Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2010 July 19

= July 19 =

GNU Octave Commands in Octave 3.2.4
Hey, I'm running GNU Octave 3.2.4 in Windows 7 and I was able to get these commands to plot correctly before (when broken up): x=linspace(-10,10,100);

y=2*abs((0.5*x))/(0.5*x)*(abs(5*(2*abs((1/5*0.5*(0.5*x)-0.5)-2*floor((1/5*0.5*(0.5*x)-0.5)/2)-1)-1)*abs((5-abs((0.5*x))%(2*5)))) -abs((5*(2*abs((1/5*0.5*(0.5*x)-0.5)-2*floor((1/5*0.5*(0.5*x)-0.5)/2)-1)-1)*abs((5-abs((0.5*x))%(2*5)))))*(5*floor(abs((0.5*x))%(2*5)/5))*2/5)/((abs(5/2)/(5/2)*(abs(5*(2*abs((1/5*0.5*5/2-0.5)-2*floor((1/5*0.5*5/2-0.5)/2)-1)-1)*abs((5-abs(5/2)%(2*5)))) -abs((5*(2*abs((1/5*0.5*5/2-0.5)-2*floor((1/5*0.5*5/2-0.5)/2)-1)-1)*abs((5-abs(5/2)%(2*5)))))*(5*floor(abs(5/2)%(2*5)/5))*2/5))/(5/2));

plot(x, y); now, I get "syntax error" and then "plot(x, y);" with a caret below the "t" in "plot(x, y);". --Melab±1 &#9742; 03:50, 19 July 2010 (UTC)


 * The problem is in your earlier line (the giant one that assigns y). First, are you aware that most of that statement is commented out?  You are using , which is a single-line comment.  Perhaps you meant to use the Modulo function.  As a result of these comments, you have mismatched parentheses.  In addition, unless you have customized your Octave workspace, you probably need line-continuation characters:   otherwise code that wraps more than one line will not be interpreted properly.  You can find some information on this feature/requirement, motivated by compatibility with compatibility with MATLAB.  Nimur (talk) 16:17, 19 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Thank you. --Melab±1 &#9742; 01:35, 23 July 2010 (UTC)

stopDrag
Here is what I put on frame 64 of scene 3 of my game, on the 'main' layer: stop; box1.onPress = function{ startDrag(this); } box1.onRelease = function{ this.stopDrag; } box3.onPress = function{ startDrag(this); } box3.onRelease = function{ this.stopDrag; } box4.onPress = function{ startDrag(this); } box4.onRelease = function{ this.stopDrag; } box6.onPress = function{ startDrag(this); } box6.onRelease = function{ this.stopDrag; }

The only problem: stopDrag doesn't work: I'm still dragging when I release the button. I've double-checked everything, including cases and spelling. I'm using flash 8.  Kayau  Voting  IS   evil 08:41, 19 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Reference desk/How to ask a software question. --Sean 16:13, 19 July 2010 (UTC)


 * Without seeing the rest of your code it is pretty hard to diagnose. But is this meant to be AS2 or AS3? It doesn't look like AS3 to me, but I thought I would ask. --Mr.98 (talk) 18:42, 19 July 2010 (UTC)


 * No, that's definitely AS2. I don't know what to say, because it works great for me inside Flash CS3. I assume that you converted all the boxes to movie clips and gave them instance names of box1, box2, etc.? Maybe you could just upload the game somewhere so we could take a look at it?--Best Dog Ever (talk) 21:16, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

As I said, I was using Flash 8, so it's AS2, not AS3. I have four buttons, box1, box3, box4 and box5. (That's their actual names not library names. :P) I want the player to be able to drag them in the right places, and when they hit done, they would win under the circumstance that the _x property of the boxes are right. But that's unrelated. Now when I run the thing, I can press a box and drag it, but I can't stop dragging when I release. What is the problem?  Kayau  Voting  IS   evil 03:02, 20 July 2010 (UTC) ...wait, did you say movie clip? I made them buttons! Let me convert them to movie clips...  Kayau  Voting  IS   evil 03:03, 20 July 2010 (UTC) Converted the buttons to movie clips, and they work perfectly. Thanks a million!  Kayau  Voting  IS   evil 03:08, 20 July 2010 (UTC)

Read-only folder in pen-drive?
I've got a pen-drive with some marketing material and it has one folder which cannot be deleted. Somehow, they made this folder read-only, althought the rest of the pen-drive is accessible. It wouldn't be a big deal, if it had not also an autorun script, which means that every time I try to use the pen-drive, I have to see the marketing material. I tried to change the permission of the read-only folder with chmod, but it didn't work. What can I do? --Mr.K. (talk) 10:48, 19 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Format the drive. 82.43.90.93 (talk) 11:16, 19 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Alternately, turn off autorun for that drive letter. &mdash;Korath (Talk) 12:58, 19 July 2010 (UTC)
 * the drive doesn`t allow to be formated. When I try to use it, Windows recognized two drives, one with the marketing material and one free. Only the latter can be formated.--Mr.K. (talk) 17:11, 19 July 2010 (UTC)
 * It sounds like the drive has two partitions. You could try deleting both partitions (make sure to move all your important data off the pen-drive, as this will delete everything) and then create a new partition which will be free of the marketing material, and probably slightly larger than the usable partition previously was. However, I think Windows Disk Management (assuming you are using Windows) doesn't allow you to modify partitions on removable media, so you would have to use a third party partition tool such as gparted. It's free, but you will have to download and burn it to a CD to use it 1230049-0012394-C (talk) 17:46, 19 July 2010 (UTC)
 * You can suppress AutoRun by holding Shift, if nothing else works. --Tardis (talk) 18:12, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Judging by what you are saying, I believe your drive is running U3 software. You should be able to remove the partition by finding the "Uninstall U3 Launchpad" option in the settings/in the Launchpad. A p 3 rson ‽   02:11, 22 July 2010 (UTC)
 * I second that. It sounds like U3 is on the drive. Go the to vendor page, the U3 removal software works well. Shadowjams (talk) 06:57, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

Python compiler
Where's a Python compiler that I can download as a zip file? The one from http://python.org requires installation. --138.110.206.101 (talk) 15:02, 19 July 2010 (UTC)


 * You can download source, Python 3.1.2.tgz, and build it yourself. If I recall correctly, the installer program only unpacks a compiled executable directory and sets file-associations, so as installer-programs go, it's fairly benign in terms of mucking with your system.  There is also a functioning uninstaller if you change your mind about it.  Nimur (talk) 16:22, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

MP4 Player Problem
I have a (Chinese?) MP4 Player as shown.When I plug it in to computer, the computer does recognise it, but shows it as blank (on "H: drive"), though all the files are there (you can play them). What to do ? Kindly help. Thanks. Jon Ascton    (talk)  18:20, 19 July 2010 (UTC)


 * The device may register as a USB Mass Storage interface (therefore, exposing itself as a file system to your PC). However, unless the designers intended the music files to be accessible over that software interface, the actual storage may be unavailable.  (In other words, the device is only "sharing" parts of its internal storage capability).  Did this device come with some other software to transfer music and files?  Often, these devices can support both mass-storage access and other USB-based protocols, and prefer to use some other (proprietary) technique to actually transfer files.  Nimur (talk) 21:08, 19 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Try copy and pasting music files from your computer directly into the device.--75.185.120.28 (talk) 00:55, 20 July 2010 (UTC)


 * Already tried that out. Did'nt work...
 * Which OS do you use? Try to format the device in its current format (FAT16?) or try to format it as FAT32. This solved my problem with a Zen Stone Plus which according to Creative is not supposed to run on Linux. --Ouro (blah blah) 10:01, 20 July 2010 (UTC)


 * Windows XP
 * Did reformatting it help? What about access on other computers? --Ouro (blah blah) 09:04, 21 July 2010 (UTC)

you deserve it for buying an iPod knock-off. Why don't you reward companies that innovate and not thieves and robbers. Would you let your children be babysat by a rapist if he will do it for a bit cheaper? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.153.179.98 (talk) 15:36, 21 July 2010 (UTC)


 * That's a bit harsh! Not all of us can afford to pay top price for iPods - they do not represent good value for money for my purposes, though they might for some.  Like most intelligent people, I'm sure that Jon Ascton looks at value-for-money when purchasing such devices.  In retrospect, this particular MP4 player might not serve as well as expected, but most others do.  I don't think Apple have a patent on MP4 players!    D b f i r s   16:57, 21 July 2010 (UTC)


 * I agree with the sentiment. That's why I'll never buy an Apple product as they just steal copy what other people do and then convince a bunch of fanboys to buy it for an insane price by a lot of hype. I only support real innovaters not johnny-come-latelys like Apple. I'd actually prefer to let my children be babysat by a rapist then ever use a product by the thieves and robbers that are Apple. P.S. The OP I believe lives in India. I presume he has an above average wage since he's able to post on the internet and has an MP4 player but if not I can somewhat understand his reluctance to spend probably more then half his annual wage on an iPod. Nil Einne (talk) 15:31, 22 July 2010 (UTC)


 * I actually sent this link to my buddy who is an iPod Nano hardware engineer; according to him, the external façade is definitely similar; but not "similar enough" for them to care. If it was really similar, (not just a knock-off, but actually using Apple parts, which happens), then Apple would probably start an internal investigation to determine which one of their subcontractors or manufacturers were skimming parts off the assembly lines... Apple really is a draconian company, but it's still not okay to steal their parts.  Copying the general design is acceptable, up to a limit - "look and feel" is an intellectual property gray area - and Apple has historically been very notable for pressing the legal limits of how much they can actually protect.  Nimur (talk) 19:29, 22 July 2010 (UTC)


 * I understand the stealing parts thing but I somewhat doubt they'd bother with that sort of look and feel stuff with noname Chinese manufacturer players sold in India. I don't think there'll be much contest that this sort of stuff wouldn't survive in a developed country if sold by a reputable manufacturer (even if we remove the frequent trademark violations), but hey they're fairly common in China and places like that I'm guessing including India (without intending to comment on the ethical and other such issues in any way). BTW for all the problems the iPhone clones tend to have and I did look into them a while back, on thing they do usually have over the iPhone (other then price) is removable memory and removable batteries although I wouldn't exactly call it 'innovation'. Nil Einne (talk) 23:31, 22 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Right - but in some cases, electronic and/or mechanical parts were invented specifically for use in an iPod or some other Apple device. If it is recognized that some other device is using that exact part, it means somebody in the supply chain is black-market'ing parts that were manufactured for and purchased exclusively by Apple.  They like to know who's slipping units out of factories, whether or not it's cutting into their market-share in a meaningful way.  Nimur (talk) 00:04, 23 July 2010 (UTC)