Mac OS X, and of course, Safari. Is there any explanation for this?  --I dream of horses (talk) 13:39, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * The server is either completely down or just not accessible from your Internet connection. If it is completely down, it may recover some day.  If your connection is being blocked, try accessing it from school or work or the library or the local coffee shop... --  k a i n a w &trade; 13:48, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Do you think satellite internet is blocked? I use sprint satellite. --I dream of horses (talk) 14:40, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Are you currently in Teheran? Tempshill (talk) 15:26, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * According to this, it is down. -- k a i n a w &trade; 15:31, 16 June 2009 (UTC)
 * No, I'm in Missouri, but thanks to everybody that helped! --I dream of horses (talk) 16:44, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

proxy server
my internet goes through a work proxy server, but i have need to run a computer program that does not have settings to access to tell it to use the proxy server. So it does not work. How can I make program use proxy settings from web browser (this is port 80 and http) when it has no settings to change and no configuration files? Thank you for speedy reply


 * Depends on your program/os/proxy. On Linux you'll probably be lucky if you set the "http_proxy" environment variable, eg. 'export http_proxy=http:// : '. If your browser has "automatic proxy configuration", then download that address and pick some ip from the file. There could be smarter ways but it works for me. --194.197.235.32 (talk) 16:07, 16 June 2009 (UTC)
 * this WIndows XP computer. the browser firefox has proxy settings so I know them, but I can not make the custom program use the proxy settings because there is no feature to specify them. It is just using the internet connection and works ok on home computer who uses direct broadband, by at work it is notworking because they using a proxy server for all traffic. I need way to make it use proxy server

Changing list of words
I have a text and I want to change a list of words. This is the equivalent to changing Am. "color" to Br. "colour". How can I accomplish this? Perhaps only with Open Office.

I don't want to change single words, but do it automatically.--80.58.205.37 (talk) 16:54, 16 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Use the "Find and Replace" command, CTRL + F (under the Edit menu). It should let you find and replace all without checking with you each time. It is similar in MS Word, but CTRL + R, I believe. -- Flyguy649 talk 17:03, 16 June 2009 (UTC)
 * That's nice. But this is not the case. I have a list of some hundred words. I want to do it automatically, not manually find and replace each word.--80.58.205.37 (talk) 17:06, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * As Flyguy649 said above, in OpenOffice click Edit in the menu bar and select "find and replace". Enter the word you wish to change in the "Search for" box and the word you wish to replace it with in the "Replace with" box, then click "Replace all". It will take every instance of the word and replace them all 8I.24.07.715 (talk) 17:11, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * This is simply not the case. I don't only want to change every instance. I have a series of pairs that have to be changed.80.58.205.37 (talk) 17:16, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Assuming you are using Linux (since you use OpenOffice) and assuming it is truly a text file and not a word document... You can use sed. First, create a file of replacements, such as "s/color/colour/" - one per line. Then, assuming you called it "br.sed", you can run: . --  k a i n a w &trade; 17:11, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Thanks Kainaw. I use Linux and that is exactly what I was searching for. 80.58.205.37 (talk) 17:16, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Now you have two problems. What Kainaw posted is a classic clbuttic mistake, you should modify the lines to say s/\bcolor\b/colour/ What Kainaw wrote will replace "ass" with "butt", and also "assassin" into "buttbuttin" or "classic" into "clbuttic". \b are word boundaries and maybe you do want to replace both color into colour and colored into coloured, but I would recomend you to grep all words containing color and then hand pick every variation that is desirable, so you dont have clbuttic in final document. &mdash; Shinhan  &lt;&thinsp; talk &thinsp;&gt; 13:46, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

Desktop soundsystem
Can anyone recommend a destop speaker set up - I was looking at devices like the JBL spyro but am not convinced they are not going to be crap, despite the glowing reviews - specifically - where is the midrange going to come from. I'm avoiding 5.1 type systems - only need 2. Maybe someone can think up a clever alternative to the set system packages. Also toslink optical in would be a big plus. Can spend more money. Thanks. (Oh and while I'm here - class D audio amps with more than 10W at genuine low distortion levels - should be on the market - but I can't find any separates - anyone know? Thanks again)83.100.250.79 (talk) 18:52, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * You should consider how much money you're willing to spend, how large should the system be, and why you want optical in. Do aesthetics matter? Those JBLs look like they're likely style over function. If you don't mind more size and price, you could just go ahead and buy a less expensive audio receiver, a couple bookshelf speakers, and a subwoofer. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 20:11, 16 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Yep. I already have the bookshelf speakers, but the old receiver gone to heaven - hence the second question - looking at stuff I found available it seems that everyone makes a 20kg 7.1 system the same size as my house - but all I want is a simple amp.. Maybe someone else will know.83.100.250.79 (talk) 20:49, 16 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Size (and pointless power consumption) is an issue, doesn't matter if it's a black/grey lump particularily.83.100.250.79 (talk) 20:58, 16 June 2009 (UTC)
 * This isn't really a reference question, it's more of a product evaluation request. There are plenty of internet forums and electronics review websites that can do a better job - for example, CNet Home Audio Systems review.  Nimur (talk) 20:14, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Powered speakers don't require an amp/receiver. Mostly larger and pricier than computer desktop speakers, but some are small and still sound very good. I have a pair of Event TR8 powered monitors for non-computer purposes mainly, but it is trivial to connect a computer to them. The result is rather amazing sound coming from the computer. For "desktop" use, there are smaller powered speakers/monitors. If money is not a big issue and you want big sound, might be worth looking into. Pfly (talk) 09:05, 17 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Yes, it's a good option, though I still have working bookshelfs, which are approaching the quality of the speakers you mention.. So if anyone knows of a suitable amp, as I mentioned above, please say - the ones I can find seem to either be ~2W, or a big jump to above 100W, with nothing inbetween.83.100.250.79 (talk) 14:32, 17 June 2009 (UTC)

DDR2/DDR3
I'm considering an upgrade (again!)... there isn't any ionformation in the articles on ram or ddr2/3, how long ddr3's likely to be "the mainstream kind of memory" or what if anything is in the R&D pipeline intended to supersede it.

Does anyone have information on that? Thanks. FT2 (Talk 21:05, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Since you are upgrading, I'll give a suggestion which in no way answers your question... I upgrade my computer every year. What I do is locate a motherboard that I like.  Once I have picked out a motherboard, I get a CPU, memory, power supply, and all to match it.  So, I don't choose between DDR2 or DDR3 first.  I choose the board and it will support, which may be only DDR2 or only DDR3 or possibly both.  Only when it is both would I have to decide between the two. --  k a i n a w &trade; 21:13, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * My question is because I might do this upgrade in two steps, and I'm trying to judge the longevity of DDR3 (ie, DDR3 motherboards being mainstream) for step #2 in a year or sos time. Right now it looks like DDR3 will be current "state of play" for a good 2-3 years or more (DDR2 was introduced in 2003 and was still very much "current" in 2008). I'm trying to estimate how long to expect, for DDR3.


 * A computer repairman friend of mine @ MainPC USA said that DDR3 RAM is not as stable as DDR2 yet. But what does he know. Mxvxnyxvxn (talk) 03:32, 17 June 2009 (UTC)


 * It should be easy to get some idea where it's at, given that such a standard would normally have quite a long development pipeline (standards development, R&D, production, mass acceptance and price drop) and so on. But there's no information on the status quo for any potential or proposed successor to DDR3, on-wiki. FT2 (Talk 23:15, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Aha! Found it! DDR4 is indeed covered, but it's brief and in a footnote to SDRAM. Added a link from DDR3 for anyone else looking for "successor technology".


 * The upshot is that if DDR4 is introduced in 2012, it probably won't be "mainstream" till 2014 or even 2015, so 1600 DDR3 should have a good long lifetime. Which means I can buy a DDR3 775 motherboard with some degree of confidence that the switch to socket 1366 in a while, won't waste the memory. FT2 (Talk 23:53, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

Having trouble viewing some pages

 * I'm having trouble viewing your question, OP —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.43.90.144 (talk) 22:02, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

Sorry, that is because I hadn't posted it yet. I created a section first and then I was editing it to post my questions but you posted before I finished my question. Anyway, here it is. I have been having this problem for a while now and it is bugging me. Basically, there are some pages such that when I click on a link to open them up, I get a completely blank page and the name of the page in the title bar says "something.html (GIF Image, 1x1 pixels)". It seems arbitrary to me. What is causing this and how can I fix this so that I can view those pages? A recent example is craigslist.com. I am using Firefox 3.0.11 on Windows XP with SP2. Any help/advice would be appreciated. Thanks! -Looking for Wisdom and Insight! (talk) 22:05, 16 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Are you by any chance using Kaspersky anti-virus? There is an anti-banner setting (similar to the anti-pop-up one)which is a known cause of the "1 x 1 GIF image" problem. Try turning that setting off. - KoolerStill (talk) 22:23, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

Awesome, that is exactly what it was. I am using Kaspersky. I simply added craigslist.org to the whitelist in the antibanner section and everything is hunky-dory. Thanks!-Looking for Wisdom and Insight! (talk) 22:38, 16 June 2009 (UTC)
 * You're very welcome. You were right doing it the whitelist way, too, as a blanket permission on banners leaves you open to "click-through" code and possible unwanted redirections. A friend caught a very nasty root-kit virus from such a redirection recently. -KoolerStill (talk) 23:05, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Another alternative is to use a browser with a capable ad blocker - opera and firefox have these, probably others do to. In a modern ad blocker, you typically right-click on a banner or advert or you can specify a "mask" that will be blocked, such as *.adserver.com/*, mysite.com/adverts/*, or a specific image. I find that far superior to a banner blocker (and trivially quick and easy) and have disabled the banner blocker in my antivirus program for that reason. Of course I still rely on the AV catching malware, but in terms of adverts, I leave that to the browser these days. FT2 (Talk 23:18, 16 June 2009 (UTC)