Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2010 February 9

= February 9 =

polymorphism and its types
what is polymorphism(exact defination) and its basic types ?


 * See type polymorphism. Your question appears to be homework.  Because nobody here is likely to be in your class, it is not possible for anyone here to know the exact definition that your teacher wants. --  k a i n a w &trade; 13:31, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

Password protected IRC channels
Is it possible to automatically reconnect to password protected IRC channel when the connection is temporally lost? Currently when this happens it asks for the password again before it will reconnect. I'm using ChatZilla —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.43.89.90 (talk) 13:57, 9 February 2010 (UTC)


 * See the ChatZilla FAQ on passwords. &mdash;ShadowRanger (talk 16:02, 9 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Thank you! I found out how to do it using ChatZillas "auto-perform" feature :)

Core i7 vs. Centrino Core 2 Duo --- which is better?
1. Are the two processors equally good?

2. Is one of them good only for laptops or notebooks and the other for desktops? or Are both of them for laptops and desktops?

Thank you very much for any clarification. I will be expecting for answers. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 119.93.229.179 (talk) 14:34, 9 February 2010 (UTC)
 * In general, a Core i7 is more powerful than the Core 2 line (there is some overlap between the high end Core 2 Quad and the low end Core i7). If the Core 2 Duo processor is a Centrino, that simply means it is bundled with a specific set of wireless technology which implies that it is made to be used in a laptop. There are also differences in price between an i7 and a Core 2 processor and system with a Core 2 system usually being less expensive.  So depending on what angle you approach the view of better from, you may get different answers.  Assuming you are talking about raw speed, a Core i7 processor is going to outperform a Core 2 Duo. Caltsar (talk) 15:58, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

''' Thank you for the reply. How about corei5? Is that as good as core 2 duo?''' —Preceding unsigned comment added by 119.93.229.179 (talk) 11:57, 11 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Some Core i5 processors benchmark faster than some Core 2 Duo processors. The biggest benefit you will get from a Core i5 or Core i7 is the ability to use faster memory than you might be able to use on a cheap Core 2 motherboard. This site has charts of the top CPU benchmarks.  Keep in mind that CPU speed isn't the only factor in making a fast system. Caltsar (talk) 15:54, 11 February 2010 (UTC)

Laptop screen banding
I have a 5 y.o. laptop that I'm replacing this weekend, but with the intent of putting a slim Linux distro on it. But the screen has developed a couple 'bands' over the last 6 months or so that would be really annoying - for example, the worst of these is a couple inches at the left hand side where the contrast is noticeably reduced. There's another band of a similar width to its right, and then the rest of the screen looks to be normal. Has anyone got any suggestions for getting these all to be the same? (In case it's not clear: I don't mind so much if it's all going to be the 'contrast reduced' version, since it'll be primarily used for a bit of coding and displaying text.) 131.111.248.99 (talk) 15:06, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

Browsing Wikipedia on a PSP-2003
I was told by the user 'A Quest For Knowledge' that I'd get some answers if I posted this question on the Computing section of the reference desk I'd get more relevant answers. However, please don't think I'm impatient because I've posted the same question on two different sections of the reference desk...I'm not, I just thought this section is more relevant than the misc section.

When I occasionally browse wikipedia on my PSP when I'm away from my computer, I can only type so much before the little triangle to the right of my cursor prevents me from typing any more. Why is this? It's fairly annoying, as I can't edit text longer than a few hundred words or so. Maybe I should stick to my computer, although my PSP is pretty handy for just viewing and making basic edits of short sections of articles. Chevymontecarlo (talk) 17:01, 9 February 2010 (UTC)


 * I have often exceeded the PSP's memory. I figure you are hitting the memory limit, not a hard-set number of characters. --  k a i n a w &trade; 17:03, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

OK, I guess the PSP just wasn't designed to handle that much data. I'll stick to my computer! Chevymontecarlo (talk) 17:27, 9 February 2010 (UTC)


 * It's an awkward interface. I wouldn't even try.  Even my iPhone is barely passable.  A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 21:09, 9 February 2010 (UTC)


 * I'm going to disagree with Kainaw &mdash; the input line of text cannot possibly be maxing out the PSP's RAM; it's much more likely to be some hardcoded limit on the amount of text that can be input by that PSP text input widget &mdash; but agree that editing Wikipedia with a PSP is a horrible task that should be reserved as punishment for prison inmates. Comet Tuttle (talk) 19:35, 11 February 2010 (UTC)

Make a text file with clickable links?
I would like to have something like a simple text file on my computer's hard-drive, which I can open and click the links on (that I've previously prepared) as well as reading the text. How could I do this please? (I'd prefer not to have to start up an enormous slow program like OpenOffice). Thanks 92.26.29.37 (talk) 17:28, 9 February 2010 (UTC)


 * Have you considered creating an .html file locally? You would open it with your Web browser.  The main disadvantage is that when editing it you'd be editing HTML tags, which looks much messier than something like a Word document.  Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:46, 9 February 2010 (UTC)
 * A WYSIWYG HTML editor might be in order then (to avoid the tags), although I don't know how their speed compares with OpenOffice's. --Tardis (talk) 17:54, 9 February 2010 (UTC)
 * (ec) You can skirt the rules of well-formed HTML, (which is not really a good idea, but if you want to avoid messy tags... and the document is for "internal use only", you can use a severely reduced/simplified set of HTML). Ideally, you really should use proper HTML. But it's worth knowing that almost all web browsers will render a document even if it only contains part of the header. For example:


 * That rendered fine in Firefox on a Mac and Windows; and the hyperlink worked (when pointing to a valid file). The "pre" tag has the advantage of escaping any HTML-rendering that would rearrange or reformat the text. Nimur (talk) 18:02, 9 February 2010 (UTC)


 * Surely there's some text editor that detects URL-looking things in the text and makes them clickable (like some web forum software, email readers, etc.)? I tried to find a way in Notepad++ but failed.  -- Coneslayer (talk) 18:32, 9 February 2010 (UTC)
 * I knew it had to be in there: In Notepad++, go to Settings -> Preferences -> MISC, and there's an option for clickable links.  -- Coneslayer (talk) 18:43, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

It would be nice to have something where you could just type in an URL, without all the code, and be able to click on it. 92.26.29.37 (talk) 18:48, 9 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Please see my response regarding Notepad++. With the setting I indicated, you can get the behavior you want.  -- Coneslayer (talk) 18:50, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

I just found that a small freeware editor called Metapad which I already had on my computer can do this. Type in a simple www URL and click on it. Thanks all! 92.26.29.37 (talk) 18:53, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

Is this true?
One pierce of information required during domain name registration is the number of pages in the web site.Accdude92 (talk to me!) 17:31, 9 February 2010 (UTC)
 * I have registered a few domain names without even having a website running yet, and this information was never asked. Perhaps you are referring to domain hosting, not just domain registering. 92.26.29.37 (talk) 17:36, 9 February 2010 (UTC)


 * No. It is conceivable that a website host may want to know this, but most only want to place a limit in MB or whatever on storage. You can register a domain without actually having a host I think. Anyway, I've never done this on my site. -- SGBailey (talk) 17:38, 9 February 2010 (UTC)
 * I have, in the past, heard of CBS Radio registering a bunch of "red herring" domain names in advance of a format flip. For example, before WJFK-FM flipped to sports talk, CBS registered five or so domains, eventually only using one and "returning" the rest. It seems to me that domain registrars don't really care what you do with names you register once they get their money. Xenon54 / talk / 17:49, 9 February 2010 (UTC)


 * Nope; it is quite untrue. Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:45, 9 February 2010 (UTC)
 * In fact, you can get a domain name even if you have no web server. The domain name is simply an alias for an IP.  Any device that can support IP-based networking can have a domain name - toaster ovens, automobiles, mobile telephones, forklifts, (really, IP-based computers inside all of those devices).  But still... the "number of webpages" related to such domain names is either zero or irrelevant.  Yet, they are still perfectly legitimate globally qualified DNS names.  Nimur (talk) 18:06, 9 February 2010 (UTC)


 * In addition to all the previous responses, "number of pages" on a web server isn't even a concept that makes sense if you have dynamically generated content. How many pages does Wikipedia have?  (Think of all the different ways to generate history and diff pages, the fact that an article nobody's written still comes up as a "create-a-new-article" page, etc.)  -- Coneslayer (talk) 18:16, 9 February 2010 (UTC)


 * While I agree that "number of pages" is a silly metric, it is not an uncommon one. This is similar to MIPS (millions of instructions per second) used in CPUs.  It is a silly metric that doesn't mean anything, but it is used a lot.  However, I've never seen a registrar require knowledge of the number of pages.  The registrar doesn't care unless the registrar is also a webhost and wants to know how much room will be used by the website. --  k a i n a w &trade; 20:57, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

Macros for both Windows and Ubuntu
Is there any macro recorder and player that works with both Windows and Ubuntu please? I mean something that records your keyboard and mouse activity, puts this into a file which you can edit, and then you can play it. (If not one for both, what would people recommend for Windows? I am of course looking for some no-cost software that's easy and intuitive to use. I have done a lot of Google searching already, but it is difficult to know what may be best). Thanks 92.26.29.37 (talk) 17:34, 9 February 2010 (UTC)


 * There are some projects but nothing comparable to Autohotkey, I think, so we'll have to wait, I guess... I'm also looking for a good macros program for Ubuntu. --Belchman (talk) 20:08, 9 February 2010 (UTC)


 * I create my own macros by hand for Windows using Windows Script Host. It supports VBScript and JScript. It's not hard at all to do. For example, this script opens Notepad and types Hello into it:


 * You'd then save the file with a .js extension and double-click on it. This is easier, in my opinion, than installing another program (e.g., AutoHotKey) on your computer, because Windows already includes extensive scripting support.--Drknkn (talk) 20:26, 9 February 2010 (UTC)


 * Hey, this is a great tip and a great starting point; but when I double-click test.js on my Windows XP SP3 machine, I get the dialog complaining that Windows doesn't know what app created it, and do I want to use the Web service to find the appropriate application? (And the subsequent web page says it doesn't know what the hell a .js file is, FWIW.)  Comet Tuttle (talk) 21:35, 9 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks. Such scripts normally open automatically using the C:\WINDOWS\system32\wscript.exe file. If you click the "Browse" button inside the "Open With" dialog, go to that folder, and choose that file, it should work.--Drknkn (talk) 23:53, 9 February 2010 (UTC)
 * OK, tried that &mdash; now I get a "Windows Script Host" error dialog saying, There is no script engine for file extension ".js". Comet Tuttle (talk) 23:58, 9 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Try this: .--Drknkn (talk) 00:16, 10 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Did that work? That file extension is for JScript (AKA JavaScript) files. VBScript files have a .vbs extension. Another program must have messed with the settings for WScript. I got that message once after installing Dreamweaver. I don't think I had to go through all of the steps mentioned on that page, though. I think all I had to do was use that regsvr32 command.


 * By the way, if anyone wants to automate anything else, I can write a macro for it. It's relatively easy. At least, they're easier to use than a lot of other languages out there.--Drknkn (talk) 01:55, 10 February 2010 (UTC)


 * I didn't actually try it because regedit simply asks me if I want to add the contents of that file to my registry. There's no way I am going to load the unknown contents of a .reg file from an untrusted website into my registry.  If you happen to know of a site that lists the specific registry entries that I'd need to modify, I'd love it (I didn't find anything with my Google skim).  Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:57, 10 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Like I said, I had the same problem once, and I fixed it simply by typing regsvr32 %systemroot%\system32\jscript.dll in the Run box. In that case, you wouldn't need to download anything. You could simply type that command. If that doesn't work, you can view the contents of the .reg file by right-clicking on it and choosing Edit. It's a plain-text file and lists all the registry changes.--Drknkn (talk) 18:33, 10 February 2010 (UTC)
 * I never knew that! The regsvr32 command didn't have any apparent effect, but after inspecting the registry file provided, I installed it, and your script just Hello Worlded in Notepad.  Thanks!  (Note, of course, that I am not the OP, just a bystander.)  Comet Tuttle (talk) 22:48, 10 February 2010 (UTC)

How would WSH deal with mouse clicks? Including moving the cursor to click on buttons? 89.243.177.67 (talk) 00:56, 11 February 2010 (UTC)
 * The best option for that might be to send tabs via sendkeys. Controls in a form almost always have a tab index which allows them to be accessed from the keyboard:
 * Then, you could send the enter key:
 * When you send key strokes, you also should focus Windows on the window for the app. For example, if you wanted to bring Internet Explorer to the front before typing, you'd include this code:
 * The text in quotes is the title of the window shown on the title bar. You can also perform alot of tasks without sending keystrokes. For example, if I wanted to start Word and create a new document, I don't have to go to the File menu. I just use this code:
 * When you send key strokes, you also should focus Windows on the window for the app. For example, if you wanted to bring Internet Explorer to the front before typing, you'd include this code:
 * The text in quotes is the title of the window shown on the title bar. You can also perform alot of tasks without sending keystrokes. For example, if I wanted to start Word and create a new document, I don't have to go to the File menu. I just use this code:
 * The text in quotes is the title of the window shown on the title bar. You can also perform alot of tasks without sending keystrokes. For example, if I wanted to start Word and create a new document, I don't have to go to the File menu. I just use this code:


 * Each app is a little different. If you tell me the app and task in question, I can write a macro to automate them.--Drknkn (talk) 01:15, 11 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks, I will write something on your talk page. 92.29.136.128 (talk) 14:38, 12 February 2010 (UTC)

ebuddy MSN sounds
I'd like to shut ebuddy's sounds for MSN Messenger forever. To do that in MSN Messenger Live, for example, I'd just edit the .WAV files and make them silent. Since ebuddy is a Flash application, I'm not sure how to do that. So, how can I directly edit the sounds of ebuddy? Thanks. --Belchman (talk) 19:56, 9 February 2010 (UTC)


 * Unless there is a configuration for that specific Flash program, you're stuck with workarounds. &mdash;ShadowRanger (talk 20:06, 9 February 2010 (UTC)


 * Why would you edit the wav files for this purpose? Go to Tools | Sounds and check Mute All Sounds.  Or pick and choose which sounds you want in the Messenger Sounds frame. A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 21:08, 9 February 2010 (UTC)


 * I have a good reason but it's too difficult to explain, trust me. --Belchman (talk) 00:59, 11 February 2010 (UTC)


 * IIRC you can right click on a Flash object and adjust the audio settings. Maybe try that? --219.88.201.83 (talk) 02:53, 10 February 2010 (UTC)

Free OCR software for Windows
Is there any no-cost OCR software people would recommend please? I have looked at the list of Optical character recognition software. Has anyone experience of using it please? 92.26.29.37 (talk) 21:54, 9 February 2010 (UTC)
 * I use ABBYY, but as for free/open source, there really isn't anything good out there yet for OCR. Sorry.Smallman12q (talk) 03:09, 10 February 2010 (UTC)

Might try Tesseract. ¦ Reisio (talk) 05:49, 10 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Not technically free, but many scanners throw in OCR software with the hardware. From my experience, most of this works reasonably well.  Often it is a slightly cut-down version of commercial software.    D b f i r s   10:07, 11 February 2010 (UTC)
 * I gave up trying to get HP scanner software to work, nasty pieces of take-over-your-computer bloatware, with two different scanners. On the other hand, the Umax software was good despite the poor english translations. But I do not have a working Umax scanner anymore, and as far as I recall it will not work with an HP scanner. 89.243.182.24 (talk) 20:30, 11 February 2010 (UTC)

There's a very good list at OCR_software ╟─ Treasury Tag ► duumvirate ─╢ 11:10, 11 February 2010 (UTC)
 * "I have looked at the list of Optical character recognition software." says OP. 89.243.182.24 (talk) 20:26, 11 February 2010 (UTC)
 * I know they said that. I read the opening post. That's how I understood what they were looking for well enough to provide a comprehensive reply. They appear to be looking for recommended free OCR software for Windows. That article provides a list of free OCR software for Windows. What a normal person would do would be to Google "ocrsoftware#1 review" "ocrsoftware#2 review" and so on.
 * But pardon me for breathing! ╟─ Treasury Tag ► draftsman ─╢ 22:07, 11 February 2010 (UTC)
 * So basically you directed them to a list they had already read and expected them to google the entries this time, even though you didn't suggest to? &mdash;Akrabbimtalk 22:54, 11 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes, I expected them to do what a reasonable person could normally be expected to do, before coming here and demanding free labour, yes. ╟─ Treasury  Tag ► hemicycle ─╢ 07:44, 12 February 2010 (UTC)

I use an HP scanner (OfficeJet G85) with OCR program that works acceptably well. However this ended when I changed from Win ME to Vista. In Vista the HP program no longer runs and instead the scanner images are imported via the MS Paint menu. It seems that Vista brings a new driver for scanners and I have complained that the function of rotating the image in small increments (i.e. less than 90 degree steps) has been dropped. The reply from HP customer support was "Try to find a 3rd party program". I suspect that the OCR function is also downgraded (or removed - I haven't looked hard enough). In my case it seems I must keep a spare PC running an earlier Windows version to get the best out of the HP scanner. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 20:48, 11 February 2010 (UTC)

would my painfully slow windows 7 netbook improve if I booted windows xp?
i tried tweaking as much as I could, optimizing for performance/no visuals, etc, but this netbook (asus eee pc 1005h) is just painfully slow. Would I see any marked improvement by installing, or maybe booting (off of an SD card) windows xp instead? Thanks. 82.113.106.88 (talk) 23:06, 9 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Although it's not the question you've asked, how much memory does your Netbook have? If it's less than 2Gb (and it probably is?) then that's the cause of your speed issues and upgrading to 2Gb (or more) would certainly help with your speed. As for XP, it could help, but again it really depends how much memory you have. XP's memory requirements are less, but by the time you've added on AntiVirus/Spyware/Firewall products then the memory requirement is a lot larger. ZX81  talk  02:09, 10 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Well a clean xp boot would be around 300megabytes memory, whereas a clean windows 7 boot would take at least a gig.Smallman12q (talk) 03:06, 10 February 2010 (UTC)


 * Netbooks where not built for speed. If your looking for something fast you may consider getting a gaming laptop (or desktop). As for booting Winxp, You would see a noticeable improvement for 2 reasons: 1.) You are doing a fresh install, this will (most of the time) speed up the computer as you are getting rid of programs pre-installed or were installed during the netbook's life. 2.) Windows XP uses less RAM and CPU power than Win7. – Elliott (Talk|Cont)   05:43, 10 February 2010 (UTC)


 * You can also try ReadyBoost, which works especially well in computers with little RAM. --Belchman (talk) 01:00, 11 February 2010 (UTC)