Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2013 November 3

= November 3 =

Make a video of my computer being used?
Is there any way to take a video internally of my computer's (Imac) display of what I'm doing? I could set up a video camera and record my screen but it would be much easier If i could just hit "record" somehow, and have my computer itself save what was on its screen for some set time period. I'm not sure if I'm being clear, so let me try again. You know how you can take a screenshot of what your computer is displaying? I want to take a "screenvideo" of my computer's display for a period of time so that I can, for example, make a video of me surfing the web.--108.46.110.208 (talk) 00:20, 3 November 2013 (UTC)


 * On mac, you can use the Quicktime player that shipped with your computer to do this.  Click on "File/New Screen Recording".  (Or right-click on its dock icon and select "New Screen Recording".
 * I don't believe this will capture audio, though. So you may need to capture that separately. APL (talk) 01:28, 3 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Hypercam is free and captures audio. If it still works the same way it used to, you'll get a little "Hypercam 2" logo in the corner of your recording. 81.147.166.89 (talk) 09:23, 3 November 2013 (UTC)
 * What you are after is called Screencast, we have a Comparison of screencasting software that you might find useful. Vespine (talk) 00:09, 8 November 2013 (UTC)

Problem installing Ubuntu on MacBook Pro 8,1
The installation hangs at "Detecting file systems", logging "[ubuntu-bluetoothd] Operation not permitted". Czech is Cyrillized (talk) 02:39, 3 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Indeed. I have a Mac Book Pro 8,2; its hardware is quite similar to your Mac Book Pro 8,1.  My Mac Book Pro also will not boot Ubuntu.  Whenever I manage to break my software such that any of my Mac Book Pros fail to boot, which I accomplish a few times each day, I wipe the system and install a fresh copy of OS X 10.9.  Did you know that OS X 10.9 is available at no charge?  OS X is also POSIX compliant; OS X can run X11 and GTK+; it can run OpenJDK, tcl, perl, and python; it bundles bash, tcsh, and zsh; it comes with a free C compiler and works with GNU tools too; and it works great with Mac Book Pro 8,1 hardware.  If you have any trouble with it, you can even schedule a session to get help at an Apple retail store near you!  And if you don't like the kernel for some reason, you can download xnu source code from opensource.apple.com so you can independently modify or replace your OS X kernel to your heart's content.  But of course, I assume you are intentionally opting for Ubuntu because of your strong preference for the device drivers that Ubuntu does not bundle with its distribution; or perhaps you enjoy the ease of the no-hassle set-up and strong protection of system security and user-privacy provided by Ubuntu's proprietary packaging of an open platform like Linux.  I've even heard that Canonical will be bundling their Unity Amazon search into their distribution of grep.  And of course, Linux is infamous for its excellent device driver support.  Those Linux drivers that do not exist ought to be fantastic, putting to shame their "corporate" counterparts.  I can only imagine that Ubuntu would perform fantastically on Mac Book Pro, but I'm not able to verify my imagination, because Ubuntu does not boot.   I'm sure that once you resolve these issues, you'll be able to do all the things on Linux that you cannot do on OS X, such as fail to load built-in device drivers for Apple hardware.
 * Let me drop the cynicism and be more blunt. You have already paid for the world's greatest hardware, and it comes working out of the box with a free copy of the best Unix operating system on the market; and you want to replace that system with a system-software that does not work.  How much technical help do you really think is available?  You're asking the computer equivalent of replacing your BMW's engine with a toaster oven, and you want help because the toaster oven is spilling bread-crumbs everywhere and won't turn over.  Nobody knows how to fix that.  Instructions to fix the bread-crumbs leakage do not exist on the internet, or anywhere, because it's an incredibly difficult, and very silly thing to do.  Nimur (talk) 07:40, 3 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Perhaps I'm not reading this correctly, but I'm not exactly sure what point you're trying to make here? → Σ σ  ς . (Sigma) 08:20, 3 November 2013 (UTC)
 * I can be more succinct. It is impractical to boot Ubuntu on a Mac.  It is prohibitively difficult.  Free documentation does not exist.  Even if you accomplished the difficult task, there is no benefit.  There is nothing Ubuntu can do that OS X cannot do.  Nimur (talk) 08:26, 3 November 2013 (UTC)
 * That's some hardcore fanboyism and a giant pile of sarcasm, but is it even correct?
 * Simple Googling shows that lots of people do this, and there are guides for doing it. I’m sure the people at ubuntuforums.org would be able to answer this question without heaping abuse on the question asker.
 * (Personally, if I weren't locked into using XCode for phone development, I’d ditch OSX in a heartbeat, so I sympathise with the question asker.)
 * APL (talk) 20:38, 3 November 2013 (UTC)
 * I do not believe that any of my comments were meant to "heap abuse" on anybody. In fact, the OP began by making several disparaging remarks about software.  My comments are meant to inform the OP: and to encourage the use of critical thinking here.  Why do you seek to run linux?  In a very objective way, Linux performance on this hardware is inferior; it does not even work; and even if you can make it run, it is not finely tuned for power or performance.  In a very objective way, the portions of Ubuntu in question - device drivers for this hardware - are not free and open source software.  Amazingly, many of those very same portions of the Apple system are freely licensed and open-source software, and I have linked to documentation and source code.  In an objective way, I have presented significant evidence that at the application layer, Linux provides no advantage, because critical tools and software run equally well on OS X, just like any native installation of any other POSIX-compliant system.
 * Suppose hypothetically, you must run Ubuntu, and you have infinite time, resources, and access to all source-code... and you begin patching Linux to run on the hardware. We have a bit of a Ship of Theseus problem here - if you begin porting all of the necessary hardware support software from OS X to Linux, you soon realize that you are in fact running OS X, which is where we started in the first place!  ... So, why did you spend the time and effort?  Do I need to reiterate that OS X is already available at no charge?  You've just replaced a mostly-free and open-source operating system with a mostly-free and open source operating system, at the expense of great time and effort.
 * Ultimately, you're the owner and operator of a very powerful piece of computing hardware, and you get to decide how you want to use it. But ask yourself the very straightforward question: what possible advantage does Ubuntu have?  You seek to "ditch" software that works, in favor of software that does not work.  By your own admission, your options for your compiler are more limited on Linux.  It seems like very dim prospects overall, yet you still wish to "switch."  There must be some light that you can see at the end of the tunnel, right?  Otherwise, why spend the incredible effort to make it work?  What are you trying to prove?  Nimur (talk) 21:16, 3 November 2013 (UTC)
 * I don't see how sarcastically mocking a person's decision-making process could be anything but abuse.
 * Regardless, it's been a long-standing rule here that answering a question of "How do I do [X] with [Y] operating system" should never be answered with "Don't. Install [Z] Operating System. Problem Solved.". It's rude. It's unhelpful, and it's borderline trolling.
 * As to your other points, I refuse to engage in an OS debate, except to say that Ubuntu on Mac hardware is not so unusual as you seem to think. He's not asking how to do something new. APL (talk) 21:41, 3 November 2013 (UTC)
 * It is a tragic day for free software, when linking to the officially-released free source code for a device is regarded as trolling. I remember a time when running Linux meant writing your own software!  But, times have changed.  I wish you the best of luck running the software of your choice on the hardware of your choice, and I'm sorry my comments were tinged with a hint of unpleasantness.  If anything, I should have exercised more restraint.  Nimur (talk) 22:45, 3 November 2013 (UTC)


 * The one thing from the long discussion above I closed which may be helpful to you is I'm not entirely sure this is the best place to be asking, perhaps try a Ubuntu help forum. That and it may be helpful to search an use a guide if you are having a lot of problems. Nil Einne (talk) 04:32, 4 November 2013 (UTC)

Free dark brown noise generator?
I have been searching for a noise generator that gives a deeper, more mechanical noise than brown noise. (I am away from home and the almost total silence with occasional loud stomping is driving me batshit.)  Something like an inefficient fan, an empty but running clothes dryer (probably the ideal), twenty barrels of apples rolling down hill, or a 50 year-old central-air fan would be great. I have been using the brown noise from simply noise.com and playnoise.com--but the sound is still too high pitched. Is there a way I can get a slightly rougher and deeper noise from a free site or app? (I am running Windows 7 and don't seem to be able to run the sound from my various browsers through an equalizer--which would also seem to be an ideal solution if I could figure out how to do it.) Thanks. μηδείς (talk) 02:49, 3 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Where are you that would be almost total silence except for the occasional loud stomping - away in the woods looking for Bigfoot? At first I thought you were asking about how to make the Brown note more rumbling - perhaps something most people wouldn't enjoy despite the lack of evidence as to its effectiveness.  That was until I found the Brownian noise article and now I think understand.  I presume you have bought or downloaded a brown noise generator from the many seemingly available on the internet.  What kind of effects do you get by fiddling with the equalization controls - to enhance the bass or add a little echo for example?  Maybe software like Audacity will let you fiddle around with the sound.  Alternatively, maybe Trent Reznor's music that came with the original Quake video game might suit your needs; and if you have an original Quake disk, you can play it as a CD.  Astronaut (talk) 15:54, 4 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Well, I am no longer there, but I was in the most isolated room in a house somewhere very quiet in New England, withwindless cold weather that had silenced all the insects, rather than my apartment in NYC, and I couldn't get a fan from my host who thought I was crazy even for asking. (Two-and-a-half decades of sleeping with a fan to drown out random screaming and sirens has left me addicted to the fan.)
 * Had I thought of the brown note I'd have been clearer in my description than just brown noise!
 * At first there was apparently a browser issue with some of the free sites I tried--they wouldn't finish loading. That's why I came here. Eventually I settled on streaming from http://rain.simplynoise.com/ through an IE browser, then activating the thunder option and opening five browsers running the sound simultaneously, to give a rumbling on top of some whiter noise.  I left the computer on with the black screen saver all night, and slept like a baby.
 * At this point the question is academic. But it would still be interesting to know how to put a brown-noise or rougher type sound through an equalizer without having to buy the noise file or an app.  The biggest problem with a file would be the discontinuity you experience in a player like VLC when it loops on replay mode. It seems like a very simple thing, like an animated gif.  In fact, the hypnotoad noise might be a good idea.  I would still appreciate any suggestions. μηδείς (talk) 04:38, 5 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Have you attempted to sleep with the radio on? You can listen to music, talk radio, or static that way. Thanks ツ Jenova   20  (email) 12:49, 8 November 2013 (UTC)

Computer components
I appreciate that this may not be precisely the right place to pose this question; but it is directly related: what is the main elemental component in computing? I was talking to ; who though it was hafnium, whereas I thought it was carbon. Thank you in advance for any answers. Mat ty. 007 12:43, 3 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Are you including the plastics that make up most of a circuit board? Or just the circuits, diodes, etc. themselves?  Dismas |(talk) 13:20, 3 November 2013 (UTC)
 * I think we were talking about the entire things as a whole; including the plastics on the keyboard, screen; etc.. Thanks, Mat  ty  .  007  13:23, 3 November 2013 (UTC)
 * I think Hafnium is used the most, because of the circuits, etc.. more than Carbon, it's interesting know which element is used the most. Danger^Mouse (talk) 17:08, 3 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Hafnium??? WTF??? Looie496 (talk) 17:18, 3 November 2013 (UTC)
 * There's no single most important element. Silicon can be said to have utmost importance as it powers the CPU (which is the computer's brain), but there are other elements too. Physical contacts where you plug something in may often be made of gold, solder may be made of lead, LEDs may contain arsenic or other semiconductors, etc.--Jasper Deng (talk) 18:00, 3 November 2013 (UTC)
 * , we weren't talking about the most important; rather, the most used. Thanks for the answers, Mat  ty  .  007  18:21, 3 November 2013 (UTC)


 * I'd say it depends whether you're asking about what are the most important (serve the most important purposes) or which are the most by weight. The processor, memory, and GPU are probably the most important components, and are mostly silicon (hafnium is used in a few processors, but just in a thin insulating layer - ) with some sort of plastic/ceramic housing and metal pins that connect to the socket, but by weight they represent only a small fraction. Hard drive platters are made of a ceramic or glass substrate coated with a cobalt alloy that provides the magnetic layer. The case and other structural components are probably the largest by mass, and is either plastic or metal (aluminum or steel), but it's also probably the least important part in that you could make a fully functional computer without a case at all. Mr.Z-man 18:43, 3 November 2013 (UTC)
 * OK, so mainly common metals? Thank you to everyone for their help. Mat  ty  .  007  18:53, 3 November 2013 (UTC)

Vimeo loop function
Right clicking on the Vimeo player used to give a 'LOOP ON' function, and the video would then loop endlessly. I did it all the time. Now, right clicking on player doesn't give a loop function, and I can't figure out what changed. Something in my computer, or did Vimeo change something and remove the loop function? I have googled and tried endlessly to find the LOOP ON function, but no luck. Thanks if you can help me figure it out. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.208.75.76 (talk) 13:49, 3 November 2013 (UTC)

Xbox 360 vs One
It says on List of Xbox 360 games, that non-exclusive Xbox 360 can be used on other Xboxes. Does that mean that that a 360 disc can be used on the One for example, or there is an Xbox One or Xbox version? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.208.75.76 (talk) 17:29, 3 November 2013 (UTC)  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.45.130.114 (talk)


 * No. You've misunderstood.
 * The non-exclusive titles can also be purchased for systems the are not Xbox. For example the Sony PS3, the Nintendo Wii, or home computer.
 * I'm pretty sure that Microsoft has said that the XBOne will not play any 360 disks. Sadly.
 * APL (talk) 20:20, 3 November 2013 (UTC)
 * More specifically, the non-exclusive titles have versions available for other systems, like GTA V or Assassin's Creed which can be bought for the PS3 or PCs, in some cases. It doesn't mean that the 360 version is playable on Wii or PS3. Exclusives are things like Halo, which only exist for Microsoft platforms. Mingmingla (talk) 00:08, 4 November 2013 (UTC)

Excel question: horizontal line
In Excel (2010), is there any way to get a solid horizontal line directly in the middle of a cell, going from left to right (in other words, cutting the cell in half horizontally)? I don't want to use a series of dashes or minus signs or equal signs, because they have a little blank space between each character (leaving little gaps). Rather, I want a solid, unbroken horizontal line (with no gaps). I looked in the "borders" format function, under "more borders". And there is indeed exactly the type of border that I am looking for. However, that specific border format is "grayed out", so that I am not able to click on it. Why is it even there, if it cannot be clicked on or selected? Or am I doing something wrong, and I should indeed be able to click on it? Any ideas? Thanks! Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 21:17, 3 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Can't help you with splitting a cell, but the function in the borders option is for if you've selected a group of cells. The outer borders will only apply to the outermost cells, while the inner borders will apply to all the cells inside the selectio area. 81.147.166.89 (talk) 23:34, 3 November 2013 (UTC)
 * OK, I see. I have to actually select the cells to format first, before applying the border formatting.  That seems to work.  Thanks.  Does anyone else know any way to divide a cell in half with a solid horizontal line?   Thanks.   Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 00:27, 4 November 2013 (UTC)

If anyone is interested, I just figured out a work-around solution to the above problem. I entered some text in the cell; I used a series of dashes. As stated above, these dashes print out with small gaps between each and every dash. Then, I formatted the cell with the strike-through format (like this ). And that strike-through format runs horizontally across the cell. It also prints over all the small gaps between each and every dash, making it appear as one long, solid, horizontal line. Still, if anyone knows the correct and direct way to do this, please let me know. Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 00:38, 4 November 2013 (UTC)


 * It is possible just to draw a line across the cell using the drawing menu in Excel 2000. I don't know whether this is still available in newer versions.    D b f i r s   15:30, 4 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Thanks. Yes, the drawing menu is still there.  I did try it.  It's not an ideal solution, however.  It's hard to draw a "nice, clean, straight" line.  This is because it is hard to "start" and "stop" the line at the exact spot you want; it is hard to draw the line perfectly horizontal (as it tends to slightly slant up or down); and it is hard to get the line in the exact center of the cell.  In other words, the line will only be as precise as your hand drawing will allow.  Plus, you have to draw a line in every single cell, one by one.  My work-around solution above seems to provide the best results so far.  Thanks.  Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 16:06, 4 November 2013 (UTC)


 * (Just to add to one minor thing...you can make your lines perfectly horizontal by making them 0cm tall (or 0cm wide for vertical) - not that this makes that solution workable just more of a general tip :-) ny156uk (talk) 18:18, 4 November 2013 (UTC)


 * (weird edit conflict) It is still available on the Insert tab in Office 2007 - Choose the 'Shapes' icon. This will let you create a drawing element which is tied to the cells it starts and ends in.  Hold down shift to ensure the line is straight.  It will behave pretty much as expected under row/column manipulations.  If you delete the cell it starts in, the line will be trimemd to a nearby cell edge.  Astronaut (talk) 16:07, 4 November 2013 (UTC)
 * You could use a macro to draw the lines. The following VBA code draws a horizontal line in the middle of every cell in the current selection:


 * AndrewWTaylor (talk) 18:07, 4 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Thanks. I will try that macro and see how that works.  But, I have no idea of what a macro really is.  So, where exactly do I type all of that above code?  Where in the Excel spreadsheet do I type all of that?  Thanks.   Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 20:01, 4 November 2013 (UTC)
 * You need to copy it into the Visual Basic Editor, which you can get to by pressing Alt+F11. Here are some links that should get you started:, , . AndrewWTaylor (talk) 09:40, 5 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Thanks for the info and for those links. I will try that.  Thank you.   Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 13:42, 5 November 2013 (UTC)


 * In LibreOffice, a free spreadsheet with Excel-like functionality, you need merely pick pairs of two cells and choose Format -> Merge Cells to join them. The cells in the two rows that you don't merge still have a line between them.  You can copy and paste either the merged or split cells to readily continue the pattern.  You can resize the cells at the edge of the spreadsheet so that the two cells with a line between look the same size as the others.  In theory, LibreOffice documents should be compatible with Excel, so you could make the change there then access it via Excel if you want, though usually there are similar commands in both programs.  Or you could ditch the un-free program in favor of the one you know you'll always have access to... Wnt (talk) 03:32, 5 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Thanks. I actually had considered (in Excel) merging some cells and not others, adjusting their sizes, and using a border between some cells to create the effect that I want.  The problem is that all of my cells that need the horizontal mid-way line are spread out at various, odd, random spots throughout the spreadsheet.  Plus, it's a spreadsheet where the data will always be changing; hence, the placement of the mid-way horizontal lines will always need to shift to coincide with the data.  So, the idea of merging some cells and not others would become a logistical nightmare.  I had considered that option, though.  Thanks.   Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 13:42, 5 November 2013 (UTC)


 * I suppose you could make every box a double-height cell with the mid-line not shown, then just use the borders menu to insert the mid-lines where required (no need to merge cells unless you need vertical centering), but AndrewWTaylor's clever macro sounds much neater.   D b f i r s   08:40, 6 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Yes, I agree. The macro seems like it makes the most sense in this situation.  One would think that the Excel program would already have such a "simple" function in there already, to do this.  But, apparently not.  The only problem with the macro is that I am 100% unfamiliar with that concept, so I will have a learning curve to contend with.  (But, that's OK.)  I really do wish that Excel had a much simpler option, though.  My request seems so basic.  As far as the double height on every cell, I also thought of that.  In my particular spreadsheet, that probably won't work.  Many of my rows will be of varying heights; and many of the data (and rows) will constantly fluctuate and switch around.  It would be too hard to "keep track" of the varying heights of all the cells.  Thanks again!   Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 15:17, 6 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Yes, the macro is definitely the most elegant solution, and it works perfectly (I've just tried it).   D b f i r s   17:19, 6 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Thanks. That's good to hear.  I will try it myself, just as soon as I figure out what I am doing (with macros, that is).  I've got to sort through some of the links above to get a quick tutorial on how to create this macro.  Thanks.   Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 19:11, 6 November 2013 (UTC)


 * It's certainly worth learning how to do your own VB macros, but you could just copy and paste the code provided by Andrew. I'm still using Excel 2000 (a bit out of date), but all I did was select the cells I wanted splitting in my spreadsheet (using ctrl to select many cells), then pressed alt+F11 ...  F7 ...  paste  ... F5 and alt+F11 again to show the spreadsheet with the selected cells neatly and accurately split with horizontal lines.  Magic!   The macro will be saved with the spreadsheet, and can be run again for newly selected cells by pressing alt+F8 and clicking run.  If you want to remove the odd line split, just select the line (not the cell) and press del.    D b f i r s   22:28, 6 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Thanks. Yes, I have no intention of creating my own VB macro, as I would have no idea how to do so.  I was simply going to copy-and-paste the above one by AndrewWTaylor.  But, once I actually copied it, I wasn't sure where exactly to paste it.  I will try the steps you outlined above.  Thanks.   Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 22:35, 6 November 2013 (UTC)