Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2010 September 30

= September 30 =

Hack firefox to reenable saving passwords
My Firefox has password saving disabled; how can I reenable it? Do I edit something in about:config? The Hero of This Nation (talk) 12:54, 30 September 2010 (UTC)
 * On Windows, I think you just need to check the box at Tools -> Options -> Security -> Remember passwords for sites. --59.95.97.116 (talk) 14:20, 30 September 2010 (UTC)
 * Sorry for not being more clear in my initial question, but that option is disabled in my Firefox options. Meaning greyed out, can't click it. I am in Firefox 3.6.6 for Windows. The Hero of This Nation (talk) 15:46, 30 September 2010 (UTC)
 * I don't know why it has been disabled, but perhaps going to about:config and setting signon.rememberSignons to true will do the trick? --Sean 16:48, 30 September 2010 (UTC)

Protocol for electrical signals going from computer to monitor.
What is the protocol for the graphical information about what to put on the screen at the very lowest level where the electrical signals are going through the wire to the monitor? This must be a standard since I can connect a different manufacturer's monitor to my computer and still have it work. Thanks. 20.137.18.50 (talk) 13:39, 30 September 2010 (UTC)


 * Much of this is specified, or at least standardised, by VESA; see the articles linked from there, and from Computer display standard. See also the VGA connector article. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 13:48, 30 September 2010 (UTC)

Eskimo Question
what is the differnces between the eskimo and aboriginal people and why? i need every detail please and thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.179.16.89 (talk) 14:53, 30 September 2010 (UTC)


 * "Aboriginal" is a general word that can refer to any indigenous people. (Australian Aboriginals, Native Americans, Eskimos, etc.)
 * "Eskimo" is more specific. It refers mostly just to Yupik and Inuit people.
 * (Incidentally, if you know which group of people you're talking about, nowadays it's often considered more polite to say "Yupik" or "Inuit".) APL (talk) 15:57, 30 September 2010 (UTC)
 * I think this should be in the Humanities reference desk. And the difference is that they live in different areas of the worldSir Stupidity (talk) 07:51, 1 October 2010 (UTC)

http status codes
I need a program for Windows that can monitor many urls http status code ever 10 mins or so. Similar to this site http://www.404checker.com/404-checker but offline version —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.139.74.140 (talk) 18:07, 30 September 2010 (UTC)
 * This is probably something cURL could do, if you put it in a shell script.--el Aprel (facta-facienda) 20:08, 30 September 2010 (UTC)


 * I would strongly suggest that you learn a programming language for this kind of thing (one of the widely used "scripting languages"—Python is probably a good choice). Then you can (for example) do a Google search for "python http", which turns up this page, at the bottom of which is this example:


 * Once you know the basics of Python programming, you can easily turn this into a script that will loop over many pages, repeat every ten minutes and do whatever you want with the status codes. The entire process will probably take less time than you would need to read the documentation for curl's many command-line options. The up-front cost of learning Python will repay itself unless you never expect to need to do a task like this again. -- BenRG (talk) 21:05, 30 September 2010 (UTC)
 * Well said, BenRG. The exact purpose of a high-level scripting language, like Python, is to allow a power user to define a complex custom task, like "repeat this operation every 2 minutes."  The OP should not be intimidated by the learning curve - scripting is easy and straightforward (and does not require as much sophisticated formal training as general purpose computer programming).  Besides, as BenRG has pointed out, any specialized program that could provide the level of customizability that the OP has requested would essentially be a scripting language; so it would really serve the OP best to choose a general purpose tool so the learned skills are re-usable.  Python has the advantages of being platform-portable, generally "easy to read", and has an enormous user base, so it is easy to find information on the web or ask for help.  Other good languages to know are perl, bash scripting, and PHP; all are capable of accomplishing the same tasks, but each has unique capabilities targeted at solving particular styles of problems.  Nimur (talk) 22:49, 30 September 2010 (UTC)

MS Zone.com online games in WinXP
Zone.com is part of Microsoft. I often play these games using the Programs/Games/ menu in WinXP. No logging on or user name is required, an anonymous nameless opponent is rapidly found and you play.

How do these games link up with others? What is the protocol used? I often play these games, including just a few seconds ago, so the information from Microsoft saying that they were retired in 2006 cannot be true, or must refer to something else. Nor am I using as far as I know a Live Messenger version of the games, as I do not need any user name etc. Thanks 92.29.120.195 (talk) 20:16, 30 September 2010 (UTC)


 * Some are Flash, some are Java applets, some appear to be Active X. Each of these can open their own connections back to the server from which they came; to minimise problems with firewalls etc. they probably do that over HTTP. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 21:53, 30 September 2010 (UTC)
 * These games probably use the Internet Games Core component.Smallman12q (talk) 01:04, 1 October 2010 (UTC)

This http://forums.techarena.in/windows-xp-games/752409.htm seems to relate to what I use, I think. I do not understand it. I ask because in recent weeks when I try to have a game there has often been no responce from the server, according to an error message. I've been wondering if the protocol is something to do with Windows Messenger. The current version of Windows Messenger is fourteen, but my installed version is only version four. I do not like Messenger and do not want any more annoying spam pop-ups, but if I updated Messenger would it reduce the proportion of times I get no responce from the server? 92.28.254.154 (talk) 21:27, 2 October 2010 (UTC)

Who physically made the first Apple Computers
I mean who physically made them once the number of orders exceeded what Steve Wozniak could do by hand? 76.27.175.80 (talk) 21:10, 30 September 2010 (UTC)


 * I suppose you're looking for the manufacturer of the Apple II, But the original Apple I kits were assembled by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. (I'm pretty sure Wozniak was doing the difficult technical work. )  They only sold about about two hundred of them in over a year, so it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't need outside help.APL (talk) 21:55, 30 September 2010 (UTC)


 * Please see our Apple I article for more info. There are a few references there on this issue. Hope it helps. - 220.101 talk\Contribs 04:24, 1 October 2010 (UTC)


 * From woz.org/letters/general/13.html, "WOZ:First, the Apple I (and Apple ][) computers were entirely designed and tested and debugged in my Cupertino apartment (not the garage) and in my cubicle at Hewlett Packard in Cupertino (that 'calculator' division is now in Corvallis, Oregon). The PC boards of the Apple I were made in Santa Clara. As soon as they came off the production line (only 200 total were manufactured) components and chip sockets were inserted by workers and the board were wave soldered there. This was the major manufacturing step. We'd drive down and pick up a batch of boards and then drive them to the garage. We'd pay Patti Jobs and other friends $1 per board to insert all the chips from boxes of chips that we had. The garage had a single engineering workbench with a mylar top and a shelf. A monitor and transformers and keyboard, the other 3 pieces of an Apple I, were on it, as well as an oscilloscope of mine and maybe a soldering iron. I'd hook up a PC board and try it out. If it seemed to work, it would go in the 'good' stack. If it was bad I'd look at the microprocessor data and address pins with the oscilloscope. If I saw a missing signal it meant that a chip had a pin out of a socket. If a signal seemed like two fighting signals (halfway between high and low) it meant that two traces were shorted on the PC board. About half of the boards had such problems. " So it was another company who physically made the boards and soldered the sockets in, then Jobs's sister Patti and some others did the remaining physical work. 20.137.18.50 (talk) 13:50, 1 October 2010 (UTC)