Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2015 October 29

= October 29 =

Microprocessors modes in non-x86 architectures
x86 has real mode, protected mode, and a few others. Is this particular to x86 or do other architectures have them as well? — Melab±1 &#9742; 02:51, 29 October 2015 (UTC)


 * Real/Protected mode are Intel marketing terms. Outside of Intel, you will normally see Kernel/User mode. So, you will likely never see a non-Intel chip with Protected mode, but you will see many non-Intel chips with User mode. 209.149.114.132 (talk) 14:25, 29 October 2015 (UTC)
 * In 8086 processors, the real (avant la lettre) mode was a compatibility mode with earlier processors (8008) that had a 16-bit wide address space. This was supposed to facilitate binary translation of software which used 16-bit pointers. In 286 and later processors, the real mode was a compatibility mode retaining the familiar segmentation model for use by DOS programs.


 * Real/Protected modes are an Intel thing, but they have nothing to do with memory protection, Kernel/User or privileged/unprivileged. Rather, memory protection (and, for that matter, virtual memory) can only be (efficiently) implemented in Protected mode Asmrulz (talk) 16:10, 29 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Yeah I think the IP is confusing real mode/protected mode with Intel's Protection rings. I actually made the same mistake at first, thinking the OP had already had their question answered from our articles and their previous question Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2015 August 29 but realised my mistake before posting. I don't think the OP is just interested in real mode and protected mode but also related things like Long mode. It may be helpful for the OP to look at stuff like ARM's ARM architecture Nil Einne (talk) 16:39, 29 October 2015 (UTC)
 * In addition, processors may have modes that are not publicly documented for use in the factory, such as special test modes. Jc3s5h (talk) 16:54, 29 October 2015 (UTC)
 * My reason for asking this is that I know the x86 architecture is layers upon layers of legacy feature, so I wanted to know if the introduction of mode was developed to handle this. — Melab±1 &#9742; 18:16, 30 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Modes like real mode and 16-bit protected mode are there for backward compatibility, but there's no feature called "modes" that was developed for that purpose. "Mode" is a vaguely defined term that refers to various configuration bits that can be flipped in the CPU by various means. -- BenRG (talk) 02:43, 31 October 2015 (UTC)


 * To partly summarize from the above, the specific modes and names for them that you mentioned are specific to x86. Numerous other processor architectures do have multiple "modes", which, like x86, can involve changing word size, the allowed memory addresses for access, endianness, and plenty else. x86 was not the first architecture to implement such things. --71.119.131.184 (talk) 22:37, 29 October 2015 (UTC)

Responsive Email Columns for Beginners
Hi all! Title says it all - I've downloaded a responsive html email document that I'm currently editing and I have hit a roadblock.

I've got this set up as a media query (sorry if this is not formatted correctly for wiki):

As well as this for my three column structure:

with the same set up for my center and right columns.

I've got this code set up for the actual columns. I'm trying to figure out how to make these columns stack when viewed from a mobile device - the three columns look fine in a browser, but they don't seem to actually be responsive when I reduce the window size. I'm also aware that Gmail is a common culprit here (I've read a lot of threads on this haha...), but viewing on an iPhone5 does not result in the columns stacking (it ends up looking the same as in a browser).

I know this is very complex problem with many different factors, but any push in the right direction would be appreciated! Thank you so much for anyone who reads! 74.69.117.101 (talk) 17:48, 29 October 2015 (UTC)

Wifi shows MAC Adress. What is this?
Sometimes when i scan for Wifis, one shows up directly with its MAC Adress and not the SSID. What kind of devices show a MAC Adress as the SSID? --87.140.193.156 (talk) 19:15, 29 October 2015 (UTC)


 * You can set the SSID to whatever you want. Even to match your MAC.--3dcaddy (talk) 22:33, 29 October 2015 (UTC)

What is a good computer program to handle simple bookkeeping and accounting (invoices) for a small business?
What is a good computer program to handle simple bookkeeping and accounting (invoices) for a small business? I don't know the first thing about this, and I don't know where to begin. Someone mentioned to me things like Quick Books? Or Quicken? Or Microsoft Money? (I forget the exact names.) Any suggestions or advice as to where I should begin? Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2602:252:D13:6D70:7956:F92F:39F1:B5A (talk) 21:50, 29 October 2015 (UTC)
 * You could read all the articles in the Template:Accounting software navbox, that would be a good start to work out what is available. --Canley (talk) 12:55, 30 October 2015 (UTC)


 * I would suggest you ask your accountant. He should have a gut feeling for the type of business your in and what he finds his other clients find efficacious. Sage for instance has been around for 35 odd years now. Its very survival against the bigger players (like Oracle and Microsoft offerings) suggests that it does the job better for small businesses and provides a better service. Personally, I would start looking at them first, as a benchmark to judge others by. Good luck with your business.--Aspro (talk) 18:04, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

Thank you! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2602:252:D13:6D70:9D35:567D:52D4:5E8A (talk) 03:40, 1 November 2015 (UTC)