Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2014 September 28

= September 28 =

Mid-90s Alias software for Mac
I'm try to remember a software package I used in the mid 90s for PowerPC Macintosh. It was released by Alias (before they were Alias|Wavefront). And I think it has a 3D model of a flower on the front of the box. I think it was a 3D modeling package. Does this sound familiar to anyone? --Navstar (talk) 00:11, 28 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Our article on Alias Systems Corporation mentions "Alias Sketch!" ... Apparently it evolved into Maya which is now under the Autodesk banner. I found this interesting history that includes other possible names.  El duderino (abides) 09:39, 1 October 2014 (UTC)

How to get a bigger mouse pointer in Windows 7 ?
Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. The "Extra large" pointer is still way too small. They just aren't increasing the size as fast as screen resolutions. Ideally I'd like cross-hairs that go all the way across the screen. Is there any free way to get this ? StuRat (talk) 01:16, 28 September 2014 (UTC)


 * I haven't found a way to use a cursor larger than 32×32 pixels—when I tried selecting a larger icon in Windows 7's mouse control panel, it resized it to 32×32. However, I have to point out that human foveal resolution is around 1 minute of arc and the moon's diameter is around 30 minutes of arc, so a 32×32 cursor should be the size of a full moon even on a high-DPI display, unless you're sitting so far back that the high resolution is wasted. You might have better luck spotting 32×32 cursors that are fatter and/or distinctively colored, like these or these. Also, you could enable "Show pointer trails" or "Show location of pointer when I press the CTRL key". -- BenRG (talk) 02:34, 28 September 2014 (UTC)


 * I've tried both. The pointer trails cause problems when the comp gets slow, leaving them on too long and covering the screen with them.  The CTRL button works, but I often have my keyboard tucked away and it's inconvenient to pull it out every time I lose the cursor. StuRat (talk) 03:38, 28 September 2014 (UTC)


 * I'm sure I'd have no problem seeing the pointer if it was white on an all black background, like the Moon in the night sky. Unfortunately, it's often more like trying to spot the Moon on a cloudy day.  That is, there's lots of visual clutter on the display, like when I'm watching a movie, and the pointer seems to hide when I stop moving it, like the Moon going behind a cloud.  Then, when I do move the mouse, the PC often has better things to do than waste it's time displaying the pointer.  So I just keep wiggling the mouse until it finally reappears.  Of course, during this time I'm wondering if the mouse came unplugged, or the pointer is somewhere on the screen and I haven't spotted it, or there's some other problem.  Very frustrating. StuRat (talk) 05:15, 28 September 2014 (UTC)


 * , what are your screen size and display resolution? I have Windows 7, bad eyesight, and bad glasses, and the extra large is plenty for me. Unless you have a really tiny screen with some huge resolution, I feel sure we can solve your problem. Btw, I'm using "Windows Inverted (extra large) (system scheme)", for maximum contrast regardless of background color. &#8209;&#8209; Mandruss (talk) 04:03, 28 September 2014 (UTC)


 * 1600×1200, or 2048×1536, on a 19-inch screen. I downloaded the cerise (color) cursor from the 2nd link above.  It seems a lot better.  I had the same inverted extra large cursor, and the problem seemed to be that it would disappear when not moving on certain backgrounds.  The new cursor fixes that.  However, it still can go almost entirely off the right side and bottom, because the hot spot is in the upper, left corner.  Also the image zoom cursors (a magnifying glass with a plus or minus in it) haven't changed.  But, it's a lot better than the Microsoft cursors.  I'd still prefer full-screen cross-hairs, if anyone can find a way to do that. StuRat (talk) 04:53, 28 September 2014 (UTC)


 * 1366x768, 15.6" screen, 16:9 aspect ratio. If I'm using this page correctly, and assuming your aspect ratio is also 16:9, our horizontal pitches should be about the same, around 96ppi (they don't show 15.6", so I started with 17" and added a little to the resulting pitch). Ergo, our "extra large" pointers should appear about the same size. Maybe we should have started with both of us measuring our pointers with a ruler. Anyway, if you're happy, I'm happy. I don't even want to think about full-screen cross-hairs; if you can't find that, it could be because you're the only person on the planet who wants moving X and Y axes on their display at all times. Yikes. :) &#8209;&#8209; Mandruss (talk) 06:14, 28 September 2014 (UTC)


 * I should probably explain why my vision is so poor (at times). I take my contact lenses out to let my eyes rest, and I am extremely nearsighted without them (everything beyond about 3 inches is blurry).  But I find I can still use the PC, if I increase the zoom level on the window dramatically.  However, the pointer is the fly in the ointment.  I can't find the darned thing.  If it would just increase in size in proportion to the window zoom level, that would solve my problem, but Windows won't do that.  StuRat (talk) 06:24, 28 September 2014 (UTC)


 * I've never worn contacts. By "let my eyes rest", are you referring to the contacts' physical contact with your eyeballs? If so, some backup prescription glasses should solve your problem. If not, I think you need a new contact prescription. Compensation for bad vision can only go so far, and then you have to fix the bad vision. &#8209;&#8209; Mandruss (talk) 06:35, 28 September 2014 (UTC)


 * I can't wear glasses, or anything like jewelry or watches. They cause blisters. StuRat (talk) 23:18, 28 September 2014 (UTC)


 * Have you tried using Magnifier instead of increasing the zoom level? -- BenRG (talk) 15:22, 28 September 2014 (UTC)


 * I use both. The magnifier really only works on my 64-bit machine, where it can magnify the entire screen.  On 32-bit Windows 7, it just magnifies a portion of the screen, which is less than useless. StuRat (talk) 23:18, 28 September 2014 (UTC)


 * I don't think full-screen magnification requires 64-bit Windows. It does seem to require that desktop compositing (Aero) be enabled. -- BenRG (talk) 20:34, 29 September 2014 (UTC)


 * Yep, and Aero seems to require more resources than my 32-bit PC has. StuRat (talk) 22:48, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

BTW, ZoomText offers the full screen cross-hairs option, presumably by running an app which captures the pointer position and draws that on top of it. However, that's not a free product. StuRat (talk) 23:27, 28 September 2014 (UTC)

Certification of cybersecurity
There have been many reports of data breaches and data vulnerabilities in the databases of commercial and governmental entities. Is there an organization (or are there organizations) periodically examining those entities and certifying some as cybersecure, or assigning rating scores on a scale of cybersecurity? —Wavelength (talk) 02:49, 28 September 2014 (UTC) and 04:17, 28 September 2014 (UTC)

After evaluating your question, as I understand it, you are looking for some listing of websites that would be vulnerable to cybersecurity risks that may be present on those websites. What I found is there is a database of existing vulnerabilities, run by a company called Mitre. It can be found here:. It also has a list of organizations that use cve for their own evaluations, so it seems to be the go-to site for vulnerabilities used by numerous companies. I also found ICSA Labs, but they evaluate products more than websites and be found here: . Thirdly, Symantec posts a yearly report about threat activity around the world. . If your concern is about finding what websites to avoid, you would be better served with pre-emptive measures, such as installing anti-virus/anti-malware/etc. There are any number of programs out there and you are better served on having 1 in each category, rather than relying on simply 1, such as 1 anti-virus, 1 anti-malware, 1 anti-spyware. Unfortunately, even then, you are not completely protected. The best advice is to use your head and not visit sites that might even seem the least bit questionable.Happyclam69 (talk) 20:29, 2 October 2014 (UTC)


 * For the record, MITRE is not just "some company" - it is the holding corporation that operates several federally funded research and development centers, which run parallel to the National Laboratory system for the DOE, but are funded by the United States Government at large. Nimur (talk) 20:53, 2 October 2014 (UTC)


 * (WP:THREAD) User:Happyclam69 and User:Nimur, thank you both for your replies. Even if I never visit an insecure website, I can be adversely affected by it if I have dealings with the entity that owns and manages it.  In the case of a commercial entity, I probably have the choice to avoid having dealings with it.  However, if I reside in the jurisdiction of a governmental entity, I might not have the choice to avoid having dealings with the entity, even if I never visit the website.  (Incidentally, it is becoming more difficult to avoid having dealings online.)
 * Your medical record is worth more to hackers than your credit card—Reuters (September 24, 2014)
 * —Wavelength (talk) 00:38, 3 October 2014 (UTC)


 * Here is another reason for my interest in publicized assessments of levels of cybersecurity.
 * JP Morgan Chase: largest ever data breach affects 76m households—The Guardian (October 3, 2014)
 * —Wavelength (talk) 18:10, 3 October 2014 (UTC)

Recommend spam killer for Windows?
My email spam killer is part of my (pay) antivirus/firewall/privacy suite. My mom has started complaining about spam, and she doesn't want to pay for what I have. So she needs a recommendation for a free (or <$30) email spam killer that will work in Windows Live Mail on Windows 7x64. I could check out online reviews, but I only trust my buds here at Wikipedia, who would never steer me wrong. &#8209;&#8209; Mandruss (talk) 04:26, 28 September 2014 (UTC)


 * Doesn't your email system come with it's own spam management capabilities ? You might choose the white-list option, if it has one, which will only allow emails from addresses you allow (like those you sent email to).  That can block good emails, too, though, so you have to be careful to enter the addresses of every new contact and check your spam folder periodically for good mail.  And set up a junk email address to give out whenever some web site insists it needs an email address to let you continue.  This way all their spam will be sent there, not to your real address.  You only need to check that fake address when you need to complete a registration by clicking on a link they send you (but that can be dangerous too, so be careful). StuRat (talk) 05:03, 28 September 2014 (UTC)


 * Now that you mention it, WLM does include some support for that, and it didn't occur to me because I'm not using it. Brain fart. We'll give it a try and see how well it works for her. &#8209;&#8209; Mandruss (talk) 07:44, 28 September 2014 (UTC)


 * Spambayes. You may need to help set it up, but once it's up, trained and running it does a fabulous job. --Phil Holmes (talk) 10:21, 28 September 2014 (UTC)


 * Thanks. Will keep that in mind in case the built-in support doesn't do the job. &#8209;&#8209; Mandruss (talk) 10:26, 28 September 2014 (UTC)

c++ programming project
I am learning c++ on my own for some 30 days.But now I'm burning out..I need a simple project that will help me to regain my interest in programming Bibek Koiraala (talk) 08:35, 28 September 2014 (UTC)


 * I'm not a C++ programmer, but I'm somewhat handy with Google. See if this helps.


 * Burnout? Try 30 years. &#8209;&#8209; Mandruss (talk) 08:41, 28 September 2014 (UTC)


 * Install SFML and write yourself a simple game. There are C++ SFML tutorials here, e.g. this video has you coding a Breakout-type game in C++ with SFML. -- Finlay McWalterᚠTalk 09:30, 28 September 2014 (UTC)


 * I agree that programming something that - by itself - interests you is the way to go...and for many people, writing a game is a great way to do that.  You have to start to think of the language as a tool to achieve some end.  Then, what interests you is to reach that end - and learning C++ becomes something that is incidental to getting there.  Also, working on something like a game forces you to use all parts of the language and not to focus on one small feature at a time, as teaching examples tend to do.   Perhaps not a game - but something else that interests you.   A lot of people find it fun to work with something like the tiny $25 'Arduino' computer that can run small C++ programs and lets you do things like controlling motors, flashing LED's, doing robotics, home automation or whatever.  Just find something that has a goal other than learning C++ - but which requires you to learn C++ in order to get there.  SteveBaker (talk) 13:51, 29 September 2014 (UTC)