Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2014 June 16

= June 16 =

Disk-spanning/external packages on NSIS installers?
Anyone know of a good plugin for NSIS which allows me to do disk-spanning (i.e. for large installers) or extract stuff from external files? I did manage to search for stuff like ExtractDLLEx and ZipDLL, but I'm not exactly sure on how to utilise it for an installer I'm cobbling up. Blake Gripling (talk) 08:15, 16 June 2014 (UTC)

Web slideshow or image gallery
I am tasked with displaying about 80 images on a webpage. The images are from a 19th-century book. Many but not all of the images are similar in size due to some cropping and landscape versus portrait orientation. I want the user to be able to click on an image and open another window or tab to view a higher resolution version of the image. I also want the user to be able to control the advancement of the images if they want to, for example via Next/Previous buttons. I have found some JavaScript and jQuery code for slideshows on the web, but they are not meeting my needs. The biggest problem is the variable size of the images, which makes the rest of the page jump around as the slides change. I found one that addresses that but doesn't include control buttons and positions the slideshow oddly on the page. My attempts to modify the code I've found have been unsuccessful, mostly because I don't really know JavaScript/jQuery. Any suggestions? My main goals are displaying the images in order with the ability to access a higher resolution version, and I am open to doing this in a different way instead of via a slideshow. I suppose I could just put each high resolution image on its own webpage and have users click through them in order but that seems pretty clunky. I thought of making a page of clickable thumbnail images, but it is hard to see from a thumbnail whether or not you are interested in viewing the full image. I would know how to code both of those options -- I know HTML, CSS, and a little JavaScript. Thanks for your help.--Dreamahighway (talk) 16:24, 16 June 2014 (UTC)


 * There are lots of web sites that allow you to build a gallery just like this, with no coding required. Seems far easier to me.  I set one up at AOL for a wedding once.  There is some concern that those images may be taken down at some point, though, when that web site goes under or just decides to delete old photos.  So, be sure you make a backup copy of the web page. StuRat (talk)


 * Yes, I suppose that is true. But since this is for a work project, a digital exhibit about a set of rare books, ideally I'd like the image part to be embedded in the page along with the other information. Or at least to have the same look-and-feel as the rest of the project.--Dreamahighway (talk) 16:44, 16 June 2014 (UTC)


 * Put the slideshow inside a DIV which to which you give a fixed size; make sure that size is bigger than the largest image. That way the rest of the page won't reflow when the slideshow resizes itself. -- Finlay McWalterᚠTalk 17:15, 16 June 2014 (UTC)


 * I tried this but it isn't working.--Dreamahighway (talk) 17:31, 16 June 2014 (UTC)

Facebook notifications
I set up a Facebook account but don't really use it, due to privacy concerns. Now I keep getting emails telling me I have a "notification". I pick on the link in the email, but it doesn't take me to a notification, just the main page. How do I find my notifications ? StuRat (talk) 16:26, 16 June 2014 (UTC)


 * (I'm more of a Google+ person...but....) Click on the little picture of the Earth at the top-right of the menu bar. SteveBaker (talk) 16:40, 16 June 2014 (UTC)


 * Thanks, that worked. I sure hate links that promise to take you somewhere specific but then just dump you on the home page and expect you to do all the navigation. StuRat (talk) 05:18, 17 June 2014 (UTC)


 * And I hate systems that stick a blue-on-blue 30 pixel square picture of planet Earth on your menu bar and somehow expect you to realize that this means "Show me my notifications please"! SteveBaker (talk) 15:04, 17 June 2014 (UTC)


 * Yes, I hate icons, too. I've finally gotten used to the overlapping 0 and 1 for the on/off switch on many devices, but it's still meaningless to anyone who doesn't already know what it does.  And that's really bad, not being able to find the on/off button. StuRat (talk) 02:21, 18 June 2014 (UTC)


 * The one on my TV is basically a touchscreen button in the glass bezel. When the TV is on, it lights up that symbol in dim white but when it is off the mark is invisible. To turn it on you have to know to tap the glass to the right of the silk-screen labels for the volume and channel controls. K ati e R  (talk) 11:43, 18 June 2014 (UTC)


 * Wow, what a horrid interface. I take it you had to read the manual or just remembered from the showroom how to turn it on the first time.  If you ever sell it or donate it to charity, be sure to label that spot or they will have no clue how to turn it on. StuRat (talk) 17:43, 18 June 2014 (UTC)


 * Be careful of clicking on links in an e-mail unless you're absolutely sure of the e-mail's authenticity. Otherwise, you could be a victim of a phishing scam.   A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 17:24, 17 June 2014 (UTC)


 * Noted. StuRat (talk) 02:22, 18 June 2014 (UTC)

Android contacts
In the messenger app Telegram, I'm part of a group. There is this one person in that group whose number I don't have. Unlike WhatsApp, only phone numbers you have already saved are shown to you in Telegram. However, I would still like to save the person as a contact in my Android phone book and have a link between the contact and Telegram. Android does it automatically with people with numbers. Is this possible with contacts without numbers too? Otherwise I don't understand the purpose of saving contacts without numbers. There is the option "Only display contacts that have phone numbers" in the phone book settings, which indicates that contacts without numbers must be somehow useful. --2.245.121.139 (talk) 17:50, 16 June 2014 (UTC)
 * Can't contacts also have email addresses?  If so, then seeing contacts without phone numbers is still useful because you can email them instead.  Come to think of it - doesn't it keep Skype handles too? SteveBaker (talk) 19:27, 16 June 2014 (UTC)

4GB or 8GB Upgrade to use Mavericks?
Hey all. I'm currently using my old Macbook (5,1 - late 2008) and am interested in upgrading from 10.6.8 to the new (and free!) Mavericks. My book only has 2GB of RAM right now (which surprisingly has gotten me through a lot over the past...five~ years), and I've read that I'll be wanting at least 4GB of RAM before I make the update. I know the 5,1 officially only supports 4GB but can actually utilize up to 8GB. The 2GB has been fine up to this point (I built my own PC for games) and I'm not sure if the extra 4GB (and $50+) is worth it, though I'm cautious about how much RAM Mavericks will need to actually feel like an upgrade.

Has anyone upgraded? Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks! 74.69.117.101 (talk) 19:06, 16 June 2014 (UTC)


 * I have 4GB and it works fine if you are only doing a few things at once. But I usally have a web brower, mail, Excel, TeX, Xcode, a few terminals and XQuartz and it takes a while to change between them (longer than when I used Snow Leopard). Also it takes longer to boot than with Snow Leopard. I'm not sure whether more RAM would help, but it wouldn't hurt. I've not had any problem playing games on it though. Dja1979 (talk) 19:58, 16 June 2014 (UTC)
 * Dja1979, if any of your alleged performance regressions have factual, quantitative data to back them up, please consider submitting a bug-report at the Developer portal. In general, new versions of the operating system are designed and tested to meet or exceed the performance of prior versions.  Nimur (talk) 00:46, 17 June 2014 (UTC)
 * As a general rule of thumb, any UNIX wants all the memory it can get. But I've run Mavericks with 4 GB, and never had trouble. I usually run a 20 tab Chrome, iTunes, Mail, several smaller apps, and my X11 with Emacs for development and writing. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 21:24, 19 June 2014 (UTC)

iDevice connectivity
I have several iPods/iPads/iPhones and now a MacBook Pro and am going to be in an area with metered and slow internet doing some science ed stuff. Am I right that with an AirPort Extreme I can connect and manage all these devices through the AirPort's wireless network without a connection to the internet? Thanks! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.120.208.98 (talk) 21:50, 16 June 2014 (UTC)