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Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2010 January 16

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January 16

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Images in Wikipedia don't show up

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Images in Wikipedia don't show up in my computer. I tried Internet Explorer and Firefox. There are no pictures showing up either I login or logout. I have no problems viewing pictures on other website except Wikipedia. I used to be able to view all pictures in Wikipedia. But all of sudden, they all disappear a couple of weeks ago. Eminslw (talk) 04:20, 16 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

This link and this link may be of use to you. I hope this helps. JW..[ T..C ] 06:26, 16 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Ugh, using Yahoo Answers links to answer Ref Desk questions? Very bad form, and not helpful, considering no one on there seemed to know what was going on. --Mr.98 (talk) 16:07, 16 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
What does it tell you if you go to a link like this: [1] ? --Mr.98 (talk) 16:08, 16 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I was not aware of the fact that it is "very bad form". I'll try to be helpful next time, though. JW..[ T..C ] 23:08, 16 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Windows 7-like theme for Ubuntu?

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I want to give an Ubuntu installation a Windows 7-like look. I've found a theme called "Who Needs Windows 7 ?" but couldn't figure out how to apply it. Can someone help? --173.49.78.246 (talk) 14:31, 16 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Emerald Theme Manager instructions from the official website explain how. Make sure you actually have Compiz Fusion installed, per these Ubuntu instructions. Nimur (talk) 15:04, 16 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

java apps in XP - set program access and defaults - can't uninstall

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Some java programs I have used have put themselves on the list of installed programs - (ie the same place JRE,MS Office,IE7 etc appear) - when trying to uninstall them this fails - and it seems that they cannot be removed from the list.

Questions (from quite complete ignorance):

  • Why are they appearing on the list at all - surely they run within Java - which is already on the list - is this done automatically, or is it the programmers decision.
  • Is this a common problem with java - or is it more likely the fault of the person who made the app?

(examples "TugaTurtle" http://bagotricks.com/projects/tugaturtle/ , "Drunk" http://www.cs.stir.ac.uk/~sbj/examples/Java-applications/Drunk/ ) I'm sure I've run java programs that haven't done this, and "drunk" only uses java.awt.*; java.awt.event.*; javax.swing.*; java.util.*; , with no heavy code used - ?? Shortfatlad (talk) 16:24, 16 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Programs appear in that list when they are added to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall. You type regedit in the Run box to get to the keys. I'm not familiar with those Java apps you refer to, but I've never had an issue uninstalling other Java Apps from that list. They've all been well-known apps, though, like IntelliJ IDEA. I have had issue with programs written in C++ (e.g., MS Office 2007). I have also had issues with uninstallation when old files from previous versions of the program in question have been left behind. That confuses the installer sometimes. The Windows installer can also become corrupt for one reason or another, meaning you have to repair it by downloading the installer from Microsoft's web site. But, if I had to guess, I would say that it's probably the programmer's fault in this case.
To install a program in Windows, you usually download a .exe file from the software maker. This .exe often extracts a .msi file from itself and then executes the .msi using this command: msiexec /I and then the name of the .msi file. That's how programs are usually installed in Windows. If you want to uninstall it, the command is msiexec /X and then the .msi file. .msi files are usually stored in the C:\WINDOWS\installer folder after they have been installed.--Drknkn (talk) 17:10, 16 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
ok I found the programs in the registry (using find "tuga turtle" etc) - couldn't find C:\WINDOWS\installer
Both were .jnlp files - eventually found this [2] and got them to go away by deleting them in the cache as described (system>control panel>java>etc)
Can I assume it was the fault of the programmers and not java-web-start itself? (quick search reveals some possible bugs simialar to this)
Maybe someone could suggest a .jnlp program that should uninstall correctly so I could check it?Shortfatlad (talk) 18:52, 16 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
C:\WINDOWS\Installer is hidden. You have to enter the path (e.g. in Win+R, cmd.exe, an explorer window, etc.). --Andreas Rejbrand (talk) 18:59, 16 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks - found it - the java programs don't appear to be appearing in there - can't find them anyway ?
Can it be that although the programs are added to the registry (and so I suppose appear in "installed programs" - there is actually no uninstaller program since they are really just .java applications that run in jre? Thus the correct way to completely remove them is via controlpanel>java ? (and hence not a bug at all?) Shortfatlad (talk) 19:10, 16 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Real player (bug) can't delete files - "file in use"

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While I'm here - another question - realplayer seems to get confused (I assume it's realplayer since the problem seemed to start when I first started using it) about what files are in use - basically it 'randomly' will refuse to release files - thus I can't move or delete them... Two questions:

  • Using the cmd.exe (after closing explorer) method to delete them works - question - will this cause problems in the long term?
  • Is there a way to find out what program/thing the file/OS thinks is using the file currently - ie when a file is in use by another program - where is that info stored - and is it accessible?
ThanksShortfatlad (talk) 19:17, 16 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
You might find Handle helpful. Or follow the link on that page to Process Explorer, both by the fine people at Sysinternals. –RHolton21:23, 16 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Yes - I've downloaded and am trying process explorer - it does seem to correctly find which programs are using files. I'll keep it on hand for the next time the problem occurs. Thanks.Shortfatlad (talk) 23:21, 16 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Resolved

Firefox rss tabs

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In firefox, I want a way to automatically open every new item in an rss feed into a new tab. How could this be done? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.43.88.124 (talk) 18:21, 16 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe you can right-click the rss feed and select "Open all in tabs" in the drop-down menu...? 24.189.90.68 (talk) 00:16, 17 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Sure but it needs to be automatic, ie doesn't need me to click anything once it's set up. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.43.88.124 (talk) 11:11, 17 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Have you looked on Mozilla's website to see if anyone's come up with an add-on to do this? --TammyMoet (talk) 19:13, 17 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, and I checked userscripts.org too in case someone had written a greasemonkey script for this, but no luck ;_; —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.43.88.124 (talk) 19:22, 17 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Would it be possible to write a greasemonkey script that could do this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.43.91.83 (talk) 13:50, 18 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]