Ask MetaFilter questions in the computers & internet category

Hook up TWO monitors to a laptop?

america4 — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:33:42 -0800

Any way to hook up TWO (2) additional monitors to a laptop. One (1) is easy, but anyway to do TWO?

Download/string together Youtube videos?

Deflagro — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:57:42 -0800

What would be the quickest and easiest way to download about 30 or so 3-5 minute videos from Youtube, and string them together into one long video? I already have a program to download youtube videos, but if anyone has one that is free and can download multiple ones at the same time, that wouldd be great. I need a program that I can put them all into and the export as one large continuous movie file (preferably mpg4, but not required). I need all these programs to be free, any ideas?

Gathering ebay infos.

SirStan — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:48:29 -0800

cp /mnt/com/ebay/completed_auctions/ps3 ~/ps3.txt ?? I have the following pieces of information:

a. Search criteria
b. Date range.

And from this; I would like an Excel spreadsheet that has the following columns:

end price, end date, description, item #, seller, etc

Is there any way to do such a thing in an automated fashion without screen scraping myself?

Ubuntu text format

amsterdam63 — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:35:17 -0800

How can I convert a text file with characters representing hexadecimal to binary in Ubuntu? I know there are websites with conversion calculators, but I want to be able to take a text file and output another text file with binary representations of the hex from the input file. Thanks for any help.

Why won't XCode let me select text?

designbot — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:50:11 -0800

What the deuce? Why can't I type in certain areas using XCode? I'm just getting started learning to program in Objective-C using XCode under Leopard, and I'm encountering a bizarre behavior. The I-beam cursor just doesn't work in some areas of my code.

Here's a sample:

//

//  main.m

//  prog1

//



#import 



int main(int argc, const char *argv[])

{

	int sum;

	

	// compute result

	sum = 25 + 37 - 19;

	

	// display results

	printf ("The answer is %i.\n", sum);

	

	return 0;

}

Clicking in most of the code works like you would expect; the I-beam starts blinking, and I can edit the text as I would like.

But if I click anywhere in the area indicated in italics, the I-beam just turns into an arrow cursor until I move the mouse, the blinking text cursor doesn't appear, and I can't edit the text. It is possible to position the cursor before or after the bold area and maneuver into it with the arrow keys.

What on earth is going on here?

How do you index your Ray Mears clips?

verisimilitude — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:39:26 -0800

How can I add summary data to my video files? I've recently started a project to put all of Ray Mears's survival tips into some sort of idexable format. At this early stage I'm taking the hour long TV episodes and splitting them into 20 or so short avi. clips. To do this I'm using Windows Movie Maker to view the show and strip out all the content that isn't pure Ray wilderness gold. The output avi. I then put through a simple wmv/avi. splitter.

My question is in two parts. The first general, second specific.

1) Am I going about this project in the best way? This is the first video editing Ive done, so if there is better software for stripping the useful content out of TV shows then please let me know.

2) I'm going to finish up with about 1000 clips of educational wilderness survival, and I'm not quite sure exactly how I'm going to organise them ... but I'm sure that the tagging needs to be done now. For example, a clip with Ray demonstrating how to build a pit oven I would tag "cooking" "woodland" "meat preparation" - I'm sure you get the idea. But how do associate these tags with the file? I assumed I would just be able to open each of the avi file's properties and add the tags as summary data. Alas no. The summary data is 'greyed out' so my plan appears to be foiled.

My concern about this greyed out quirk led me (via a google search) straight to those infuriating bastards at 'experts exchange' where my question has been posed:

"I'd like to enter some descriptive comments for some of my files, to view in explorer (via My Computer), but when I rightclick/properties/summary/simple, everything is greyed out (well, greened out)."

So google as fails me, my faith in the Hive Mind grows.

Thanks for reading all this.

Photoshop hides photos' upper border

bbranden1 — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:53:39 -0800

Photoshop 7 filter: when I sequentially open multiple photos using (Windows XP) Explorer's right click context menu Open With command, the top of the previously opened photo always disappears underneath Photoshop's toolbar at the top of the picture viewing area, making it impossible to grab and move the photo down and see all of it. It doesn't happen when I use Photoshop's own Open option on the file menu. Any ideas what's going on hereand how to fix it?

You're not the mute button! Stop it!

EarBucket — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:35:39 -0800

The left control key on my keyboard has suddenly started toggling the mute on my master volume. How do I make it stop? I'm running Windows XP on a Dell Dimension desktop, if it makes a difference.

Wordpress ate my blog and I want it back.

RoseovSharon — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:17:59 -0800

Upgraded to the latest Wordpress and now all posts and content have disappeared! I've asked for help already on the Wordpress forum but so far no replies and this is a big emergency!

I did the upgrade to the latest version (2.6) a few days ago using the automatic upgrade plugin. Everything worked fine other than the Bad Behavior plugin which no longer works properly after the upgrade, so I disabled that. I've made no other recent changes and I've been able to post a few entries since the upgrade with no problems (other than those I tracked down to Bad Behavior).

This morning, just about everything on the blog is gone, as in all of my pages and more importantly, all of my posts. The theme is working fine, the site still shows up ok but all of the content is missing and it says "Sorry, no posts matched your criteria" on the homepage or if you follow a link to any of the posts.

In the admin/manage area for pages and posts... it's all gone, over two years of content. Those columns where all my posts should be (and which where there as of last night before I went to sleep) are now empty as if nothing had ever been posted. All of the comments and tags however are still there, though when I look at the comments there is no link showing what post they should be attached to (since all of the posts are gone).

I tried to do a test post, but when I publish it nothing happens. It takes me back to the manage area, and there is no new post showing there.

I certainly didn't wipe out all of my content and no one else has access to it (it has not been hacked). Any idea what's happened and how to fix it? When I did the automatic upgrade I had it download all the important backup files (I followed all the instructions and downloaded everything that it prompted me to). Now when I go to look inside the zip files to see what's in there in case I need to do a re-install, those zip files are empty! WTF?

So I basically don't even have a backup to restore with... of anything. But everything was there last night... and now it's not.

How and why did all my stuff disappear? And please please please tell me that you know a way for me to get it all back.

mac, dell or lenovo?

signal — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:00:46 -0800

My laptop recently died, and I need to replace it. I'm thinking of getting the cheapest macbook or an equivalently priced Dell or Lenovo. Help me figure out which. I'm an architect but make most of my living doing web design/development, though I still do some architectural stuff, renderings, that sort of thing.
70% of the time, I work in pyscripter, e-texteditor, dreamweaver and fireworks. The other 30% it's sketchup, 3ds max, autocad, rhino, piranesi and maya.
I've been thinking of getting a mac lately, as I'm tired of windows and especially as there's a bunch of cool developer apps that are mac only (textmate, etc.).
However, I don't want to spend too much money, as I have a desktop I do most of my actual work on.
I'm thinking of getting the cheapest macbook, which costs USD$1,400 here in Chile. I understand that this will run the PC-only CAD applications I need if I install XP on it.
What I don't know is this: will it be a significantly underpowered machine, especially compared to the Dell (like an XPS M1530 with a 256 MB graphics card and 4GB RAM) or Lenovo (V200 or R61) machines I could get for the same price?
3d rendering power is an issue, but not a deal breaker. I don't play computer games.

Phantom files?

dozo — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:43:11 -0800

Windows Server 2003 - Best way to see what files (and their locations) disk quotas are counting against a user? I am running a 30 user 2003 domain using roaming profiles and 2GB disk quotas with XP Pro. All are working well except one user.

For some reason quota entries claim that she has 4GB used in her profile, but I cannot find what the quotas are talking about. Her profile is around 200MB, same on the server. I've searched through the server to find these files (music files from a year ago when the profiles was first started - all were erased from server and station) but I haven't found anything.

My question... What's the best way to list the files quotas are seeing?

There may be something obvious here I'm missing, but I'm a Linux man working with 2003 and nothing I can find online mentions how to list the files attributed to a user in quotas.

Why won't my MBP wake up?

jon_kill — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:39:55 -0800

Whenever my Macbook Pro goes to sleep, it won't wake up. Here are the relevant details:

-Whether it goes to sleep by being closed, or by being idle too long, the result is the same: black screen, hard boot being the only recourse.
-Runing OS X 10.4.11.
-I've verified the disk, and it is fine.
-I've verified the disk permissions, and they are fine.
-I've wiped the PRAM (by holding command-option-p-r on reboot) and the problem persists.
-The battery appears to be charging and draining at the same rates as always.
-I've recently installed: demo version of ableton 6, protools 7.1.1 (upgrade from website), the latest Software Update recommendations.

Any other suggestions? Thanks.

Final Cut Express HD 3.5 - all imported footage is slightly out of sync!

eric1200 — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:19:15 -0800

I have imported three DV tapes into Final Cut and they are all out of sync, by what seems like 1 second (but maybe less?). It's out of sync in the viewer, out of sync in the timeline, when I render it, and when I export it. However, the tape itself is not out of sync when I watch it in the camera. I read something about a "frame offset" setting in Final Cut that is automatically set to 4, but that setting doesn't seem to be in my version of Final Cut at all.

Did I import everything wrong? Is there an easy way to fix this? I'm just starting out on Final Cut and I am totally stumped.

Can I combine htaccess and session variables from other systems?

jpoulos — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:03:34 -0800

Web server question. Can I combine htaccess and session variables from other systems? (more inside) OK, bear with me here--I'm a page developer, not a server admin. I've got an apache system that uses htaccess and a .db file to grant access to particular directories. I've also got a set of users who aren't in the .db file, but will be logging in to another system (salesforce.com) and trying to access those restricted areas. Is there a way to allow the first set of users to continue logging in as always, but to allow a session variable that is established on the salesforce.com site to be passed, allowing this second set of users to access the area without having to log in again?

Can you fix the Internet I broke?

Airhen — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:29:28 -0800

My computer is showing that I'm connected to the Internet, but it's not actually connecting. My usual trouble shooting tricks aren't working, so does anyone have any ideas? I'm sorry if this has been answered before. I don't seem to have specific enough terms to search here or on Google.

The Interwebs were working fine, and then I restarted because I was prompted to for an update. I have a PC (an HP laptop) running XP. The laptop is about four years old. It shows that I'm connected (wirelessly) to my signal, but I can't get to any Web sites, use instant messenger, etc.

I've tried: repairing my connection (that seemed to happen as usual, but with no results), restarting, restarting and repairing again, turning off the wireless router and turning it back on, connecting to another signal, turning off my computer's wireless card (do we still call it that in 2008?) and turning it on again, restarting and repairing again, just for good measure.

One of those usually works, but not this time.

Any other ideas?

Changing a 2-column stylesheet/theme to 3 columns

jbickers — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:21:08 -0800

CSS gurus: Changing a 2-column layout to a 3-column one? I've been using this theme for a WordPress site, and it's great ... but it needs to become three columns instead of two. My CSS skills are passable and I've not attempted this kind of major stylesheet surgery before - is this easily doable?

It's a fixed width theme, so all I need to do is shave off enough room from the main column to facilitate a right sidebar that is identical to the one on the left. Any hand-holding would be appreciated.

Help me find a sooper sekrit blog!

perrce — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 07:02:11 -0800

I need a private, secure blog that will store my posts in an encrypted form. Does one exist? I'm working with a distant team on a project, and I need a secure private blog to facilitate collaboration. The requirements for the blog are that it support user accounts, multiple authors, require logins by SSL (https:// vs. http://) (this could be enforced via plugin), store blog posts in an encrypted form, and of course I'd like the encryption/decryption to be seamless for my users. Up to this point we've been using the service at WideBlog, but it's not very flexible, and it's been a little flaky recently. We'd also prefer to have the blog on our own hosting to remove a layer of trust.

In my hunting around, I haven't had much luck. The biggest sticking point seems to be the requirement that posts be stored in an encrypted form. I've found some solutions that will "encrypt" passwords with MD5. But I want to encrypt more than just passwords, and the use of MD5 is itself a little questionable. I'm looking for something more along the lines of AES.

Does what I want exist?

How to get my hard drive to recognize other drives.

magnoliasouth — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:22:59 -0800

I have two computer hard drives installed onto one machine, and no CD for the first hard drive. The computer doesn't recognize USB ports nor the DVD drive on one of the hard drives. How can I fix that? To make things easier to understand. I had an older computer whose motherboard went out, we'll call that one hard drive A. I bought a new computer (computer/hard drive B) and installed the A hard drive.

It'll boot fine to the A hard drive, but it's only recognizing the hard drive itself. It cannot connect to the USB port nor the DVD drive.

If I go into Computer Management, there is no listing for USB nor DVD. How exactly would I fix this?

I prefer to use the A hard drive over the B hard drive because naturally all my files/software/etc. are located on that one. Some of that software was purchased online without a CD, so I don't know how to "move" it to another hard drive.

If it matters, both are running XP and both are and were eMachines.

So how do I fix this?

How do I get rid of, then keep MS Office?

edjusted — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:59:13 -0800

My Win XP laptop came with a trial version of Microsoft *small business* office 2007. Without really thinking about it, I imported a lot of email and Outlook data from my old laptop. Now that the trial is almost over, I bought a retail copy of Outlook 2007 and the Home/student version of Office 2007, and the product keys don't work, since I'm trying to use the product key on the Small Business edition. Can I simply uninstall the trial small biz version, install the Outlook and home/student office, and have my Outlook data intact? Or is there more to be done to accomplish this?

Keybinding problem on a mac

bashos_frog — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:52:23 -0800

Why did one of my key combinations stop working on my MacBook Pro? It's not hardware, because System Prefs -> Keyboard shortcuts can register the keypress to map it.
This issue affects several programs which were using that combo to change tabs. (cmd-opt-left-arrow works fine)
Even if I map that combination to a mouse button, it does nothing. It's like something is swallowing the keypress event, but I have no idea how to determine what it could be.
I tried looking at the keybinding files, but that combination doesn't seem to be in the standard places.
It's a minor thing, but really annoying - anybody got any hints for me?

I have a big monitor, help me fill it

nitsuj — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:02:37 -0800

What are some good applications that take advantage of a big monitor? I recently acquired a nice, big 24" Dell widescreen monitor to hook into my Macbook Pro (running OSX5.4) and rediscovered the joys of Google Earth. What are some other fun applications I should I try out now that I have the larger real estate?

Games are OK, I guess, but I'm looking more for interesting applications that are especially awesome when viewing on a ginormous screen. Thanks!

Who should I trust to build me a new desktop PC?

UrbanEconomist — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:48:44 -0800

I'm in the market for a new desktop PC, but I don't know much about the companies out there manufacturing them. Who do you trust in terms of value, quality, etc? About five years ago I built my own PC for the first time and the stupid thing has never quite worked right. I know it's my fault, but I'm somewhat hesitant to try my hand and building from scratch again.

I'm looking for a capable gaming PC (doesn't have to be cutting-edge; I'd like to be able to play Fallout 3 without issue, but I don't need to run Crysis on the highest settings or anything). I have a perfectly functional monitor and speakers, so those aren't a consideration.

I have about $1,000 to spend, although if I could spend less and still be okay (especially on a rig that might be upgradeable down the line) that's all the better.

I'd greatly appreciate any advice on products and manufacturers that you trust. If you have a general idea about the system specs that I would need, I'd appreciate that info, too.

Thanks very much (this is my first MeFi question)!

User stats on Exchange 2000?

starscream — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:50:12 -0800

Microsoft Exchange 2000 : is there a built in function or any 3rd party utility that would allow me to export a list of all mailboxes and would include info like User Logon Name and mailbox size? The company I work for was purchased by a megacorp and we'll be migrating all of our users from our Exchange server to theirs. While we have a 150mb limit, they impose a 100mb restriction on mailbox size. There are, of course, 'special' users that have anywhere from 200 to 500mb or more; therefore management is looking for a spreadsheet with basic statistics of our Exchange server users.

I'd love to be able to export some kind of list into csv (or anything else that I could open in Excel and work with) that details usernames, mailbox size/limit, and any other info that might be useful for pre migration planning. If there's any Exchange built-in function or a third party utility that could do this for me, I'd love to know about it!

My iPod Is Suddenly Saying It Is Full

Ironmouth — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:18:26 -0800

My 80gig iPod suddenly tells me that it has only 50.8 MB free, when I have nowhere near that much on the device. Itunes shows the numbers correctly, but the device reports otherwise. Is it OK? Hi, I have an 80 gig iPod. I'm running version 1.1.2 for the on-board software and 7.7.043 for iTunes.

iTunes says I have 16.53 gigs used for music, 148.8 MB used for a video, 119.1 MB other, with 57.52 GB free.

This morning, the player started shwoing that I have 74.2 GB used with 50.8 MB free. iTunes has the correct numbers. The totals for music and video are the same on the device, but the "other" total is way off the charts and eats up the additional space.

I'm running Vista on a PC.

Which is right, the device or iTunes? How do I fix this if all of that space is being taken up by mystery stuff? I'd like to be able to fill this thing someday.

thanks!

Excluding Enterprise, What's the Mac's Market Share?

dinger — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:15:34 -0800

When people are spending their own money, what percentage buy macs? There's never a mystery as to Apple's share of the personal computer market…it seemed to bottom out at about 3 percent of the market early in this decade, and by most accounts has since risen to the high single digits, usually reported as about 8 percent (and growing) at the present. However, when I see people using laptops in public (say, at coffee shops or airports), the percentage of macs seems to be significantly higher, about one in three or four. Also, the mac's presence in the online community just seems to be significantly higher than one in ten, based on the volume of mac questions, software discussions, anticipated hardware releases, etc.

Trying to reconcile these seeming contradictions led me to a eureka moment: when mac vs. pc market share is published, it's usually in the form of total system sales. Of course, sales of PC's include the thousands and thousands of cheap desktops and dumb terminals that inhabit the world's cubicle farms, call centers, and data processing hubs, while institutional sales account for a much smaller percentage of the total mac output, probably confined mostly to schools.

Googling for info on sales to individuals turns up very little; the best I could come up with is this article from CNET News which seems to indicate that, as of last December, about 3 out of 10 people anticipated that their next computer purchace would be a mac (surprisingly close to my own observations).

So, here's the question: When people are spending their own money, what percentage by macs? In other words, what's the mac share of the personal personal computer market?

Disclaimer: not looking to start a Mac vs. PC war here; just wondering what individuals spend their hard-earned moola on.