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February 11

OSX Yosemite not opening / launching files / dmg / updates etc.

I don't know if people still answer questions like this here (last time I was *here* was like 2009 or something) but I am having a huge bug with my recently applecare expired macbook pro retina. Now, whenever I double click on a picture on the desktop, or try to install a new program (try to open the .dmg file to allow for installation, or even just update adobe flash, I instead just get a "verifying" pop-up with a security icon that never loads or finishes. So basically I cannot do anything. I can still open files from within programs (like open a picture from the open drop down menu in preview) but I cannot install new programs or updates.

Here is a picture of the messages

Things I have tried : It's not the right click give permission to open apps not from the apple store thing. I checked my security settings. I restarted computer in safe mode and tried. I tried as a different user. I repaired disk permissions. I let someone smart look at what was showing up in the console (they didn't see anything that looked suspicious).

At the very least could someone maybe at least tell me what the actual words I should be using to describe this phenomenon are?

Finally, if the answer is to wipe the whole thing and reinstall the OS, can I still just install Yosemite (Don't want El Capitan yet since have legacy software); how would one then put everything back from time machine without putting back the problem? I used to be really good at Macs until they got sort of automated. I do not want to screw things up more by typing unix code in the terminal based soley on stuff I read in online threads since I don't even know which problem I actually have.

Thanks Saudade7 11:02, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

Unifying devices and e-mail

This may just be a question about the right terminology, as I don't know the right words to google for. But the situation must be not uncommon: I have three devices that each have their own OS and data, which I would like to combine:

1. desktop: my old machine, still running Win XP. E-mail through my main account (not gmail or MS mail, but a domain hosted through a traditional web host), managed with Outlook;
2. laptop: Windows 10; just bought. This apparently requires a Microsoft E-mail Account for some basic functionality;
3. phone: Android; e-mail via gMail.

I forward e-mail from my main account (on the desktop) to the gMail account through an Outlook rule. This is cumbersome (Need to edit the rule constantly because I selectively forward only some mail - I get too much mail through my main account), so I'm looking for a way to simplify my life. Also, any data transfer between the devices currently is through USB sticks or USB cable, which isn't the easiest way. How do others juggle three different devices? --Microsoft User 2016 (talk) 17:18, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

It sounds like you need to exclusively use a server-based email system, like Gmail. This will allow you to access it from any device with an internet connection. Outlook, I believe, works the other way, and downloads email to your device. This is problematic with multiple devices. For now, I'd just forward everything from Outlook to Gmail, and sort it out there. If you are getting lots of spam, then maybe you need to set up some filters, whitelists, or blacklists to stop those. (Note that Gmail still allows you to download things, when you choose to do so.) StuRat (talk) 17:31, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

Thank you for your reply. The bulk of mail is not spam, but just such mails as notifications from web pages I signed up for, or organizations or initiatives I support or follow. Currently I move them to their respective folders and look at them when I feel like it. Over the years, I got quite an intricate system of folders and rules for that; I'm not even sure if I could replicate that on Gmail. Also, that would still not help me with the need for a Microsoft Account, or would it? It seems the MS account is needed to start such simple applications as OneNote, and I thought it would help me unify non-e-mail data across devices. Or can that all be done with Gmail, too? --Microsoft User 2016 (talk) 18:04, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

Regarding "This will allow you to access it from any device with an internet connection." I can do that through Outlook, too, via IMAP, but that comes with its own set of issues. --Microsoft User 2016 (talk) 18:07, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

I don't have any suggestion on the email front, but for data transfer, there are numerous cloud storage options, such as Dropbox and Google Drive. Bluetooth file transfer might also be an option, but possibly not on an XP-vintage PC. --LarryMac | Talk 18:14, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

Actually, that could conceivably be a solution for the email front, too, if I kept a synchronized copy of the Outlook data file on that location, too. (I prefer synchronized because I don't want to be dependent on always having an internet connection. My Outlook file contains information such as appointments which I may need to access on the road.) --Microsoft User 2016 (talk) 18:20, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

I can tell you what I do... I have many email accounts because every university I teach at gives a new one and every organization I work for gives me a new one. I forward all of them to gmail. I use IMAP clients to read gmail (like Thunderbird). I built rules through the gmail web client to put emails in folders based on subject lines, sources of the emails, and other things. Then, if I'm on my own computer, I run Thunderbird. I my phone, I use the built-in IMAP client. If I'm using someone else's computer, I use the web and go to gmail from there. I have only had one downside. When I send email, it always comes from my gmail account. I don't care, but I've had some people ask why I'm using my gmail account when they gave me an email address. I tell them that I always send email from one account so they will know it is me. They accept it. 209.149.115.90 (talk) 18:42, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

Thank you for relating your experience. With your gmail rules, do you achieve that when an unimportant mail arrives, it will not show up as a new arrival, and you won't get the notification sound? Regarding the sender address, Outlook allows to change the sender, but it still says "sent on behalf of ...". Maybe gmail has a similar feature. --Microsoft User 2016 (talk) 19:04, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

When new mail arrives, it gets sorted and then the email program I'm currently using can alert me however I've told it to. Thunderbird has rules per folder - so I can tell one folder to play a deafening siren and another to do nothing. On the web interface, I have no sounds. On my phone, I don't let it alert me at all. When I feel like looking, I see if any folders are highlighted as having new email. This requires me to keep up with the email. I'm not someone who lets emails sit for months and then have over 1,000 "new" emails in every folder. As for the sender email address, you can change it in Thunderbird easily, but that can be overwritten by the SMTP server. GMail's SMTP server ignores your request and uses your gmail email address. 209.149.115.90 (talk) 19:10, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

So I understand the following; please correct me if I'm wrong: The functionality you're describing seems to work for any IMAP account. So it would just as well work with my current (main) account, or with a Microsoft account. The reason why you're using gmail is because the phone expects it. Right? Do you have a Microsoft device that expects a Microsoft account, too? If so, do you use that account at all, or just as a temporary thing to get to the features? --Microsoft User 2016 (talk) 19:28, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

Correct. What I doing works for any IMAP account. I use gmail because it is my personal email account. I assume that I could lose one of the other email accounts at some point in the future (and I wish I could lose some that I don't use and I've lost my password for, but still get forwarded to me). 209.149.115.90 (talk) 19:56, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

Why speakers on bottom of device?

Just out of curiosity: Both my Samsung Galaxy Core Prime phone and my new Lenovo ideapad 100S have the speakers at the bottom of the device. Searching for "why speakers at bottom of devices" gave me http://androidforums.com/threads/why-speakers-on-rear-of-phone.392616/, which (in unnamedny's) reply, at least gave me one reason that would apply to my phone. Their main argument there, that it's for space limitations, doesn't apply to my phone, and certainly not to the laptop, which has plenty of space next to monitor and keyboard. --Microsoft User 2016 (talk) 18:55, 11 February 2016 (UTC) PS: What's a "congabible"? That's the CAPTCHA word I had to enter because of the link. :-) (No need to answer, I know it's random; I just found the word funny.) --Microsoft User 2016 (talk) 18:55, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

Heh! That suggests a challenge. Record the next 5 CAPTCHA "words" one encounters, and write a story that uses them as neologisms. The Congabible could be a definitive dance instructional manual. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 185.74.232.130 (talk) 14:49, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

Hmmm...I assumed it was the regular King James' bible, encoded as a series of complex interpretive dance moves played out to the conga rhythm. This is why it's inadvisable to ask these things on the Computing desk! :-) SteveBaker (talk) 18:30, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

The Lonovo Ideapad 100S uses rather poor speakers (very tinny) to begin with. I assume they figured nobody would care if the sound was also muffled. 209.149.115.90 (talk) 19:29, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

I've seen sub-bass speakers pointed downward. I had assumed that was to transfer the vibrations to the floor or furniture to make that into a larger resonator. StuRat (talk) 20:06, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

That is true. Before answering, I checked to see if these were sub speakers. The Lenovo Ideapad 100S only has two cheap rectangular general purpose speakers. No sub. Found many people complaining that the sound is terrible and others saying that you get what you pay for. 209.149.115.90 (talk) 20:08, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

Yes, sound is tinny, and I'm not complaining; I understand that it saves money. I'm just wondering why in modern devices speakers are placed at the bottom. --Microsoft User 2016 (talk) 23:31, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

One theory: Cheap-ass speakers produce way too much treble and too little bass. Treble tends to be blocked more by solid objects. Thus, one way to fix that problem is to cover the speakers and crank up the volume. Most of the treble gets blocked and the ratio is more acceptable. Of course, if they have treble/bass adjustments, that should fix the problem, too, except those may be absent or of minimal effectiveness on a bad speaker set. So, they just pointed the speakers down so most of that excess treble will be absorbed by whatever's underneath the speakers. You might try putting something soft under them, as that may be more effective at absorbing the treble. StuRat (talk) 04:58, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

Alternative theory: The gap between the laptop and the table improves the acoustic impedance matching by acting as a horn loudspeaker. --Guy Macon (talk) 05:16, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

I'd go with that one. Very *very* many years ago, I worked in the field of telephony in the UK. When the (then very innovative) Trimphone came out, we wondered about the electronics that transformed the electromechanical bell stimulus into a cute warbling tone worked. It turns out that the downward facing speaker did indeed use the air-gap beneath as a resonant chamber....which is why the phone was notorious for sounding crappy when the little rubber feet came unglued. SteveBaker (talk) 18:30, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

(Come to think of it - having read the Trimphone article and stirred a few memories - I think the volume control worked by mechanically raising and lowering the speaker to disrupt that resonance effect!) SteveBaker (talk) 18:34, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

Wouldn't the missing rubber feet cause vibration, and ruin the sound that way ? StuRat (talk) 18:39, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

echo characters onto new lines

At the command line, how might one echo each individual character of a string onto a new line? For example

echo test

would become

t
e
s
t

Thank you 82.44.55.214 (talk) 21:30, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

You didn't specify what OS or what shell you're using, but if you have sed and pipes, you could do

echo test | sed 's/./&\n/g'

Mnudelman (talk) 21:46, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

Thank you 82.44.55.214 (talk) 22:15, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

Battery Warranty

If I have a warranty for my Laptop battery i.e. dying before the warranty ends, will I be able to replace it and get a new one? If so, what percentage does it have to be? Its was bought on 21-12-2015. thrice it was completely battery less, and so on. Its on 21% now. -- Apostle (talk) 21:37, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

There's no percentage batteries have to be at. It's by design that percentage changes as a battery gets charged and discharged. Or are you saying you can never go above 21%, no matter how long you charge it? That would definitely be defective. --Microsoft User 2016 (talk) 23:25, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

The percentage shown in the display just indicates the current state of discharge and is unreliable. If the capacity is only 21% of what it was initially (and as in the specifications), as measured by milliampere-hours, then you have a faulty battery and should claim under warranty. Dbfirs 00:26, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

It says: Wear Level: 21%.

Full Charged Capacity: is where the mWh decreases - I'm measuring it with the Designed Capacity: 48400mWh the software states.

Current Capacity: is where it displays how much it is charging... A few times the mWh did not decrease in the Current Capacity: row. During experimentation.

Note: The last (original) battery lasted since 2012. Designed Capacity was 48400mWh. I've done all sorts of things with and without charging.

Now, this current battery

The battery had something like 1540444mWh (or something alike) on the Full Charged Capacity: that gave just about 5hr 13min. On the battery it says 5200mAh Its reduced to 3hr something (37807mWh) now. However, the Designed Capacity: 48400mWh of the 5200mAh. I guess its a modified version of 4200mAh

I discharged it many times after it was fully charged while it was on. - reduced mwh drastically.

It also switched off by itself automatically (to the power reserve mode) two or three times- reduced mwh drastically - the third time I quickly put to recharge mode cause I knew what it would do to the battery. Yes, I lost mWh but not as much as the last two times. Also note, while it was charging and was trying to go to reserve mode, I manually switched the laptop off - just did not trust anything...

I'm just wondering whether I could change this battery and get a new one cause its been 7 weeks...if so than I can proceed with more experiments...

Apostle (talk) 19:09, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

A lot of modern laptop batteries are more than just a pile of batteries in a plastic box. They often contain a small microcontroller to manage this stuff. Before you try experimenting with your battery - you might want to read the warranty terms more closely because it's very possible that the battery microcontroller is logging your charging and discharging behavior, and if the manufacturer decides that you somehow abused it, they may not replace it for free on grounds that this wasn't "fair wear and tear" usage. That was the case with a reconditioned HP laptop I bought for my mother in law - it had a 1 year warranty on the 3rd party battery they'd used during the refurbishment. But when it failed completely after 10 months they refused to replace it for free because the battery reported that it had been driven down to zero charge over 100 times in 10 months. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper - and eventually haggled a half-price replacement by applying the "If a little old lady can't use it..." defense, loudly, in the store and with a line of people waiting behind me. It is likely that they'll check how you've been using it - and if you've been ignoring the instructions on how it should be charged, they may well not replace yours for free either. Go read the fine print! SteveBaker (talk) 18:19, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

After an analysis, together with your past time scenario, I believe I'm alright, because,

1) the shopkeeper told me to charge it for about four-five hours for the first time. He did not say whether to charge it on/off. The manual however did not say what the shopkeeper said and I followed the manual's one/two line definition statement i.e."Charge it to 100% when it goes to 2% for the first time." - I guess it meant by keeping the Laptop on. There was no other definition/description rather than another section to the statement above i.e. "For maximum power ____________(something)___________ to 70%." Now, before I followed through the first section of the one/two line the manual stated (every time thereafter the first time), I sought advice from you guys and you guys redirected me to the manual - only Stu stated what the electronic shopkeeper stated as above. I knew over charging creates problems, so I took a risk - if this could create a problem than the manual should've addressed it clearly that "Charge for four-five hours non-stop for the first time", not the shopkeeper.

2) Its been 7 weeks, its gone to auto reserve mode three times in a month - not consecutively. Its been charged and discharged a few times while it was on - this should be a minor problem upon which a finger shouldn't be pointed at. I called the guy after messaging you guys because it went up to 21%. It was Friday so I couldn't explain the truth to the guy. He respected me for not disturbing him on his day off and the next day, without a discussion he said that he'll change it. Now, before I called him on Saturday, the battery stopped functioning - it wan't working without the power plug. I thought since he respected me so much I would take my Laptop down and show it to him - I was suppose to do this the first time as he requested but I did not wish to and he trusted me that's why I took it the second time.

Now, if you think the guy might point his finger for the first point, than -- Apostle (talk) 09:46, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

I'm just concerned that you said "..if so than I can proceed with more experiments..." - and if your experiments go beyond normal wear and tear, you might have a hard time getting it replaced under warranty. Just because the battery failed within the warranty period doesn't guarantee they'll replace it for free if there is evidence that there was more than 'fair wear and tear' involved. SteveBaker (talk) 17:15, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

I understand. I would've proceeded, intended to because Dbfirs wished for me to notify about my experience(s) to you all. I just wanted a clarification. Thank you for your posts for analysis...I never knew that battery controller existed... -- Apostle (talk) 20:43, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

February 12

Can we include regular expressions on transitions in finite automata?

It's clear that we can include Regular Expressions on transitions in G-NFA's to convert an NFA into regular expression.I would like to know if we can include regular expressions on transitions in DFA's and NFA's to check whether a string is accepted.Is this possible or could anyone tell why this isn't possible.JUSTIN JOHNS (talk) 07:20, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

Proving that finite automata are a regular language is a common homework problem in discrete mathematics. At least I remember doing that. Because finite automata are regular, you can use a regular expression to define a specific automata. You can also use an automata to represent a regular expression. Quick google brings up these lecture notes on the topic. 209.149.115.90 (talk) 15:20, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

Yeah that's very true.JUSTIN JOHNS (talk) 06:33, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

OFFLINE DICTIONARY FOR A GALAXY TAB3V

Could you recommend a good offline English-English dictionary for a galaxy tab 3v? There are so many. But what you recommend ? Thank you.175.157.48.158 (talk) 09:15, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

www.

Some URLs work fine whether you add www. or not; http://google.com and http://www.google.com take you to the same place. However, this isn't always the case; http://www.co.athensoh.org, formerly the official website of Athens County, Ohio, is a 404 error, so I've had to replace it with the current URL, http://co.athensoh.org, and I've previously seen websites (can't think of a URL now) where www. is required, and omitting it produces an error. Why do some URLs care about the www. and others don't? Is it a setting specified by the webmaster and/or some other technical person running the website (and if so, what benefit is there to requiring one and disallowing the other, instead of accepting both), or is there some other reason? I didn't see anything relevant in URL or hostname, and I don't know what else to call this topic. Nyttend (talk) 14:53, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

First, you need to separate the domain name from the host name. In your examples, google.com is a domain name. athensoh.org is a domain name. wikipedia.org is another domain name. Notice that the domain name is a string of letters followed by .com, .org., .net, .mil. .edu, etc... (ignoring the country-specific codes because they work the same and no point in confusing things). Everything before the domain name is a hostname. For www.google.com, www is a hostname. For www.co.athensoh.org, www.co is a hostname. The domain name is managed by the owner of the website. The hostname allows the owner to have more than one server. You can point a.mydomain.com to one server and b.mydomain.com to another server. You can point www.mydomain.com to one server and mydomain.com (the empty hostname) to another server. For web-based organizations, it is common to make the empty hostname point to the webserver. So, www.google.com points to the webserver and google.com also points to the webserver. But, it doesn't have to be that way. I can point mydomain.com to a server that doesn't respond at all and www.mydomain.com to my webserver. So, as for why it works, it is because the domain managers set it up to work that way. When it doesn't work, it is because the domain managers set it up to not work that way. 209.149.115.90 (talk) 15:16, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

This is not necessarily true – there is no strict and definite distinction between a domain and a server name. In general, any usable 'domain name' is just a string of characters, which gets resolved by the Domain Name System (DNS) to an IP address in the net. The structure of a dot-separated chain of names reflects the hierachical structure of DNS servers' responsibility, so that no server needs to know the whole Internet for the service to work. There are some conventions regarding the meaning of the first and last segments of the domain name, but they are just conventions. Nothing (except your net services provider obeying the convention) prevents you from setting up a HTTP server and assigning its IP address to a service name in a high-level domain name, like www.gov.country – see www.gov.nu for example. One can even assign an address to the highest-level domain itself – see gov.ru or mil.ru. On the other hand one can set-up multiple services on the same machine and assign several names the same IP address. One may also serve different services under the same domain name (and, consequently, the same IP address), because clients to specific popular services make connections through different well-known ports. On the third hand ;) it's possible to assign a pool of addresses to serve very popular domains worldwide (e.g. Google's).
So you answer to the question asked is true, although the explanation is incomplete: some servers respond for both variants of their domain names because their owners took care to register both full and shortened name of their HTTP server in DNS (which may cost some additional money), and some do not because their owners saved money as they don't think users would care to type the www prefix. --CiaPan (talk) 09:07, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

You may notice on television commercials, print ads, etc., that retailers tend to be moving away from the "www" and just going with the domain name. I believe it's just for sake of simplicity. Justin15w (talk) 15:33, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

Recall that the Internet and the World Wide Web are not the same thing. Nowadays, all people use is a Web browser and email—and the email is frequently through a browser too. (Other protocols are certainly relevant (SSH, BGP, DHCP, and innumerable game protocols), but not in the minds of the public.) When it was introduced, "www.mit.edu" meant "the machine at MIT that handles HTTP requests", since many people would be more interested in news.mit.edu or ftp.mit.edu or so. Now the convention is that that machine is "the default" mit.edu, and anything else (e.g., ftp.gnu.org) must be qualified. --Tardis (talk) 16:35, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

When I set up a new website with my internet service provider, I use a handy tool they provide rather than doing it manually. That tool gives me a whole bunch of options to deal with the www thing:

• Redirect www.xxx to xxx
• Redirect xxx to www.xxx
• Allow only xxx
• Allow only www.xxx
• Have www.xxx point to a different page than xxx

Personally, my view is that www is kinda obsolete for most members of the public, so I elect to redirect www.xxx to xxx on grounds that this saves most people from having to go through a redirection step. But it's up to the individual site owner to decide what they want to do with it.

In modern server setups, the original idea that (for example) images.google.com is an identifiable, individual computer that's different from the one that handles (say) www.google.com is far, FAR from the truth of what's going on! Firstly, there is no way that one server could handle all of the www.google.com traffic - so there are multiple physical computers handling those requests. And from a load balancing perspective, I doubt that images.google.com is a different set of physical servers than the ones that handle www.google.com. So the prefix might as well be a suffix - and indeed images.google.com gets you to the same exact page as www.google.com/images.

The URL prefix is fast becoming something of an anachronism for most websites out there. That's not to say that some behind-the-times server setups won't be outdated. Athens County Ohio only has 64,000 residents - and I doubt that with such a tiny tax base, they have much of an IT department running their web site - or much funding to keep it up to date with modern trends. So this is exactly the kind of website that might be stuck in the 1990's way of doing things.

SteveBaker (talk) 18:06, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

SteveBaker correctly describes several concepts that are further explained in our articles:

• Round-robin DNS
• Virtual hosting
• URL redirection
• Load balancing (computing)
• ...and innumerably many more.

The combination of these technologies make it very difficult to identify which physical hardware actually hosts any specific resource. All the many sub-elements of a modern webpage can be simultaneously hosted by many distinct hardware systems; or, many different webpages maybe hosted on one hardware; it is a many-to-many mapping of software-resources onto hardware hosts.

Nimur (talk) 17:17, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Wordpress plugins

I have 2 Wordpress plugins, Read More Right Here and WP EasyScroll Posts. Both work fine, but they aren't compatible with eachother. In order to make them compatible I need to call Read More Right Here's JavaScript function after WP EasyScroll Posts has finished loading the new posts. Normally this should be easy, but for some reason I can't get it to work. The Quixotic Potato (talk) 15:44, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

A problem with spam emails

I'm a BT customer and am wondering if anyone else has recently been having problems with spam emails from an address purporting to be from BT. Over the last twenty four hours or so I have received around thirty emails claiming to be from organisations as diverse as ASDA, Sky Vegas Casino, Argos and even Bathing Solutions, but all originating from the same address, bt.comteam@bt.com. They consist of apparently genuine advertisements, and I have forwarded a selection on to BT as to me this is obviously the work of hackers. It's really starting to irritate me and I'd like to block the address, but I don't know whether that is an address used for genuine BT correspondences. Can anyone tell me if the email address is one used by BT at all, or would I be same to block it. Thanks, 109.154.219.120 (talk) 15:49, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

It took me a bit of digging, but "BT" is British Telecommunications. Nyttend (talk) 16:12, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

I've been having a similar problem and just came to this discussion through Google, although until it was pointed out here I hadn't noticed they were all coming from the same source. You can report stuff like this to abuse@bt.com for them to investigate. I just attached a handful of stuff to an email and sent it to them. As for the address, I don't whether bt.comteam is one of their official correspondences, but perhaps someone else can shed light on that. This is Paul (talk) 13:16, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

I gruess one computer having You email address stored is or was infected with malware, reading out addressbooks to grab email addresses for abuse it as a spam target. Do not open mails from senders You do not know and disable displaying embedded pictures. Those pictures, sometimes a single pixel transparent small, are located on a webserver and downloaded if not disabled to load them. The URL of the one pixel or other picture is unique like a individual hash. Retrieving it marks the smap email a read to send more to this email address. --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 15:46, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

Windows 10 Upgrade

I have reserved my copy of win10 with the app in October. When will it update? -Aryan ( है?) 10:38, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

It will not update until You klick to update it now. You also can download an ISO file of Win 10 an reinstall Your computer from this DVD, You created from the ISO file. Backup all Your data on external device first before You reinstall YOur computer. Using Windows 10 as an Upgrade, You need to have a Win 7 oder 8 license. See the Microsoft page for more information. --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 15:35, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

Can we generate an infinite number of commands in the usual programming languages?

In the same way that we can generate an infinite number of sentences in a natural language (this is only restricted by our memory), is there a limitation of the number of commands (or expressions, or whatever) that can be expressed in a mainstream programming language? Or can we expand a recursive expression as long as we wish? --Llaanngg (talk) 17:31, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

You are entering into a semantic argument. I could infinitely place a function as a parameter for another function as a(a(a(a(a(a(a(a(a(a)))))))))). However, you have to semantically define the language. Is the language anything that a human can dream up or is the language defined as what can be parsed? If it is what can be parsed, the parser will have limitations as to the number of recursive function calls and length of text it can parse as a single statement. 209.149.115.90 (talk) 17:49, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

I mean a real language, not just one that could exist. Is there any limitation for C, Java and the like, besides the obvious limitation of memory and time (in the same way as humans are limited). --Llaanngg (talk) 17:51, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

Neither C nor Java specify a maximum program length: refer to the standardization documents. For example, the Java 7 (SE) language specification or the The C Programming Language book outline which limitations exist on valid source code, and they do not specify a maximum input length. A handful of other, perhaps less universally-known, formally-specified programming languages do specify explicit maximum input length for source code. I can think of a few vendor-specific variants of BASIC or tcl (VAL3 immediately springs to mind) where the user manual explicitly expresses some limitation on source code length. We could quibble about whether these are "language" or "implementation" limitations, but you probably get the idea. Nimur (talk) 17:59, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

I'm not sure I follow what you're asking, but it's pretty trivial to generate an infinite number of different statements in any programming language. In fact it's easier than in a natural language, since there are only a finite number of words in a natural language, but there are an infinite number of tokens that can be used in a programming language. As a trivial example, in C, there are an infinite number of statements of the form "a=a+1;", "a=a+2;", a=a+3", etc. In real life you can of course only have a finite number of these in any one program due to memory constraints. Mnudelman (talk) 21:09, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

The example you mention is also valid for natural languages: "sum one plus one", "sum one plus two", ... and so on. I'd say that any language that can mention infinite numbers is necessarily infinite. --Scicurious (talk) 21:17, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

Well, it's arguable if there is really a word for every integer. Is there a name for Graham's Number (other than "Graham's Number")? I suppose you can just call it "a million million million million ..." and keep it up until the heat death of the universe. Of course the same is true if you tried to express it as a decimal number in a program. Mnudelman (talk) 21:40, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

I am pretty sure there is no name for every integer, but there is always a form of referring to each verbally. I don't know whether using formalized mathematical terminology would imply that you are not using natural language anymore. Scicurious (talk) 23:08, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

You don't need a name for every integer: you can also write "a=1+1+1+1"; etc. with as many repetitions of +1 as you like, and the same in natural language. --76.69.45.64 (talk) 23:49, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

That's the point. If you can expand something like 1+1+1+1+... or one plus one plus one ... you can generate a sentence as long as you want. Scicurious (talk) 13:45, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

Well, mathematically you can construct any number of different programs, but not infinitely many. There are infinitely many legal programs in many programming languages, but they cannot all be generated before the heat death of the universe. But neither can an infinite number of natural language sentences. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 22:43, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

February 13

mATX motherboards bottom connectors are blocked when 2 dual-slot graphics cards are installed

The title describes itself. There is no problem in this Asus Maximus VIII Gene, because its 2 PCIe slots are located at expansion slot 1 and 3. But the majority of micro-ATX sized motherboards have the 2nd PCIe slot located at slot 4, like this MSI B150M Night Elf.

If 2 graphics cards are installed, with the one at the 2nd PCIe slot being dual-width, the connectors at the bottoms of mATX motherboards are effectively blocked, except for those which follows the Asus Gene's slot distribution. What is the purpose of such motherboard design?

P.S: It is somewhat irrelevant, but I have noticed that the Asus Gene run 2 graphics cards at x8/x8, while those such as the MSI Night Elf runs them at x16/x4. I thought they were not designed to run 2 graphics cards at first, but after digging through their specifications, they all support 2-way CrossFireX and/or SLI. Livy (talk) 10:40, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

The M/B ist designed to fit every used component on this from factor. I do not see any electrical reason not to use the slot. If to is the same bus, a shorter slot will occupy the bus longer time for the same data transfer. If You need the slot, look for something like a riser card. --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 15:29, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

February 14

Wireless webcam for Skype?

I've tried to find a true wireless webcam on www.amazon.com and could not see one. I would like to walk around the house having this webcam on my forehead like a headlamp and talk into a built-in microphone hoping that the images and the sound will be input into the Skype application in my desktop. Is it possible? Thanks, --AboutFace 22 (talk) 02:06, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

Pretty much all smartphones could do this directly without needing a desktop, if you can improvise a head mounting. If you want a separate camera, I think most Go Pro style cameras could do this as well. There's probably a cheaper non-branded alternative to those. Fgf10 (talk) 02:48, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

What does this mean?

I am not sure where to post this, so I settled on the Computer Help Desk, here. I was reading a Misplaced Pages article (Auction sniping). In the article, way at the bottom under the "Buy It Now" section, it states: Many of these buyers use custom software to search eBay frequently via eBay's API and RSS feeds in order to see newly listed BIN items before "regular" users have a chance on the standard eBay.com website. These users are actively waiting for new items to be posted and make quick purchasing decisions as these deals usually sell within the first minutes or even seconds. What the heck does that mean, exactly? I am not that familiar with computers and technology, which is why I probably don't understand what it's saying. I also have no idea what all those acronyms mean (API, RSS, etc.). Please advise. In other words, if I want to do this (i.e., find these items before the "regular" users have a chance to), what exactly is it that I need to do? Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 06:13, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

@Joseph A. Spadaro: Become a computer nerd. Nerds rule the world. Basically these people are using software to check for recently added ads.

eBay's API allows someone who writes a computer program to make the program interact with eBay (see Application programming interface).

An RSS feed is a list of stuff, in this case a list of items on eBay.

There is loads of software like this, both paid and free (if you Google "ebay sniper" you will find stuff like jbidwatcher), but it is better to write it yourself.

It is, for example, possible to write software that asks eBay every five seconds: "Do you have an advertisement that mentions the word uranium?".

When eBay API answers that there is an advertisement that contains the word uranium you can make the software warn you (e.g. by sending an email), or you can even make the software buy it without requiring any human input.

Of course this is a silly example, but you get the idea.

If you really want to do this then the first step is to learn a programming language (or to convince a nerd to help you). Most of the people who are doing this kinda stuff professionally have their own custommade software, and they aren't sharing it for obvious reasons. The Quixotic Potato (talk) 06:40, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

Thanks. I am still unclear, but it's starting to make a little bit of sense. So, assuming that I do not use the "automatic purchasing method", doesn't that mean that I would have to be on constant vigil, watching the computer (or my email or whatever), waiting for these "warning" messages? I would have to be staring at my email inbox 24/7, no? Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 06:58, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

@Joseph A. Spadaro: Nope. Most smartphones have the ability to regularly check your inbox, and warn you whenever you have a new message. You can use a browser plugin (like Checker Plus for Gmail) that warns you whenever you receive an email. It can check your inbox every 30 seconds and you can configure it to shout: "You've got mail!". And of course using email isn't required, it would also be possible to write software that sends a text message every time an eBay ad for uranium appears (but it is 2016 and no one uses text messages anymore). The Quixotic Potato (talk) 08:03, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

Screenshot. The Quixotic Potato (talk) 08:16, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

That's my point. I have to be on constant vigil with my email or text messages or whatever warning system I have. Whether I get a "you've got mail" prompt or not, I have to always be keeping vigil with my emails and texts. Right? Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 08:19, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

@Joseph A. Spadaro: Well, to me keeping vigil sounds like you actually have to pay a lot of attention (non native speaker here, please correct me if I am wrong). Many people have an smartphone on them 24/7, and you can configure the smartphone to start buzzing or ringing when you receive an incoming text message. And many people spent most of their time within earshot of a computer with speakers attached, and you can configure the computer to start making sounds when you receive an email. So you don't have to sit somewhere staring at your inbox 24/7, you can just live your life normally, and when the phone rings/buzzes or the computer starts making noise then you'll know that you can buy more uranium (purely for non-nefarious reasons of course). The Quixotic Potato (talk) 08:25, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

Yes, I see. But, your assumptions are inaccurate. I have a computer, but I don't sit at my PC 24/7, obviously. I have a cell phone, but I don't carry it with me 24/7. It might sit on my desk, while I go on about my day. I am not "attached at the hip" with my cell phone and/or computer. So, if I wanted to make sure that I hear these beeps and buzzes and messages, etc., I'd have to keep a vigil on my computer and/or cell phone. Which I would otherwise not do. In other words, me and my cell phone (or me and my PC) could be "separated" for hours at a time (or even days at a time). I know this is not the norm with the younger generation. But, it's quite the norm for us "older" folks. And I am not even that "old". Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 09:07, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

@Joseph A. Spadaro: If you do not sit at a PC 24/7 then you must be very very old. The question "how to relay a message to someone who is walking around outside and doesn't have a mobile phone/laptop with him/her?" is difficult to answer. Walkie-talkies are basically mobile phones, that's too easy. You can use messenger pigeons for fixed locations or maybe a robot (or well-trained dog, or child) or something like that for when you are on the move. Personally I would recommend using something similar to the Bat-Signal, but I don't think that'll work in bright daylight. Maybe you can use a smoke signal during the day. But if you don't bring a smartphone/tablet or computer with you when you go outside then it is probably pointless to relay a message to you that requires the use of one of these devices to act on it. The Quixotic Potato (talk) 09:33, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

OK, thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 10:17, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

Not sure if this would work, but if you are interested in specific items that there isn't a huge demand for, you might still get them before they are posted if you check your e-mail once/twice a day. It would depend on how many other people are using software to search for those items, and how long the delay is between your software finding the item, and it actually being posted. Another option would be to have the software make the purchase for you (similar to algorithmic trading, with all the attendant methods and pitfalls). OldTimeNESter (talk) 13:05, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

Of course none of the people who use this kind of software are able to use a computer/smartphone 100% of the time, which means that they may miss out on certain deals while they are sleeping (for example), but in some cases auction sniping can be lucrative, even if you do it for only a couple of hours per day. The Quixotic Potato (talk) 16:49, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

Note that the option to have the computer buy things for you automatically that match a certain criteria is a very dangerous one:

1) You have to limit the numbers, or you could find you bought a thousand items overnight.

2) You would have to pay attention to total cost, as sometimes an item is listed for $0.01, with all the profit coming from the high shipping costs.

3) It would be difficult to buy the precise item you want. For example, you tell it to buy any "TV sized 42 inches or greater, for sale for under $100", and you may find it selects old analog TVs, as well as remote controls, stands, mounts, and instruction manuals for such TVs. So, you could end up spending lots of money and not actually getting a TV you can use.

4) Another program might figure out what your program is doing, and tailor the descriptions of whatever they are selling to match the description you are looking for: "Pet rock for sale that's great to play with while watching your 42 inch TV". :-) StuRat (talk) 17:20, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

You certainly have to be very alert for those things - when a new game console comes out and is in short supply, you'll see a rash of people offering to sell the box that the game console came in for roughly the price of the game console itself. It's inconceivable that someone would spend several hundred dollars on an empty box - so it's clear that these people are trying to catch out the unwary buyer...and an automatic, software-based buyer would be about as unwary as you could possibly imagine! SteveBaker (talk) 16:53, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Pets and toddlers often show more interest in the box than the toy that came in it, so they must be the ones bidding. :-) StuRat (talk) 17:28, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Not just boxes, but also pictures. However eBay has not taken too kindly to listings which appear to be intend to mislead in the past, even if a careful reading shows the truth . Obviously people may really want to buy boxes and I guess rocks, so there's no clear line. Still even if title says rock (or box or photo), it would probably be smart to at least contact the buyer and make sure they realise what they are getting. If you try to sell your rock for $200 BIN and put it in the TV category (or whatever), I wouldn't give you good chances if the buyer complains regardless of how many times you specified rock in the title or listing. Also, unless you're super effective at sending your rock, the buyer may check and complain before you've sent the item, in which case I suspect you'll have even less chance of surviving a complaint. There are still risks with completely automatic buying, for more subtle problems (intentional or not) perhaps including faulty items and also real working items which aren't supposed to be what your program is buying. But given all I've heard about eBay I don't think it's that extreme. However if you do keep accidentally buying items then complaining or asking for your purchase to be cancelled because you didn't misread the description, it possible eBay will suspend or cancel your account. Nil Einne (talk) 20:38, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Google apps and passwords

The Google system from my point of view consists of platforms (my phone and computer) and their applications which I use (gmail, Google+, Chrome,etc.). Google requires passwords for some of these (gmail) but not those in the public domain, like Chrome.

I have a password on my PC which gives me access to everything Google there. However, I find out, on my phone and any other devices I need a different password.

So I follow the process to get one. I am at the screen on my phone where they want a username and password. I have no password, but I notice that "Need Help" is displayed. I click through the screens to the end. There, they say: "[If you} are trying to sign in to your Google account through a device, mobile app or desktop app, you'll need to enter an app password."

I follow the link which explains in detail what passwords are all about and so on, but it doesn't tell me what I need to know: How do I get a password for this device?

The page helpfully tells me I should go to a certain web site, enter my username and password and type the letters on the screen. Then I am to go back to the application and enter my app password.

There is no contact information given.I would try to contact Google, but I believe that information does not exist anywhere.

I"m serious. This is what happened.

Can you help?

Sorry, I meant to let you know who I am. --Halcatalyst (talk) 20:14, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

@Halcatalyst: An App password is a 16-digit passcode that gives an app or device permission to access your Google Account. If you use 2-Step-Verification and are seeing a “password incorrect” error when trying to access your Google Account, an App password may solve the problem. Most of the time, you’ll only have to enter an App password once per app or device, so don’t worry about memorizing it. Visit your App passwords page. You may be asked to sign in to your Google Account. At the bottom, click Select app and choose the app you’re using. Click Select device and choose the device you’re using. Select Generate. Follow the instructions to enter the App password (the 16 character code in the yellow bar) on your device. Select Done. The Quixotic Potato (talk) 22:08, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

I know. I saw all that information on my phone. You didn't leave anything out; if fact I believe what you wrote is exactly what I saw on my phone. But I still don't know to get out of the endless loop I described above. --Halcatalyst (talk) 23:39, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

Where is the process failing? Can you get to the App Passwords page? What happens when you enter your username and password? Tevildo (talk) 16:49, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Just to clarify, the password you need on the App Passwords page is the password you use to access your Gmail account, not the app password (which hasn't been generated yet). Tevildo (talk) 18:25, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Battery behaviour/usage Log software

Any idea where I could find a good software that logs the battery usage/dealings physically? --Apostle (talk) 21:06, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

@Russell.mo: BatteryMon (screenshot) & BatteryInfoView The Quixotic Potato (talk) 22:28, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

The Quixotic Potato: Hello, is there a software that displays the full battery charging/discharging history? Since day one...? -- Apostle (talk) 18:36, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Maybe. I don't work for the company that manufactured the battery. Maybe they have software like that. But I doubt that they'll give it to their customers. The Quixotic Potato (talk) 22:48, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Thank you, that will be easy for me to follow up on.

How to assess the CAPEX of U-TUBE heat exchanger?

Dear sirs, my name is Saade Haddad, Manager of Zouk power plant in Lebanon. we intend to purchase 3 U-TUBE heat exchangers. I shall be very grateful If you could provide me with a practical procedure that would allow to assess the CAPEX of each heat exchanger, or inform me about references that can help us for this purpose.

Regards

Saade Haddad — Preceding unsigned comment added by 178.135.82.98 (talk) 21:11, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

I assume that by CAPEX you mean "capital expenditure"? If so, I'm afraid we can't give financial advice on the Reference Desks. If, however, you're referring to a performance characteristic of a heat exchanger, we may be able to help, but you'll need to clarify what you mean. Tevildo (talk) 22:36, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

February 15

List of domains accessed

Is there any quick way to extract a list of all domains accessed when loading a webpage. Chrome's developer tools provides access to information like this, but I can't figure out a quick way to extract a list of the domains accessed. Dragons flight (talk) 14:17, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Eh, nevermind. I figure out how to export a request/response list as JSON and wrote a python script to cut out the domains. Dragons flight (talk) 16:54, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

February 16

External drive

I have a 1.5tb drive I am using in a powered USB2.0 external caddy. I have been having trouble unpacking large (multi-Gb files). I recently saved a more modest 1.13 Gb gz file and can't unpack it (tried WinRar and 7Zip). Turns out that the drive is disappearing from the network (and host). I can't even copy the file off the drive without it disconnecting. Experience suggests that heat could be a problem, as with IDE external drives in years gone by, so I have pulled the aluminium case off, and the file is now copying. However it is getting slower and slower from "very fast" down to 330 kb/s.

1. Does the panel think this is still a heat problem?
2. Is this well known with SATA enclosures?
3. What are some cool ways to cool an external drive? (I have a bunch of fans, heatsinks, tubes of Arctic Silver and Peltier devices knocking around...)

All the best: Rich Farmbrough, 02:12, 16 February 2016 (UTC).

Others will know a lot more than I will about this. But you can download Speccy, here - choose the free download. Then run it and it will show you a lot if information about your computer. Look in the "Storage" section at the temperature of the drive. I think they should be under 50C, but it may vary by brand/model. Most of mine are running under 35C but I have one that is at a marginal 50C. Anyhow, to me it sounds like your drive is failing. Bigger ones are pretty cheap these days and USB 3 is a lot faster than USB 2, if you can use it (it is also backwards compatible). I got a 5TB USB drive for about $120. 5TB is the sweet spot right now - the largest for the money. The 6TB ones cost more per TB. Bubba73 02:45, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

S.M.A.R.T. confirms that there was a temperature problem. It also shows that my main drive has been running for 7 years. Probably time for new hardware all round. Stuff is more expensive in the Uk sadly. All the best: Rich Farmbrough, 03:25, 16 February 2016 (UTC).

The drives installed in external cases are less cooled then internal drives. Some of them have identiocal specifications and internal drives can be installed into such cases and connected to the USB adapter. Some cases are just designed for eyes only. Missing thermal a design and not shockproof at all, be carefül You spend money for. Some failures result from a voltage drop of the 5 volts. It is not recommended to use a charger to power the drive. Chargers may not be designed to cover brownouts. Before opening the case, check if file system did not cut the oversize file silently. --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 15:22, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

Comments on You Tube

When I view a video at You Tube, I can leave a comment under the video. Is there any way to later edit that comment? And/or to delete it? Or are there no such options? I could not seem to find anything. If I want to correct a typo/error, what do I do? Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 06:13, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

Also: how come I am able to "reply" to the comments of some You Tube users, but not others? Some users have a "reply" button underneath their comment, but some do not. Why is this? Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 06:32, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

Youtube's new Google+-based comment system isn't backwards compatible with the old one, so comments left before a certain date cannot be replied to. The Quixotic Potato (talk) 07:14, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

Stuck in 'Special characters' ?

I have had and am still having a problem editing in commons. The problem is such that I cannot ask for help there. I cannot even type four tildes to sign. I went to the Teahouse yesterday at 5.24am and asked for help there in a section I titled 'Stuck in special characters'. . The advice I was eventually given was to post here. I am copying the text below:

Enter more ~ ? --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 15:14, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

Please see the copied text in the section below. SovalValtos (talk) 18:07, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

Stuck in special characters

Note: this is a duplication of conversation that took place at the Teahouse.

I am having a problem on commons which means that I cannot sign with four tildes. I am not familiar with the commons version of the Teahouse but I suspect the problem is not specific to commons rather to me! The colons at the start of a line are also not displayed or inserted correctly. I think I must have got stuck in special characters and cannot work out how to escape. Most embarrassing, help please. SovalValtos (talk) 05:24, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Hi SovalValtos. I looked at what occurred but I was hoping for some clarification of context. Assuming you are using a relatively standard QWERTY Roman alphabet computer keyboard (if not clarify that), are you saying that when you try to place colons by hitting shift and the colon key to the right of the "L" key, you place triangular IPA colons like this ː rather than standard colons? And when you press shift plus the key for tildes – just above the tab key and to the left of the 1 key, it somehow does not work? What happens when you try?--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 16:39, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Don't forget that the position of some keys will vary according to the keyboard layout. On my UK keyboard the tilde is shift + hash, on the right, not at the top left as you describe. --David Biddulph (talk) 17:20, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Please note I am likely to use words in a non technical and perhaps confusing manner. Replying first of all to Fuhghettaboutit. There is no problem in my current editing on the Teahouse. The problem is only on commons. I am using a relatively standard QWERTY key board on a Toshiba laptop which is just over 3 years old. I have just checked and the problem is evident on other pages on commons, but I shall refer to the page for my explanation, and to the section Commons:Deletion requests/File:Boron5 a Boston terrier.jpg where my edits have been made.

The first visible abnormality shows when I press the 'edit' at the end of the title line of the Boron5 section. The edit box that appears, unusually has a sub box at the top, with several lines of symbols. Currently 'symbols' is selected within that box to the left, though I can change to IPA or Latin.

If I then place the cursor at the bottom of the edit box in the usual manner to start a new edit, and then press together shift and the semicolon keys a faint version of a colon appears. If I then repeat shift + semicolon the faint colon is changed to showing just the top dot rather than adding the expected second faint colon to the right of the first one. A third press of shift + semicolon returns the first colon to two dots and completes the second faint colon. The faint colon could be what you describe as a 'triangular IPA colons' but I can only see the triangles after magnifying the page considerably and I find the page you linked, triangular IPA colons like this ː confusing.

Tildes. After completing the text of my edit the first press of shift + # gives what looks like a very small tilde up high in the place where an apostrophe would normally go. A second press of shift + # moves it down to where a comma would normally appear. Even when I had four of them and I tried to save the page, it did not have the effect of signing.

There were further problems when I tried to make a strike through, but I will not go into that now unless you want as I think the problem must be based around having accessed the symbols box, activated it, and not knowing how to get out of it.

David Biddulph I do not think it can be due to my keyboard layout as I am having no problems here. Luckily so as I would not be allowed to ask a question without being able to type four tildes!

Thank you both for your time. SovalValtos (talk) 19:06, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Hey again SovalValtos . I don't have the slightest clue what could be causing that nor how it could be stuck and I would think virus, except it's too weird that it only does it there. My half-assed technical advice would be to clear your cache, dump all cookies, restart and if that doesn't fix it, post to the computing section of the reference desk with the context you posted here. You might also tell them the browser you're using and your operating system. Tech gurus also hang out at Misplaced Pages:Village pump (technical), though I suppose technically its; for Misplaced Pages questions, but I doubt anyone would jump down your throat for posting about a Commons issue. Best regards--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 00:03, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

Again please do not underestimate how dim I can be. It could be something as simple as not knowing to click on the red X to close a page! I have found how to get rid of the box at the top of the edit box. There is an arrow at the left of 'Special characters' which toggled them out of sight. However the weird colons persist. I think I have completely cleared the cache including Favorites website data. I do not know how to 'dump all cookies'. I have Windows 8.1 and Internet Explorer 11.0.28 . I have a paid version of Avira anti virus recently renewed.

My editing on Misplaced Pages as here is unaffected. I am not a total tyro (10,000) edits but stick to the restricted paths I know, so some things you might expect me to be aware of, I can be in ignorance. Thanks in advance. SovalValtos (talk) 11:19, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

USB cables

Is there a physical difference in USB cables that makes them slow charging vs. fast charging? I have a USB cable that came with my Raspberry Pi which I'm using to charge my phone. It's plugged into my laptop (which itself is plugged in and charging using the cable that came with the laptop). And my phone is telling me that it is charging slowly. I'm working from home today and that is the cable that is available. Meanwhile, I have a cable at work that is plugged into my monitor which my phone has no speed warnings with. So, is the difference in the cables? Or just what? Thanks, Dismas| 14:27, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

Yes. The fast charging cables typically have DATA+ and DATA- shorted. This allows more current to the phone (typically jumps from 500mA to 1.5A or 2A I believe?) Justin15w (talk) 15:06, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

Interesting, Justin15w! So how can one tell the difference, if one doesn't have a device that displays a message like "charging slowly"? — Sebastian 17:54, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

See also USB specifications and the specifications of USB plug chargers. Those need to be save and cheap. How would You design an inexpensive charger? --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 15:13, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

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