Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2012 July 30

= July 30 =

router light "modem" flashing red
The "modem" light on my wireless router is flashing red, I guess to indicate it sees some problem with the modem. I've checked that the connectors are tight. The lights on the modem are normal and Internet service is okay for the moment. What might be happening and what can I do? --Halcatalyst (talk) 02:53, 30 July 2012 (UTC)


 * When you ask for help with a problem, it is important to specify exactly the models of hardware involved. Looie496 (talk) 03:01, 30 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Sorry, they are an Arris model TM502G cable modem and a Motorola WR850G router. --Halcatalyst (talk) 03:42, 30 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Was it always flashing red, or is this new ? (What color was it before, and was it flashing ?) StuRat (talk) 04:11, 30 July 2012 (UTC)


 * According to the owner's manual for the router (http://www.motorola.com/mdirect/manuals/WR850G_User_Manual_E.pdf, p. 1-10), a flashing red modem light means that the router has lost connectivity with the default gateway even though the ethernet is functional. I'm not sure exactly what that implies, but it is probably due to some issue with your ISP.  If it were me, I would ignore it as long as the internet works, and if the internet stopped working I would call my ISP. Looie496 (talk) 04:24, 30 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Normally, the light is green, steady, I think, not certain, because I paid little attention to it before it started to flash red. A problem with the ISP seems very possible; I've had a number of issues with them recently. I would be interested in knowing about "connectivity with the default gateway" if anybody knows. Thanks. --Halcatalyst (talk) 14:42, 30 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Have you tried the basics of fixing WiFi problems: 1. turn off the wireless router; 2. turn off the cable modem (or whatever the router is plugged into); 3. leave them off for a little while, maybe 20 minutes, then, 4. turn the modem on again, wait for it to fully boot up; 5. turn the router on again. --Mr.98 (talk) 23:37, 30 July 2012 (UTC)

Function 'Prompt' in Excel 2007
Hi. Apologies if this is sounds like bit of a n00b-y question... I'll start by saying that I am a fairly adept user of Excel 2007. Really, I can Pivot, Vlookup and VBA with the best of 'em. But, there is one thing that really annoys me. That is: when I begin typing a formula in a cell, a little 'prompt' appears that contains all of the function commands that start with the letters I have typed so far i.e. when I type "VL" a little menu appears containing "VLOOKUP". How the HELL do I select the command from that little menu, without typing the whole word manually? Thanks in advance! — sparklism hey! 11:19, 30 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Press down to scroll through the list and highlight the command you desire, then Tab to confirm it. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 12:06, 30 July 2012 (UTC)
 * By jove, that's it! Many thanks :) — sparklism  hey! 12:10, 30 July 2012 (UTC)
 * No problem. In general I find Excel a wonderful program, and I use it for almost every task from word-processing to complex databases. But there are so many little tricks that take you a lifetime to discover. My favourite at the moment is pressing Ctrl + direction to jump to the end of the current section. I was manually scrolling for years before someone pointed that one out! :-) - Cucumber Mike (talk) 16:48, 30 July 2012 (UTC)

Download videos from Cinemassacre.com
Is there a way to download this video to watch it on a computer without internet access?

http://cinemassacre.com/2012/07/28/c-h-u-d-c-h-u-d-ii-bud-the-chud/

109.74.50.52 (talk) 13:26, 30 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Using the FlashGot plugin for Firefox, I was able to start downloading the very large (2GB) FLV file. All you'll need then is a video player that can play FLV files, like VLC. --Mr.98 (talk) 14:59, 30 July 2012 (UTC)

Thanks, I tried this but I can't download 2GB. And that size doesn't seem right anyway for that video. Anything else?

109.74.50.52 (talk) 09:35, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

Update: For most of the movie reviews FlashGot starts to download this 2GB file but others are more reasonably sized around 15 Mbs. (e.g. Zarkorr and Xtro) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.74.50.52 (talk) 10:10, 31 July 2012‎


 * Moved the above response back here to the original question. Please don't cut&paste questions to make a reply in a new section - it is confusing as hell and I am the second person who has had to do this with one of your contributions.  Please see your talk page.  Astronaut (talk) 16:28, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

Is there a Clipboard manager that can automatically make a paste-able, clean, comma separated list? (Or single space separated text string?)
I currently use Windows7 and depend on gratis and preferably free software. Q1: Is there a Clipboard manager that can accumulate consecutive text cuts and quickly, automatically, combine them into a single paste-able text string with just one space between each individual cut? That is: I want it to disregard whether the original cuts contain any or too many spaces or punctuation marks at their ends. And similarly: Q2: Is there a Clipboard manager that can do the same but resulting in just a comma and a space between each piece. --89.9.193.235 (talk) 15:30, 30 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Generally speaking if you come up with a list of requirements that only one person on the entire planet Earth would find useful, you are not likely to find software that meets those requirements. Looie496 (talk) 20:59, 30 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Though it could be argued that more people than the OP would find this useful, it doesn't appear to be a commonly included feature. Is there some particular task you are looking to accomplish, 89.9.193.235?  There may be another efficient way of completing it.  Sazea (talk) 21:48, 30 July 2012 (UTC)


 * @Looie496: It's not at all that eccentric!  :-) Have you never had to make an extremely shortened edition (summary) of an existing 250 word text? Some people have to do this many times a day! When the original text fits within one screenfull it would be a lot of time saved if one could just point and pick what one needs, as described in Q1 above! Even if one needs this just once a week, it would still be a very convenient tool because you then often would only need to spend about 15-25 seconds instead of 3 minutes on the task -- (OP) 89.9.193.235 (talk) 22:16, 30 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Ahhh, the three traits of a great programmer. Laziness, Impatience, Hubris. The lazy programmer wants the tool to save a little time. The impatient programmer is willing to invest unreasonable effort to save a little time. The hubristic programmer wants to write the tool for the recognition. you just need to find someone who exhibits all three and convince them they share your problem! BigNate37(T) 22:24, 30 July 2012 (UTC)
 * @BigNate37: Ahhh, In fact you find this to be a neat idea! :-) (Because you did not say so outright, then before I looked at the link it seemed as if you disapproved and deemed implementing my idea to be a vaste of time). Thank you for the interesting link to the article from the SESUG Proceedings! Now, I wonder if the developers of AutoHotkey might be interested in trying to implement my idea somhow?  -- (OP) 89.9.193.235 (talk) 02:17, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * I couldn't help but speak up, watching discussion along the lines of "do you really need this" and "this is too specific" brought to mind case studies from my open source software project management class. While I'm not your guy for this problem, it's definitely one of those things you'd half expect there to be a GNU tool for already. BigNate37(T) 23:31, 2 August 2012 (UTC)
 * @Sazea: Another example of usefulness for the requested tool (Q1 above) is when you write a lot of replies to emailed questions (or forum questions): Very often large chunks (long text strings) of your intended reply already exists on your screen (in the question itself or on some page of text that you pulled up for the occasion). So there should be no need to retype them. Your finished reply may only need to pick out and put those existing pieces of text in a slightly different order and then maybe add some very few words that you have to type in manually. Again: Such a clipboard manager tool would be totally indispensable only for those who have to write many overly explicit helpful replies every day. But I believe that most people who now can see what I need it for, also would consider it a neat tool to have themselves. Don't you think so? (Provided that one doesn't have to spend to much time, or any money, to get it and learn how to use it :-)     -- (OP) 89.9.193.235 (talk) 02:17, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Added: "(Or single space separated text string?)" to the header. -- (OP) 89.9.193.235 (talk) 02:17, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

x86 SOCs
Not many SOCs use x86 processors and the ones that do only have a few integrated components (Intel Atom E6xx processors). Is this because x86 systems are often reliant on BIOS or because not many SOCs come with hardware-based security checks? And why are tablets that use x86 chips so much thicker than ARM tablets? --Melab±1 &#9742; 20:05, 30 July 2012 (UTC)
 * SOC meaning System on a chip. I would think it's because x86's need a lot of power and memory, as well as other resources normally found on a motherboard, and generate a lot of heat when they run, usually requiring a massive heatsink and fan. Looie496 (talk) 20:55, 30 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Would an AMD Élan SC520 be considered a system-on-a-chip? It is said to be a microcontroller, but it was then superseded by the AMD Geode, which is marketed as a system-on-a-chip. --Melab±1 &#9742; 23:45, 30 July 2012 (UTC)
 * An ARM core is incredibly tiny because it is a RISC processor with a simple instruction set, and a masterpiece of low power/low size design. The CISC x86 has a far bigger instruction set and relies on intermediate microcode to convert the instructions into an executable form, which adds significantly to the processor size (basically in x86 chips you have a RISC-style processor plus a microcode translator to generate the RISC instructions). In the mid-1980s the ARM2 had 30,000 transistors against 55,000 in an 80186 or 275,000 for a 80386 (see Transistor count, ARM architecture); more recently the 32-bit but uncached ARM6 had 35,000.  Also, ARM has always been fab-less and has pursued a policy of licensing their cores widely to SoC manufacturers and others, while Intel has huge manufacturing plants and prefers to make its own chips.  Intel historically designed their products for desktops, and later laptops, with features better suited for those applications, while ARM have always been more focused on low-power, low-cost markets, and were slower to add features like address protection/virtual addressing which are necessary for modern operating systems. --Colapeninsula (talk) 10:08, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

DIY WiFi tag
I wish to build a simplistic RTLS in which a computer could monitor whether a tag is in its general vicinity and take appropriate action. I have imagined a WiFi tag such as Ekahau's, and would get one of theirs (perhaps a T310W for US$40 on eBay) if I thought I could use it with my own computer & software as controller, but I suspect that I'd need their proprietary controller to make it work. What commercial or build-it-yourself systems should I be looking at?

I'd like the system to have a range of at least 50 feet (it would not need to have a sharp cutoff range) and would like to be able to check if the tag is in range every 15 seconds or so, and the tag would need to operate for at least 24 hours between recharging / battery replacement. The base station could be either a laptop connected to a LAN WiFi router, or could be a microcontroller device. Would a 433Mhz kit for an Arduino make more sense than WiFi? -- 203.82.81.154 (talk) 21:31, 30 July 2012 (UTC)


 * I bought a RZ Raven from Atmel a few years ago. It contained two programmable ZigBee/802.15.4 tags, and a USB base-station for your PC.  I think the kit cost ~ $100.  Nimur (talk) 23:13, 30 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Thanks, that looks promising. As I really only need one tag, I might use the other as the base station as I'd really rather use a microcontroller than a PC, but thought that it might be easier to work off the existing WiFi with a PC.  I'll be feeding the "present / not present" signal to a Parallax Propeller board which is handling all the wired data.  (I've just never worked wireless before.)
 * Do you recall the range you got? -- 203.82.81.154 (talk) 01:44, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Easily fifty feet, and maybe a hundred feet; testing in a real-world building, with walls and interfering signals, not "pristine" lab conditions. Nimur (talk) 15:36, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Bluetooth may be the simplest solution. You don't need to have an IP stack running on the tag, which simplifies things a ton. I'm not sure if 50 feet is doable with standard bluetooth, but I think there are higher range devices available. I've seen PC software designed to detect a specific bluetooth device (generally a cell phone) and use it to wake up and log into a computer when the user is near, so maybe the computer side of the work is already done for you. 209.131.76.183 (talk) 12:23, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Oops, didn't notice that the PC is only there to talk to another board. For microcontroller to microcontroller, ZigBee (suggested by Nimur) is simple to use and works great. I wouldn't be surprised if there is already information out there on interfacing it with the propellor board. 209.131.76.183 (talk) 12:25, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

RZ Raven
Do you know if additional hardware is needed to program the RZ Raven? The Quick Start Guide mentions over-the-air firmware upgrade, but then discusses soldering on a ten pin connector and using the AVR JTAGICE mkII (USD 299 -- ouch!) for programming. -- 203.82.91.147 (talk) 19:43, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * No, you can program the firmware over-the-air, as long as you are careful. If you overwrite the boot-sector, you will not be able to use the wireless programmer; then you will require the wired programmer utility.  As long as you are careful, you never need to do that.  So, you should read the instructions and engineering manuals very carefully.  You might want to consider how familiar are you with the design and implementation of firmware for small controllers.  After all, "do-it-yourself" means that there's a lot of effort involved.  Nimur (talk) 19:51, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Yes, I understand that I've got a lot to learn in order to implement it, but that is part of the reason for the project.
 * I just discovered the AVR Dragon which costs only USD 49 and appears to be a programming tool and hardware debugger (though presumably less capable and robust than the more expensive JTAGICE).
 * Thanks for all the help. I'm still open to hearing about other options, but I think I'll give the RZ Raven / ZigBee a shot (though I suppose I should look into XBee devices as well, but at first glance they seem to be more expensive).  -- ToE 00:40, 1 August 2012 (UTC) (OP, finally logged in.)