Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2011 June 7

= June 7 =

Local printer to internet printer
What is good print server software to turn a local printer (e.g. USB connected on Windows 7) into something that can be printed to from anywhere on the internet? I can handle the IP / port setup, I'm just wondering what the best software approach would be for making printer available? Dragons flight (talk) 03:48, 7 June 2011 (UTC)


 * I was hoping someone would write back with a magical answer, but I honestly don't think you can. Windows 7 can only work as an IPP client, not as a server. I'll be very happy to be proved wrong, but as far as I know the server components only run on Windows server (2003 onwards, although possibly 2000). I think it might be possible on Windows XP Professional though, but I'm not 100% sure on that either. Sorry for the vague response and perhaps someone will know of a 3rd party product to replace the print spooler, but I hope this is of some help anyway!  ZX81    talk  17:19, 7 June 2011 (UTC)


 * You could probably do this with OpenVPN. The server- and client-side is supported on Windows, and with the proper configuration, you should be able to share printers. It also provides a layer of authentication (and encryption), so you don't have to worry about exposing your printer to random people on the Internet. I've used OpenVPN before, but not for printer sharing, so I'm not sure how to do this or whether it's even possible, but it's worth a try if no one else comes up with a better solution.--el Aprel (facta-facienda) 03:08, 8 June 2011 (UTC)

MP3 tag editor for "genre" and "composer"
Is there any program that could fix my the "genre" and "composer" tags of my MP3 collection, WITHOUT touching at the same time the titles, album, artist info that are already to my liking? Most programs I have found overwrite everything at once. 66.131.99.39 (talk) 04:25, 7 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Yep, Mp3tag can do just that :) (I use it for just that reason all the time)  ZX81    talk  04:40, 7 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Is it possible for it to retrieve the actual data from the Internet and ONLY fill in genre and composer? Raskolkhan (talk) 12:12, 7 June 2011 (UTC)


 * I don't have a copy installed at the moment to try, but their website says "Import from Amazon, discogs, freedb, MusicBrainz - Save typing and import tags from online databases like Amazon, discogs, freedb, MusicBrainz, and more.", so I'm guessing probably yes.  ZX81    talk  17:21, 7 June 2011 (UTC)


 * iTunes does this. Select a bunch of tracks. Do a "Get Info". Select the checkboxes of the categories you want to modify. It won't alter categories that aren't checkmarked. --24.249.59.89 (talk) 21:50, 28 June 2011 (UTC)

Inkscape convert text
I can't find this in Inkscape, but I feel it should exist... I have an svg that has some text in it. I want to convert the text to a bunch of objects, each with nodes and edges. I know that the text is currently represented as nodes and edges, but I cannot select a single node on a single letter and change it. So, I need to get rid of the in-between text layer and use the actual objects. Is this possible? -- k a i n a w &trade; 15:13, 7 June 2011 (UTC)


 * As far as SVG is concerned, text is text, not nodes and edges (yes, the text renderer that gets called by an SVG renderer does emit nodes-and-edges, but that's not how SVG stores them). Inkscape can convert text to nodes-and-edges (but not vice versa); select the text object and do path->object_to_path -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 15:21, 7 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Thanks. I thought that placed text on a path - to make curved text. So, I didn't select it. -- k a i n a w &trade; 15:33, 7 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Yeah, in general object-to-path takes a structured object like a circle, star, hexagon, spiral, etc. and turns them into a path, where you get the point-editing you want, but lose the higher-level control of the original object. To make a curved text object you first create the text object and a bezier curve for the path, select both, and then do text->put-on-path. This does keep the text object as text, so you can still edit the text after it's done. But beware that (at least the last time I tried it) the SVG->bitmap renderer used by Mediawiki doesn't handle text-on-paths correctly. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 15:45, 7 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Still broken: compare File:Wfm bendy test.svg as viewed by Mediawiki and in Inkscape or Firefox's own SVG renderer. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 15:52, 7 June 2011 (UTC)
 * From memory, the MediaWiki interface doesn't do curves and lines unless they've also been converted to paths. ╟─ Treasury Tag ►  ballotbox  ─╢ 09:18, 9 June 2011 (UTC)

IP Address
Is it possible to know somebody's home address through their computer's IP address? B-Machine (talk) 15:18, 7 June 2011 (UTC)


 * It depends entirely on who you are and who the person is. In general, the answer is "no." You (specifically you) cannot know the home address of any random IP address you find on the Internet. -- k a i n a w &trade; 15:34, 7 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Since the above poster didn't answer fully, I'd like to explain a bit better. You can use various tools to get the approximate location of an IP address.  Many servers report geolocation, and tracert can tell you the hops between you and the subject.  This is unethical, but adertisers do it, so there's no reason why regular citizens shouldn't.  If you have a pressing legal need for this information(if for example the ip in question was involved in illegal activities), you can subpoena the ISP that owns the the address, and they likely have records that would tell who that is.  If your goal is to stalk or harass someone you know from the internet, this solution won't work for you(thank goodness). i kan reed (talk) 16:06, 7 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Unless you are very good at bluffing, social engineering, or have a friend on the inside of the ISP... --Mr.98 (talk) 17:57, 7 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Adding a 3rd answer, possibly. If the IP in question was allocated by RIPE (Europe) and the person in question has a block of 8 IPs or more then they're required to be registered to that persons name/address (whois on the IP will be that person, not their ISP). Not all ISPs actually do this, but they're supposed to. I have no idea about the rules for other Internet registries though (and as mentioned above this is only applicable when the end user has 8 or more IPs).  ZX81    talk  17:15, 7 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Covering another part of the possible answers. It is easy for some employees of your Internet Service Provider to find out your home address if they see your IP address.  If an employee of, say, Comcast, a cable TV and Internet service provider in the United States, sees that your IP address is 68.87.98.101, he or she could look up that IP address in the Comcast database and see if it's a Comcast-provided IP address.  If it is, then he or she could look up whose home address is registered to that number.  Comet Tuttle (talk) 18:53, 7 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Skyhook Wireless, like many similar services, sells access to a comprehensive and up-to-date database of IP addresses, WiFi hot-spot MAC addresses, and other network-location -to- geographic-position mapping tools. The methods that they use to acquire such data could be considered somewhat malicious and invasive: driving around and sniffing for public metadata about private wireless networks, but these techniques are neither illegal nor technically difficult.  Nimur (talk) 20:37, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

Do any of you know any tools I could use to do this? I'm just curious, that's all. B-Machine (talk) 17:27, 8 June 2011 (UTC)


 * As pointed out above, whois and tracert are the common tools to approximate geolocation of an IP address. -- k a i n a w &trade; 17:33, 8 June 2011 (UTC)