Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2021 June 18

= June 18 =

Unwanted taskbar weather bug
I'm usually very careful about what I allow to run on my windows computer, but something seems to have installed a weather bug app without permission. It shows up on my taskbar just to the left of the system tray. There is no "about" option, and I haven't figured out what it is or how to uninstall it. Has anyone else seen this? Does anyone here know how to block this app? Thanks. -- Tom N  talk/contrib 00:06, 18 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Is this Windows? Try right-click on the task bar, near the top of the pop-up menu there is "News and Interests", select it and "turn off".   If that is not it, go to settings and look under "Start Up Apps" and turn off anything you don't want.  RudolfRed (talk) 00:25, 18 June 2021 (UTC)
 * That did it. One of those "easy to find, if you already know where to look" options. Thanks. -- Tom N  talk/contrib 00:43, 18 June 2021 (UTC)
 * The weather info was installed/activated with the latest Windows 10 update.--Shantavira|feed me 07:46, 18 June 2021 (UTC)

Seaside Amusement Arcade Machines
I’ve recently become interested in the machines you get at seaside arcades in the UK. Do any of you happen to have any good resources on the programming or the technology of these things? I’ve been interested in technology since a young age, and I wonder what actually controls these machines? Is it all RNGs or is there any logic behind it? I wonder what operating systems and processors they use in these?

I wonder if there is any way to find out how the coin mechanism works? I’ve always wanted to know how it can tell the different coins apart, and why some coins are rejected for no apparent reason? I also wanted to know how they’re made and programmed.

I appreciate your insights, thank you, 2A01:4C8:1487:7C95:546F:716D:3ED7:D67F (talk) 17:57, 18 June 2021 (UTC)


 * Tim Hunkin has been building rather eccentric machines for decades (which he sells to others, and which are displayed at the seaside at Southwold, and at his own place in London). He also made a TV series The Secret Life of Machines for Channel 4 (which he has recently been updating for his own YouTube channel), which explains how household machines work, but often strays into comparisons with some of the arcade machines he's made. But better yet, he's recently made a new series on YouTube, The Secret Life of Components, where he talks about humble things like electrical connectors, bolts, cog wheels, and so forth. For many of these, the examples of uses are taken from the seaside machines he's made. I'm pretty sure there's a small amount in there about microcontrollers (although he's clearly an old-school electromechnical chap at heart) and there's something in there about coin acceptors too. https://www.youtube.com/c/timhunkin1/videos -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 18:09, 18 June 2021 (UTC)


 * Have you read Wikipedia's articles on arcade cabinet (I'm guess that's the US name for them, as I'd never heard that term before), arcade game, and coin acceptor?--Shantavira|feed me 06:27, 19 June 2021 (UTC)