Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2011 December 1

= December 1 =

Carrier IQ - Verizon / Motorola Droid phones
Do smartphones from the Verizon / Motorola "DROID" line (Droid, Droid 2, Droid 3, Droid X, Droid X2, Droid Bionic, Droid Razr, etc.) have Carrier IQ installed? 205.156.136.229 (talk) 15:14, 1 December 2011 (UTC)


 * Verizon has denied having CarrierIQ on any of its phones. It is up to you to decide if you believe them. -- k a i n a w &trade; 16:32, 1 December 2011 (UTC)

If you watch the videos from Trevor Eckhart, it seems quite simple to detect whether Carrier IQ software is present, if you're looking specifically for it; its processes shows up in applications lists, with 'IQ' in their name. ¦ Reisio (talk) 09:07, 2 December 2011 (UTC)

These are Android phones so you can download and install Voodoo Carrier IQ detector from the Android Market, this will tell you if Carrier IQ is active on your phone. SpeakFree (talk)(contribs) 13:11, 4 December 2011 (UTC)

Geolocating an IP
I run a forum and occasionally get spammers signing up. When I geolocate their IP addresses, I often get a map of Kansas displayed. Here is one example that I just looked up for 173.234.94.78:. Why does Kansas show up in the map? Is it because that's the center of the US and the map just defaults to that location? Thanks, Dismas |(talk) 22:33, 1 December 2011 (UTC)
 * I usually use ip2location.com for this. Also there are providers that are actually in Kansas, sometimes when I'm wifi tethering to my Sprint Nextel phone it geolocates to Overland Park, KS because that's where Sprint's HQ is. But Google's location database gives me terrible results when I'm tethering - I've gotten locations as diverse as Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and California all tethering in Ann Arbor, MI. So IP geolocation is a really inexact "science". I would take it with a pound of salt. ~ Alison C. (Crazytales) 23:22, 1 December 2011 (UTC)
 * This is a local forum and most people on it aren't that tech savvy, so I wouldn't expect any of them to use a cell phone tether. All the IPs of honest people geolocate to Vermont or occasionally New York or Mass.  The spammers come in two categories, those that geolocate to Pakistan or some other foreign country or those from Kansas.  Dismas |(talk) 01:01, 2 December 2011 (UTC)
 * I've used ip2location a lot for onwiki work, but recently I've found it sometimes gives answers that differ from other similar databases. Unfortunately I can't find those others offhand... but I know there are some others. Maybe cross checking across a few of them will help. Also, iPhone or other data-plan style IPs are vague in geographical location sometimes. Especially in less populated areas. It's hard to confirm too because you never know for sure if you're right. Shadowjams (talk) 09:02, 2 December 2011 (UTC)
 * It seems like Sprint's IPs draw from a nationwide DHCP pool, and Google is using the last result from the IP, which it determined by something of higher confidence than an address, maybe GPS or cell phone tower coordinates. Btw, I use an LG Optimus V running CyanogenMod 7. ~ Alison C. (Crazytales) 16:27, 2 December 2011 (UTC)
 * The IP specified in the question will tend to hit Kansas because the company that owns it runs in regions. Wichita is a major switch between the regions. If you are in the same region as the IP, it will likely geolocate to the actual city the IP is in. Otherwise, you get to Wichita and the switch doesn't forward anything that isn't deemed important and geolocation fails there. Traceroute from a server I own in South Carolina goes to Wichita (judging by the final switch name) and fails beyond that point. Traceroute from a server I own in California goes all the way to the IP, which is named "rdns". -- k a i n a w &trade; 14:51, 2 December 2011 (UTC)

Slumber party
On a recent TV episode, the mother of a teenage girl hears what sounds like a slumber party in the girl's room. She discovers the four friends of the girl in separate locations on the girl's computer screen, and of course they can be heard through the computer as well. This sounds like Skype, but I was not aware of any technology the average teenager could use with four friends at once from different locations. I suppose businesses would use a similar application for videoconferencing. What might this be, if it is in fact real and not something made up for the show? Vchimpanzee ·  talk  ·  contributions  · 22:50, 1 December 2011 (UTC)
 * According to the Skype article: Version 5 beta 1 for Windows, released 13 May 2010, offers free video conferencing with up to five people. Dismas |(talk) 23:02, 1 December 2011 (UTC)
 * I just assume that was for business. I guess a teenage girl could have it too? Vchimpanzee ·  talk  ·  contributions  · 23:36, 1 December 2011 (UTC)
 * According to their own web site: To get group video at home, you'll need a Skype Premium subscription. Dismas |(talk) 00:50, 2 December 2011 (UTC)
 * Google Plus's "hangouts" do multi-way video conferencing for free. Paul (Stansifer) 03:20, 2 December 2011 (UTC)


 * I'm pretty sure CU-SeeMe has supported multi point video conferencing using a server, I believe even over dialup connections, in its well known low frame rate, low resolution, black and white form since the mid 90s. (The article actually has a screenshot of what appears to be a multiparty conference although I'm not sure if it was from a user or server POV.) It wouldn't surprise me there was other public software which could do it in some way before then. In other words, this has definitely been doable for a long time, whether or not the 'average teenager' is likely to know how to do it. Nil Einne (talk) 07:12, 2 December 2011 (UTC)


 * Actual software notwithstanding, when watching TV or movies, one should always consider that the Hollywood Operating System might be in play. -- LarryMac  | Talk  12:34, 2 December 2011 (UTC)
 * Replying to LarryMac, that's why I was asking if it was possible in the real world. Vchimpanzee ·  talk  ·  contributions  · 16:47, 2 December 2011 (UTC)
 * I also realized I could post a link to the full episode. It's right after the medical school class scene (and the obligatory commercial). I didn't see how far into the episode it was, but it couldn't have been more than a minute or two. Vchimpanzee ·  talk  ·  contributions  · 18:57, 2 December 2011 (UTC)