Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2009 September 10

Welcome to the Wikipedia Computing Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

September 10

Youtube

On Youtube, why do some users post replies saying "Oh" or "Thanks" or any other word that shows they understand? It's pointless to do that. Jc iindyysgvxc (talk) 05:42, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Oh. Zunaid 09:15, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I don't think this is unique to youtube. On the internet, it's not easy to tell whether the person you're talking to understands what you're saying. So it's a courtesy to let you know that they do. Zain Ebrahim (talk) 09:27, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Expressing gratitude is a normal part of social behaviour in many cultures. Indeed it's often expected behaviour in some situations. Saying 'thanks' is a common way to express gratitude and it may not be intended simply to convey that they understand what was said. Nil Einne (talk) 19:25, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

realistic images

I have seen a 40 minute section of the last film made by Marilyn Monroe that stops halfway because she died. Isnt technology able to finish the rest of the film off realisticlly? that would be great —Preceding unsigned comment added by Payneham (talk • contribs) 06:29, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

No, technology is not yet that far advanced to create a photorealistic moving image with virtual human characters.83.100.250.79 (talk) 16:43, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

The uncanny valley is even worse for performers we already "know" than for a generic person. Of course, you don't actually need high technology to finish a movie when the star has died, if you're willing to make a few artistic compromises. --Sean 19:50, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

The hardest part at this juncture is not that Monroe is dead, but that probably everybody else is as well. If it is just one person, you can get pretty creative. A whole cast is a lot harder, though. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 03:51, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Not even Crysis or that tech demo from Naturalmotion can do such a convincing portrayal of Monroe. It'll take years before we see such effects, as CGI technology is still a bit far from perfect. Blake Gripling (talk) 06:09, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

As Plan 9 from Outer Space shows, finishing a film after an actor's death can wind up in uncanny valley even without technical help. -- Q Chris (talk) 12:42, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

There have been films in which deceased actors have appeared. One was a film starring a comedian playing a private eye, which simply edited in bits of old film with film sets constructed to match them. A Woody Allen film had his character appearing in old film clips - might have been called Zelig - I'm not sure. There may have been others. When fully realistic animated characters do appear, it will be interesting to see what happens to the star system and 'star' remuneration. 89.243.184.30 (talk) 19:58, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Mobile dictionary

I have Nokia 6630. I want a free English dictionary for it. Also, it doesn't have reminders, stop watch, and countdown timer. Where can I get these? Thanks. --Siddhant (talk) 07:05, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Website Hosting Provider

Hi, How can I find out who the Hosting Provider for www.rvis.edu.bh is? Thank you. 80.88.241.94 (talk) 09:13, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Whois services don't seem to work for .bh, but a traceroute says cox.net --Tagishsimon (talk) 12:49, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Looking for a paper forms designer

I'm looking for some freeware that can design paper forms that can be printed out. I have found one or two programs to do on-screen computer forms, but that is not what I want. Does anyone know what software can be used to easily design paper forms please? 89.242.155.121 (talk) 11:54, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

How about OpenOffice Word Processor or Spreadsheet? Nimur (talk) 14:16, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Which side of printer paper best to print on - shiny side or matt side?

The printer paper I've used has one side which is somewhat smoother or shinier than the other side. Which is best to print on? Thanks 89.242.155.121 (talk) 11:55, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Depends on the type of printer and the paper. The paper packaging usually has an arrow or other instructions to show the printed side or first printed side. Since the sides are not the same, this appears to be other than plain bond. Or; you can use the empirical method and try both sides. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 12:21, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

If it's photo paper, you want to print on the side which has been treated to reduce ink absorption and bleeding. Usually this is the smoother, glossier side (the surface treatment fills in cracks in the paper, and photos normally have a slightly glossy sheen), but as Gadget850 says, you want to look at the packaging for your specific paper. -- 128.104.112.179 (talk) 15:57, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

You are making the assumption this is an inkjet printer. I have special paper with a glossy side for my color laser for high quality printing. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 17:46, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

The paper is just cheap paper mostly used for black and white printing of text, on an inkjet. I rarely print in colour. I've never seen an arrow on the packaging. The difference between each side is only moderate. The two or three different brands of paper I've used all have this difference between sides. 78.145.31.35 (talk) 12:06, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

BASIC-like languages to use on a PDA and a PC

I anticipate buying a PDA. Which BASIC-like languages will run on a PDA and a PC also please? (BASIC = Beginners All purpose Symbolic Instruction Code). Which PDA I buy depends upon which languages and software will run on it - I know nothing about PDA operating systems. Thanks. 89.242.155.121 (talk) 12:02, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

If I recall correctly, Windows Mobile devices (including cell phones and PDAs) support almost the full set of Microsoft's Visual Basic (which, as you may know, is derived from the original BASIC architecture, with some significant changes). Most Visual Basic designed for the mobile platform can be seamlessly ported to the PC (you may need to recompile or slightly modify your code, depending on features you use). You can download a free version of the Visual Basic compiler from Microsoft here. Microsoft's MSDN Developer Network also hosts a portal with a bunch of tutorials and help for Windows Mobile Development with Visual Basic. Nimur (talk) 14:00, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Cheap and safe batteries for my TI_89 Titanium

I just saw the BATT sign in light letters over a dark background. It only appears when doing calculations but I guess it is a warning that I should replace batteries (hopefully only the AAA cells). I would normally just buy non-rechargeable alkaline cells but I wanted to know what you guys suggest? Should I even consider rechargeables instead? Are my batteries supposed to die within a year? I have Duracell pile alkaline right now (the ones I got with the calculator). I also have another calculator that I use. The older Casio fx-991MS that I had since about five years ago has not had a battery change for the last three years. (Oops, forgot to sign.) Kushal (talk) 12:30, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

You're seeing a dynamic power load - which means that when the calculator's microprocessor is operating for an intense calculation, it consumes more power than when it is idle. During calculation, more parts of the CPU's internal circuit are on; this typically means a larger current is drawn from the batteries. Normally, that's not a problem, but as batteries age, they are less able to deliver their full dynamic range of current at a constant voltage; so as the CPU demands more current, the battery starts lowering its voltage. The warning indicator is exactly that - an early warning. The next failure-mode is hopefully a LDO - a circuit protection mechanism that sense the voltages are too low, and shuts down the CPU entirely. In the literal sense, the batteries are not dead - there is still chemical energy in them, and there is still a voltage and a capacity to drive a current - but digital devices prefer to operate only if the voltage is guaranteed to be high enough for a guaranteed correct answer. So, if your calculator refuses to turn on, you might still measure voltage on the batteries - but they still need replacement. Usually, LDOs exist to prevent any permanent damage to the circuitry, so in general, it's possible to run that calculator until it simply refuses to turn on anymore without any risk of damage. From the reviews I'm seeing online, it looks like TI added a backlight to the calculator, and a lot of people are saying that it reduced the battery life. My old TI-85 ran for some ten years on 4 AA cells; my TI89 ran for about 2 years or so; and they keep releasing new models with beefed-up processors and memory each year, probably at the expense of battery life. I now use my TI calculators fairly intermittently; I haven't needed to replace their batteries in at least four years. Nimur (talk) 14:12, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I guess the calculator tries to avoid using the backup battery as much as possible so is using the AAA batteries for pretty much everything, if possible. Kushal (talk) 11:21, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

The button cells are to power the NVRAM, which stores things like your last-entered commands, stored variables, certain programs, etc. However, the button cell doesn't ever power the CPU on the calculator. Nimur (talk) 13:22, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

I suggest Energizer L92 lithium cells (non-rechargeable). They are expensive and in this situation the extra energy they hold isn't important. The reason to use them is that alkalines are more likely to leak goo all over the insides of your calculator if you leave the same set in place for a whole year. If you use rechargeables, get the kind that are already charged when you buy them (Sanyo Eneloop is the best known brand like that). The pre-charged cells have lower capacity than the non-pre-charged ones, because they use a different formulation that stops the charge from leaking out ("self-discharge") within a few months. In general they are more reliable than the non-pre-charged cells too, and they cost about the same. Their only disadvantage is you have to recharge them a little more often. 70.90.174.101 (talk) 18:12, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Thank you for the response. My big brother eBay has http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Ultra-AAA-850-mAh-Rechargeable-Battery-4-Pack_W0QQitemZ230376349954QQcategoryZ48621QQcmdZViewItem as a daily deal. These are five dollars and free shipping. Kushal (talk) 20:01, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

PC problems

I downloaded something a few weeks ago an now every time I switch on my computer I have to close several windows that are asking my to clean my registry. There is nothing wrong with my registry. I have tried to delete every file I can fin concerning Winferno, but to no avail. Any sugestions? also, I have pretty much filled both of my hard drives. Mostly with music, so now I want to buy an external harddrive and move all the music there, how will this affect Itunes? can I just move Itunes to the new drive? how will I do this? Any sugetsions? Thanks alot, you people are great! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.18.35.133 (talk) 13:01, 10 September 2009 (UTC) This query transferred from Misc. Desk.86.4.181.14 (talk) 13:12, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Try Superantispyware— it gets the highest ratings in several tests, it has a free version and it has killed some very bad rootkits for me. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 13:21, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

TVs as Monitors

How well do modern flat-screen TVs function as computer monitors? Years ago we had a TV out card for our computer hooked to a CRT television, and while graphical programs like games looked decent, text which was legible on the monitor was unreadable on the CRT. I'm assuming this was due to the low resolution and the analog nature of the CRT TV. However, HDTVs are much higher resolution, and are intrinsically digital. If you hook up an HDTV to a computer with a DVI->HDMI converter, how well does it work? Would it be possible to use an HDTV as a computer monitor, or would you still have unreadable text, fuzzy resolutions, etc.? -- 128.104.112.179 (talk) 16:06, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes it works, minimum resolution is ~768 x 1024 , which is fine for the destop. Using a digital connection will mean that the signal has no problems.83.100.250.79 (talk) 16:23, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

It looks fine, just like a monitor, more or less. You can usually set the computer output to be the same as the TV's native resolution, so it looks just like a regular LCD screen. Many new LCDs come with VGA and DVI ports on them to plug into computers. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 16:37, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes, it works. Couple of things to keep in mind - most HDTVs are widescreen, so you'll need to adjust your aspect ratio (Windows does do this semi-automatically, but you'll need to select what resolution etc. you want). Also, TVs are generally a lot brighter than monitors are. That makes sense as you typically sit much further away from a TV. The solution there will depend on where you plan to sit - if you're going to use it just like your old monitor, you'll need to adjust your brightness settings or risk some eyestrain. Matt Deres (talk) 16:53, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

98 is correct, but you will find that the vertical dimension of the TV will be frustratingly small. When viewing Web pages you'll be scrolling up an down a lot more than you did when you used a monitor. Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:15, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I have a PC connected via HDMI to a 50" flat screen in the family room. Works great for music, videos, games, webcam conferencing, internet video like Hulu and YouTube. The resolution is great, but it is too large for continued comfortable use in word processing and the like. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 17:35, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I set up a PVR for a friend. They use it with their 42 inch Samsung LCD true HDTV (i.e. 1080p native resolution) as their sole computer, including internet access and whatever wordprocessing needed. While they've only had it for about 1.5 months I haven't heard any complaints yet and have even used Google Sketchup with it to sketch their garage and other things. Obviously a decent wireless mouse and keyboard are needed. You may also need to increase the font size. Note that even with a SDTV you can get acceptable results (I wouldn't recommend it for continuous use but acceptable for some browsing etc) if you use component ideally with the thing closest to the TV's native resolution (720x576 or 720x480) and a larger font size. Nil Einne (talk) 19:20, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

My experience from setting my wife's computer up on our 42" HDTV is that the pixels on the television are not crisp. They bleed into each other just a bit - which is outstanding for watching movies. It makes it hard to read small text. My monitors on my computer are different. If I look closely, I can clearly see each pixel. That makes reading text much easier. I believe it to be by design. Televisions are designed to optimize movies. Monitors are designed to optimize text. -- kainaw™ 04:02, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

I don't think it's supposed to do that. PC inputs on TVs should bypass all the post-processing (at least it does on mine), perhaps your resolution is wrong or there's overscanning? --antilived^{T | C | G} 11:47, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Agreed is the 42" a real HDTV i.e. 1920x1080? From my experience when looking for HDTVs for a friend many older so called HDTVs especially plasmas are not and are usually only 1372 or something (here in NZ they call them HDTV ready). If you plan to use your HDTV with a computer and text I would strongly recommend a real HDTV with 1920x1080 native resolution and not one with a lower resolution Nil Einne (talk) 12:30, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Darkening a PDF file

Is there anyway to darken a PDF file? The way in which the text was initially scanned resulted in the PDF text being too light to read when printed. DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 16:47, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

There should be and option in adobe...if not there should be a program that can help.Accdude92 (talk) (sign) 17:03, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Update: Try photoshop.Accdude92 (talk) (sign) 17:05, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Alternatively, when you print, check the printer settings in those printing dialog boxes. Most printer manufacturers' drivers have a "darken" setting where you can darken the printout by a certain percentage. Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:34, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

It is unfortunately harder to edit the PDF images that one would imagine; the tools are all there but few can do more than one page at a time. If you have access to OS X, you can save PDFs with a number of quartz filters, including one that is "lightness decrease", which can help improve contrast. But I don't know of any Windows software that lets you do the same thing in one easy step. Photoshop will work if it is only one page, it doesn't handle multi-page well (it doesn't really handle one page well, either). --98.217.14.211 (talk) 03:47, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Partitioning and dual-booting

Okay, I know this is kind of a long and detailed question so I'll give a quick summary here so people will know straight off if they can just skip this. I'm getting a new computer with no OS installed. I have a legal Windows XP disc and I have an Ubuntu disc. In the end, what I would like is a dual-boot system with, if possible, equal access to the various files (mp3s, pictures, etc.). I have a variety of questions about how best to achieve this.

First, which comes first - Linux or XP? Does it matter? I assume that I'll need an OS running before I try partitioning, etc. I'm leaning toward XP first because it's what I'm familiar with.

Second, what is the most reliable/best way to partition? In the past, I've used PowerQuest Partition Magic without any complaints, but I've heard grumblings here that it's no good. If it's no good, what's a better choice?

Third, PowerQuest also makes a program for setting up dual-boot systems called Boot Magic. My default plan was to try that, but if PowerQuest is shaky, what's a better option for setting up the boot options? Upon start-up, I'd just like a screen presenting me with the choice of OS or something equally simple.

On my previous computers, I had made up three partitions: one for Windows, one for applications and games, and one for files. That's always worked fine for me and I believe that setup has reduced the amount of fragmentation. With two OSes, I assume I'll need a fourth partition for Ubuntu. With this setup I've described, would both Windows and Ubuntu have access to the "files" partition? If not, is there a better way?

I know this is a lot of questions. If there's a website that walks me through this stuff, please just direct me there. My access to the web is very touch and go right now, so combing through a lot of sites is not really an option at this point. Very many thanks in advance. Matt Deres (talk) 17:45, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Assuming your computer can boot from CD (which if you bought it from any reputable manufacturer it should), then I would boot from the XP CD and install that first. Don't bother partitioning or installing a bootloader, as Ubuntu will take care of that during the install. The Ubuntu installer has a built-in partitioner. By default, it takes up the whole hard drive, but it's very easy to enter manual mode, leave the XP partition in place, then create additional partitions for Ubuntu. You need at least two (and probably 3) separate partitions: a partition mounted as /, a swap partition, and (recommended, but not necessary) a partition for /home. You can also mount the Windows partition in Ubuntu as (for example) /windows, making for easy access to Windows files. Be sure, however, that you are not formatting the Windows partition. It's recognizable as the one with a file system of NTFS, so triple-check that you are leaving that partition alone (there should be a box option to format it, you should untick it if it's ticked, then mount it if you would like). Once Ubuntu is finished installing, it will install the GRUB boot loader which will automatically detect XP and configure everything in that area. Then everything should be set up - just remember that GRUB settings (default wait time, default OS, etc.) can only be changed from Ubuntu. Xenon54 / talk / 19:38, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

first: xp first, then ubuntu. XP has a bad habit of thinking it owns the whole disk, and is prone to overrighting the boot sector (and so hiding ubuntu's boot option). While you can do it the other way around (which often involves changing windows' boot.ini) it's easier to go XP then ubuntu

second: ubuntu has its own partitioner; it'll safely resize the XP partition, create its own two partitions (a normal partition and a swap partition), and will set the boot sector up correctly

third: stick with what ubuntu installs

fourth: ubuntu will read and write to ntfs and fat32 partitions as well as many unix-flavour type partitions (ext2, ext3, reiser, etc.) XP will only read and write ntfs and fat32. So a shared partition between the two has to be either fat32 or ntfs. NTFS is mostly the better option (better pathnames, better filename-charset, more efficient and less fragmentation) but occasionally I've had XP complain about NTFS volumes that linux touched last. FAT32 is safe, but a bit dumb.

I don't think you'll need a tutorial for this; ubuntu will do the install and things will just work. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 19:41, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Wow, thanks very much for those detailed (and reassuring!) replies. A couple of follow-up questions: Will the partitions Ubuntu creates show as different logical drives? That's the definition of "partition" that I'm familiar with, but the use above of / has me thinking that these are just directories. On my current machine (before dying), I had C: for Windows, D: for the various programs, and E: for the files. If Ubuntu works best with three partitions, am I looking at C: through H: kind of thing? Or is it more like C: through F:, with, say, the E: drive for Ubuntu being split into the home, swap, etc. I'm completely okay with multiple logical drives; I just want to make sure I'm not misunderstanding the situation. Along that same vein... if Ubuntu can simply make the partitions as needed, will it be okay to use it to create the partition for the Windows-based applications and games, or will XP not like that? Thanks again! Matt Deres (talk) 20:51, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

The drives ubuntu creates won't be visible (as drive letters) in Windows at all (they're visible in the disk admin plugin, which helpfully calls them "unknown"). When you're booted into ubuntu, drives aren't given drive letters at all; there's only one big disk heirarchy, and different disks are mounted into it. So / is the root of the heirarchy, and will be where your main ubuntu disk will be mounted. A CDROM will be mounted (as needed) somewhere like /media/cdrom, a usb stick as something like /media/disk, and the windows partition as something like /media/localdisk (I can't remember the last one specifically). Ubuntu should set all these mounts up automatically. I don't agree with Xenon54 on one point; I don't think that you, as a beginner, should create a special /home partition, just stick with a regular / only. I don't understand your last question - XP will make its own partition, and ubuntu will just resize XP's partition (making it smaller, so that there's space for ubuntu). Personally I'd recommend you do just the basic XP install, then the ubuntu install, and verify both are okay and bootable before you install lots of apps and stuff in XP (so that way if you somehow mess up entirely, you've not zapped lots of work). -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 21:07, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I'm probably not using the correct terms. On my previous systems, I split my physical hard-drive into three logical drives. So, while my old floppy drive was the A: drive, and Windows was on its customary C: drive, I also had a partition to make a D: drive, which is where I installed all my games and applications, and a partition to make an E: drive, which is where the media files (music, video, pictures) were. My DVD-RW was mounted as the F: drive. By default, I believe it was lettered as the E: drive, but got automatically reassigned when I used PartitionMagic to remap the other two drives. (For that matter, and this is besides the point, I also had drives F: through J:, which were DVD images created using Daemon Tools). What's slowly sinking through my skull is that this is all just Windows-based thinking and that I'm probably best off to take your advice to not install too much and just try using it for a bit and see how things operate. Should I mess it up entirely, a wipe can always be done. :-) Matt Deres (talk) 00:15, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Here's a couple things to keep in mind: disk partitions are the same in Windows and Linux. But they put different file systems on the partitions: Windows uses NTFS these days, and Ubuntu usually uses Ext3 by default. Each OS can only boot from its own partition type, so the Linux system partition should probably be ext3. But if you're dual-booting, you'll be able to open up your NTFS partitions in Ubuntu as if they were just another folder. (On my computer, my Windows "C:\" drive shows up in Ubuntu as "/media/disk") You can even use an NTFS partition as your Home directory. But Windows doesn't have very good support for other filesystems besides NTFS and FAT32. You can give ext3 partitions a drive letter in Windows and open them normally, but you need to install some software. Anyway, if you're going to create a partition that both OSes will use (like one for Windows apps and media), I'd recommend formatting it as NTFS. Indeterminate (talk) 11:19, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

You can also install ext3 filesystem drivers so you can access your ubuntu files in XP. But you need to do this *AFTER* you are happy with ubuntu, cause most of them don't like it if you repartition after you install the drivers. http://www.fs-driver.org/ has a download for it, and it's free. if you do this, then Windows can "see" the partitions, and they WILL become D:, F: etc.Rbmj (talk) 18:57, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

Software diversity and the spread of malware

Have any studies been done, with real networks or simulations, on how using a mix of different software configurations with different immunities and vulnerabilities affects the spread of malware through e.g. a large corporate office or a college campus? NeonMerlin[1] 18:18, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Here's one: Key Factors Influencing Worm Infection in Enterprise Networks. Is that the sort of thing you're looking for? Indeterminate (talk) 10:36, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

A worm can only spread if it can run on both the source computer (an infected computer that is trying to spread the worm) and the destination computer (a vulnerable computer that the worm is trying to infect). If the source and destination computers are running different OSes, or different processor architectures, this is difficult.

However, it can be done. Some security vulnerabilities can be exploited without knowledge of the underlying machine architecture: for instance, if a Web app has a bug that allows an attacker to execute a shell command with the Web server's privileges, you don't need to use a buffer overflow to break in. In such a case it would be possible to write a worm entirely in a high-level language (such as Perl, Python, or shell) which would affect any compatible OS regardless of processor.

That said, in the real world, most worms are non-portable, and writing portable worms is much harder than just writing a worm for the most prevalent OS and architecture (which is to say, Windows on x86). This means that diversity is a practical security benefit, even though theoretically it can be defeated. Of course, in the real world there is pretty much only one processor architecture these days (even Macs are x86 now!) and only three OSes (Windows, MacOS, and Linux). So anyone running on something different benefits from security-by-unpopularity. --FOo (talk) 06:01, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Spinning and spinning

I am on an computer with Internet Explorer. I copied and pasted a URL that just left the circle spinning and spinning. I tried clicking on "Back" because I wanted to go back and look at something I was looking at before. Nothing. I tried copying and pasting a new URL. It's still spinning. I copied and pasted the URL that was there to begin with and tried it somewhere else, using a search function, and that worked. I went back to the other screen and typed hotmail.com, and got "http://hotmail.com is currently unavailable."

Now, if I do that here ... Okay, now this one is spinning.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 21:01, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

This is a typical symptom of a bad Internet connection. Try disconnecting and reconnecting. Comet Tuttle (talk) 21:06, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Nothing wrong with the connection. I got here just fine on this screen.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 21:09, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Now the circle is rotating more slowly on the two screens. The text above is still on that other screen. Copying and pasting the addresses the computer is trying to go to on those other screens gets me the result I did with hotmail. I got there, though, on another screen.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 21:11, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I decided just to click on the red X in the upper right corner. I got a message saying "busy" and that closing might cause problems. Do I want to anyway? I did. No problems. Everything is normal. I'm going home.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 21:20, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

OK, the "Busy" message indicates that Internet Explorer is, well, busy. I have seen this occur a lot on computers that don't have enough RAM memory and the machine basically sits and spins for a while as the hard disk thrashes. Have you tried installing more RAM? Try running with fewer Internet Explorer windows - each one consumes memory and makes less memory available for the system. Comet Tuttle (talk) 22:37, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I'm running 64-bit IE on 64-bit Vista with 6 Gigs of RAM and some very long pages still give me this. I normally have to kill the process. I think it's just a problems with IE sometimes. --Phil Holmes (talk) 08:37, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

The computer is fairly new, but it's not mine. I am aware I should have fewer windows, but I'm doing a lot of different things at once and I need them all. In one case, I had a PDF version of a magazine article from the library databases, and then I discovered I could get to the same article on the magazine's web site (meaning my citation of that article on Wikipedia could be made more useful; I was also contributing to Wikipedia at the time), so that's where I was when I decided to try a web site I hadn't seen before. My guess is there was something wrong with the site, and next time I figure out how to get there, I'll tell you.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 15:41, 11 September 2009 (UTC)