Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2013 November 9

= November 9 =

FN Lock in Windows 8
I want my function keys to register as fn keys when pressed; at the moment, they register alternate functions (for example, f5 toggles the touchpad), and to get the fn I have to hold down the "fn" key next to ctrl. Instead, I'd like it so that if I wanted to toggle touchpad, I'd have to hold down fn and then press f5. Was this clear?

I know this is possible because somehow I did it on accident, but it went back to its old settings at some point, and Google isn't helping because its a hard question to phrase. Do you undesrtand what I want? 98.27.247.86 (talk) 02:20, 9 November 2013 (UTC)


 * I think it depends on the keyboard or laptop. Try searching with keywords like the model of your keyboard or laptop and "fn lock". K ati e R  (talk) 13:14, 11 November 2013 (UTC)

Youtube ersatz
With Google+ and other changes Google has introduced to Youtube, imho YT has lost its potential for being something that could approach the function of a public forum. I'm now looking, without any success so far, for a website that allows discussions/exchanges via video (not live streaming conference or anything, just good old flash-based video), plus text-based comments on those videos. I'm not looking for a place where William Ray Johnson would fit in, or a place where I can watch illegally uploaded material -- that's what Google's Youtube is for.

A second, related question is if anyone knows a forum site where users are empowered e.g. by giving trusted/established users the ability to be administrators on threads they opened (thus taking a more active role in shaping the discussion / weeding out trolling, spam and other unrelated comments etc). To the best of my knowledge, no such webforum exists, but I'd be happy to be proved wrong. --85.197.41.25 (talk) 04:08, 9 November 2013 (UTC)

Calendar software for unpredictable sleep
I sleep very unpredictable hours, and would frequently be sleep-deprived if I set my alarm every day. But I'd like to adopt timeboxing or a similar strategy. Is there any calendar software that can automatically recalculate my timeboxes according to what time I actually wake up? Neon Merlin  06:53, 9 November 2013 (UTC)


 * I don't think it's so straightforward. You might be thinking you can just push everything back, but some scheduled items involve other people or other constraints, so can't be moved.  Then there are dependencies, where one item must be completed before another.  I suggest you schedule something highly optional for the period you might sleep through, then hopefully you will be awake by the time you hit the important items.


 * I also have such a sleep pattern ("I get up bright and early, at the first crack of noon"), so schedule important things for afternoon. StuRat (talk) 07:37, 9 November 2013 (UTC)

Can BlueTooth 'peripherals' talk to each other?
I'm thinking about building a system where two bluetooth-enabled microcontrollers (let's call them 'A' and 'B') communicate with each other, compute some combined result and have 'A' send that result to a nearby phone/tablet/pc/whatever (let's call that 'C') - by emulating a bluetooth keyboard.

Does the bluetooth protocol allow for 'A' and 'B' to communicate with each other while 'A' (using the same bluetooth radio) also emulates a keyboard to talk to 'C' - or would 'A' need to have two bluetooth radios to do that? Can a typical bluetooth chipset maintain more than one radio connection at a time?

I can't install any software whatever onto 'C' - so the option of having both 'A' and 'B' talk to 'C' and letting 'C' compute the combined result is a non-starter for this particular application.

Does it make a difference if 'A' only listens to 'B' and only transmits to 'C' (is that even possible?)

SteveBaker (talk) 14:22, 9 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Bluetooth uses a master / slave architecture. Each peripheral needs to pair with a controlling master, who could be responsible for routing messages to the destination.  Our article mentions briefly that some alternative modes are defined, but those are esoteric, and I bet they're hard to implement using simple tools and easily-available software.
 * You could investigate alternatives, like ZigBee or ad-hoc 802.11 which are really designed for peer-to-peer communication. If you choose Bluetooth, you'll need a master device.  Nimur (talk) 16:33, 9 November 2013 (UTC)