Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2015 January 28

= January 28 =

Porting Word for iPad to a PC
So I got Word for iPad a while back and when I opened it, my iPad started shining and angels starting playing harps and all that good stuff because I found a barebones programme that had everything needed for normal word-processing right at hand in the interface and absolutely no superfluous garbage (I'm sure more than a few people use the more advanced features of Word, but most people I've talked to about it do not). It was almost as if the app had actually been designed with the consumer in mind. So, is there a port of this version of Word for the Windows 7 and 8.1 OSs? If not, is there a way to selectively strip away seldom-used tools in the interface of Word 2010 and 2013 and basically make it look like Word for iPad? Preferably someone who has the app as well so that I don't need to do screenshots of it. Cheers. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie &#124; Say Shalom! 8 Shevat 5775 00:36, 28 January 2015 (UTC)
 * Sign up for OneDrive and get Office Online for free. --  Gadget850talk 01:08, 28 January 2015 (UTC)
 * This is I like. Thank you! Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie &#124; Say Shalom! 8 Shevat 5775 05:36, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

How to create another Gmail account?
Which page do I go for that? Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.31.17.253 (talk) 15:45, 28 January 2015 (UTC)


 * Click on the account icon in the top right. Add account → Add account → Create account. --  Gadget850talk 17:09, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

Can I emulate a smart phone on my PC ?
Various companies are now offering free smart phone apps to notify customers of specials, etc. I want those apps, but I don't have a smart phone (my cell phone is quite stupid, in fact). So, can I download those apps on a "smart phone emulator" on my PC ? StuRat (talk) 18:09, 28 January 2015 (UTC)


 * I have Android installed as a VirtualBox VM, so it might be possible. --  Gadget850talk 19:15, 28 January 2015 (UTC)


 * A little simpler method is to download the Android Software Development Kit (SDK) from http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html . Click on download button, then make sure to select the "full" Android studio package (in the second table), not the "SDK only" package on the first table.


 * The SDK comes with an emulator that "just works.". Tpkaplan (talk) 04:11, 29 January 2015 (UTC)


 * OK, thanks, I'll give that a try (it is free, I assume ?). StuRat (talk) 12:14, 29 January 2015 (UTC)

upgrade my upload from 2GB to 20GB on Wikipedia
How do I go about upgrading my upload max from 2GB to 20GB? Also which is the easiest way of doing this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.223.171.14 (talk) 19:04, 28 January 2015 (UTC)
 * Do you mean a wiki that you're running using the MediaWiki software? Check mw:Manual:$wgMaxUploadSize RegistryKey(RegEdit) 23:25, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

Remove or not update Internet Explorer - safe?
The following questions are based on the fact that I don't use Internet Explorer (in Windows 7).
 * 1) Any way to stop getting update recommendations for Internet Explorer, or at the very least to be able to decline them once and not be asked again?
 * 2) In an (unsuccessful) attempt to remove Internet Explorer entirely, I uninstalled its newer version(s) down to Internet Explorer 8. Is it "safe" (-> viruses, etc.) to leave it at that as long as I don't use it? (Would it even be safe to use IE as long as I don't go online?? What if I accidentally launch IE when online, and it starts to load the pages I last visited some years ago... but I stop it after a few seconds, when I realize what's happening - in other words, IE goes online briefly? [Yeah, this last scenario happened yesterday, before I realized the short-cuts were still working...])
 * 3) How can I deactivate Internet Explorer? In: Programs and Features -> Turn Windows features on or off ... all (!) the checkboxes were already unchecked, yet Internet Explorer (along with some other features) is not deactivated. Ideas?
 * 4) I wonder if I should remove Internet Explorer completely (well, as far as possible, given that some parts of it will have to remain to keep Windows running). That means I won't update it; I guess, updates won't even be possible with a non-functional Internet Explorer. Is that "safe"? I mean, what happens to security problems in the remaining parts? Thanks! Thanks! Thanks for answering (talk) 22:18, 28 January 2015 (UTC)


 * Everything I just searched mentions using the Windows Features process you mentioned to remove Internet Explorer. There's also this information here that will hopefully remove the leftovers like you're asking. RegistryKey(RegEdit) 23:33, 28 January 2015 (UTC)


 * I seem to recall a time when you had to keep IE around for certain important things like Windows Update (or something). I believe that time is past. I also believe that MS would today be in anti-trust hot water if they did anything that required IE to the exclusion of its competition. I'd suggest that you be the test case for that, completely wipe out IE, and get back to us on the results. &#8213; Mandruss  &#9742;  01:45, 29 January 2015 (UTC)


 * Internet Explorer is a system service. Any application can use its HTML widget, and many do. It's no different from, say, the rich edit widget or the file open dialog. So you can't remove it without breaking a ton of software, and if you don't update it you're potentially leaving your system vulnerable. -- BenRG (talk) 01:48, 29 January 2015 (UTC)


 * This MS page appears to contradict me and confirm BenRG. Disregard my previous. &#8213; Mandruss  &#9742;  01:59, 29 January 2015 (UTC)
 * I have used applications that hook into IE to display pages. And just this week I upgraded a router to use DD-WRT and afterwords could not apply any settings since the version of DD-WRT uses SSLv3 which is not longer supported by Firefox, so I have to use IE. Otherwise, IE is pretty good at downloading Firefox. --  Gadget850talk 12:59, 29 January 2015 (UTC)
 * As far as I can tell, SSLv3 is simply disabled by default. You should be able to re-enable it for use in Firefox. -- 143.85.169.18 (talk) 18:25, 30 January 2015 (UTC)


 * That worked! The article I read earlier implied SSLv3 had been entirely removed. --  Gadget850talk 13:36, 1 February 2015 (UTC)