Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2016 May 29

= May 29 =

Wikipedia pages updated since last visit
On my PC, this "updated since list visit" tag in a given page's history has always been a green rectangle highlight around the letters, very easy to see. Until sometime within the last 24 hours. Now it's just green letters with no highlighting. Not so easy to see.. I don't think I changed anything affecting my screen. Did something change within Wikipedia's default screen settings? Does anyone see this same phenomenon, or is it just me? Thank you. :) ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 00:24, 29 May 2016 (UTC)
 * There has been recent discussion and changes at T134515 and Village pump (technical). I'm not sure exactly what you had before but you can try this in :

span.updatedmarker { color: black; background-color: #0f0; }
 * It should produce: updated since my last visit . You can choose another color. Commons uses #99D642: updated since my last visit . PrimeHunter (talk) 01:56, 29 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Oddly enough, I'm seeing the first green at commons, not the second one - thankfully, as it looks like expired pea soup. Or maybe changing the .css in one place changes it globally for me. Anyway, I installed your fix, and it's back to what it was. Thank you! ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 02:19, 29 May 2016 (UTC)


 * Me too! —Tamfang (talk) 01:38, 31 May 2016 (UTC)

Accessing local file from web browser
Hi. According to the discussion here, I can get the Chrome browser to enable cookies for local files if I access the file via "the local IP address (127.0.0.1)". But how do I do this? Let's say I have a local file "C:\blahblah\something.htm", what do I actually type into the Chrome address bar to reach it via this "127.0.0.1"? (By the way, the other supposed workaround mentioned in that thread, the "--enable-file-cookies" flag, does not work, so that is not an option.) Using Windows 10 by the way, if it matters. 86.171.43.59 (talk) 01:30, 29 May 2016 (UTC)
 * I'm assuming that just typing in "C:\blahblah\something.htm" didn't work. Try "file:///c:\blah\blah\something.htm," according to this Google forum post.  Works on Firefox, too, and sort of on Internet Explorer (I tested on a folder instead of an html document, so it just opened the folder in a new non-IE window).  I'm not seeing why you would need to type in the local IP address.  I could see needing to do so if you were trying to remote access a file, but that'd require other stuff beyond simply knowing the IP address (if their system is that unprotected, you don't want to remote access it).  Ian.thomson (talk) 01:36, 29 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Please read my question again, and read the page that I linked to. It explains why I need to use "127.0.0.1". 86.171.43.59 (talk) 01:38, 29 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Then try "\\127.0.0.1\c$\blahblah\something.htm". Ian.thomson (talk) 01:50, 29 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Thanks, I tried it but it doesn't work. Well, it displays the page but cookies still don't work. The address is converted to "file://127.0.0.1/c$/blahblah/something.htm". I don't know whether the "file:" part is still the problem. Chrome does not support cookies for local files; maybe it still thinks or knows that "file://127.0.0.1/c$/blahblah/something.htm" is a local file because of the "file:" part. Maybe I have to do something else to trick it into allowing the cookies. 86.171.43.59 (talk) 02:02, 29 May 2016 (UTC)
 * I'm afraid you would have to run a webserver on your local computer, and access it locally, in order for this to work. The Quixotic Potato (talk) 08:46, 29 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Oh, OK, thanks, I don't have the wherewithal to do that. This is a total pain. Does anyone else have any different idea, other than the "127.0.0.1" method (or the "--enable-file-cookies" method, which, as I say, does not work) about how to get this to work? 86.171.43.59 (talk) 11:43, 29 May 2016 (UTC)
 * You probably need to run a web server. Here's one way to do that:
 * Install Python 3.
 * Open a command prompt from the Start menu (or type Win+R, "cmd", Enter).
 * Type cd/d "C:\blahblah" (followed by Enter).
 * Type py -m http.server --bind 127.0.0.1 8000 (followed by Enter). Instead of typing it, you can copy the command to the clipboard and right-click the console window and choose "Paste".
 * Now from your web browser, http://127.0.0.1:8000/something.htm will serve C:\blahblah\something.htm.
 * -- BenRG (talk) 19:33, 29 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Thanks, running a web server is way overkill for the simple thing that I want to accomplish, but I appreciate the trouble you have taken in your reply. I will probably just have to give up on Chrome. 81.157.10.165 (talk) 20:42, 30 May 2016 (UTC)


 * The responses that you "probably" need to run a webserver are wrong. You "definitely" need to run a webserver to access a web page over 127.0.0.1 (the loopback network connection). When you use 127.0.0.1, you are making a socket connection to port 80 on your computer and you must have a webserver listening on port 80 on your computer to answer the request. Without a webserver running, your request will go unanswered and all you will get is an error message. 209.149.114.20 (talk) 12:01, 31 May 2016 (UTC)

Opensource software sought
Searching for a software that is similar to "Iconpackager" but free. Can someone help me please? -- Apostle (talk) 05:57, 29 May 2016 (UTC)
 * I personally use IcoFX 1.6.4, widely available from various download sites. See also List of icon software.  Incidentally, freeware is not the same as open-source software. Tevildo (talk) 20:32, 29 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Not bad; I'll look for both the next time I got out... -- Apostle (talk) 21:25, 29 May 2016 (UTC)

Any free software that does both (or singally) the "work" of the softwares stated in this post? -- Apostle (talk) 21:25, 29 May 2016 (UTC)

Whatsapp without Whatsapp
Could we use Whatsapp using only an independent client and independent servers from the Whatsapp company? In the same way that we are not tied to a concrete company when sending emails. --Llaanngg (talk) 19:00, 29 May 2016 (UTC)
 * There are dozens of "instant messenger" apps, if not hundreds, that do "mostly" the same thing as WhatsApp. As for why whatsapp became "the successful one", well, easy to come up with reasons in hind sight. Vespine (talk) 03:47, 31 May 2016 (UTC)


 * I mean, send a message to a whatsapp using person, but using another, not whatsapp, application.--Llaanngg (talk) 14:06, 31 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Unlikely, as Whatsapp is proprietary and closed-source. I doubt Facebook will give that up anytime soon.  Fr&and;m&isin; Dr&and;g talk 20:19, 3 June 2016 (UTC)

Thumbnails Issue
I used "Iconpackager" software, clicked firstly on "Icons & Cursors" tab, secondly on Folders tab, changed the "Closed Folder", Open Folder, Live Folder (Back), "Live Folder (Front)", "Live Folder (Data)" "icons", still I'm having problems with the "thumbnails". The main issue is with the "thumbnails" i.e. related with the "Live Folder (Data)" "icon". A step by step guide is sought in order to mitigate this issue. Can someone help me please? -- Apostle (talk) 18:36, 31 May 2016 (UTC)

Modem, SIM Card, and Software issue
My unregistered SIM Card might get blocked in a day or so, due to some stupidity the country is doing, cause it doesn't have the technology and morality in nature as a being. And so on...

1)Another unregistered SIM Card is impossible to buy, I do have a registered SIM Card so I'm wondering, if copying and pasting the registered SIM Card network's software work in the current unregistered network Modem.

2)How do I fix problem (point) "one" without going to the shop, cause it very expensive to unlock the modem...

Apostle (talk) 21:24, 29 May 2016 (UTC)


 * Keep in mind, the IMEI and the IMSI go out from the phone and are trackable. Some SIM cards trigger a partial update of modem firmware and ISP settings which are downloaded automatically, some phones request the user to permit such updates. -- Hans Haase (有问题吗) 10:33, 30 May 2016 (UTC)
 * SIM card cloning is intentionally difficult, even only going by this question, the chance you could achieve it by yourself is close to zero. Also if you clone the SIM card, it would just function like the card you cloned. If the original card doesn't work when place in this unregistered modem, the cloned card isn't likely to either. If it does work, it's not clear why you would want to clone it rather than using the original registered SIM. Trying to use the cloned SIM card and the original at the same time isn't likely to work well. Nil Einne (talk) 04:45, 31 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Noted peeps...
 * The current modem is for the unregistered SIM card one; been using it for some time, couple/few years or so. The registered SIM card needs to go inside the unregistered SIM card modem in case they block the unregistered SIM... So I was wondering if I could use the registered SIM card's modem software (collect it from someone) in the unregistered SIM card modem. Simple "copy & paste" job I'm talking about...will it work? -- Apostle (talk) 19:01, 31 May 2016 (UTC)