Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2012 December 8

= December 8 =

Windows 7 file search function
When I pick "Start", type in a file name at the bottom, and pick "See more results", the panel only gives the first 58 characters of the full path for each file name. This is grossly insufficient, and I don't see any way to resize it (we seem to have lost this ability from Win XP). Is there a way ? Can I run the Windows XP file search ? If not, is there something else I can download to do a proper search ? StuRat (talk) 04:03, 8 December 2012 (UTC)


 * If you are viewing in 'content' mode, there's no way to extend what's displayed that I'm aware of (although I almost never used content mode). If you're viewing in details mode, just expand the size of the tabs as normal. I don't believe Windows XP had a content mode, so I don't understand what you mean about 'lost this ability'. Nil Einne (talk) 04:25, 8 December 2012 (UTC)


 * A quick check seems to confirm Windows XP has no 'content' viewing mode. Nil Einne (talk) 04:59, 8 December 2012 (UTC)

I think I figured it out. In Windows XP you had options labelled List, Large Icons, Small Icons, and Details. Windows 7 seems to have the same options, under the icon with the "Change your view" rollover text. They've also added Content mode, which seems to be the default setting, and doesn't let me adjust the column widths. Once I change to Details mode, I can adjust the column widths. They also added "Extra Large Icons", "Medium Icons", and "Tiles" modes. StuRat (talk) 06:52, 8 December 2012 (UTC)


 * If you actually want a decent search utility in Windows 7, I recommend File Locator Lite. Mitch Ames (talk) 09:06, 8 December 2012 (UTC)

Text only, ad-free web sites for cell phone browsing
My cell phone has web browsing capability, but I want to keep the lag and minutes usage down, so want text-only sites with no ads. So far:

1) I've found a good weather site (my old favorite, http://braille.wunderground.com/auto/braille), so I'm all set for weather.

2) I also found a news site at NPR, but would like news from other perspectives, as well, like BBC News. Do they offer such a service ?  Does any other US or international news agency ?

3) I've had no luck with search engines. Google doesn't seem to provide this, and my searches didn't find any general search engines that match my criteria.

4) Then there's Wikipedia. Lots of cruft on these pages.  Is there a way to access Wikipedia, say in a read-only mode, where I could look up things without seeing any illustrations ?

5) Any other good text-only, ad-free websites appropriate for web browsing from a cell phone ? StuRat (talk) 07:27, 8 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Is there no way to disable images in your browser? Does your phone support Java ME? If so, will Opera Mini run on it? Opera Mini definitely has the option, and it has "Opera Turbo", which proxies everything through their server and compresses it before sending it to you. I also noticed on my feature phone that Opera Mini was much faster than the built-in browser. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 07:42, 8 December 2012 (UTC) (edited 07:43, 8 December 2012 (UTC))


 * Yea, the default sites seem designed to suck down as many minutes as possible. I can turn various things on and off, like Java, Flash, cookies, etc.  I left them all on, for now.  But my phone does have a favorites option, and I'd like to fill those with sites like those listed above. StuRat (talk) 07:50, 8 December 2012 (UTC)


 * You're still using a circuit switched network for your phone? If not I don't understand why they charge in minutes. In most of the rest of the world, they charge in bytes (or multiples thereof). Nil Einne (talk) 13:44, 8 December 2012 (UTC)


 * They convert the bytes to "units", where 1 unit = a 1 minute phone call. For example, a text costs 0.3 minutes, and the weather site I mentioned above costs only 0.1 units.  A 380K pic costs about 7 units, and God only knows what sending a video would cost me.  A unit costs me about US$0.07.  StuRat (talk) 15:53, 8 December 2012 (UTC)


 * For Wikipedia, try inserting .m. into the URL, for example which shows only a few of the many words in this long article, and one of the pictures.  Mobile browsers can use a link at the bottom of any Wikipedia article to switch to the mobile version of all pages.  You can also download the free Wikipedia App which only works the "mobile" way.  By either method, Wikipedia sends only thumbnail versions of pictures, rather than have the browser downsize big versions after downloading them.  Jim.henderson (talk) 17:00, 8 December 2012 (UTC)


 * OK, thanks. I created my own landing page with no pics at all: .  From there I can do Wikipedia searches.  StuRat (talk) 17:22, 8 December 2012 (UTC)

I thought of something else I'd like:

6) A language machine translator site, where I pick the from and to languages, then type in the text, and it translates it for me. I'm using Google translate now.  Is there anything better ? StuRat (talk) 17:25, 8 December 2012 (UTC)

How do I recover Bookmarks/Favorites from an O/S which won't run ?
As I've mentioned previously, my XP computer died, and I replaced it with one running Windows 7. I can't boot into XP any more, but do have access to the hard drive (I copied the contents to an external hard drive). So, how can I access the bookmarks/favorites ? I had:

1) Firefox.

2) Opera.

3) Google chrome.

4) IE.

Firefox is where most of my bookmarks were. StuRat (talk) 07:45, 8 December 2012 (UTC)


 * In Firefox:
 * Show all bookmarks (Ctrl-Shift-B or from the Bookmark menu or toolbar depending on your configuration).
 * Select Import and Backup, Restore, Choose file
 * Navigate to the location of the profile that has the bookmarks (ie on image copied from the old machine), eg on XP, something like "C:\Documents and Settings\Mitch\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\d56q1v9n.default\bookmarkbackups" (Application Data is hidden, so you may need to enable showing hidden folders)
 * Select the most recent bookmarks*.json to load all the bookmarks (warning - replaces all existing bookmarks)
 * (Or use a search engine to search for "firefox copying bookmarks one computer another" or similar to find lots of pages that tell you how to do it)
 * Mitch Ames (talk) 08:40, 8 December 2012 (UTC)


 * You can actually just copy the entire profile directory contents over. ¦ Reisio (talk) 08:44, 8 December 2012 (UTC)
 * To pile on, it's easiest to just copy the profile directory over, however the actual bookmarks should be in an sql database called places I think. There's also bookmarks in a more readable JSON format under bookmarkbackups, which may be another easier way. Shadowjams (talk) 13:50, 8 December 2012 (UTC)

Thanks so far. Is there any way to combine bookmarks together from two sources ? StuRat (talk) 21:52, 10 December 2012 (UTC)


 * You could try Export from one profile (your original), Import to another (your new) profile. They are under the Import and Backup menu, as above. I haven't used it myself, so I don't know if Import adds to existing bookmarks or replaces them. It's probably worth a try though. Mitch Ames (talk) 08:21, 12 December 2012 (UTC)

Abstraction level and programming paradigm
Can a low level computer language (something lower than High Level Assembly) be anything that's not declarative? OsmanRF34 (talk) 14:31, 8 December 2012 (UTC)


 * This really isn't a forum for OR debate. Anyhow, your question is too subjective and speculative to begin with. The answer is: it depends.
 * Sebastian Garth (talk) 19:34, 8 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Lisp machine is the closest real-world thing I can think of. However, like the article shows, the machine language isn't LISP - just optimized for it. 209.131.76.183 (talk) 17:12, 10 December 2012 (UTC)

Windows Movie Maker 2012 doesn't let you burn DVDs any more?
I have Windows 8 and the 2012 version of Windows Movie Maker. I used to be able to burn standard format video DVDs on it so I can watch a movie on my DVD player. But I can't seem to find this feature in the 2012 version of the app. Does anyone know if it's still there or if MS removed the feature? Also, if this feature has been removed, can anyone recommend a good DVD burning program? A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 17:52, 8 December 2012 (UTC)


 * List of features removed in Windows 8, http://alternativeto.net/software/windows-dvd-maker/ Also now would be a great time to spend not very much at all ($25 on the lower end) on something that can play video without needing you to burn. ¦ Reisio (talk) 19:55, 8 December 2012 (UTC)