Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2011 March 26

= March 26 =

Picture of a DIN 7/16 connector?
Could anyone make a free picture of a DIN 7/16 connector ..? Electron9 (talk) 07:08, 26 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Does the Mini-DIN connector article help? Astronaut (talk) 13:44, 26 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I'm not an expert on these things but the pictures from google images look different to the ones in that article, and the RF connector article states that DIN connectors are "not to be confused with the 7/16 DIN connector" 82.43.90.38 (talk) 14:31, 26 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Ummm, that looks very similar to a BNC connector or maybe a RF connector similar to that found on the back of a TV. Indeed the RF connector article mentions 7/16 DIN, but there is no article or image.  This page does have a small, but quite clear image.  This catalog from Delta Electronics Mfr Corp has detailed diagrams and other tech specs, though you would probably need to seek permission to use their material in another publication.  Astronaut (talk) 00:34, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

Ubuntu installation error
I get the message "Error: Dependency is not satisfiable: libdbus-glib-1-2". Said package is installed. What's wrong?


 * I'm no expurt (!) but my wild guess would be that the software requires 32-bit libs and you're running a 64-bit system and have only the 64-bit libs. Other than that, you could try installing the dev package for it as well. Please report here if it works or doesn't! Zakhalesh (talk) 12:33, 26 March 2011 (UTC)


 * I'm running a 32-bit system. No luck so far with the extra -dev packages. Quest09 (talk) 13:06, 26 March 2011 (UTC)


 * What are you trying to install and what tool are you using to install it? Or are you simply trying to install Ubuntu itself, as the question seems to imply?  If so, what sort of system are you trying to install it on? Looie496 (talk) 17:33, 26 March 2011 (UTC)


 * The question should be: Installation error on Ubuntu. I am trying to install gpick with a .deb package.


 * If you're trying to do what's discussed in, above, the following Python program will show the colour (r,g,b), and will display its name if its an exact match for one of the X11 color names. I'll have to have a think about "nearest".  This requires the standard Ubuntu python install, and the python-xlib package (from the standard ubuntu repository).


 * -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 20:44, 26 March 2011 (UTC)


 * I have worked through the vexing world of Color difference and come up with what I think does a CIE76 "nearest" function, but the results are rather unsatisfactory, leading me to believe that either I'm doing it wrong, or I have quite a pronounced colour vision problem (the former, I fear). I'll post it somewhere if anyone wants to see a bunch of arbitrary-looking numbers being multiplied together to be produce an unintuitive, and probably wrong, result. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 23:34, 26 March 2011 (UTC)

That works fine for me. Thanks. Quest09 (talk) 23:37, 26 March 2011 (UTC)

Hologram
HOW CAN I MAKE A HOLOGRAM OF MY COMPANY WITH THE USE OF CORAL DRAW OR OAGEMAKER OR MS OFFICE? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 180.215.121.140 (talk) 14:08, 26 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Wikipedia has an article about Hologram where the section Hologram gives tips on how they are made. You cannot do this with the PC drawing programs you mention. It is necessary to use a laser and a camera with high resolution. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 16:44, 26 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Are you sure you really mean a hologram ? Perhaps you mean some other form of 3D image ? StuRat (talk) 18:41, 26 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Welcome to the Wikipedia RefDesk! Please avoid typing in ALL CAPS, as it is considered the online equivalent of shouting. Thank you. Rocketshiporion ♫ 20:33, 26 March 2011 (UTC)

Database Transfer
I am playing around with some simple databases. I would like to transfer a small SQL database that I made on a Windows 7 VM with phpMyAdmin (3.3.9) over to a OpenSUSE VM - but opening it on MySQL workbench (5.2.31). What do I need to do to export the DB and how would I open it with MySQL workbench?24.89.210.71 (talk) 14:13, 26 March 2011 (UTC)


 * At the command line, MySQL datbases can be dumped with mysqldump and restored just by streaming that file into the mysql command line program (as the dump is a list of sql CREATE TABLE and INSERT commands). MySQL Workbench has a data dump tab. PHPMyAdmin has an "export" function. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 15:09, 26 March 2011 (UTC)

YouTube forcing people to have a Gmail account
I tried to sign in to YouTube, but it won't let me do it unless I sign up to Gmail. I don't want a Gmail account, as I hear they read emails to send targeted ads and probably other bad things. Is there any way around this? More unhappy people here: http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2011/01/10/Google-Forces-Youtube-Account-Linking.aspx Thanks 92.29.127.59 (talk) 14:52, 26 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Sign up but don't use if for email, easy-- Jac 16888 Talk 15:03, 26 March 2011 (UTC)
 * The OP seems concerned about privacy, and even just signing up for a google account now requires you to "verify" it by giving them a mobile phone number 82.43.90.38 (talk) 15:39, 26 March 2011 (UTC)
 * No it doesn't, just signed up another email took 2 minutes, no phone number-- Jac 16888 Talk 15:51, 26 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I don't know what you're doing differently, but every time I have ever tried to make a google account it asks for a phone number. I just tried it again, here's a pic of the screen asking for it. Also, from googles own help pages Account verification via SMS or Voice Call. 82.43.90.38 (talk) 16:30, 26 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I expect this depends on the IP address that is trying to open an account. Google works pretty hard to prevent Gmail from being used to send spam. Looie496 (talk) 17:30, 26 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Note that as far as I know Google does not force you to link Gmail account. They just force you to link a Google account (at least that's what all I've read from Google says). Despite the apparent confusion of a lot of people discussing this elsewhere, a Gmail account and a Google account are not the same thing and you can have a Google account linked to a non Gmail email address and can sign up for one right here . Or to put things a different way I'd go by what Google actually say rather then what random people on the internet who don't appear to know what they're talking about say. Note that it appears you can delete Gmail from your account at any time (and I presume link your Google account to another email). This compares to a Live account which if linked to/signed up for with a Hotmail/Livemail address is (at least whenever I've tried it and looked in to it) permanently linked to your Live account and can't be linked to a different address. (If linked to a non Hotmail/Livemail address it can be changed.) However it appears once you are linked to Gmail you can't unlink without deleting Gmail . Note sure about Yahoo never looked in to that. Nil Einne (talk) 17:57, 26 March 2011 (UTC)

It would be totally unacceptable for me to give Google/Gmail my phone number, so no more YouTube for me. 92.29.127.59 (talk) 18:35, 26 March 2011 (UTC)


 * You might be alright, since you're in the UK. I wasn't asked for a phone number when I signed up to gmail last year. I think it's a geographic thing, for some reason. 213.122.64.30 (talk) 19:03, 26 March 2011 (UTC)
 * 82 is from the UK so that can't be enough. It may depend on the ISP, perhaps the fact 82 is quite dynamic doesn't help (but so is 92). Ultimately of course if as lot of people have been using your ISP to spam and your ISP hasn't done enough to stop them you're probably screwed. Nil Einne (talk) 21:40, 26 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Occasionally when asked for a phone number and I don't want to give it, I give an obviously fake one, such as 00000-000000. Often that is good enough. -- SGBailey (talk) 20:24, 26 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I've tried with a fake number and it doesn't work because Google sends a verification code to the number, which you have to then enter back 82.43.90.38 (talk) 20:29, 26 March 2011 (UTC)


 * When I've signed up for new Gmail addresses, if I put an existing Gmail address into the "what other accounts do you have" slot, they've usually let me in without verifying it. (I've tried it both ways.) What I didn't try was putting in a nonsense Gmail address in and seeing if that worked. --Mr.98 (talk) 20:47, 26 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I just tried and it works! 82.43.90.38 (talk) 20:59, 26 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Is there even any evidence they ever ask for a phone number when all you want is a Google account? Nil Einne (talk) 21:38, 26 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I think they mixed it up with a Gmail account General Rommel (talk) 23:04, 26 March 2011 (UTC)

I hope the EU puts their thumb down hard on privacy issues like this - I'm grateful for what they have done so far. 2.97.210.137 (talk) 22:10, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

Cursor only focuses where I place it on second click when coming back to a window
Possibly relevant: on an Imac, running Mac OS X 10.6.6, using a magic mouse. Say I go to a Wikipedia article (though this is not Wikipedia specific) click edit, put my cursor at a particular place in the article, then go to an offline document that's also open on my screen to retrieve some text. When I click back into the article, I click where I want to paste what I've just copied but when I do so, my cursor does not focus where I just clicked. Instead, that first click back "invokes the page window", with the cursor blinking where I left it, and only thereafter can I place it where I want. I'm sure I will get used to this eventually but I do a lot of things by rote very quickly, such as clicking somewhere and hitting in almost one operation, and it's driving me a bit mad with the pasted text being placed somewhere other than where I expected it to appear (in fact it led to this bungled move, where the move rational was pasted into the new title field because of this problem).--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 17:47, 26 March 2011 (UTC)


 * I don't know if you can change this behavior, but would like to point out why they may have done it this way. Let's say you first find the place in a long page where you want to do a paste, then go and cut what you want to paste from another document.  This way, when coming back to the paste page, you don't need to search for your paste location again. StuRat (talk) 18:46, 26 March 2011 (UTC)


 * I'm not sure if there was a question in the original post. But yes, your description of leaving and returning to a window is typical. I suggest you learn to manage it. -- SGBailey (talk) 20:22, 26 March 2011 (UTC)


 * I've found it annoying when some applications work the other way. I click on it just to make it active, and then it starts doing something I don't want, because of where I clicked on the window. StuRat (talk) 20:41, 26 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes, but this is not the way it's ever worked before now for me (or works now on a PC I just tried), thus my lament about it being an ingrained thing that I will have to learn to deal with if there is no fix. Is this just a difference between Apples and PCs?--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 21:00, 27 March 2011 (UTC)
 * It's just the way the Mac OS people chose to do it. They value consistency, so often these things are not configurable.  Here's an article about a developer trying to get 0-clicks-to-focus behavior in OS X.  It's not pretty.  Paul (Stansifer) 11:41, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

Mouse problems - Windows Vista
Resolved&#58; Magog the Ogre (talk) 22:09, 26 March 2011 (UTC) So my mother is running a (really crappy unpatched) installation of Windows Vista on her desktop. The computer has major issues with going to sleep, and recently when it woke up from sleep, neither the wireless nor touchpad mouse was working. No biggie, right? Well after two restarts, it's still not working (and I am getting the blame for it because I put the computer into sleep mode... *sigh*, the burden of being computer literate among the computer illiterate). If I play with the the cursor for a really long time, I can get it to haphazardly and unpredictably move, but it's far too erratic to have any control over it. However, the touchpad mouse right and left buttons still work.

I think I need help fixing this problem, and I don't know where to start. Any ideas? Magog the Ogre (talk) 21:39, 26 March 2011 (UTC)

PS. Her last system restore point is, obnoxiously enough, over 6 months ago, so I'd rather not go with that option unless necessary. Magog the Ogre (talk) 21:48, 26 March 2011 (UTC)


 * First unplug the mouse, turn off the computer, plug it back in, and boot up.  Does the mouse need cleaning ?  It that doesn't help, reloading the mouse driver might be a good next step.  If that still doesn't help, try a different type of mouse (USB versus PS/2) or a different USB port.  Is this a wired mouse or wireless ?  With a wireless there are also batteries and interference to consider.  If this is a ball mouse, does the ball roll effortlessly ?  For either a ball or laser mouse, are you using a good mouse pad ? StuRat (talk) 22:02, 26 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Or you could have the computer "put to sleep", permanently. :-) StuRat (talk) 22:05, 26 March 2011 (UTC)

Ugh. Update: Apparently when I advised my mother to replace the batteries the other day, she just got used ones out of the drawer, so the wireless mouse went dead. Also, the touchpad appears to be junked up independent of this event, which she never noticed before. Did I say something about the joys of being computer literate among the illiterate? Magog the Ogre (talk) 22:09, 26 March 2011 (UTC)


 * My favorite was when somebody plugged all their computer components into a power strip, then plugged the strip into itself, and wondered why nothing worked, since "everything was plugged in". :-) StuRat (talk) 22:17, 26 March 2011 (UTC)


 * I once plugged a PDU wire into a socket on the same PDU instead of into the UPS, then spent a whole day trying to figure why my workstation wouldn't boot, and even tried replacing each the workstation's PSUs one by one with the spare! It's rather easy to get mixed up when there's a big nest of cables. Rocketshiporion ♫ 07:32, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

Free Alternatives to Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition
Hello fellow RefDeskers, I'm still trying to build that SAN Head from last year, and so far I've put together the hardware, and now all I need is the OS. I've found Microsoft's Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition to be ideal except for its fatal flaw of costing more than the hardware itself!; so my question now is - can anyone point me to a free (either as in speech or as in beer) storage-server OS which has similar SAN functionality to WSS2008R2? (I'm not concerned with NAS capabilities, as I'm only interested in the SAN functionality, particularly the allocation of LUNs as VHDs is advantageous.) Thanks as always! Rocketshiporion ♫ 06:28, 26 March 2011 (UTC)


 * If you want Microsoft software but don't want to pay the full retail price, there are great deals from Microsoft if you look around. For example, if you are a student, you might be eligible for Microsoft DreamSpark, Microsoft Campus Agreement, and MSDN Academic Alliance (all very cheap or free). If you are using Microsoft software for non-production purposes (learning, testing, and troubleshooting), there is Technet Subscriptions (from $199). If you are using Microsoft software for software development purposes, there is MSDN Subscriptions (from $699). Good luck. 118.96.164.90 (talk) 02:49, 27 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Nope. I'm not a student, and the SAN is for production (albeit non-commercial) use. Rocketshiporion ♫ 03:57, 27 March 2011 (UTC)


 * There are solutions out there. Googling open source SAN gives  but I have no idea of how well these systems perform. Taemyr (talk) 09:29, 26 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Try FreeBSD with iSCSI ..?, also what kind of clients in terms of iSCSI/PXE support, OS etc? Electron9 (talk) 09:35, 26 March 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for the suggestion, but to clarify - what I'm looking for is an SAN-OS that: Rocketshiporion ♫ 10:13, 26 March 2011 (UTC)
 * 1) Supports both the iSCSI and Fiber Channel protocols
 * 2) Allocates LUNs as VHDs (this is crucial for data backup reasons)
 * 3) Can be managed via a Graphical User Interface
 * 4) Will support both Windows and Linux clients


 * I have tried Open-E's Data Storage Software v6 Lite, but didn't find it to be very functional, and couldn't get it to work properly. Rocketshiporion ♫ 10:32, 26 March 2011 (UTC)