Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2011 July 16

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July 16

JAVA,(J2EE),net or php

Which is better among three of these — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ruchibahl18 (talk • contribs) 06:18, 16 July 2011 (UTC)

Better in what way? --Mr.98 (talk) 13:27, 16 July 2011 (UTC)

The conventional wisdom regarding programming languages/tools is that it always depends on what you are trying to do. Java is well acknowledged for its platform flexibility, J2EE is good for highly designed (web) software projects, .NET has slightly better performance than java and allows for multiple different languages to be compiled to the same bytecode, php is well known for being good for "quick and dirty" web applications. If you want to know which of those are best to study as a carreer move, Java and .NET represent the majority of paying programming positions, though quality of the job and pay varies. Your question is impossible to answer simply. i kan reed (talk) 16:18, 19 July 2011 (UTC)

Drag and Drop Won't Work in Book Creator Editing Area

Greetings.

I've used the book creator successfully to make a couple of books, but it seems (and I may be completely off, here) that since installing Internet Explorer 9, I can no longer drag and drop chapters or articles within the Book Creator editing area. While hovering the cursor over a topic or chapter name, I get the 4-pointed arrow icon instead of the hand icon.

I've tried switching use from IE9 64-bit to IE9 32-bit. I've lowered security regarding cookies within IE9. I'm running Windows 7 Home Premium, 64-bit.

I would appreciate any assistance in this matter, as the Book Creator is virtually useless to me while the drag and drop function is dysfunctional.

Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Skyyfaery777 (talk • contribs) 07:01, 16 July 2011 (UTC)

Transferred from Miscellaneous Desk. Richard Avery (talk) 07:15, 16 July 2011 (UTC)

Have you tried a different browser? General Rommel (talk) 09:54, 16 July 2011 (UTC)

Automatically copy from Firefox cache to a folder

While I am surfing the internet, I would like to be able to continuously save from the Firefox cache to a folder of my choice. Preferably I would like to be able to save only files with a particular extension, and be able to turn this continuous saving on or off. Although I have the add-on CacheViewer installed, you can only save files manually. I have been unable to find any other add-on that can do this.

What would be the easiest way to achieve this? I could probably learn to write something in Autohotkey or another simple BASIC-like language. More modern languages such as VBscript I find almost impossible to use. Would it for example be possible to run some other existing software, even while Firefox is running, which copies all the new files from the cache to my folder every second or so? 92.24.138.48 (talk) 15:43, 16 July 2011 (UTC)

How to copy and insert a "cookie" from a folder into Firefox?

I have various security programs which automatically delete all cookies. Rather than having to set my preferances for Google over and over again (for example turning off the dreaded "instant search"), I would like to save the cookie to a folder, and then when needed copy and insert this cookie into the appropiate place in Firefox. I once tried copying a cookie into Internet Explorer, but the computer would not let me do it. I would rather insert a cookie than adjust the settings of every security program, particularly as I would know what information Google was trying to hide in them, and in my experience several copies accumulate. I use WinXP. 92.28.255.228 (talk) 17:13, 16 July 2011 (UTC)

CookieCuller and OptimizeGoogle extensions can help some. ¦ Reisio (talk) 08:24, 17 July 2011 (UTC)

Thanks. Optimis/zeGoogle looks useful as it can turn off "Google Suggest" which apparantly stops the irritating habit of Google making wild guesses about what word you are beginning to type, and it can set some preferences without needing to keep a pernament cookie. The other add-on GoogleEnhancer does similar things, so together they give a lot of control. I've already got CookieCuller installed. 92.24.179.33 (talk) 09:38, 17 July 2011 (UTC)

Manually activating an on button

I have an old Dell laptop whose power switch broke that I'd like to turn on. I'd like to do that manually, maybe by soldering leads onto it myself and manually connecting them.

I've stripped back enough to see the circuit board connections. All of what I describe fits into about a 2 cm square so keep that in mind. There are 6 leads on the green board arranged in a rectangle pattern: 1 pair at the top/bottom, and then 2 more pairs on the sides. On top of that once sat (now removed) a small plastic device that has two horizontal wires that are visible. The top/bottom pair of wires were connected to this device. The two horizontal pairs went over this device and were bifurcated with this plastic square that seemed to be connected to the wire. In other words, when you pressed the power button, it would press these two horizontal pairs into the plastic device, which was connected to the vertical pair. That would complete a connection with all 6 leads to the circuit board.

My hunch is that the vertical pair of leads provides some power source, and pressing the power button depresses these two horizontal leads into the plastic thing, which simultaneously completes two connections. I also assume that the need for 2 power switch leads is because one detects a quick press and the other detects a longer "held down" press, for things like a hard shut down.

Incidentally the power switch is of a different style than other switches, like the volume switches, so I can't swap parts. I don't care enough to order new switches (although if I could pick something up from RadioShack I would) and the computer's not worth much, but I'm interested in how this works and would like to get it to turn on. Finally, any magic keyboard shortcuts that could bypass this process would be appreciated too. Thanks. Shadowjams (talk) 22:23, 16 July 2011 (UTC)

The leads were probably to an LED embedded inside the power button, which would light when the machine was on. Most modern PCB switches consist of a number of solder landing pads arranged in a geometric pattern. The underside of a button consists of a conductive elastomer (a black rubbery stuff) that (when the button is pushed) bridges some of the pads to others. You'll have to experiment to see which ones constitute the "before" and which the "after" pads. A more complex pattern (than just one before and one after) is sometimes used to handle pushes on the switch that aren't strictly vertical. If you were replacing the switch you'd probably need a "momentary" type switch. Note that, unless your laptop is exceedingly old, the power switch isn't anything really to do with the power circuit - it's just an ordinary signal-level circuit that's monitored by special logic in the southbridge. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 22:47, 16 July 2011 (UTC)

They're not LED leads... the button had no lights on it nor any nearby. The LEDs are elsewhere. As for age it's not extremely old. It's not a keyboard style rubber button. Its moving part was plastic that would depress the two horizontal leads into the plastic thing that was connected to the vertical leads. I know what kind of button you're talking about because that's basically what the other switches are, but this power switch is different. Shadowjams (talk) 05:07, 17 July 2011 (UTC)

Check eBay for a new switch. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 14:23, 17 July 2011 (UTC)