Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2017 September 17

= September 17 =

Will Find my iPad work if open proxy is enabled?
Will I still be able to track my iPad if it's using an open proxy? it got stolen and I'm not sure if Open Proxy was turned or off.Uncle dan is home (talk) 03:36, 17 September 2017 (UTC)
 * If proxy is enabled, probably not. Some features won't properly work when proxies are enabled similar to Tor. Is there a reason why you would want to use said proxy?  S. Little  talk  14:57, 17 September 2017 (UTC)

I use VPN, not TOR.Uncle dan is home (talk) 16:04, 17 September 2017 (UTC)

Computer-narrated YouTube videos
I've seen a few YouTube videos that I believe are narrated by a computer. Some of them have surprisingly natural sounding voices. The speech style reminds me of human narrators in documentaries. Within a single sentence, the narrative is very natural. The giveaway is in the transition between sentences, where the computer sounds a little different from what you'd expect from a human.

What programs might have been used to generate the narrations? --98.115.172.183 (talk) 13:52, 17 September 2017 (UTC)


 * A clarification is in order. What you are likely talking about is the computer reading text which a person has typed, as opposed to the program "watching" the video and describing it directly, which would be quite an accomplishment for artificial intelligence. StuRat (talk) 14:57, 17 September 2017 (UTC)
 * It does depend on what software they use some narrated videos are probably edited before being uploaded onto YouTube like on software's called Windows Movie Maker etc. You can have some software's which do it but you need to clarify what you mean and want to know.  S. Little  talk  15:01, 17 September 2017 (UTC)


 * StuRat: You're correct. I was talking about computer turning human-authored text into speech. --98.115.172.183 (talk) 15:14, 17 September 2017 (UTC)


 * probably one of these. The term btw is text-to-speech (TTS) or speech synthesis. The list is mostly of TTS engines, of which there are only so many, but there are many more end-user programs (including, potentially, the video editing software itself, since stuff is standardized), which use one of those as a back-end for speech ouput. 78.53.109.203 (talk) 06:35, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

Alternative to Synergy (software)?
I bought Synergy (software) to use one of my Windows computers to control the others (via the internet). However, I could not get it to work. It would switch the mouse (and maybe the keyboard), but NOT the monitor, so I couldn't see the other computer. Synergy couldn't see anything wrong in the logs but they can't offer one-to-one support for it. Are there alternatives to Synergy? Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 18:27, 17 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Remote Desktop Services. 36.85.29.51 (talk) 18:28, 17 September 2017 (UTC)


 * I don't think that fits the bill because I'm using regular Windows 10 and Windows 7, not Windows Server. I want to be able to control computers in other parts of the house (start programs and copy files in both directions), without having to go to those computers.  I found Multiplicity (software) and I'm checking that out.  Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 18:37, 17 September 2017 (UTC)


 * Teamviewer & RealVNC are remote desktop applications. &#40;&#40;&#40;The Quixotic Potato&#41;&#41;&#41; (talk) 18:41, 17 September 2017 (UTC)


 * Thank you for the recommendations.  I couldn't get Multiplicity working but I just got Chrome Remote Desktop working!  Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 01:47, 18 September 2017 (UTC)


 * Well, Chrome Remote Desktop doesn't let me copy files from one to the other, so I'm going to look at others. Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 02:30, 18 September 2017 (UTC)


 * Teamviewer costs $660/year - not realistic for me. Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 02:35, 18 September 2017 (UTC)
 * It's free for noncommercial use, right? &#40;&#40;&#40;The Quixotic Potato&#41;&#41;&#41; (talk) 08:39, 18 September 2017 (UTC)


 * And RealVNC - the free version is limited to five computers and doesn't include file transfer. The paid version if $40 per year per computer.  Too much.  Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 02:45, 18 September 2017 (UTC)


 * Do those computers really need to be spread all over the house ? I have mine all in one computer room and use a KVM switch to control them all. StuRat (talk) 02:34, 18 September 2017 (UTC)


 * Actually they are in two locations: two in my office and nine (at present) upstairs. I have the two in my office on a KVN and I have room for at most two more in my office.  The nine upstairs are together and on a KVN switch.  It would really make it easier for me to be able to copy files from my main computer to the others and to start programs on the other computers from here.  Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 02:39, 18 September 2017 (UTC)


 * Keyboard, Video and Mouse &#40;&#40;&#40;The Quixotic Potato&#41;&#41;&#41; (talk) 08:43, 18 September 2017 (UTC)


 * Presumably he has a large mouse, which he calls a Nutria. :-) StuRat (talk) 16:56, 18 September 2017 (UTC)


 * UltraVNC is free and distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License. It does support file transfer. http://www.uvnc.com/ &#40;&#40;&#40;The Quixotic Potato&#41;&#41;&#41; (talk) 08:39, 18 September 2017 (UTC)


 * If the remote desktop software does not include file sharing you can use SAMBA for that. &#40;&#40;&#40;The Quixotic Potato&#41;&#41;&#41; (talk) 08:57, 18 September 2017 (UTC)


 * I'm still working with possibilities. If I could get Dropbox to work on all of the computers, then that, along with Chrome Remote Desktop, will work.  Right now, though, Dropbox doesn't work on two of the computers and their support hasn't been able to resolve it.  Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 17:23, 18 September 2017 (UTC)