Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2013 October 10

= October 10 =

How do hotmail detect whether a file is encrypted?
Generally, if I put an encrypted file as an attachment hotmail would return "xxxxx.rar, is password protected so it can't be scanned“. So how does this work? Is the system considering anything long enough and not obviously meaningful as "encrypted"? Or is it looking for special tags in files that says it is an encrypted file? Is there a way to bypass this detection?--朝鲜的轮子 (talk) 04:17, 10 October 2013 (UTC)


 * If I recall correctly, it shows up in the header of the file, so I'm guessing hotmail scans this; I have no idea if you can turn it off.Phoenixia1177 (talk) 08:04, 10 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Yes, the encryption status is recorded in the header. If it were secret, then extracting an encrypted file that you didn't know was encrypted would produce a broken file without any warning, which isn't a good user experience. Almost all encrypted formats have headers identifying them as encrypted for that reason. -- BenRG (talk) 07:39, 11 October 2013 (UTC)

Maximum definition of an Apple monitor
Hello Useful Ones ! I bought "for a mouthful of bread" (as we say here, meaning "at a very low price") a beautiful & almost new-looking (though about 10 or 15 years old) Apple monitor branded «Apple 17 inches Studio Display » : it looks like an inflated i-Mac poised on a tripod (no image on Commons). I hoped to use it as my main office monitor, but its image looks blurry to me, and I'couldnt increase its definition over 1024 x 600@60, while I'm now used to get 1024x768@75 on a medium sized flat screen. I snooped into the abilities of that Apple monitor, but couln't find any way of increasing its definition. Is it fixed to that low (for me) definition ? Or is there some way of boosting it up ? Thanks beforehand for your answers. T.y.  Arapaima (talk) 09:20, 10 October 2013 (UTC)


 * I assume this is a CRT monitor, based on the age ? Those do sometimes get blurry over time, especially in the corners, in my experience.  Note that increasing the resolution on a blurry monitor is the last thing you want to do, as then everything is smaller, which makes the blurriness obscure details even more.  I'd use it for viewing videos, where resolution isn't so critical, not text.  A dual-monitor system, where you have a sharper monitor for displaying text and this one for videos, would be ideal.  Also, you might try turning the brightness down on the monitor, as that might make it less blurry.  Of course, you will need a dark room for that, so I suggest blackout curtains.  StuRat (talk) 12:23, 10 October 2013 (UTC)


 * It's an LCD monitor - but I am pretty sure it used to be VERY expensive. K ati e R  (talk) 12:31, 10 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Blurriness on an LCD monitor is more difficult to explain. Perhaps the glass or plastic screen has gotten cloudy over time ? StuRat (talk) 12:40, 10 October 2013 (UTC)


 * I think it depends on how literaly you read "blurry" - the 1024x600 resolution doesn't divide nicely into 1280x1024 at all, so there is probably all sorts of bad interpolation going on. Most monitors handle it pretty well now, but I can imagine one that old having some pretty poor firmware for dealing with mismatched resolutions. K ati e R  (talk) 13:08, 10 October 2013 (UTC)


 * I wouldn't call that "blurry". I would only describe pixels with poorly defined and overlapping edges as "blurry".  Some type of anti-glare coating might have that effect, after a decade and a half. StuRat (talk) 13:56, 10 October 2013 (UTC)


 * You should be able to run it at 1280x1024, according to [], but I'm not sure what would stop you from setting that resolution in your OS. K ati e R  (talk) 12:30, 10 October 2013 (UTC)


 * A reboot might be needed for it to detect the "new" monitor and it's resolutions. StuRat (talk) 12:45, 10 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Thanks Katie & StuRat, & sorry, I'd have written fuzzy instead of blurry. Katie, your link to support.apple.com allowed me to understand that my monitor is not the LCD type, but the CRT Diamondtron 17' one : I peeked inside, & saw the CRT, and the monitor has a depth of about 19 inches (though its bulk is not square, but semi-ovoïd like a 1st generation iMac G 3, only bigger). In can now relate it to those described in Apple displays, chapter "4th generation" : it says "The Apple Studio Display series of CRT displays were available in a 17" Diamondtron and a 21"Trinitron CRT". Could you give me the link to this device specifics in support.apple.com. ( I'm unable to find the page) so I'll know if it can give me a higher resolution.

Thanks StuRat for your idea, I'll use it anyway on video watching. Arapaima (talk) 15:54, 10 October 2013 (UTC)


 * It's probably this one: []. I used to use a 17" display with a Diamondtron tube - it was a great monitor, and it ran at 1600x1200 just like the Apple one. If it's still a bit blurry at that resolution, you might be able to find a shop that can fix it for you, but I don't know what they would charge for that any more. It's a simple job for someone with experience, assuming they didn't glue the internal knobs at the factory. K ati e R  (talk) 16:39, 10 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Does your computer have an Apple Display Connector port? The last computer they made with one was in 2005. It looks like your monitor may use it, it's a slight variation on a DVI connector. Our article says an adapter is needed, but if it is mechanically compatible with a DVI plug then maybe the video signals get across but not the information on the display's capabilities. K ati e R  (talk) 17:09, 10 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Shame on me ! I'd have begun by that : plug it on an Apple G4, & see that with that OS it goes easily up to 1600x1200 ! While its definition stays much lower with Linux or Windows OS...This sillyness comes from having began info. after being 60 years old, I think, I swear I was not so dumb before :-) . Thanks again StuRat & Katie for your kindness & time. Katie :  no, it hasn't got an A. Display Connector. Please see you on your own page T.y. Arapaima (talk) 15:48, 11 October 2013 (UTC)


 * With a bit of work, it should be possible to set it to work at the same resolution in Linux too. These days, when you plug in a monitor, the monitor and your graphics card do an EDID transaction. That tells the video driver the make and model of your monitor, and should contain the settings for timings and resolutions. For example, /var/log/Xorg.0.log on my machine shows:

[    9.456] (--) NVIDIA(0): Valid display device(s) on GeForce GTX 550 Ti at PCI:1:0:0 [    9.456] (--) NVIDIA(0):     Samsung S22B150 (CRT-0) (connected) [    9.456] (--) NVIDIA(0):     Samsung S22B150 (CRT-1) (connected) [    9.456] (--) NVIDIA(0):     DFP-0 [    9.456] (--) NVIDIA(0):     DFP-1 [    9.456] (--) NVIDIA(0): Samsung S22B150 (CRT-0): 400.0 MHz maximum pixel clock [    9.456] (--) NVIDIA(0): Samsung S22B150 (CRT-1): 400.0 MHz maximum pixel clock [    9.456] (--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-0: 330.0 MHz maximum pixel clock [    9.456] (--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-0: Internal Single Link TMDS [    9.456] (--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-1: 165.0 MHz maximum pixel clock [    9.456] (--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-1: Internal Single Link TMDS [    9.457] (**) NVIDIA(0): Using HorizSync/VertRefresh ranges from the EDID for display [    9.457] (**) NVIDIA(0):     device Samsung S22B150 (CRT-0) (Using EDID frequencies has [     9.457] (**) NVIDIA(0):     been enabled on all display devices.) [    9.458] (**) NVIDIA(0): Using HorizSync/VertRefresh ranges from the EDID for display [    9.458] (**) NVIDIA(0):     device Samsung S22B150 (CRT-1) (Using EDID frequencies has [     9.458] (**) NVIDIA(0):     been enabled on all display devices.)


 * meaning the Nvidia GPU has detected both Samsung monitors and using the display info from the EDID chip on each to configure how the GPU's output stage sends them picture signal. In the old days, before Linux caught up in this regard, you had to write this stuff yourself into Xfree86.conf, but now it's usually done automatically. But your monitor is from the old days, and it's a proprietary one at that (meaning Apple cared a great deal that it worked on an Apple computer, and much less that it worked on others). It's probably still sending some EDID data (otherwise MacOS couldn't work with it either) but maybe not the full dataset (an example of what EDID typically yields is here). If it's only sending the Identifier field in the monitor section, the driver would have to look it up in a database of settings they know a priori about monitors. In your case I suspect the monitor is so old that it has been removed from the database, so the driver has to resort to a conservative XGA setting. If you search Google with the exact model number for the display, you should be able to find an old Xfree86.conf for it, which you can paste into the new location (/etc/X11/xorg.conf). It's a lot of work, but as you're essentially a kind of display Indiana Jones, you have to expect to get a bit dirty when you find treasure. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk

Android Editing Cursor control
Due to the 'death' (with the hope of 'resurrection' by HDD transplant) of my laptop I am currently trying to use an 8" Android 4.2 tablet to edit WP. I am having trouble getting the editing cursor, a little blue box with a triangle on top, to go where I want it to.

Not too hard at the moment when I am making a new section, but if I am adding to the end of many lines of text it seems to return to the top and it is difficult to drag it down where I need it. I think I should be able to scroll down and just tap on the screen to position it, but not doing so.

If there are any tips on how to do this please provide them. It is actually driving me quite to the end of my tether!

Or driving me 'nuts' as I find I am having to frequently repeat he same action many times to do very simple things! If there is a way to move the cursor via the on screen keyboard please tell me as the lack of cursor keys (backspace only) seems to be my main problem.

Please help! 220  of  Borg 13:26, 10 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Not sure if it will work there, but on a normal PC the tab key moves to the next field, and shift-tab moves to the previous field. However, one caveat is that "next" and "last" seems to be the order they are defined in the software, which may not be the order they are presented on the screen.  StuRat (talk) 13:52, 10 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Thanks StuRat, but moving between fields has not been a problem. I read your post about 'paranoia' over losing data and here I am. I also read the one about tossing your laptop, which is exactly how I feel about tablets recently. I had trouble positioning the cursor to reply, and especially to edit text I had already moved past. It is easier to delete(backspace) several words and re-type rather than keep typing and gamble on easily getting the cursor in the right place. To fix a word I have to get to it's right delete & re-type. This is a serious flaw.220  of  Borg 01:56, 11 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Try a different keyboard. I once had one from Google Play with arrow keys, and that eliminated the problem with scrolling on Wikipedia. I'm using the Google keyboard currently and so i have the same trouble as you sometimes on large sections. Good luck ツ Jenova   20  (email) 14:56, 10 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Thank you Jenova. Had thought of an external kbd but not a new on-screen one. I'll look into that,so long as it's free! Try sliding the edit curxsor over to the far left of the screen as if there is no text it jumps over there. I also find that whether I use the tablet in landscape or portrait orientation my make a difference. Unfortunately with the tablet 'sideway'(landscape) the keyboard covers about 60% of the screen. The too fast scrolling is also problem as I sometimes get cursor near right place, but when I try to move it up ur down a line it flies to top or bottom of section I'm editing. Have you tried a Bluetooth mouse by any chance? If that works it may solve most of my problems. -¿-220  of  Borg 02:42, 11 October 2013 (UTC)


 * This is actually a bug in Android's EditText API (and thus not fixed by using a different keyboard widget). Unfortunately, since most developers use the default EditText control in their apps rather than "roll their own", this problem is pretty widespread. Not sure if this has been fixed or not in newer Android releases though...EDIT: here's a link to the original AOSP bug-tracker entry Sebastian Garth (talk) 22:25, 10 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Odd as sometimes when I'd add to a section, the cursor would go right up to the first line at the top... specifically when using the signature button (it would add four tildes to the top, rather than at the end of my comment!) but now I type the tildes manually. Strange as this was on a normal laptop, with Vista HP... -- .Yellow1996. (ЬMИED¡) 00:38, 11 October 2013 (UTC)

Thee must be a fix for this surely. It,s much more than a 'bug' IMHO. :-( :-( :-( :'( :-[ :-\ 220  of  Borg 03:26, 11 October 2013 (UTC)
 * Thank you Sebastian Garth. They really need to fix that as I have had serious problems replying to you, Jenova & StuRat. Interesting that, apart from keyboard sixe changing depending on tablet orientation, where the cursor goes when I tap the screen to start editing changes. In portrait it went to my original post, in landscape went to Stu's initial reply. If you have link to any info, forum discussions about this I'd be very interested. 220  of  Borg 03:26, 11 October 2013 (UTC)
 * The 3reply posts I have made here have in fat taken several hours to achieve. I managed to make them but then edidt conflicted about 2 1/2 hours ago! I this taken thatb long to copy and paste them back in one at a time. Either I have no idea what I am doing or Androids interface I'd so seriously flawed as to make it unusable for Wp editing. The copy function for example was doing the same that the cursor was. I had to select a word at the top of the page and then laboriously try to drag it to where I wanted it. It took many tries each time! I already had high blood pressure and I would not like to have measured not each time a simple edit turned into a maddening farce. 
 * @Sebastian, I see that you have provided a link. I did not see it as it has taken so long to make my posts as detailed above. 220  of  Borg 03:35, 11 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Have you tried editing with the mobile version of Wikipedia? A keyboard with arrow keys is another good option for editing, but I can't remember which one i had before. Thanks ツ Jenova   20  (email) 08:34, 11 October 2013 (UTC)
 * I am doing that right now and OMG the cursor is behaving! So that is the 'fix' . I think though that I still prefer the 'normal' Wikipedia view for reading. I also see that I can only edit each date section as a whole, not each subsection separately, which seems odd. And the 'insert symbols' etc selections are also unavailable. Have you found a stylus any help?220  of  Borg 03:26, 12 October 2013 (UTC)


 * On this tablet, the mobile version probably won't make much of a difference because the bug seems to be with the device itself... I would definitely second the notion of getting a physical keyboard and mouse. -- .Yellow1996. (ЬMИED¡) 22:22, 11 October 2013 (UTC)
 * No, the bug was with me as I was editing the non-mobile version of WP. :-\ * I still think the 'bug' is with the OS. Interesting that I never saw anyone suggest that people ensure that they were editing a 'mobile-enabled' website. I may have to go back and mention that on my 'bug' report, it may save a lot of people a lot of anguish! * And maybe tablets being used as frisbees! 220  of  Borg 03:26, 12 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Well I'm glad the mobile version is "working out" for you! (Though I see from above there are still some bugs to iron out...) I guess whenever I think tablet I think "small laptop", not "big phone"! ;) -- .Yellow1996. (ЬMИED¡) 03:37, 12 October 2013 (UTC)
 * If only I knew yesterday what I know today. It would have saved me hours of extreme frustration! Mind you the mobile ver. WP has only been available since June. I did have trouble getting to the mobile ver. as the normal pages don't seem to have the m.WP link at the bottom. Having therefore to type it in manually. Otherwise quite happy with using the tablet though ergonomics lack as being 'hunched' over it or holding in hand is required. If I had a micro-hdmi cable I could use my 80 cm TV as a monitor! -π-220  of  Borg 09:32, 12 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Does yours have a flip-stand? These generally help with ergonomics as you don't have to be so "hunched" over it when you have it on a hard surface. And if you're sitting on a couch/bed etc. (like I do with my laptop) you could get a drawing board or something to prop it up on. I have a rather "bells-and-whistles" one (very comfy detatchable cushion underneath, detatchable worm light that's USB powered! on the side...) which I recieved for free from someone who wasn't using it, that I intend to use for this purpose when I get a tablet. -- .Yellow1996. (ЬMИED¡) 18:20, 12 October 2013 (UTC)


 * I'm taking credit for this =P. Seriously, i'm glad you're able to edit again! Thanks ツ Jenova   20  (email) 08:50, 14 October 2013 (UTC)

Bug Raised
I have raised a bug report № 60984. The original bug was closed after over 3 years without resolution and claim of it being fixed in new releases were constantly denied by other posters. Sigh! :-$ 220  of  Borg 05:07, 11 October 2013 (UTC)
 * Here's a link to it: 60984. 220  of  Borg 05:21, 11 October 2013 (UTC)
 * Well I wouldn't get my hopes up, if I were you. Google seems to take a rather lackadaisical attitude toward any bug deemed less than absolutely severe. They rarely, if ever, respond or post updates to bug reports and fixes/patches are few and far between. Quite sad, but true... Sebastian Garth (talk) 05:46, 11 October 2013 (UTC)
 * Well that is Extremely Disappointing! There seem to be many issues with cursors jumping all over the place. What it comes down to is that Android is somewhere between severely restricted in usability and useless for editing anything more than~ 10 lines of text. OK for chat and emails maybe, not much else. :-\ Thanks for trying to help. I'll either have to 'resurrect' my laptop, get a new one(can't afford that!), or get a bluetooth mouse or keyboard! :-[ 220  of  Borg 11:33, 11 October 2013 (UTC)

Looking for GPS based game for keeping my kids running
I'm looking for a game that is GPS based, that will create a game scene around my neighborhood, and thus will have my kids running around picking up treasures or something of that sort. My motivation beyond fun is fitness. There are many many apps that claim to do something similar to what I'm looking for, but which is the best? Thanks, Gil_mo (talk) 15:00, 10 October 2013 (UTC)


 * "Which is the best" is a matter of personal opinion. You may be better getting a list and looking at reviews, or otherwise letting your kids try them and figure out what they like most. The only one i know of is called Zombie Run on Android. Which Operating System are you using? Thanks ツ Jenova   20  (email) 15:24, 10 October 2013 (UTC)
 * If you mean Zombies, Run!, it's available on iOS as well as Android. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 15:51, 10 October 2013 (UTC)


 * That's the one! I used to play that while travelling home on my bike. If the Zombies get close, then the phone vibrates. I was only ever caught once but got bored of it over time. Thanks ツ Jenova   20  (email) 15:56, 10 October 2013 (UTC)