Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2012 June 12

= June 12 =

The 'Ç' character with Swiss French keyboard
On the Swiss keyboard, I have been having trouble figuring out how to write the capital 'ç'. I can do it on Linux by means of the CAPS LOCK, but it doesn't work that way on Windows. Does anybody know how it is supposed to be inserted (other than with the CAPS key?). Thanks, Falconus p t   c 13:59, 12 June 2012 (UTC)


 * If you can't find anything better, Ç describes the keymap independent way of entering, as an alt code. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 14:06, 12 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Okay, thanks. Falconus p t   c 15:00, 12 June 2012 (UTC)

Wikipedia ipv6
Since Wikipedia now supports ipv6, I was wondering how does one access the site via ipv6? Is it the normal address, or a special one like ipv6.google.com? 92.233.64.26 (talk) 16:29, 12 June 2012 (UTC)


 * You might want to inquire at the talk page of WP:IPv6.
 * —Wavelength (talk) 17:03, 12 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Unless you're an internet engineer, you don't need to do anything. It's the responsibility of whoever operates your network - your commercial internet service provider, or your institution's system administrator - to eventually migrate your connection to IPv6.  All Wikipedia has done is make it possible for IPv6 routes to resolve to its servers.  If you aren't using one of these new routes, (because, like most of the planet) your route to Wikipedia still uses IPv4 then you need take no action.  There's no benefit or difference, as a user, because the website appears and functions identically, whether you access it over IPv4, 6, or any esoteric network protocol that can sustain HTTP protocol.  One day, your ISP may make an IPv6 address available to you, and you will be able to use it transparently.  Nimur (talk) 04:06, 13 June 2012 (UTC)
 * That isn't entirely true. Although unlikely, it's possible your ISP is already providing an IPv6 address. However although high end routers have supported IPv6 for a long time, a lot of even very recent home routers and CPE (particularly ADSL modems) have not. (See e.g. these fairly recent  discussions.) If your ISP is providing IPv6 but your equipment isn't capable of supporting it, then you do have to do something to make it work. (Of course if the equipment is still owned by the ISP, then it becomes their responsibility again but in many countries this is exceptionally rare.) Similarly while most recent OSes have a dualstack network and have IPv6 enabled by default, it's possible that you have it disabled for whatever reason. In such a case, again you have to do something. Whether you want to bother or just wait until eventual normal upgrades fix the issue is up to you and as I said it's very rare ISPs provide IPv6 anyway. Of course you can probably get IPv6 working even if your ISP doesn't provide native IPv6 by default. A small number of ISPs provide IPv6 for on request either natively or via some other method like PPtP. And of course there's other options like tunnel brokers if your ISP doesn't. There are plenty of guides out there even long before World IPv6 day. Again whether you want to bother is up to you. There are some potential benefits, e.g. free binary IPv6 news servers (I've used them and they aren't too bad), the possibility of getting around a NAT issues if your ISP is not able to provide a public IP to each of their users, providing a public IP to each computer if you have multiple ones, in some cases getting around throttling imposed by the ISP (I was able to do this somewhat in the past particularly since I was using a NZ tunnel broker however my ISP throttles a lot less now so it isn't so important, and before anyone complains my tunnel broker clearly said they welcome use provided it's non malicious). Note that in the specific case of wikipedia, I would disagree functionality is identical. For editors, there's always the risk of being blocked for something you didn't do because of a shared IP. Even if you create an account, occasionally hard blocks of IPs are placed meaning unless you ask for and are granted an IP block exemption, you're still SOL. IPv6 is too new that we don't know exactly how things are going to work out, particularly for services like tunnel brokers. But either way, depending a lot on where you get your IPv6 address from and the nature of your IPv4 address, there is the possibility you're at less risk of being blocked for something you didn't do. (There is also the risk you're more likely to be blocked.) Nil Einne (talk) 07:37, 13 June 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for the interesting answers. According http://test-ipv6.com/ I have "6to4" access and I've been able to access every ipv6 site, so it would appear I do have an ipv6 address? But I don't seem to be able to make a choice about which method I use when visiting a site that supports both, it always just picks ipv4. Do I have to do something else to make it used ipv6? I know there is no real difference in end-user functionality between the two, I'm just curious and want to see it work. 92.233.64.26 (talk) 10:10, 13 June 2012 (UTC)
 * I believe it depends both on the browser and potentially the OS. I believe most new browsers and OSes prefer IPv6 where it's available but I could be mistaken and I'm not sure if this applies to 6to4. It may also depend on other factors as concern over buggy set-ups (where the OS and browser think IPv6 is working so try to use it but it's not) was one of the reason many sites chose not to turn on IPv6 until the recent world IPv6 day (the decision was made partially based on the results of the previous world IPv6 test day). See e.g.  . Note that if you're using 6to4 you're unlikely to have any specific advantages when it comes to accessing wikimedia sites unless perhaps you're a network admin and want to track abuse which from the discussion is not the case. Nil Einne (talk) 07:43, 14 June 2012 (UTC)

dim screen
Is this section just for computing or also for computers? How much relative energy efficiency can I get from dimming my laptop computer's screen? (I only hope for general answers but my laptop is a Sony Vaio VPC-YB3V1E - which I just read has a "A high resolution screen and fantastic keyboard, but performance and battery life are underwhelming") Hayttom (talk) 18:33, 12 June 2012 (UTC)


 * This is the right desk. You probably don't mean efficiency, as that may even go down with a dimmer screen, meaning less light is produced per energy used.  What you care about, I suspect, is total battery time at the dim vs. bright settings.  Giving it a test yourself, at each setting, is the best way to get an answer. StuRat (talk) 19:22, 12 June 2012 (UTC)


 * 1) You're right, I meant total battery time. 2) If I manage to do the tests I'll post the results.  (I suppose I'll have to monitor closely to see when the computer shuts itself down, and using the computer would skew the results.)Hayttom (talk) 03:48, 13 June 2012 (UTC)


 * Excellent, I look forward to your results. BTW, the figure the seller gives for how long the battery lasts is probably on the dimmest setting with the computer doing nothing, using a brand new battery.  So, it's virtually impossible to get that much life out of it in the real world. StuRat (talk) 21:39, 13 June 2012 (UTC)