Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Program

Work banned iTunes, how to get music on the ipod?

Caravantea — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 09:30:43 -0800

Dad's a consultant, and travels constantly for work. Work provides a laptop, but won't let him install iTunes. Is there a way to get music & audiobooks to synch to his ipod through an external drive, or cloud computing or something? Doesn't have to be iTunes, just a way to connect my dad and his music without offending corporate IT.

A start menu for Windows 7 where I type "i" for Internet and "f" for Firefox to open that browser?

oxit — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:12:54 -0800

A start menu for Windows 7 where I type i for Internet and f for Firefox to open that browser? Prior to Windows 7 I was using the classic Windows start menu to access most of my software by pressing only three keys on the keyboard:

1. the Windows key, then
2. a key for the folder, e.g. (I)nternet, or (O)ffice, then
3. a key for the application, e.g. (F)irefox or (I)nternet Explorer.

Typing a part of the name in Windows 7's start menu is a lot slower, more cumbersome and error-prone.

Is there a solution to have this in Windows 7? There are many start menu replacements out there, but none I've seen does this. Can you help?

Writer meets arthritis

grumblebee — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:18:40 -0800

Mac voice-recognition software for a writer with arthritis. My father's arthritis is making it more and more difficult for him to type. This is hard for him, because he's been a writer for decades (over 25 books and countless articles). He is considering switching to voice-recognition software.

Here are some things to note:

- He is originally from England but has lived in the US since the 1950s. He is a very clear speaker, but his accent is a mix of British (cockney originally) and American.

- He owns a Mac.

- He is not highly computer literate, but he lives in a university town and could find people to help him set things up if necessary. He probably will have trouble if the voice-recognition software itself is overly complicated to use.

I am looking for any advice and experiences with this. What is the state of the art these days? What's available for the Mac? What is the experience like for people who are heavy users?

Need ideas for a really cool (and challenging) beginner's program I can write in PHP.

kitcat — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:01:40 -0800

Need ideas for a really cool and challenging beginner's program I can write in PHP. For the final assignment of my beginner's programming class (the language is PHP), I get to write a program that will do whatever I like. I'm really dorkishly excited and I want to choose something both cool and kinda tough - something I'll learn a lot from putting together.

The program has to contain decision structures, looping and arrays at the very least. I can involve other scripts / languages or web stuff if I choose, but as it stands right now, I don't know how to run web apps - only a little bit of HTML and CSS. And there won't be any GUI, since we haven't learned any of that in conjunction with PHP. My instructor has suggested a financial calculator or a contact manager. These seem booooring. And a little bit too easy, too. Yes, I'm a beginner, but I think I can handle something more than that.

Please help me come up with some ideas. What was the coolest 'first real program' you wrote?

I need help with finding a Master's program. Priority: money, honey!

Tarumba — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:39:49 -0800

I need help with finding a Master's program. Priority: money, honey! I have a BS in Science, majored in Forestry. I have next to no professional experience in the US (where I live). I have a GPA of 3.1 and am preparing to take the GRE (my GPA is mostly due to Professors in my home country not using the whole grading scale, I actually graduated third in the class).

I have decided, after a long time of considering, that what I want out of a job is money. I'll take care of having fun on my free time. Can you please recommend what sort of graduate program is adequate? the alternatives I have thought of:

- Environmental engineering
- Public health
- MBA (I think the competition for this one is crazy, but my boss seems to think it's a good idea)
- Something related to the paper industry (I thought something like a niche would make it easier to always be employed)
- Landscape architecture
- Remote sensing
- A career in the Forest Service? This means possibly a degree in Ecology, or Forest Management.

If you have any other ideas, please suggest! My American working experience consist of a tiny position as Assistant Manager, and a possible promotion to Manager. I find it I'm sort of good at management, but mostly think I could be good at anything (sorry to sound stuck up).

A Program to Help Me?

moonroof — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:13:00 -0800

I started a new internship, and I'm wondering if there is some way to automate copying the non-profit information from this website. So, I'm the new intern, and I've been charged with the task of copying the information from this website and copying the information from each member into an Excel spreadsheet. I need the name of the organization, contact name, their title, phone number, email, and the website address.

It's a little slow-going, and I'm happy to do it by hand, but I wonder if there isn't some way to automate the process, like with a program? My supervisor would be thrilled, but I don't know anything about programming. Before I post a request on a site like rentacoder, I need to know, is this even possible?

NSF GRFP Proposal

Aanidaani — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:02:58 -0800

Where can I find examples of science/engineering research proposals for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program? I'm currently applying for the NSF GRFP and I'd like some examples of how a research proposal should look for the application. I've written a number of grant proposals for my thesis project already, so I'd like to take those and modify them to fit this application.

Like what Doogie Howser used. Only minus the acne and gay subtext.

rileyray3000 — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:21:22 -0800

My five year written book journal is almost done. I'm looking for some some sort of very easy mac journal program to replace it. As much as I've loved the journaling up to now, I don't like that I can't search it easily. So I think I'm going with a program of some sort this time around. Are there any journal programs you recommend and that fit the bill for simple, easy and searchable?

Free degree or let loose passion?

Anonymous — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 08:11:08 -0800

I work for a university with a generous tuition discount and after two years of research my conclusion is that the graduate programs here are generally for people who return to their same jobs (with the exception of med and law school). Most programs rank above the top 30 and the reviews from alumni and current students have given me the impression classes tend to be weak. Help me here! I want to do my masters. Since not finishing it at another university it has been a passion of mine to do the degree. However, faced with a lot of choice at this university where I work, none of the choice is in my own interest areas.
I really don't want to start anything new. I realize there are some directions I could go that would be good off-shoots but I am unsure as to what it would mean in the context of the job I currently have and will probably have once the degree is finished. Frankly, the job I have is one I am great at but whose prospects are very dim in the current economic environment. I keep thinking that perhaps the best idea would be to do something in policy as a way to make something out of nothing, however my heart lies in technical and creative brand management - a highly selective field I needed time off from. It's been two years and the economy has since tanked so I am stuck. Chuck it in? Do a degree while I work and look for work? Chart a new course?

Weird keyless remote programming situation

wsg — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:17:41 -0800

Follow me here: I just bought a used 95 Honda Odyssey van that is almost identical to the 95 Honda van I already have, but nicer. I'm trying to get the keyless remote for the old Honda to work with the new old Honda. The guy I bought the new 95 Honda from said the he recently had a used replacement starter installed, because a new one was about $500. For that reason, it takes two keys: one to unlock it and one to start it.

I just got this new keyless remote for my old van and am now trying to program it to work with the new, almost identical van, but it doesn't seem to be working.

Could it be because the newly installed used replacement starter in the new Honda is not allowing the keyless remote to be programmed for some reason? Two keys to unlock and start seem to be a clue.

Also, I'm not positive that I am using the correct procedure to program it, but I think it's what worked last time. Here are the instructions I'm following. Thanks for any advice.

1. Open the driver's door.
2. Push the driver's power door lock switch to the unlock position and hold it. (Continue to hold the switch during this procedure.)
3. Insert the key into the ignition switch, then remove it. Repeat this four more times (five times total) within 10 seconds. (You must complete steps 3 and 4 within 10 seconds or the system will exit the programming mode.)
4. Insert the key into the ignition switch. After you insert the key, make sure the power door locks cycle to confirm that the system is in the programming mode.
5. Press the "LOCK" or "UNLOCK" button on the transmitter. All the power door locks (except the driver's door) should cycle to confirm that the system accepted the transmitter's code.
6. To program a second transmitter, press its "LOCK" or "UNLOCK" button within 10 seconds of programming the first transmitter.
7. Release the master power door lock switch to exit the programming mode.

Identifying a British TV series

Riki tiki — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 13:37:41 -0800

Trying to identify a British television program about a doctor that used to be broadcast on PBS. Here's the information I've been given from fuzzy recollections:

It was British, possibly syndicated from the BBC.
It aired Sunday nights on PBS during the '90s or early '00s.
It was a comedy/drama.
It was about a doctor and his wife.
One of the storylines involved the wife cheating with the doctor's intern.

Anyone have any idea what that might be? Thanks in advance.

For a friend of fads of fashion?

parmanparman — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 07:09:23 -0800

Online or low-residence college programs in fashion or retail merchandising? NOT the art institutes apparently...

Good online workout plans?

internet!Hannah — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 06:20:09 -0800

I need some recommendations for free online workout programs I can work into my fitness plan! I've let myself go a bit the last year and I'm trying to get myself back in shape. However, I'm horrible at doing things without direction, so I was hoping for some recommendations for good workout plans that I can find online.

Right now I'm working on the 100 pushups program (as well as the 200 situps and 200 squats sister programs) as well as the couch-to-5k plan. These kinds of sites are absolutely perfect for me, all nice and laid out and easy to do without much preparation. Are there any other sites like these I should know about?

I'm mostly interested in finding some sort of mild weight training website, preferably something that could be done with minimal equipment (or, ideally, with a sandbag, since that's what I have on hand currently). I've got some pull-up bars handy, too, and a jumprope. I don't do well in the student gym, though.

For the record, I'm a college-age female, not horribly out of shape though slightly overweight, looking to lose 15 or so pounds and get my sixpack from two years ago back. I don't want to bulk up, though I do want to get toned.

I'd prefer only website recommendations, and free ones since I'm a starving college student, but I'm willing to take alternate suggestions if they are worth it. Thanks in advance!

Why do links to Flickr photos kill my Firefox?

Drasher — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:37:48 -0800

Why do links to Flickr photos kill my Firefox? When someone posts an entry in AskMe that refers to a photo on Flickr, I am forced to copy the link, open IE, and look at the picture from there. I have searched AskMe and Google, I have tried disabling Adblock settings... I just don't get it. If/when Firefox dies because of one of these links, I restart, it comes up and I select "Restore Previous Session", and I need to close the offending tab before it fully loads otherwise it will kill Firefox again.
(I am currently running Firefox 3.0.13)

Approaching a Foundation?

tessalations999 — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 15:53:05 -0800

How do I approach a foundation to inquire about a grant? My boss gave me a list of foundations that he wants me to eventually write grants to help fund our non-profit. He told me to approach the program officer to get a better sense of what the foundation would fund and what their application process is, expectations, etc. What is the best and most professional way to approach the program officer about this issue? Email? Phone? Meeting? Should I be focusing on presenting my program well to them or just focusing on getting information about the foundation itself? Thank you very much, I appreciate any ideas or suggestions you might have.

Big man workout system?

Anonymous — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:44:40 -0800

I need a workout system for a BIG man. So, I'm 6'8" and about 380lbs. I'm most certainly overweight, but not as much as those numbers would make it seem. The best shape in my life was when I was 18 years old and just 300lbs and I was wrestling and running many miles a day.

I'm looking for a programthat will help transform my fat into muscle. I recently quit smoking, so my cardio is pathetic at the moment. I'm also open to any SAFE supplements.

I have a membership to a very, very nice YMCA with full weight room, nautilus, pool, track, and aerobic center. They also offer pilates, spinning, and step classes.

I've started taking yoga in the mornings to increase my flexibility and core strength. My goal is to see a marked improvement in around 2-3 months. I have a long vacation planned and would really like to see some results.

Explain motivation to a gone to seed person

Anonymous — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 10:48:12 -0800

Is your 58 year old Mom or Grandmother a chunky depressed wreck? If she would listen to your advice...what would you tell her? I just came back from trying on clothes for three hours and I hated everything. I am no longer young (58) and this last year I have experienced changes that were unexpected and absolutely no fun. I'm a wreck. I used to be able to wear anything! I didn't have to do much to stay slim during most of my liftime...but that is obviously over.

I need to lose 25 -30 pounds to be the weight that looks right on me. I realize I must eat sensibly and exercise--do you have advice how to get started (especially for someone who hasn't ever had much experience in exercise and hasn't ever been much of a cook?) Do you know any older females who regained their (more) youthful physique? How did they do it? I am very tired all the time and have battled depression forever. I THINK I am alright physically--just depressed. I took a stress test not long ago and "passed" it, however I reached an anaerobic stage after only a few minutes.

The trouble is that when my mind chemistry is "off" eating is the only thing that makes me feel better. I haven't found an antidepressant (yet) that works for me.
I have thought about going in for hypnotism. Do you have any knowledge about whether or not that would help kick start some motivation for me? I would love to see some rapid results ...of course!

OH..AND.. all my friends eat constantly and I eat out way too often. I have no family and no in-person role models. Additionally.. I am a member of a gym!..the young fit people there intimidate me! How can I get myself to go in??

Thanks for considering my question.

Making a book out of AskMeFi?

alona — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:37:51 -0800

I want to make a book out of AskMeFi threads. Any free programs that can help me do this? My brother and his wife are going to be first-time parents in around 6 months and I've compiled a list of 35 askme questions that may be relevant to them. I want to find some way to organize them on my computer using any kind of program, something with more book-like structure than Word, so that I can then print it out and bind it myself.

MS Money export

emilyv — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 07:54:30 -0800

How do I export data out of Microsoft Money? I have been using MS Money since 2001 and have about 13 years worth of my financial data in the program. Due to the recent news that Money is going to be discontinued, I'd like to export my data from Money in the easiest way possible. I'm not very tech savvy, so I can't write Python scripts and the like to do this.

As far as exporting, I may try to export it into Moneydance or figure out some way to do this all on spreadsheets. Any suggestions as to how I can keep track of my finances moving forward?

Help me organize my scanned papers and sketches

moonroof — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 13:00:01 -0800

I'm looking for a program or file format to organize hundreds of scanned page image files and add comments to them. Any suggestions? I've been scanning all my old papers/sketches/notes into my computer so I can recycle the physical copies and save space in my apartment. Paging through them with the Windows image viewer is fine, but I'm wondering if there's a program that I could use to organize them all into a single file, like a PDF maybe? I'd also like to have a field at the bottom where I could add and edit text comments. If this is possible to to do with Acrobat, how do I do it? And if not, is there a program that will do something similar to what I'm describing?

Virus Scan Company That Accepts Submissions?

Quarter Pincher — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:31:59 -0800

Do any of the major virus-scan software sites permit sending in a questionable programs for possible addition to the ongoing alerts? Ultimately, I'm wondering whether the Marie Brighton / Synovate computer survey is safe to take -- they're asking me to install and run this program that sends them details about my machine (system name, machine name, installed devices, various settings, etc). It sounds really hokey. I don't want to just share the program with the world, here, in case it has account-related information along with it already.

Pretty much all the details are here, and requests to see whether I can just check off a manual survey of "do you have this"-style questions merely state that I'd only get the incentive ($20) for running the program. I've saved-as the program, but haven't run it yet. I'm just fine with simply not running it, but there doesn't seem to be any coverage of the subject on the web much at all, and I'm sure someone else would like to know also.

As for the original question -- I'm curious as to whether there's a well-established scanner/etc site out there that accepts user submissions of questionable programs, instead of just checking it with a scan. I'd like vastly superior details on the program, not just a red or a green flag.

economics masters online learning

gibbsjd77 — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:00:36 -0800

Do you know any accredited post graduate program in economics that is offered completely online? I am finishing my undergraduate through distance learning and am very interested in economics. I would like to get my MA but due to my work/life schedule attending at a campus is not feasible. I have been unable to find any, but am optimistic that the filter can help me out. Thanks for your time.

Simple AV capture program for a Windows laptop?

killdevil — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 04:06:50 -0800

I need a Windows program that will capture audio from my laptop's mic and video from my laptop's built-in camera, then dump the combined results to disk in some convenient video format. This sort of quick-and-dirty video capture is such an obvious thing to do that I feel sure decent software must exist (how else would the YouTube-loving peoples of the world capture for posterity the gyrations of their cats upon monitors and keyboards, after all?), but Google turns up nothing but terrible-looking junk. Bonus points for free and/or open source. I'm also not averse to paying for trial-ware that I can check out before I commit to anything.

Also, as I'm just hoping to record some lectures for my own review later on, the output doesn't have be production-quality -- it just has to let me see and hear what went on.

What do I need to look at when buying a new laptop?

reenum — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 09:28:05 -0800

I'm in the market for a new laptop. Should I get a PC or Mac? What specs are important for me to look at when making a decision? My Toshiba Satellite A65 seems to be on its last legs, so I think I'm getting a new laptop.

In researching, I've become confused as to which specs really matter when looking at a computer.

Here's what I would use it for:
- E-mail, IM, and Web
- Watching DVDs
- BitTorrent
- Word processing and spreadsheets
- Tracking my finances
- Some music creation (mostly breakbeats)

I've seen some places say that I need as much RAM as possible, others stress the importance of a large hard drive, yet others say I need the fastest processor.

Also, any recommendations as to brands that are more reliable than others?

Please help!

Blocking distracting programs to get work done

flatluigi — Sun, 03 May 2009 21:17:26 -0800

Help me focus on my work! I need to get some work done but I'm very easily distracted by things on the internet. I'd just go offline, but I need to stay connected for the particular work I'm doing.

Are there any programs out there that I can download to keep particular programs (firefox, chrome, steam, etc) from executing while it's running?