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

= January 1 =

Electromagnetic/electronic interference?
Just over an hour ago, an unusual event occurred that I'm unable to explain to my own satisfaction: In one room of an apartment, a personal computer was being used, with the bulb lights in the same room being on. All devices were using a standard UK power interface, and no electrical problems have ever been noticeable in this room before. At around 1am, a phone call was received on a mobile telephone. During the few moments that the call was being received (possibly a few seconds before and after), the bulb lighting flickered and strobed rapidly, the PC reported that connections with peripheral USB devices had been disrupted (with the characteristic USB disconnection tone sounding repeatedly), and the speakers connected to the PC (via standard audio jack) gave a piercing stutter of feedback. Everything I've read, in textbooks, my own course texts, and on Wikipedia itself, concerning the electromagnetic spectrum, usual forms of electromagnetic radiation, and the methods by which mobile telephones communicate, assures me that the two events cannot possibly be related. Is there a large gap in my knowledge of basic physics that I've overlooked? Are the two events unrelated? Malusmoriendumest (talk) 02:04, 1 January 2011 (UTC)


 * The interference on PC speakers from a cell phone I often experience myself, but the other events do sound like a coincident power spike. This reminds me of when I flushed a doodle bug down the toilet and simultaneously lost power to the house, leaving me in a dark, silent room.  I thought to myself "drat, that must have been God I just flushed". :-) StuRat (talk) 07:22, 1 January 2011 (UTC)


 * You say there was a phone call; was there actually a person calling that you or someone talked to, or do you just mean that the phone rang? rc (talk) 12:51, 1 January 2011 (UTC)


 * May (or indeed, perhaps more likely, may not) be related - I use wireless internet at home, with my computer (upstairs) receiving a signal from a BT Home Hub (downstairs) through an (oft dodgy)USB wireless receiver. A few months after having the wireless internet set up, we also got a pair of wireless landline phone handsets (One for upstairs, one for downstairs). Very shortly after setting up one of the handsets upstairs, my wireles internet signal began to suffer - When ever the phones rang, the signal completely died. I don't know if this was electromagnetic etc, but I do know that it was the signal required for the phone handset that killed my wireless internet signal (We now only use one handset... downstairs). The a report/study here that looks at the impact of new gen mobiles (c. 2007) on "Critical Care Equipment" - This may or may not help to explain what you experienced... All that being said, StuRat does make a good point about a coincidental spike... :S Darigan (talk) 17:55, 1 January 2011 (UTC)

Why is 'How to tie a tie' the first autosuggestion for Google
When you type 'How to', is that really the most common how-to question according to statistical data, or is it some coder's joke with a backstory at Google? Peter Michner (talk) 02:10, 1 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Well, if you do a search for it, under the entry field, you'll see that there are 36,000,000 results. The next one on the list is only 111,000.  The next after that is something like 8,000,000.  So, it would seem that it is used fairly often.  Remember, this is counted by number of search results and not by number of times asked.  So there may be more sites offering the help than the number of people needing it.  Dismas |(talk) 14:28, 1 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Remember of course Google results tend to also depend on things like which site you use. For example for me http://www.google.com.my currently gives 'how to hack facebook' as number 1, 'how to lose weight' as number 2, 'how to make love' as number 3, 'how to download youtube video' as number 4 and 'how to' as number 5. Meanwhile http://www.google.co.nz gives 'how to get abs', the infamous 'how to tie a tie' as number 2, 'how to lose weight fast' as number 3 and 'how to' as number 4. http://www.google.com can be fairly tricky to test (due to redirects in some places) but perhaps I'm getting the same results as you in which case the infamous 'how to tie a tie' is in fact number 2 as 'how to' is number 1 (this may not be obvious if you haven't see the other results and aren't used to Google suggestions). 'how to train your dragon' is number 3, 'how to lose weight fast' is number 4 and 'how to roast pumpkin seeds' is number 5. If you add a space i.e. 'how to ' the 'how to' of course disappears from suggestions. These are from a Malaysian IP with instant on for Google.com and Google.com.my and off for NZ (well it doesn't seem to support).
 * I appear to get the same from a NZ IP but the results do change if I turn instant off. With google.com.my 'how to make love' now takes first spot, 'how to download youtube video' number 2, 'how to hack facebook' number 3 and 'how to hack facebook password' number 4. With google.com the results are similar except 'how to tie a tie' does indeed take first spot with 'how to' relegated to third (after 'how to train your dragon').
 * Nil Einne (talk) 15:33, 1 January 2011 (UTC)


 * This is purely speculation but there used to be some guy who created a web page on tying ties. This was maybe 10 years ago, before YouTube, eHow, etc..  Back then, it was amazing that anyone would have bothered to do such a thing.  I don't think that the page exists anymore, but maybe this search query might be popular because of this site.  A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 16:17, 1 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Just anecdotally, I have searched for "how to tie a tie" at least 10 times over the last few years. I don't wear a tie regularly, and as I'm the only male in my household, I have to look it up each and every time I need to (for a wedding, funeral, whatever). I'm sure if I did it regularly it would get as easy as tying my shows, but I don't do it more than a couple times a year. Ergo the search. So I don't have a hard time believing it's a common search. It's one of those things that isn't exactly handy if you don't know it, and it's not an uncommon phrase (how else would you ask the question?). Incidentally, when "how to tie a noose" gets to be #1, you know you're in trouble...! --Mr.98 (talk) 19:09, 2 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Snap. I've twice changed how I tie a tie as I've not been satisfied with the results. Thank you internet and Google, I would never have thought of the way I now do it. I believe you can get a book showing about eighty different ways of doing it. Dmcq (talk) 21:35, 2 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Oh dear. I looked up what my knot is called on Wikipedia and I think it is called the Pratt knot. Sorry any of you there but I think I'll refer to it by the alternate name Milan style knot. Dmcq (talk) 21:47, 2 January 2011 (UTC)

Recording background music while reading poetry
At risk of sounding like a sap, I need some help with this. My anniversary is coming up and as a gift to my beloved, I would like to record me reading some poetry with music in the background. The music part is easy. The voice is easy. Combining them nicely is not. Can anyone offer some suggestions? 99.250.117.26 (talk) 16:22, 1 January 2011 (UTC)
 * If you have the two as mp3s, for instance, I think the free program Audacity would be suited to your task. Peter Michner (talk) 17:03, 1 January 2011 (UTC)


 * You should be able to use Audacity to do this decently. I think even Sound Recorder has the ability to merge two files, too. ¦ Reisio (talk) 17:04, 1 January 2011 (UTC)

IE freezing when I try opening a new tab
I have Windows Vista (in case that is important). Over the last month, when I have opened IE, everything is fine until I try opening a new tab. About 75% of the time, the thing freezes necessitating me having to shut IE down and start over. Any thoughts or suggestions? I have run both Spybot and AVG but nothing has been found. 99.250.117.26 (talk) 16:31, 1 January 2011 (UTC)
 * You could install an alternative browser such as Mozilla Firefox, if only to eliminate your actual internet connection as the cause of the problem. Exxolon (talk) 17:02, 1 January 2011 (UTC)


 * This is not at all normal. If I were in your place, I would run a malware scan with something like the Malwarebytes scanner, then I would uninstall any IE related accessories like Google Toolbar, then I would uninstall IE and reinstall it.  Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:02, 1 January 2011 (UTC)
 * If you don't have Malwarebytes installed and you can't access it with IE, Try all the major browsers. If it dosen't work, download it somewhere else, put it into a USB then install and run it.General Rommel (talk) 06:20, 2 January 2011 (UTC)

e-mail malware
Everybody knows (if only!) that clicking on a link in an e-mail messages might load malware onto the computer. But can this be done in other ways? Like clicking on an image or even just opening the e-mail? --Halcatalyst (talk) 17:01, 1 January 2011 (UTC)


 * You've probably noticed a lot of email clients disable images by default, and that's because yes, loading binary files (including images) is a good way to get surprise data. Just opening an email should not usually be a risk, unless your email client (for webmail this includes your browser) is particularly out of date. ¦ Reisio (talk) 17:06, 1 January 2011 (UTC)


 * A reason that images are disabled is that just opening the image, even if it has no malicious content, can give the sender the information that the email address to which it was sent is valid and active. Spammers are often looking for verification that an email address is in use.   rc (talk) 18:11, 1 January 2011 (UTC)


 * It's possible on some systems to install malware just by loading an image due to bugs with some less common image formats: see for example Windows Metafile vulnerability. --Colapeninsula (talk) 15:24, 6 January 2011 (UTC)

Issue with flash/custom mouse icons.....
I've noticed an issue lately with FireFox3 and i believe with some internet explorer browsers where when im playing a flash game and theres a part that uses a custom mouse icon, such as crosshairs, the mouse is not visible at all outside the game, and sometimes isnt visible IN the game either, after the custom icon part is done with in the game.

Is this a known issue? Is there something i can do to fix it? Different browser? Different Flash version? Some sneaky work around? Ill take anything that will help, its really annoying not knowing where my mouse cursor is!

If it helps, The OS this has been happening on is WinVista. Thanks!

74.117.245.62 (talk) 21:12, 1 January 2011 (UTC)


 * I seem to recall this problem before (on Win98), but for me just moving the mouse outside the window and back fixed it. Try redefining the Windows mouse pointer, and see if that helps.  Do you know how ? StuRat (talk) 23:52, 1 January 2011 (UTC)

.... seems odd for an issue that early (win98) to disappear and then come back in a later OS. I'm not sure if i know how to "redefine" the mouse pointer. Do you mean how to change the icon used as the cursor? Please clarify. :)

63.26.250.109 (talk) 03:56, 2 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Yes, that's what I mean. I'm also not sure the issue ever went away.  It seems to be one of many bad things that happens when memory runs low.  Perhaps memory often ran low under Windows 98, because memory was limited back then, then it got better under XP, as computer memory increased, but then got worse again as memory hogs like Vista and Windows 7 came out. StuRat (talk) 22:18, 2 January 2011 (UTC)

In one case, memory COULD be an issue, but in another i would be greatly surprised. I have noticed this happening on my desktop pc, which has vista premium, 64 bit architecture, and 8GB ram...... but i will try your suggestion of using a different mouse icon. Thanks.

63.26.253.225 (talk) 18:57, 3 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Even if the total PC memory is sufficient, there can still be problems where the memory allocated to a particular application is not. And to clarify why I suggest changing the mouse pointer, it's because I suspect that the application defined it's own pointer, which then got wiped out (due to memory problems, perhaps).  If this is the case, then changing the mouse pointer might help for a while, but a reboot is probably going to be required soon.  This might give you long enough to finish what you are currently doing and save your data, though. StuRat (talk) 05:08, 4 January 2011 (UTC)

IP addresses
When I sign my "name" on Wikipedia, I post a certain IP address (174.20.220.94, I think, check my sig). When I look on my computer (windows 7), this IP address is nowhere to be found. Rather, my "IPv4 address" is given as 192.xxx.x.x. What gives? Where is (or where might) Wikipedia getting this 174 address that I've never seen before? 174.20.220.94 (talk) 21:42, 1 January 2011 (UTC)


 * I imagine the 192.168.0.1 address of your computer is a Private network address for your machine. You;re connected to the internet via a router, and it has an external IP address, given to it by its internet service provider, of the 174.20.220.94 variety. The router's job is to transfer data from your private network to the internet, and vica versa. Your router will have two addresses, the internal address by which you know it - in the 192.168.*.* range - and the external IP address by which it is known to the wider internet. --Tagishsimon (talk) 21:48, 1 January 2011 (UTC)

Public IP address 82.44.55.25 (talk) 21:54, 1 January 2011 (UTC)
 * So how do I find my Public IP address, other than by editing Wikipedia? Can I access my router, somehow (in general, I don't really want details for any specific brand or provider). 174.20.220.94 (talk) 22:06, 1 January 2011 (UTC)
 * IIRC, one of the set-up screens in your router should show you the internet-facing IP address. Any number of websites volunteer to let you know what it is from the outside. --Tagishsimon (talk) 22:11, 1 January 2011 (UTC)
 * To expand a bit, if you are using any kind of modern internet connection, it is likely that you are behind a network device called router. For the sake of simplicity lets assume this router has an inbuilt modem, but this can be done externally too. This router is a network segment of your private LAN (if you have only one computer, it's LAN between the computer and the router). As a part of this network it has an assigned IP address (the one starting with 192 in your case although this can be different). And computer too has it's address within the LAN. Modem and router use those addresses and some other techniques and addresses to send data around to each other. If you connect more computers each of them will be given a local internal IP like router and computer have. However, your router (which has modem functionality inbuilt, as we assumed) also has capability of connecting to Internet which is a WAN (Wide Area Network)network as opposed to LAN (Local Area Network). And to be able to ID itself on the Internet router has an IP address (quite unrelated to the local one). Now, when your computer requests Internet service, it does not go directly out on Internet, instead it asks the router to act as a gateway to the Internet. Router performs both local and Internet packet switching, asking from the Internet resources that computer asks for. This results in requests made on your computer looking like they are made by the router (because they are made by the router, but on computer's behalf), which means your signature contains router's external (or public) IP, not to computer's IP.


 * Whenever you make a request to a site among many other information the site can see your external/public IP, that is why sometimes it seems like sites know where you are from (they know cause they take your IP and look it up in a database which shows them where this IP is assigned to). Due to this, probably the easiest way to find out your external/public IP is to open a site such as http://www.whatismyip.com/ which will tell you what it is. --110.174.117.185 (talk) 21:34, 5 January 2011 (UTC)

Expandable Vector Animation
I've read the article Extended Vector Animation and I like the idea of animation that can be slowed down without becoming frame-by-frame, much in the same way that vector images can be zoomed in on without pixelation. I've searched around for software that can do this kind of thing and I found Synfig. The problem is that it seems to be focused on eliminating tweening and their tutorial on creating an animation with a ball moving back and forth, from left to right, using tweening or something, does not seem to be anything like the Extended Vector Animation format. I've also played with Adobe Flash CS5 but all that it seems to use is frame-by-frame animation. I'm looking for a product that can do the kind of stuff EVA can do. Any suggested software or am I missing something in Synfig or Adobe Flash? --Melab±1 &#9742; 23:39, 1 January 2011 (UTC) Plus, I'm planning on using it like this, for example:
 * Create animation that has an off-center circle rotate continuously.
 * Export a movie by way of a dialog that allows me to determine how long to make the exported movie and how many frame-per-second it'll have.
 * Is Flash able to work like this? --Melab±1 &#9742; 23:34, 2 January 2011 (UTC)