I'm having a lot of problems with latex. I post this a day ago on math desk and received an answer, but it didnt solve my problem. I'm using windows xp so I downloaded the following version on http://www.tug.org/protext/ from the link "download the self-extracting protext.exe file". I installed every package (it's 1.66gb and somehow took more than an hour to install). Now I had a latex file that I created on a Linux OS using a different version of latex, but for the windows version (exe called TeXworks) I could only create a pdf using the pdfLaTeX+MakeIndex+BibTeX option at the top of the screen; options such as pdfTeX and pdfLaTeX and XeTeX and XeLaTeX give errors. Furthermore, the "pdf" I created using pdfLaTeX+MakeIndex+BibTeX isn't really a pdf file; it's not opened in adobe pdf and there's no save option. It's opened in TeXworks, but looks like pdf files on the inside. I tried reading the "help" but I have no idea what they're on about. Can someone tell me in layman words how to use the windows version? Does the windows version read the linux version properly? Thanks in advance. There's a lot less options in the windows version than the linux version. Money is tight (talk) 03:41, 14 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

It's hard to know what's going on based on the information you've provided. TeXworks is not a version of LaTeX. It's a third-party GUI frontend for LaTeX that happens to be included in the proTeXt distribution. The LaTeX command-line utilities are the same on all platforms, and you can use them if you prefer. If you used a different GUI frontend on Linux and you prefer that one, you could check whether it's available for Windows.

I can't make any sense of "it's not opened in adobe pdf and there's no save option. It's opened in TeXworks, but looks like pdf files on the inside." What does "it's not opened" mean? "There's no save option" in what program? TeXworks? Adobe Reader? What "looks like pdf files on the inside"? -- BenRG (talk) 05:12, 14 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry for not being clear. Where do I get latex (and not TeXworks) for windows? I remember the one I used on Linux was something called Kyle. When I said it's not opened in adobe pdf, I meant when I click the circular green button on top left of the page it gives what looks like a pdf file (so the text font is very different from word or wikipedia or normal web site fonts, it's the same as pdf fonts), but the program that opened it is called TeXworks as well, not Adobe Reader (which is the real pdf program). I can't save my file either, because there's no save option under the "File" tab of the TeXworks that creates the pdf-looking file, so it's kind of useless since I'm trying to create pdf documents using latex. I used linux at my school and my home PC only has windows xp. Money is tight (talk) 08:11, 14 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, I see what you mean. I haven't used TeXworks, but probably it saved the PDF file in the same directory as the source tex file, then opened it to show you how it came out. You don't have to save it. (If you want the PDF to go somewhere else, there is probably a way to configure TeXworks to do that.)

You have LaTeX for Windows; proTeXt is a LaTeX distribution that includes the Windows version of LaTeX along with TeXworks and a bunch of other utilities.

If you can't get the hang of TeXworks, Kile is available for Windows. -- BenRG (talk) 08:53, 14 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, it's working. Is it ok if I delete TeXworks now? Is Kile dependent on TeXworks in any way? Money is tight (talk) 05:19, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Basically, you need three pieces of software to make and view latex documents. You need some kind of text editor to create the .tex files (TeXworks and Kile are examples of this). You need a latex distribution to turn these into ps/pdf/whatever files (MiKTeX is, I think, the standard one for Windows) - TeXworks/Kile can't build the pdfs themselves; they call latex behind-the-scenes. Finally, you need some kind of software to view the ps/pdf/whatever files (Adobe Reader, Ghostscript, etc.). Protext appears to include all three of these (TeXworks, MiKTeX, and Ghostscript, among other things). I have no idea whether it is possible to uninstall individual parts of protext. If you get rid of the whole thing, I imagine you will still have some kind of pdf viewer on your machine, and Kile should still work, though it won't be able to compile latex documents without MiKTeX or an equivalent. If you do end up reinstalling MiKTeX, I think there is an option to only install the main packages - you can set it up to download new ones as and when you need them - you will probably never use most of the ones you have installed. 81.98.38.48 (talk) 15:03, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I want to know that what is Modeling and Characterization of Embedded Computation System? Please give me a solution of this.

See our article Embedded system, and if you have any further questions, come on back and ask a new question. Comet Tuttle (talk) 16:58, 14 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I had some malware on my windows 7 machine, so I rebooted and booted up from with windows xp (I multiboot), removed it with windows security essentials and then booted back with windows 7 but now I have a big problem... When I go to my hard drive, then users, it does not show my username, it just shows "public." Also, none of my icons and folders are on my desktop except for firefox. Any idea on how to fix this? I used my usual password to log into windows 7 and there is only one account setup. When I go into user accounts, it shows I am logged in as the administrator so I am not sure why all my documents and everything else are missing. Any ideas on how to fix it or access the files? Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Zipzster00 (talk • contribs) 07:16, 14 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I suppose the first possibility I'd consider is whether the malware had actually deleted the account and its folders. I would restore from a recent backup, and if there were none, I would do a sanity-check on how much disk space is reported to be free — if your hard disk is now 80% free space and you're pretty sure it used to be 20% free, then mass deletion may have been the problem. I'd run SpaceMonger or some other "disk visualization" utility to help here. I would then probably find some undelete software and see whether it can find any of the files you're missing. Comet Tuttle (talk) 16:57, 14 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Is there anything that can be done using I movie'11 (and a MacBook) that simply cannot be done using Windows Live Movie Maker 2011(windows 7 and a pc)? I mean anything at all?--Gammalflamma (talk) 14:32, 14 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'd be surprised if they both don't have one or two features the other hasn't, but also if they didn't both have the bulk of features most casual video editors would want. ¦ Reisio (talk) 20:06, 14 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Since one is a Microsoft product and the other Apple, it wouldn't surprise me if it's difficult or impossible to export to .mov container file format in Windows Movie Maker. In fact from my search I'm not even sure how well it can import .mov files. I don't know if it supports any import/export plugins so it may be possible to add support. Of course it may also support MPEG-4 Part 14 which is fairly similar being based on the Quicktime container format. Nil Einne (talk) 16:15, 18 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Why does it happen in my GC browser? Other pages are as they should be. Thanks for help. --Omidinist (talk) 15:29, 14 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I would start off with making sure Chrome is up-to-date (Spanner menu -> About Google Chrome), and then disabling all the extensions and seeing whether that helps (Spanner menu -> Tools -> Extensions). If it does, re-enable extensions one by one and find the culprit. If it doesn't work, try clearing your browsing data (Ctrl+Shift+Del). If that still doesn't work, try navigating to "about:flags" (without the quotes) and enabling GPU Accelerated compositing (it goes without saying to be careful in here). 110.175.208.144 (talk) 08:23, 18 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I am thinking of leaving dreadful TalkTalk and moving to BT Broadband. Has anyone had a good or bad experience with BT they might care to share please?85.211.160.104 (talk) 15:59, 14 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Bad. I won't go into all the gory details, but they seem remarkably incompetent when it comes to simple things like communication - with themselves. What should have been a simple transfer from a 'Home Hub' to a 'Business Hub' setup resulted in both systems being cut off, and multiple billing. Their excuse? That these were dealt with by different departments that were 'like different companies' and didn't exchange information. Basically they have managed to combine the pig-headed bureaucratic stubbornness of the old pre-privatised BT with a new-found contempt for customers if they get in the way of short-term profits. AndyTheGrump (talk) 16:58, 14 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'm with BT too. Honestly, I'm not happy with it. The bandwidth is unimpressive for the price outside of major population centres. The 'Unlimited' package actually has 100GB/month limit (you get throttled to 2Mb/s for a month once you exceed it, rather than being cut off altogether). Nowadays, 100GB is actually quite strict, as modern services like iplayer/4od, Steam and XBL/PSN will burn through that pretty quickly. The complimentary BT Home Hub is incredibly unreliable; dropping all network connections for no apparent reason pretty much every day is par for the course. Similarly to AndyTheGrump's story, a relative of mine uses a BT business subscription. Once, it failed because of a fault in the telephone exchange. It took about a month to get BT to just come out and replace the failed part in the exchange (business subscribers are supposed to be back up and running within 3 days, if memory serves), because the different sections of BT just don't seem able to communicate with each other. CaptainVindaloo ^{t c e} 17:29, 14 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

EDIT: Memory doesn't serve. The outage was actually 6 weeks, when business customers are supposed to be back up within 24 hours. CaptainVindaloo ^{t c e} 19:19, 14 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The trouble is that a failure of the local loop, the distribution frame, the DSLAM, the trunk connection, and sometimes the BRAS is that the equipment is owned and operated (in the great majority of ADSL installs in the UK) by Openreach and BT Wholesale, regardless of who your ISP is. So that failure in the exchange (which was probably a DTE linecard in the DSLAM, or the whole DSLAM) would knock out everyone who shared that equipment, regardless of which ISP they thought they had. So unless you get Virgin Cable (or an expensive business leased-line install, usually on a business park or large office building) then much of your internet connection is in BT's hands, like it or not. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 23:44, 14 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I have VirginMedia fiber optic broadband and I'd say it has been acceptable but not brilliant. Over 2 years I've had it there's been a total of ~30 hours down time spread over various incidents. There's no monthly limits or anything like that at all, but they do reduce the speed during busy times —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.43.89.77 (talk) 00:58, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for all these terrifying stories, they almost, but only almost, make me want to stay with TalkTalk, (shudder). But has any one anything good to say about any UK based ISP please?85.211.216.144 (talk) 07:12, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

It seems that people just don't like their broadband service. In Australia, it's near impossible to get any decent broadband unless you go for business offerings. I would say that most ISP's have dodgy broadband services.General Rommel (talk) 07:59, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Original Research again, but the two people I know with BT have had nothing but trouble. (And some of their helpline call centres are in India.) I'm with Virgin, and they have been pretty good, although it took them six months to figure out that a long term problem was down to a faulty BT connection just down the road, but they did refund the cost of all my helpline calls.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 09:31, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Be Unlimited has been pretty good for me. Have been with them for a couple of years; they're not perfect, but much better than the (indescribably awful) AOL. Be is owned by Telefonica (O2), but I understand they have a certain amount of autonomy from the parent company. Their call centre was pretty good on the only occasion I've had to contact them, I haven't seen any throttling or significant speed problems, and the router they supplied has uptime of about 11 months. The only note of caution is that their customer base has expanded significantly over the past few years, and with other companies large increases in customer numbers has sometimes led to decreases in quality/customer service, although I haven't seen any evidence of this. It is a bit pricey, however. I would highly recommend the guides and forums at http://www.thinkbroadband.com/ when choosing an ISP - lots of information about various ISPs, and staff from various companies visit the forums. --Kateshortforbob _talk 09:59, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'm an ex-BT employee, so you may find me biased, but I'm quite happy with BT broadband. There are currently 2 ISPs whose customer service is well rated in independent surveys - Be and O2. But I think you'll find the rest are much of a much-ness, albeit TalkTalk may be worse - they had specific problems with billing/customer service over their merger. A comment for Finlay. If it's a local-loop-unbundled service, then the only BT bit will be the copper line. This will terminate on an ISPs own DSLAM and thence to its own network/BRAS, etc - so there will be no dependence on BT to fix faults with these services. They are rare in rural UK, but common in cities - it's typically why you can't get cheap broadband out in the sticks.--Phil Holmes (talk) 10:15, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I've been with Plusnet for quite some years and have little to complain about. They boast of being based on solid Yorkshire values and of having a Yorkshire based call centre; though I'm now a little worried to see the article says they were bought by BT in 2007. Astronaut (talk) 13:48, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I've got an Archos MP3 tablet and two USB sticks, all of which have become infected with some nasty worm or virus which has completely hidden the folders on the devices, replacing them with identically-named 'exe' files (eg. Songs.exe Albums.exe Essays.exe) If I run antivirus software, and I've tried several, the exe-s are wiped as being harmful, but the original files refuse to show up, and their contents can only be revealed by typing the exact path, from memory, in the address bar (ie. F:\Photos\Birthday)
Any advice? ╟─TreasuryTag►Speaker─╢ 18:12, 14 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

[1] — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.43.89.77 (talk • contribs)

Perhaps you could quote the part of that page which answers my specific problem re. absent folders? ╟─TreasuryTag►Counsellor of State─╢ 20:02, 14 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The fact the contents can be revealed is great. It presumably means the files have merely been marked as invisible. First, I would back up that infected hard disk. Then, assuming a previous backup before the infection isn't recent enough and you have to salvage data from this hard disk, I would run anti-malware software to try to eradicate the malware. Then I would tell Windows that you want to be able to see invisible files in Windows Explorer. You don't mention what version of Windows you have, but on Windows 7 it's Control Panel -> Folder Options -> View (the tab) and then turn on the option "Show hidden files, folders, and drives". See if your folders are present but invisible. If so, just right-click each such folder and choose "Properties", then uncheck the "Hidden" checkbox. Comet Tuttle (talk) 20:34, 14 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

It's absolutely backed up, I can assure you! The hidden-folders thing doesn't work, sadly. I have Windows 7 and Windows XP on separate laptops, and since these are all USB devices I can choose which system to use. I also have a Linux boot-disc if that could be of any use. ╟─TreasuryTag►inspectorate─╢ 08:15, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Darn. I'd boot off the Linux disc and take a look and see what the directories look like. I am surprised you are able to use pathnames to get at the directories in Windows Explorer without the directories being visible in Windows Explorer. Comet Tuttle (talk) 18:04, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

They looked more or less like what could be expected; a list of folders, followed by a list of 'exe' files with precisely the same names as the folders, Linux presumably not being fooled into displaying the 'exe's rather than the real thing.
I think I've solved the problem by backing up all my data via Ubuntu, basically writing off the USB sticks and formatting the MP3 player :( Bizarre and sad, but there we go... Just hope to God my main computer's not been infected. ╟─TreasuryTag►Not-content─╢ 19:31, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I installed a Windows 7 on laptop. Now I want to completely remove it. But when I try to format it thru Windows Explorer or Command Prompt I find I am unable to do it. What shall I do ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.253.131.98 (talk) 18:37, 14 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

You can't format the hard drive which Windows is running from while running Windows. Do you have an install disk for another OS you are trying to install, or even just the Windows 7 install disk itself? Most install disks will give you the option to reformat or repartition the hard drive during the install process. If you want to completely destroy all data on the hard drive so that it is not recoverable, try DBAN 82.43.89.77 (talk) 19:58, 14 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

DBAN is overkill.

• If you want to remove Windows 7 and install another OS, then just install the other OS — during installation the Windows 7 install will almost certainly be destroyed (or you'll at least be given the option).
• If you want to remove Windows 7 and leave an empty disk, you can boot virtually any OS install disk and reformat the drive
• If you want to be paranoid, you can grab any Linux live OS and use dd to overwrite it with zeros (current thinking is that doing this more than once, or with random data, is a complete waste of time).

¦ Reisio (talk) 20:12, 14 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Please see Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous#Fake RPG. I thought 'misc' was a better fit than the computing helpdesk, but I wanted to alert here, too, because I think it likely that users here might have answers. Cheers,  Chzz  ►  20:38, 14 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I recently moved to IE9 from IE8. With IE8, clicking on the down arrow beside the address bar would pop up a list of the most recent 10 or so sites I'd typed in. With IE9, it only shows the most recent 5. The history and favorites sections have little down arrows to expand how many of those you can see, but I don't see a way to expand that top list. Do I have to fiddle something in the registry, or is there an obvious solution I'm not seeing? 50.92.126.63 (talk) 21:10, 14 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Hi. I'm looking to by a laptop, which I will use for all intents and purposes in lieu of a desktop PC. Price is kinda not an object; I've tentatively set the maximum at $1000 though this is an extreme scenario and obviously cheaper is preferable if possible. I mainly want to get a laptop with the best specs available, in terms of processor speed, RAM and virtual memory, screen resolution, built-in wireless connectivity, etc, under my price ceiling. Since this is going to be replacing my current PC it should be better in all aspects, but the problem is I don't understand any of the technical computerspeak that searching gives me. It also needs to have the comfort that a desktop gives, i.e., a wide monitor and keyboard. I would prefer the Windows 7 OS. What do the essential numeric specifications mean in terms of how they will affect me (like RAM, hard disk, Processor, Core, etc.), and what range should I be looking for in these? What about audio/video drivers and stuff? Thanks. 72.128.95.0 (talk) 00:13, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I just want to put out there, since others probably will — what's the goal of having a laptop with a huge monitor? It makes the laptop really quite heavy and ungainly to have a large monitor on it, which in my experience totally destroys the only reason to have a laptop (portability). Might I suggest getting one with a small monitor, and then just having a docking station wherever you plan to do your big-monitor tasks? Just a suggestion, based on personal experience. Ditto with the keyboard. --Mr.98 (talk) 00:16, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Or get a desktop (which will be cheaper for equivalent or better hardware) and with the savings buy a cheap netbook ($75-150 in the USA). ¦ Reisio (talk) 05:30, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Even big and heavy laptops are much easier to transport than a tower+monitor+keyboard combo. And there are other reasons to buy a laptop, such as lower power requirements, less noise, and a built in UPS at no extra charge. -- BenRG (talk) 01:39, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

No doubt, but in my experience, nobody who owns a big laptop takes it anywhere on a regular basis. I'm just wanting to point out that things like big keyboards and big monitors come with quite a usage cost, one which is easily avoidable if you have a dock. --Mr.98 (talk) 01:55, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Aside from the price ceiling, you haven't asked for anything more specific than the best machine at the lowest price, so it's hard to know what to recommend. For "the average user" who isn't a gamer, any current-generation large-sized laptop will probably be more than fast enough. (Smaller laptops are slower.) Don't worry about Core 2 this versus i7 that, or Nvidia versus ATI versus Intel graphics. At least 2GB RAM is a good idea. If you have extra money, spend it on an SSD, not a faster CPU or graphics card. As Mr.98 said, if you really just want the fastest machine at a given price point, you should buy a desktop. -- BenRG (talk) 01:39, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

If you are comfortable spending $1000, then you can get a pretty decent desktop replacement laptop. My only advice on specs is to go with any multi-core processor. 4GB of RAM will give you plenty of overhead so swap shouldn't be touched nearly as much. If you plan on doing any gaming, look into a laptop with a dedicated graphics card that meets or exceeds the requirements of your most demanding game. Almost all laptops use nearly the same sound and network cards, so unless you have special requirements you don't need to pay too much attention to this. Most laptops also come with fairly large hard drives, so this shouldn't be too much of a concern either. If you want the extra speed of an SSD, plan on spending at least $1500. Caltsar (talk) 19:26, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I can't seem to trace this font; even 'WhatTheFont' doesn't seem encouraging, but I've seen it all over India so it can't be that rare. ╟─TreasuryTag►inspectorate─╢ 09:13, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

No luck with Identifont, either. I refused to answer any questions about serifs, though, since I couldn't tell whether the enlargements at the ends counted as serifs or not. Maybe going back through and trying both possibilities would help -- I think it gives a maximum of 30 suggestions, regardless of how many possible consistent fonts there are. Paul (Stansifer) 13:54, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Serifs. ¦ Reisio (talk) 01:18, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Pretoria (Identifont gave Davida as a possibility, and since the elements were close, I checked the "Similar fonts" bit and "Show more similar fonts..." link near the bottom, which led to Pretoria) ¦ Reisio (talk) 01:45, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The ratio of width-to-height in new laptops is considerably different than traditional desktops. Does that mean that everything will appear deformed i.e. stretched along horizontal axis ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.253.140.239 (talk) 12:01, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

No. On both 4:3 and 16:9 monitors the pixels are (approximately) square. For example, 1024x768 is a common (low) desktop resolution. On Wide-screen monitor, this is 1280x768. You can play with displaying a 16:9 desktop on your 4:3 monitor by (assuming you use Win XP),

1. right-clicking on the desktop
2. select "properties" on the pop-up menu,
3. select "Settings" in the dialog box.
4. press 'Ok', and accept the change if you monitor is displaying the squished image. (Windows will restore the current layout if you do nothing for 15 seconds).
5. drag the "Screen resolution" slider until the preview box just above the slider is showing a wide-screen rectangle.
6. Remember to undo the change before you leave the machine.

CS Miller (talk) 12:48, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

If your desktop monitor does happen to be a weird size, there is always a setting for its native pixel resolution, which is square. They are not stretched at all. --Mr.98 (talk) 13:47, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Have tried that. That way everything becomes too small to be seen clearly. Tell something else please... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.253.131.136 (talk) 18:19, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Try each resolution (using the above method) to see if any of them work for you. In some cases you may get more choices for resolution if you reduce the number of colors and refresh rate (I think refresh rate is for external CRT monitors only, though). If none are acceptable, then you need and new graphics card and/or an external monitor. The combo of those two determine which resolutions are supported. If everything is too small to read, you likely need a larger monitor. StuRat (talk) 18:32, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

It's, in fact, a Toshiba Satelite Laptop with

Screen Size 15.6 Inch

Resolution 1366 X 768

Screen Type HD LED CSV Screen —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.253.131.136 (talk) 18:51, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

When you have a choice of video modes, they tend to be the native resolution (1366×768) and a bunch of standard resolutions (1024×768, 800×600, ...). The standard resolutions are all 4:3, and they are usually stretched horizontally to fit the screen. Options:

• You can usually configure the graphics card to preserve the aspect ratio, instead of stretching horizontally. But then you will only be able to use part of the screen—there will be black bars on either side.
• There may be lower resolution modes with the correct aspect ratio. For example, my 1440×900 screen has 1280×800 and 960×600 modes. But the lower resolution modes will not be as sharp as the native resolution.
• There is probably a way to add custom video modes, though it may not be easy. Here's a page specific to Intel GPUs.
• You can configure Windows (or Linux or whatever) to use larger fonts and icons. This is probably your best option, if you're just having trouble seeing things.

-- BenRG (talk) 23:30, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I have hundreds of e-mails in my ATT account which I would like to forward to my new gmail account. Is there a simple way to do this globally, or do I have to send them one at a time? Hemoroid Agastordoff (talk) 18:54, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Probably the easiest way is to set up a mail client like Thunderbird with POP3 (set to "leave copy on server") for both accounts. Then you can drag-and-drop emails from one server to the other. You can certainly configure Google Mail to use POP3; I don't know about ATT mail. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 19:22, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

If it supports POP3, then you could just use Gmail's interface (Mail Settings->Accounts and Import->Check mail using POP3) to get them directly from ATT to Gmail, skipping the intermediate step. Invrnc (talk) 22:02, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I recently had a computer that blue screen of death-ed. It froze and then completely erased Windows from the system. It is currently on the way to the manufacturer to have the hard drive replaced. With that in mind; I was wondering if there is something, specifically, that I should do to prevent this from happening to any more computers? I intend to install some virus software, but that does not always work. Are there any clues as to whether or not a website is infected or not? Sumsum2010·T·C 04:53, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Only go to websites you know and trust ? StuRat (talk) 05:05, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

For a safer browsing experience, I recommend starting by using firefox with the 'no script' plug-in [2]. SemanticMantis (talk) 05:58, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Well, Linux is famous for being safe from many types of attacks and Ubuntu isn't hard to use even for a newcomer. The feasibility of switching to Linux depends a lot on what you're going to use the computer for - office work, Wikipedia/web browsing and software development are easy with Linux, but if you play games that have problems with Wine or really need to use MS Office or Visual Studio or anything, or just are reluctant to switch OS, it's better to not switch, in which case I recommend the advice given earlier. Zakhalesh (talk) 06:12, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

You could try use Norton Safe Web, which lets you enter a website and show whether there seems to be anything bad in it. However, common instinct is obviously very important in stopping maculious malware. General Rommel (talk) 07:01, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Far from being a malware problem, the obvious explanation is a simple hard drive failure. To protect yourself from that kind of catastrophe, a good backup policy is recommended. Astronaut (talk) 10:42, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

1. As Astronaut wrote, back up your data frequently. If possible, back it up automatically to a 2nd hard disk or even a 2nd computer system, or via a service like Mozy that backs up your data offsite. This will give you a way to save your data from either a hard disk failure or from a malware attack. It is useful to adopt the mindset that when it comes to hard disks, it's not a question of "whether" the hard disk will fail, but "when". 2. To reduce the damage malware can do, set up a user account with no administrator rights on your computer, and use that account habitually. Do not use the administrator account unless you have to (to install software, for example). This makes it harder for the bad guys to get to your system files. 3. This should be obvious, but don't download software unless it is from websites you know and trust. Comet Tuttle (talk) 20:31, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Hi everyone. If you upload a video to picasa web, It doesn't seem possible to download it again directly and I'm looking for a workaround. I am using firefox, macosx 10.5.8 and someone advised me to type "about:cache" in the address bar and find local cache files. Well, there's a file in there that has the right datestamp, and is about the right size. I've tried renaming it .flv and .mvi, but quicktime won't play the video. Any advice? Robinh (talk) 05:09, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'm a little rusty on OS X, but I think this may give us a clue. Open up the Terminal application (it's in Utilities by default, I think). Type "file" and hit the space bar, and then drag the file into Terminal. Its path should appear. Then hit enter. What does it say? Paul (Stansifer) 13:45, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Paul. Thanks for this:

slug:~/Desktop% file flowers.flv 
flowers.flv: XML 1.0 document text
slug:~/Desktop% 

But I'm n wiser. Any ideas? Robinh (talk) 20:20, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Weird. I don't think there are any XML-based encodings of video (although you say it's the right size, which suggests that it's a terrible encoding of something large into XML). Well, maybe try the same thing, but use "head" instead of "file" (to view the first few lines of text). Paul (Stansifer) 22:51, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

OK here goes:

slug:~/Desktop% head -20 flowers.flv 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN"
   "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
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<table><tr><td><tt><b>key:</b></tt></td><td><a href="http://v9.nonxt4.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?id=2a4fbdbfdf362628&itag=35&begin=0&len=2147483647&app=picasa&et=INVALID&el=INVALID&ip=0.0.0.0&ipbits=0&expire=2879698237&sparams=id%2Citag%2Cip%2Cipbits%2Cexpire&signature=70140B912E84A0D591150CCC617870859341BF37.5EA1AF515C9CA9B25C5C81459693638705DDD039&key=ck1">http://v9.nonxt4.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?id=2a4fbdbfdf362628&itag=35&begin=0&len=2147483647&app=picasa&et=INVALID&el=INVALID&ip=0.0.0.0& amp;ipbits=0&expire=2879698237&sparams=id%2Citag%2Cip%2Cipbits%2Cexpire&signature=70140B912E84A0D591150CCC617870859341BF37.5EA1AF515C9CA9B25C5C81459693638705DDD039& amp;key=ck1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><tt><b>fetch count:</b></tt></td>

Robinh (talk) 01:31, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Perhaps this is obvious at this point, but the file in question was some kind of HTML/XML file linking to the actual file. If you click on the link created above (the googlevideo.com one), it'll download the FLV to your hard drive. (I like flowers in my garden, too.) --Mr.98 (talk) 18:27, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you! But I'm still missing something here. The file I gave the head for above, was about 43MB, which matches the origincal AFAIR, and the file that I've just downloaded was about 7MB (and won't open with quicktime anyway). Just to check, you meant clicking on "http://v9.nonxt4.googlevideo.co..."? Robinh (talk) 19:16, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The link goes to a FLV (Flash Video) file, which is what Google Videos and YouTube and etc. convert videos to. It's a smaller file size (and less quality) than the original. It's all you can download from the web, usually. If you want to view FLV files on a Mac, download the Perian plug-in for Quicktime. --Mr.98 (talk) 04:35, 18 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

(OP) OK, thanks for this. I have downlowaded Perian, and can see it in my preferences pane (a red penknife), but Quicktime stills says that flowers.flv is not a movie. What do I do to get it to work? Probably something obvious, but I read the redame.rtf and it didn't say how to make use of perian. Best wishes, Robinh (talk) 07:27, 18 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Are you using Quicktime X or Quicktime 7? Perian only works with Quicktime 7 (which is the fault of Apple, not Perian — Quicktime X, for no reason that I know of, does not support any third party plugins). You may have to re-download Quicktime 7 (link). Perian more or less works after you install it (if it is on the preference pane, it should be installed), so my guess is that it has to do with Quicktime. (It works fine on my machine, with Perian.) --Mr.98 (talk) 19:04, 19 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Go Go Gadget Donald Knuth's assembly language simulation software (ability to simulate other assembly languages appreciated). Thank you! Zakhalesh (talk) 11:39, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

MIX and particularly MMIX list implementations, including simulators. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 12:02, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you. Zakhalesh (talk) 12:03, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Dear Wikipedians:

I was just flabbergasted when I read that AT&T bans third party apps on the Android. I mean, how are they able to do it? I always thought of Android as an open platform where I can browse the web, find the app I like, and just download and install it. None of AT&T's business. So how does AT&T do it?

And also, to raise what maybe an unpopular question here: wouldn't the US be somewhat of a hypocrite applying double-standards, when it accuses China of censoring online stuff, when major companies like AT&T and Apple are doing just the same things to their customers right in the U.S.?

70.31.154.4 (talk) 17:42, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

From what I understand AT&T only allow you to install applications via the Android Market. On Android under Settings menu -> Applications there's a checkbox for "Allow unknown sources" and unless that is ticked you can only install from the market. As such I suspect that AT&T have simply customised the software for their handsets and removed that option. This doesn't really stop anyone from rooting their phone and installing apps that way or in turn installing a custom ROM which has normal functionality though.  ZX81  ^talk 17:51, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The second question doesn't have anything to do with computing, but it's a very common category error. Freedom of speech means that the government doesn't make certain speech acts illegal. It doesn't say anything about the kinds of platforms-for-speech people may create. AT&T is legally free to make a phone network where it's against the terms of service to, say, criticize AT&T, or speak in non-limerick form, etc. In practice, a government may see fit to pass laws that prevent abuse of this kind of thing (which can be a danger with monopolies), such as network neutrality. But it's a matter of legislation to figure that stuff out (what counts as a common carrier-like arrangement, and what doesn't), because most people really, really don't want a principled rule that, if you relay something that someone says, you have to relay everything that anyone says. This would, for example, make things like removing vandalism on Wikipedia and comment moderation on blogs illegal, and perhaps the act of gathering together any community of like-minded people. Paul (Stansifer) 22:48, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. I am a lot more clear on this subject now. L33th4x0r (talk) 15:24, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Resolved

I am looking for a way, on Windows 7, to limit internet traffic from all programs running on the computer collectively (firefox, wget, IE, etc) to just one connection per second. For example, say example.com only allowed 1 connection per second, and returned an error if it detected more than 1 connection per second. Five requests to example.com are made at the same time (2 from Firefox, 1 from Internet explorer, and 2 from wget) and thus they all get an error. Instead, I would like some way to take those 5 or more connections and make them wait and do each request one by one. Is there a setting in Windows which can achieve this, or does anyone know of a program (like a proxy server or something) that can do this? Setting each program individually to only use one connection per second is not sufficient as collectively they still use more than one connection per second. It is very important that each connection is dealt with and not closed or given an error from the remote server. 82.43.89.77 (talk) 18:01, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

You could do it with a proxy server but you probably want to throttle bandwidth rather than connections. Browsers will usually open several parallel connections to get the images on a page. 69.111.194.167 (talk) 07:01, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Any good suggestions for easy to use proxy server programs on Windows 7? 82.43.89.77 (talk) 16:18, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

There's a request for help at Wikipedia:Graphic Lab/Illustration workshop#Dindigul town crest which some readers of this desk may be able to assist with. Ta! ╟─TreasuryTag►high seas─╢ 18:51, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'm uncertain whether I'm looking at the right thing, because I can't read the text. Is this [3] the image you're talking about? (Faithfully copying the text will be difficult, too, for those who don't know what the characters should really look like. Is it Tamil?)  Card Zero  (talk) 23:11, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, that's the image. The Tamil actually comes out fairly clearly if vectorised in Inkscape, it's more the actual crest which I'm having trouble with... ╟─TreasuryTag►pikuach nefesh─╢ 07:57, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I had some success using a pixel art scaling algorithm before tracing the bitmap in Inkscape. Now I just have to do the ovals and lettering. Guess I'd better put a note on the Graphic Lab page too.  Card Zero  (talk) 11:04, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Hello. I am very new to programming. I have been playing around in C# and would like to test out my programs. I wrote one in Notepad++ and saved it to my Desktop. In command prompt, I tried to use Microsoft Visual C# 2010 Compiler to compile my .cs file. I entered csc.exe Welcome.cs and it returned error CS2001: Source file 'Welcome.cs' could not be found fatal error CS2008: No inputs specified I tried again with the complete path of my file and got the same results. What I am doing wrong here? Any help would be greatly appreciated. BurtAlert (talk) 19:01, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe you haven't enabled file extensions yet, and the file is actually named Welcome.cs.txt? If that is the case, http://www.fileinfo.com/help/windows-show-extensions.html might help. Unilynx (talk) 20:09, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Nope, just checked, it's definitely Welcome.cs BurtAlert (talk) 23:03, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Make sure your command prompt is in the folder where this file is (if you type 'dir' in the command prompt, you should see your file). Or, type in the full (absolute) path to the file. I don't know what the default folder the command prompt opens to (in whatever version of Windows you're using), but it's probably not to the desktop. Invrnc (talk) 01:06, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Try doing a "dir" followed by the full-path file name, exactly as you entered it before. This will tell you if you have the wrong slash or some such problem. StuRat (talk) 01:23, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Ah, thank you very much guys. I put it in the same directory as the command prompt and it worked! BurtAlert (talk) 01:40, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Resolved

StuRat (talk) 22:56, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I cannot access my account in spite of having reset my password about three times, in one instance with the same password. And my Sync secret phrase is correct. What the hell is going on? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.189.87.160 (talk) 21:14, 16 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Have you looked at their troubleshooting page? If that doesn't help, there is a link to a support forum at the bottom - you are probably far more likely to get help there than here. 81.98.38.48 (talk) 14:28, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  In the context of this chassis, what is an ‘’AOC’’ slot? I tried looking it up, but all I got is this disambiguation page, and none of the options seem to apply. Thanks. Rocketshiporion♫ 10:46, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I think this means add-on card. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 13:45, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Dial-up internet access involves a non-fixed IP address. Some high-speed internet access necessitates a fixed IP address. I've heard that at least one type of high-speed access (for an ordinary home computer) does NOT necessitate a fixed IP address (I am not referring to the use of proxies). What is it / are they? TIA63.17.51.171 (talk) 08:47, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

As a general rule, home broadband connections do not have a fixed IP address.--Phil Holmes (talk) 12:00, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

More specifically, the internet connection does not require a fixed IP. If your internet provider chooses to give you a fixed IP, there's little that you can do about it. This problem falls into the category of "contact your network administrator," who is in this case your internet provider; realistically, it's unlikely they will change their network management practices to suit your preferences one way or the other, but it ultimately boils down to a decision made by the NOC engineer. Nimur (talk) 16:03, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

ok, this is a question about: can the resolution of a display adapter possibly be affected by the monitor type? here's the story: an HP media center with a PCIexpress video board. (nvidia 9400). not very high end because power supply is only 300 watts, but good enough for nonhd tv. windows 7. anyway. that doesn't matter so much, since this starts with the board getting sick, and removed from the machine when i realize the motherboard has a built in vga port that shuts down when the pciE slot is occupied. so, i run the (dell 15 inch) crt monitor off the builtin port on the motherboard, and it runs in straight vga resolution, only. that seems reasonable, if the builtin port had better resolution, they wouldn't put the pcie video board in, would they? next, i put the flaky video board back, figuring intermittent 1200 pix resolution is better than fulltime VGA. meanwhile, i find a NEC 17 inch LCD monitor at goodwill for $15. Woohoo! then i decide to remove the video board again and run the lcd monitor off the builtin video port, the one that was vga only with the crt. but this combo runs nicely at 1200 pix, true color; and i can even choose 1600 pix if i want. seems just as fast as the pcie board, too. so; where/how/why is this possibly working? and, as a practical matter, why not just abandon the PCIE board entirely, right? Gzuckier (talk) 17:00, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Have you installed the driver for the onboard video card? It sounds a lot like it doesn't have a driver installed and thus it falls back on the default mode for safety. Also the reason that you can't get both working at once is because the onboard one is actually PCIe and your motherboard will only let you use either the onboard PCIe or an expansion PCIe video card. The onboard one should be more than capable of running at a decent resolution, but you still need to install the driver (try the support website of whoever makes the computer). If however the onboard one isn't powerful enough (gaming for example) that's when you'd want to use a separate card.  ZX81  ^talk 17:13, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, just use the built-in board. The only disadvantage I can think of is that some use part of the computer's RAM for graphics, but probably not much. As for why it refused to give a higher res on the smaller monitor, I suspect they have that logic there to avoid high res on a small CRT screen, since, with some monitors, that just makes it fuzzy (due to overlapping pixels). The separate graphics card is probably newer, so doesn't use that same logic, since they assume newer monitors can handle it. StuRat (talk) 22:54, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, Can I get detailed scoreboard of DHL IPL KKR vs Rajasthan royals?Gio2050 (talk) 17:43, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Either this or this. I don't understand any of the numbers and terms in the linked pages, though. 118.96.166.45 (talk) 02:21, 18 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, I have a computer that is connected to the living room TV (a Panasonic) via HDMI. There is no other monitor connected. My problem is that the computer, which is running Windows XP, does not allow me to set the proper resolution for the TV. Both the graphics adapter and the TV should support the 1280x720 resolution, but it cannot be selected - the only available options are 1280x600 and 800x600, both in the "native" Windows dialog box and the custom Intel graphics options dialog box. Do anyone have a suggestion for a solution for this? Things I've thought of:

• Setting the resolution directly in the registry (where?)
• Installing some "custom" monitor driver (the TV manufacturer does not appear to provide any, currently the "generic" one is used)

Details on the setup is in the collapsed box.

Signal name: 640x480 @60HZ Horizontal frequency: 31.47 kHz Vertical frequency: 60Hz
Signal name: 750/720) /60p Horizontal frequency: 45.00 kHz Vertical frequency: 60Hz
Signal name: 1,125 (1,080) / 60p Horizontal frequency: 67.50 kHz Vertical frequency: 60Hz

	INTEL(R) EXTREME GRAPHICS 2 REPORT


Report Date:		04/17/2011
Report Time[hr:mm:ss]:	20:18:02
Driver Version:		6.14.10.4396
Operating System:		Windows XP* Professional, Service Pack 3 (5.1.2600)
Default Language:		English
DirectX* Version:		9.0
Physical Memory:		1021 MB
Minimum Graphics Memory:	1 MB
Maximum Graphics Memory:	96 MB
Graphics Memory in Use:	6 MB
Processor:		x86
Processor Speed:		2593 MHZ
Vendor ID:		8086
Device ID:		2572
Device Revision:		02


*   Accelerator Information   *

Accelerator in Use:		Intel(R) 82865G Graphics Controller
Video BIOS:		2972
Current Graphics Mode:	1280 by 600 True Color (60 Hz)



*   Devices Connected to the Graphics Accelerator   *


Active Digital Displays: 1


*   Digital Display   *

Monitor Name:		Plug and Play Monitor
Display Type:		Digital
Gamma Value:		2.20
DDC2 Protocol:		Supported
Maximum Image Size:	Horizontal: Not Available
			Vertical:   Not Available
Monitor Supported Modes:
1280 by 720 (50 Hz)
1280 by 720 (60 Hz)
Display Power Management Support:
	Standby Mode:	Not Supported
	Suspend Mode:	Not Supported
	Active Off Mode: Not Supported

* Other names and brands are the property of their respective owners.

Thanks for any help! Jørgen (talk) 18:47, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Note that just because a certain resolution is supported, that doesn't always mean it's supported via all connectors. It's possible that the 1280×720 res is only supported via VGA. You might want to temporarily move the computer close to the TV, so you can test with a VGA cable to see it that works. StuRat (talk) 22:39, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Another option is to go with the 1280×600 res, and adjust the vertical height on the TV (if it is adjustable) to stretch it a bit. Yes, that's not ideal, but you might prefer it over the black bars. StuRat (talk) 22:43, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you, but that is sadly not feasible. As said above, the TV explicitly says it supports the resolution via HDMI. And I do not see whether it works via VGA or not would teach me anything new. Yes, I can stretch the TV picture somewhat, but I think it will make for inferior film-viewing quality... Do anyone know how to force the screen resolution on the computer? Jørgen (talk) 14:04, 18 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

There appears to be something weird about that particular model of TV. According to your TV's manual it would appear to be capable of supporting 720p and 1080p signals received through a HDMI cable (see p.59), yet it only has 1366x768 pixels on the LCD panel (see p.63). I am somewhat unsure how it would display a 1080p image (with 1920x1080 pixels) on the lower resolution screen.

I do know I have no such problems connecting my PC to my Panasonic TV using a HDMI cable, but my TV has the full 1920x1080 pixels and my PC has a HDMI output port. Even so, I think your problem is more likely to do with the PC's display driver - I do wonder why it opts for "plug and play monitor" and restricts you to just 2 resolutions? - or it could be something to do with you converting DVI to HDMI.

One hint: if you do get it working you will need to turn off the "picture overscan" feature (mentioned on p.29 of the manual) or it will crop an annoying few pixels from around the edge. Astronaut (talk) 17:14, 18 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks! I think the TV, if fed a 1080p signal, just downscales it - if I set my TV set-top box or DVD player to 1080p output the TV still works fine. I think you are right in suspecting the display driver. Another annoying quirk is that it has to recognize the TV at start-up time - if the TV is not on and connected when I turn on the computer it won't send any signal when I turn the TV on later. Jørgen (talk) 20:29, 18 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

At work, I have to deal with "data container" classes in C# that have many properties to contain values, and the code that handles these properties makes pretty much similar checks for every property, with the only variations being the name and type of the property. So I got an idea to write a reusable method for the checks, but I don't know how to do that in C#. The idea is, I think, best expressed in C code:

#include <stdio.h>
struct foo {
  int a;
  int b;
};
 void setvalue(int *address, int value) {
  *address=value;
}
int main(void) {
  struct foo testfoo;
  setvalue(&testfoo.a, 1);
  setvalue(&testfoo.b, 2);
  printf("%d %d\n", testfoo.a, testfoo.b);
}

This code prints out "1 2". You'll notice there is not a single direct assignment to testfoo.a or testfoo.b in the code, all assigning is done in the setvalue() function. In analogue with the real-world code, setvalue() is more complex. Is there a way to do such a thing in C#? In C#, the "data container" classes are more like this:

class Foo {
  public int A { get; set; }
  public int B { get; set; }
}

Is there a way to store the "properties themselves" A and B in some variable, rather than accessing their values? JIP | Talk 19:03, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to do. If you use fields, ref does what you want. If you use properties, ideally this kind of checking should happen in the set method; that's what it's for. The notion of a property reference does make sense; it would simply be the get and set methods (as delegates) packaged together. But there's no syntax for that. I don't think C# even lets you refer to these methods (without calling them), even though they're just ordinary methods at the .NET level. You could do something like setvalue((x) => { testfoo.a = x; }, 1);, but it's ugly. You could also consider testfoo.a = checkvalue(1);, where checkvalue either returns its argument or throws an exception. -- BenRG (talk) 10:59, 18 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I am interested in the range of prices at which USB hardware random number generators are available. What are the cheapest and most expensive ones that people know of? Thanks! ╟─TreasuryTag►consulate─╢ 22:18, 17 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

If you have a modern Linux, you can use /dev/random to create hardware (non-pseudo) random numbers. If you need random numbers for security or cryptographic purposes, read the detailed descriptions for your particular Linux and hardware configurations. Some esoteric Linux distributions replace or alias /dev/random with /dev/urandom, which is a software, pseudo random number (which may or may not be hardware-seeded, depending on your system). Again, if you aren't sure of the difference, feel free to ask followups or clarify your question. Ultimately, you need to decide whether a thermal noise meter or a radio-receiver is actually more random than any other set of hardware-seeded random numbers. There's a critical and subtle distinction between "uniformly distributed" and "unpredictable." Similarly, there is a difference between a hardware-based random number and a hardware-seeded pseudorandom generator. Nimur (talk) 02:19, 18 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

That didn't answer the question, though which was about USB hardware random number generators and the prices at which they retail. ╟─TreasuryTag►pikuach nefesh─╢ 08:09, 18 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The point is that a modern computer has a hardware random number generator in it already, so you can get one for zero dollars. Nimur (talk) 13:31, 18 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Is it a USB hardware random number generator? No. What's the matter with you? ╟─TreasuryTag►Speaker─╢ 07:17, 19 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure /dev/random counts as a "hardware generator". It's essentially a software generator whose entropy pool can be configured to use various hardware sources as inputs (Typically mice and keyboards and whatnot, but also the more dedicated hardware devices the poster is probably asking about.) APL (talk) 15:20, 18 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Why is diode shot noise any more random than mouse input? Both are based on non-software interaction between the computer and the physical world. Nimur (talk) 15:57, 18 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I didn't say it was. My point was only that /dev/random itself is a software RNG, that can (optionally, but by default) use some hardware elements. (Potentially even including purpose-built equipment of the sort I assumed the question was about.)

You might claim that the mouse,keyboard, and IDE harddrives themselves form a hardware random number generator to which /dev/random is only the interface. But that's clearly not true. None of those hardware items generate acceptable random numbers. Their only value is as entropy for an actual software-based RNG. The question is about hardware-based RNGs.

So I stand by my comment that, despite it's usefulness, /dev/random does not count as a "hardware random number generator"

However, if you want me to play devil's advocate, I'd say that mice and keyboards generate little to no entropy when there is no user present. Most of /dev/random's commonly used entropy sources fall victim to potential problems along those lines. A default Linux install will typically depend on mouse,keyboard, and IDE. On a server that doesn't access the disk very often the entropy pool can often run dry.

Also the level of entropy from such devices may be significantly less than they appear. (For example, An unattended mouse may continue to report movement, but in a highly repetitive manner.) APL (talk) 18:16, 18 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Resolved