Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2009 March 6

= March 6 =

skype to irc (or similar) gateway?
I use two computers, A and B, both running linux. They are at separate locations but both have reasonably fast internet. Computer A has a Skype client installed. Computer B is under a software policy that forbids installing a Skype client on it. I want to participate in a certain Skype chat, from computer B. It's a text-only chat--I don't care about voice or video for this purpose. I'm wondering if there is some kind of program that lets me run an IRC or Pidgin client on computer B, and proxies the conversation through the Skype client on computer A, or a straightforward way to set one up. Even better would be if Pidgin could talk to Skype directly, but my impression is that Skype is a closed network.

Hmm, it occurs to me that the simplest approach may be to tunnel an X window connection by ssh between computers A and B, so that the Skype client on A can open a window on B that I can type in. A and B are both behind firewalls and can't connect to each other directly, but if necessary I can use a third computer C (which is directly on the net) as an intermediary. Should that be straightforward to set up with ssh port forwarding on the three machines? I've always found the ssh docs confusing about things like this.

Thanks. 76.195.10.34 (talk) 02:01, 6 March 2009 (UTC)
 * There are third party instant messaging programs (most notably on the iphone) that do have skype interfaces. This makes me think there is some skype API, or open standard, similar to what AOL has with AIM, but I haven't looked into it beyond that. That would seem to be the most straightforward solution, although maybe more work than setting up an x tunnel (although that is wrought with problems too). Shadowjams (talk) 10:17, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

Current processor offerings
Can someone give a very quick breakdown of high-end, mid-range and low-end processors currently offered from AMD and Intel? As I'm looking for a pc I have become familiar with the names of different families but am not sure how they relate to each other. Specifically I'm looking for something midrange for a laptop that doesn't choke on photo management and post processing, but doesn't need to do gaming, 3d rendering etc. Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.154.31.121 (talk) 03:02, 6 March 2009 (UTC)
 * High end = Intel Nehalem and Core 2 Quad, AMD Phenom. These are 4-core cpus that aren't in laptops yet because they use too much power.  Midrange: Core 2 Duo, AMD Turion X2 and some follow-on whose name I've forgotten.  This is probably what you want, if by "post processing" you mean you want to run photo editors.  I think the Core 2 Duo is mostly dominant now because of higher performance per watt compared with the AMD counterpart.  Low end = Intel Celeron and Atom, AMD Geode, and similar.  These are used in netbooks for convenient email and web browsing, but will be annoyingly slow if you're running Gimp or Photoshop on large images.  76.195.10.34 (talk) 03:29, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

Sort order in Windows explorer
On Windows XP, when listing files sorted by name, what is the sort order used? My observations are that numbers come before letters. That upper and lower case are treated the same, that "-" is treated as a non-character. But where and what order are other symbols and punctuation? Are they asciibetical? I've read lots about numbers being sorted numerically or alphabetically and that isn't a problem. I would like to find a symbol that comes before numbers though. -- SGBailey (talk) 09:14, 6 March 2009 (UTC)
 * I haven't tested it but my hunch is that it's the ASCII character table (in other words, the hex equivalent). I use an ( or a ! for the purpose you're talking about, and that works almost all of the time. XP also has some sort of intelligent sorting, they have some term for it, that will put 3 before 10. Shadowjams (talk) 10:12, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

Truely unlimited broadband
Many broadband services say unlimited but actually have fair usage policiles that limit it to 4 gig a month or something. Are there any truly unlimited broadband services in the united kingdom that are really unlimited? thanks you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.80.240.66 (talk) 13:29, 6 March 2009 (UTC)


 * No. All policies have a limit. Even if it's a 'hidden' or 'soft' limit.
 * If there was a truely 'unlimited' broadband plan, then Google would use it and save a fortune.
 * (Four gig a month seems painfully low, however.) APL (talk) 19:04, 6 March 2009 (UTC)


 * You can get a T1 or other leased line that is truly unlimited, but it's going to cost you -- figure several hundred pounds a month. --Carnildo (talk) 00:42, 7 March 2009 (UTC)
 * 4 GB a month is low...most people will probably never exceed the limits on their plan. The limits are usually in the few hundred to several hundred GB range though. :)--Xp54321 (Hello! • Contribs ) 03:12, 14 March 2009 (UTC)

MS Excel cross-reference help
In MS Excel I can read the value of another's sheet cell by using the following string in the destination's cell value: ='ORIGIN_SHEET_NAME'!A1 (supposing I wanted the content of the A1 cell)

This, however, still means that I have to manually type the origin sheet name every time I want to create a reference of this kind. Is it possible to read the name of the origin sheet from the content of a cell in the destination sheet? Something like: ='B9'!A1 (This won't work) That would be useful, as I wish to automate the process. I would just type the origin sheet name in a cell and the values I wish to transport from one sheet to another would automatically show up. 213.13.148.4 (talk) 13:33, 6 March 2009 (UTC)


 * I believe you want Excel's INDIRECT function. This function evaluates a text string as a cell or range reference. Using the example details you provided:




 * Note: the ampersand concatenates strings together. –  7 4   14:05, 6 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Thanks! But when I drag the cell over the adjacent cells in order to apply the rule to them it doesn't work. I'm trying to read, for exemple, the value in Q1, which is the name of a sheet, and then pick the Z9:Z26 values in that sheet and put them in a column with 17 rows. How would you do that? 213.13.148.4 (talk) 14:28, 6 March 2009 (UTC)


 * There are two potential problems here. The simplest is that the sheet reference changes when you use autofill. To prevent a reference from changing, add '$' before static values. So, to make your B9 reference entirely static, use $B$9 instead.


 * The more complicated problem is that a text string *doesn't* change when you use autofill (so all your references point back to A1 in the other sheet). Fixing that requires a little more indirection:


 * This results in a formula that can be autofilled and will pull corresponding cells from the specified sheet. –  7 4   15:18, 6 March 2009 (UTC)


 * That last part of the formula (the address part) doesn't seem to work, or I didn't understand it. 213.13.148.4 (talk) 16:07, 6 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Can you be more specific on how it doesn't work? –  7 4   16:09, 6 March 2009 (UTC)
 * It just lacked a semicolon (: <- that thing, semicolon, right?) a ; instead of a comma and its fine now! Thanks a lot! 213.13.148.4 (talk) 17:38, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

Ultramon Wallpaper (Vista)
Ultramon advertises that it supports having different wallpapers on each monitor, and their web site shows screen shots of it in action, and how to set it up under Windows XP. But I have Windows Vista (violins) and have been unable to figure out how to set up multiple wallpapers in that context. What I've tried: Matchups 13:40, 6 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Google--many articles that tell me that the feature exists, finally gave up on finding one with how-to
 * Ref desk archives
 * Ultramon web site


 * You might find this page helpful (it's not Ultramon, but it may be an alternative). –  7 4   13:58, 6 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Actually configuring it on Vista is exactly the same as the way you configure it on XP (I use it myself). Right-click the system tray icon and select Wallpaper. Click the "New wallpaper" button to create and give the new configuration a name. Make sure "a different background/image for each monitor" is selected and then click/select a monitor in the preview. The selected monitor will have a square round it and then you can just use the "Browse" in the bottom right corner (of the same form) to select and image. Click another monitor and then browse to another image for that monitor and so on. Hope this helps! ZX81  talk  16:49, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

Question on ACID
There is a question on Talk:ACID that basically asks "What does Atomic mean in the realm of Transaction Management?" After answering the question twice, I suggested that the user ask here. However, if anyone wants to jump over to the ACID page and answer the question there, I'm sure the person asking the question will appreciate it. -- k a i n a w &trade; 13:59, 6 March 2009 (UTC)


 * I added a comment. Atomic does mean isolation when you discuss test-and-set systems.  So, I see the confusion. Youth in Asia (talk) 14:07, 6 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Don't bother. The questioner does not want an answer.  He wants an argument. -- k a i n a w &trade; 22:47, 6 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Just to clarify, User:Kainaw isn't saying that he himself wants an argument, but rather that User:Water pepper, who posed the original Q on the ACID talk page, does. StuRat (talk) 15:08, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

How do I capture live webcam from livejasmin
OK there's a hot chick and I wanna capture the live video as a flv. file or something how do i do it? Im missing some good stuff right now. THANKS!--Tripping Over The Stones (talk) 18:28, 6 March 2009 (UTC)


 * mplayer -playlist http://path/to/stream -dumpstream -dumpfile filename.ext
 * ¦ Reisio (talk) 03:57, 10 March 2009 (UTC)

Microsoft Word "bugs"
Typing "=rand(x,y)" onto its own line, and then hitting [ENTER], in a Word document gives x paragraphs of y copies of "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." Does anybody know of any other such "bugs?" —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lucas Brown 42 (talk • contribs) 19:59, 6 March 2009 (UTC)


 * This type of feature is more commonly known as an "Easter Egg". We have an article on Easter eggs in Microsoft products, and you can Google for more.  Note that not every version has the same things built in.  --<font color="#3EA99F">LarryMac <font color="#3EABBF"> | Talk  20:06, 6 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Microsoft calls it a feature. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 09:35, 7 March 2009 (UTC)


 * In Word 2000 and 2003, it gives the behavior described above. In Word 2007, it gives some text from the help, but the arrangement of sentences and paragraphs remains. Matchups 15:10, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

Blogger layout 100%
Can someone tell me how I can get the wide layout in my blogger as Google sites http://googlesitesblog.blogspot.com/ does? Thanks. Kushal (talk) 20:27, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

Please? Kushal (talk) 19:55, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * http://css-discuss.incutio.com/?page=CssLayouts
 * http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewforum.php?f=25
 * irc://irc.freenode.net/css *
 * ¦ Reisio (talk) 06:25, 19 March 2009 (UTC)

Vista Enterprise vs Windows 7 Beta
I just got a new laptop and don't know which operating system I should install on it. My MSDNAA license allows me to get some free operating systems and other microsoft educational programs. The latest OS's on the website are Vista Enterprise Edition and Windows 7 Beta. So which operating system is the best in terms of compatability/performance? 70.171.29.89 (talk) 21:09, 6 March 2009 (UTC)newLaptopGuy


 * The one that isn't a beta version. yandman  21:25, 6 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Yes, the Windows 7 Beta will cease to function some time later this year (August, IIRC), so Yandman is exactly right. That aside, I found that most programs that function under Vista will function under 7 (with the exception of some firewall/antivirus software). Your mileage may vary. Hermione1980 21:28, 6 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Can vista be installed from CDs which hold vista iso cd files which were split from a vista dvd iso file? 70.171.29.89 (talk) 04:29, 7 March 2009 (UTC)newLaptopGuy


 * For the first post, it's the kind of question that is generally IMHO. For me, I'd put the stable (Vista) on the new computer - and throw Windows 7 beta on an older computer (nope - haven't done that yet myself).  As far as the actual Vista DVD, I'm not sure of the makeup of the disk - but I would guess that it would be difficult.  Naturally, just copying an *.iso file to disk isn't going to get you anywhere, but if you did write the ISO - perhaps it would function.  My doubtfulness stems from the fact that Microsoft has and does use their own particular way of doing things - including file compression (see *.cab files).  It would be pure conjecture, but I would think that you would be continually bouncing back and forth between disks in an effort to get the install to work properly.  That often leads to install errors.  You might be better to just invest in a DVD reader. — Ched ~  (yes?) 05:03, 7 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Also, if you have a 4GB USB flash drive, you can (probably) install Vista from that, too. The specifics of how to boot from usb vary from bios to bios. Indeterminate (talk) 09:03, 7 March 2009 (UTC)


 * And not all computers support booting from a flash drive. StuRat (talk) 15:00, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

OpenGL
I'm trying to get OpenGL running on my computer (Windows XP, Visual Studio 2008) but I'm not very familiar with C. How do I get all the libraries in the right places so I can compile something? Right now, whenever I try to build something (eg sample programs at ) I get build errors on the "include" lines. Black Carrot (talk) 22:24, 6 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Are you using Visual Studio? If so, those headers should work right off the bat as described in that article (so long as you've made a normal project and not messed anything up terrifically). If not, you're going to have to make sure you get the right headers and libraries and whatnot; ie. if you're using GCC on Cygwin . -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 09:07, 7 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Yeah, that was dumb of me. Make sure you're #include-ing windows.h first, and not #define-ing anything too strange before the includes. Other than that, I'm not entirely familiar enough with visual studio yet to be certain. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 10:01, 7 March 2009 (UTC)


 * If you're unfamiliar with C, maybe you should consider using another (easier) language? There are frameworks that let you do OpenGL in .NET for example, which is far, far easier to configure (the opengl framework integrates with VS). yandman  09:06, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, I'm using Visual Studio. It fails on the "#include <gl\glaux.h>" line. If my computer doesn't have that preinstalled, how do I get it? Black Carrot (talk) 17:51, 7 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Try just not including that header. It's apparently old and deprecated, there may not even be anything in the tutorial that actually uses it. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 01:42, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

Layout Issues
I am currently using Safari version 2.0.4 to view and edit wikipedia. However just yesterday I noticed something odd. When viewing/searching for pages on wikipedia, sometimes the layout of the page isn't right. The text appears smaller and the header and the text are all centered. The search bar on the left is pushed down towards the bottom of the page. Any suggestions on how I can fix this problem? This does not happen everytime but it happens every 3-4 or 5-6 searches/viewing of a new page. Thank you. JayJ47 (talk) 22:27, 6 March 2009 (UTC)


 * It might just be that you're running into memory errors and it drops the layout from memory. How much RAM does your computer have ?  Do you have several other applications (or Safari tabs) open at once ?  Does this happen more often when viewing large pages ?  Does the computer also occasionally lock up ?  What's your O/S ? StuRat (talk) 14:55, 7 March 2009 (UTC)


 * I think it might have been a temporary thing. It stopped happening yesterday. Thanks for answering my question though. JayJ47 (talk) 06:34, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

StuRat (talk) 20:30, 8 March 2009 (UTC)