Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with internet and computer

Where can I find a freeware macro recorder?

ptsampras14 — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:47:42 -0800

Where can I find a freeware macro recorder (with smart recording ability)? I am looking for a freeware macro recorder, which I cannot seem to find. By recorder I mean no coding required. I already tried that and it was much too complex. With this recorder I also would like the feature to only record the mouse coordinates with key press which I think alot of programs refer to as "Smart Recording". Any help is appreciated.

How can I get my laptop to work with a wired connection?

biochemist — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 11:16:56 -0800

Follow up to this question. We tried the D-link, but it doesn't seem to be working with the laptop. The desktop computer connects fine. The laptop also doesn't recognize the desktop for file sharing. We've tried all sorts of things with network connections, to no avail. I'm not sure what the problem could be/what we need to do. It works fine if the cable is running straight from the router to the computer, but when we connect the switch the laptop won't recognize the connection. They're both connected using ethernet cables.

What are my online phone options in Canada?

smilingtiger — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:11:14 -0800

What are my options for online phones in Canada? I'm in Canada, and I have a cell phone and wireless internet (no router) in my apartment. My cell phone seems to have very little connectivity in my apartment building. (Is this normal, by the way? Should I be looking into getting better connectivity in my building as a solution to this?) I'd like to find a cheap alternative without resorting to a landline. (My only use for it would be to allow my family to contact me from landlines. Otherwise I don't talk on the phone much when I'm at home.)

Previously I used Vonage, but they told me that I can't use it with my wireless internet in my new building so I cancelled my account. I've looked into Skype, but unless I get an "online phone number" from them, people can't call me from landlines, and the online phone number that is available is not Canadian, which I guess means that my family would have to call long distance to another country to reach me.

Is there an option for a Canadian online phone service that won't require my family to download a program or pay long distance charges? (I am technologically illiterate, so if the phrase "online phone service" makes no sense, please substitute the appropriate one.)

Choose Details in OS X

reenum — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:43:43 -0800

Mac OSX Filter: How can I change the details displayed for files in a directory while in list view? This may be a really easy question, but Google has failed me thus far.

When I used XP and viewed directories as lists, I could go to View and then click on 'Choose Details' to pick which file info I wanted displayed.

I can't seem to figure out how to do this on Mac OSX.

The reason I want to do this is because I listen to a lot of podcasts, and the title in the file info is often more instructive than the filename.

Is there any way to 'Choose Details' on Mac OSX?

What's the simplest email service?

SuperErin — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:52:05 -0800

Email-filter: I have promised to help my aunt set up an email account. She is totally computer illiterate. Doesn't own a computer, probably doen't know how to turn one on, but wants to email her granddaughter who just started college. Help me pick the best email service for her! I personally use Gmail, because I like all the features and tools and extras. But I'm trying to see this through her eyes: would these same features be overwhelming or confusing?

She'll be accessing the internet at the public library, so there should be a librarian nearby to assist, if she runs into trouble.

What email service is the simplest, most intuitive, and most beginner-friendly? Also, she'll probably go a good while between logging in -- I want to make sure her account won't be disabled if she goes a month w/o checking it.

Thanks!

Internet Woes

Geppp — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 13:24:21 -0800

[ComputerFilter] Newly installed programs and updated programs can't connect to the internet. Any ideas? (Vista Home Premium) I've already tried adding exceptions to the Firewall, as well as disabling the firewall alltogether.

Firefox, along with a few other random programs work, but if I try to install a new program, or if I update a currently working program, it is no longer able to connect to the internet.

For example, I just tried installing Google Chrome, and it's not able to connect to the internet. Similarly with Spybot S&D and others.

Any input would be great. Thanks!

WiFi Filter

bad grammar — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:33:40 -0800

Is there a scammy catch or otherwise bad deal to Starbucks' free WiFi through the Starbucks card and AT&T? Don't whale away at Starbucks and their corporate fascism and terrible coffee, please; I am taking an online class at my regular university and have to get online through the day. I registered by Starbucks card for 2 hours of free WiFi access at Washington, D.C. area Starbucks locations. As for why not the public library, the National Mall, etc. it is 90+ hot and I am carrying a laptop, which I used to access (not a smartphone) and books.

I realize that I've let myself in for a deluge of promotional e-mail from both companies, but have I let myself in for anything worse? Will AT&T send me bills?

I logged on at the Starbucks at 1502 Dupont Circle and then the AT&T link dropped out and I was unable to log out. I logged back on but the AT&T sign-in screen did not come back up. Will I be penalized for not logging out? I was able to log on and log out properly at another location. There were very many competing wireless links at the Dupont Circle location.

I just want to check my facebook!

wild like kudzu — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 13:38:12 -0800

Can anybody help me with my wireless router? So, I've set up a wireless network for my apartment, and when I set it up a few months ago I entered a password (although it may have been provided automatically, I don't remember if I made it up or not). My computer saved it, as did my roommate's, so we never thought about it again. Recently my roommate's computer bit the dust and her replacement computer requires the password. I wrote the password down, but I've since lost the paper it was written on. For the life of me, I can't seem to figure out what the password is or to change it.

When I pull up the advanced settings of my network I can see under the Association tab that it is an open connection and requires a WEP key. The space for the password shows that it is an 8-digit code, and whenever I try to change it simply by typing a new password into that space I get an error message that says: "The network password needs to be 40bits or 140bits depending on your network configuration. This can be entered as 5 or 13 ascii characters or 10 or 26 hexadecimal characters."

What does that mean? Is there anything I can do to change the password entirely?

Some facts you might need to know:

It's a Belkin G Wireless router
We use Comcast as our internet provider
I'm operating on Windows XP on an ASUS laptop
We are connecting through an Atheros AR5007EG Wireless Network Adapter

Any help or tips is much appreciated! Thank you :)

How can I maximize my laptop's ability to pick up wireless signal?

btkuhn — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:25:00 -0800

How can I maximize my laptop's ability to pick up wireless signal? Hi everyone,

I don't have regular internet access at the moment because I am traveling and staying at a (crappy) hotel for 2-3 months. Dialup is not an option because of the way the hotel's phones are set up - they are digital and I wold get charged for making calls anyways. My hotel doesn't have wireless internet but a nearby apartment complex does. I can just barely connect to their network on a good day, but it cuts in and out because I am on the outer bounds of the network. I have permission to use the wireless network, but I am just barely out of range. What is the best way to strengthen things on my end?

I have already borrowed a friend's Wireless USB network adapter - the one pictured here - which is about as strong as a wireless card you can buy, but it doesn't seem to pick up signal much better. I am reading stuff about making a coffee can directional antenna or pringles can antenna, but these would both involve building something, which I don't really have the tools for at my current location. Also, I don't understand how I would connect the antenna to the computer itself anyways. My laptop has an internal wireless antenna (like most laptops) with no external connector, and the Belkin doesn't have an external connector either.

So, what is the best way to expand my wireless pickup ability? I am willing to purchase additional products if necessary.

Thanks!

How to make the Mac play nice with my Sansa?

reenum — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:44:49 -0800

How to sync Macbook with a non-iPod MP3 player? I have a Sansa e250, and I love it. I also love my new Mac. However, I've been having a small issue with syncing music onto the Sansa.

On my old Windows machine, I used to have a Sansa folder on my hard drive and then would just sync both folders each week using a program called Allway Sync, which removed listened to MP3's and added on the new stuff I'd downloaded that week.

With the Mac, I can't find a similar program, possibly due to the dominance of iTunes.

So, Hive Mind, is there a program or method I can use to get this functionality on my Mac?

Photo Contest Set-up Help Needed

SuperErin — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:30:40 -0800

PhotoFilter: I need to create a monthly photo contest for my clients to participate in. Help me find the easiest way to do this. I've already seen this question, but it is from 2007, and I know things have changed many times since then. I looked at the two programs suggested, but would prefer something online that I don't have to upload to my website.

I'd like to just set the thing up, give out a link, and have my clients upload photos of their dogs and vote on the best each month. I'd prefer an actual voting mechanism, rather than just writing "vote" in the comments.

I'd prefer free, or at least inexpensive for me, free for my clients to use.

I've googled this, but there's a lot of junk to slog through, so I was hoping to get some Mefite expertise!

Thanks in advance.

Plug it in, plug it in...

Christ, what an asshole — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:01:39 -0800

Modem/Router issues: why does our internet always cut out on one computer on the network, resulting in having to constantly plug/unplug the router to get it working again? Router: WRT54G, ISP: Comcast.

We have two desktops (PCs) set up in the network, one direct with an ethernet cable, the other wireless. For whatever reason, the computer connected through the ethernet cable has its internet connection spontaneously cut out, sometimes several times throughout the day, which makes for some unusually frustrating surfing.

It's puzzling because all the modem lights are flickering just like normal, and the computer connected wirelessly works fine. Meanwhile, the first computer has an icon displaying that it's connected, but it remains dead and has no upload/download activity. As a result and through trial/error, the only way to get it working again is by unplugging the power to the router, letting it sit for a minute, then replugging and hoping it comes back, which it ostensibly does in more cases than not.

What could be the issue causing this brand of interference?

How can I use a computer securely and privately

Not Supplied — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 03:33:37 -0800

How can a competent but not technical geek person browse internet as securely and privately as possible, keep files private on a pc etc? Linux distro? specifics - Hi. I'd like to be able to use my computer as securely and privately as possible and am prepared to do more than average to get there, but don't want to become highly skilled at security. Is it possible to develop a straightforward plan to follow? I'd like to keep things as clean and simple as possible, without exessive time spent troubleshooting/tweaking. That said, I am as good as the next person at using computers understanding concepts etc.

I hope you get a sense that I'm not immoral or illegal...however I do browse a wide range of things, and don't trust the gov etc not to put 1+1=3.

The issues I thought of were:
Browsing securely and privately - how can I set up a computer to do this? I'm prepared to put a linux partition on my (pc) laptop - I've used Ubuntu before..can this be set up well or maybe theres a distro specifically designed for this. It would be handy if it had all internet mod cons like audio, flash pdf etc. It would also be handy if say it could save files to a data drive shared with windows partition.

Can it be set up to leave no traces on the pc? Similarly, could I store files in a hidden encrypted format?

Can I make my computer as secure as possible against being cracked over the net or by someone present? Yeh, I do think it's possible someone could try!

ISP - I can't hide from my ISP presumably...are there ones that specialise in privacy, that won't share your information at the drop of a hat? In the UK?

My practises - how can I make them tight, so there are no obvious holes in security from how I'm using the machine.

Using public wifi - is this a good alternative if you don't want an ISP storing your history? How to use it to best advantage.

And also anything I haven't thought of.

Cheers!

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!

How to save emails offline and maintain a good organizational system?

jeffmshaw — Wed, 20 May 2009 06:51:01 -0800

OutlookFilter: we've been instructed to clean out our work e-mail. My co-worker has been using her e-mail as an effective filing system. Is there a way that she can both a) download the emails to her hard drive and b) maintain an interface that allows her to organize the e-mails by date, subject, sender, etc.? I know how to download e-mail and folders from outlook and view them offline -- but is there a way to stop the folders from syncing up with the folders on the server? That is, is there a way to download folders that are purely offline folders and view them within Outlook?

I'm open to any solution that involves both freeing up space on the e-mail server and allowing this co-worker to maintain access to a pleasing user interface and organization system. I'd prefer not to download additional software, but would be open to it. Thanks!

Macbook wireless signal appearing and disappearing at random, wtf is going on?

Happy Dave — Sat, 09 May 2009 02:16:40 -0800

Mac, wireless, bizarre behaviour. I share a wireless connection with other people, and every two or three days the connection on my Macbook does this very odd thing. Okay, so this is a bit of an odd one, with some strange wrinkles that may or may not matter. Here's the deal:

- I live in a small, close-knit community in South London. One of the guys here used to work for a local council as a flash developer, so his flat is wired for corporate grade broadband. Being the all-around great guy he is, he's daisy-chained a load of wireless routers together through the shared loft space of the building we live in, and for the princely sum of £20 a year, I get 8Mb (or better sometimes) broadband. I know, right?

- The router that I use, No 3, has had it's fair share of problems. It kept crashing or disappearing from our router lists (there are a good half dozen routers, some belonging to the communal system, some to individual flats). The guy who runs the system replaced this router with a new one, and gave us a USB stick with the new WPA key on it.

- I entered this WPA key on my Macbook, my wife's iBook G4 and my xBox 360. Both the iBook and the 360 now connect fine, rock solid connection with no problems.

- Here's where it gets weird. Everything worked fine on my Macbook for a few days, then one day I closed it to go and do something else. When I came back, I was still apparently connected, but couldn't get any pages to open. Then I noticed the wireless signal would appear, full bars, for 3 or 4 seconds, then disappear (no bars or one bar then no bars) for 5 or 6 seconds, then reappear. Pinging google.com or any other site through Terminal got a 'no internet connection' message.

- Here's where it get weirder. I've tried a bunch of things to fix this intermittent and incredibly irritating problem:
* Removing Router3 from my list in the Network Preference pane, then re-adding it
* Deleting my 'login' keychain to remove the WPA key, then re-adding it
* Trashing the preference file for Internet Connection

Sometimes, after doing all of these things and restarting, I'll get a strong connection back (usually 4 bars). Sometimes, it won't work. And sometimes, it seems not to work, but I close the laptop in annoyance and, when I come back to it the next morning, it's working fine.

This is driving me up the wall. I can't restart the router because I don't have physical or wireless access to it, and the fact that all the other internet-connected things in my house are working fine with it points to that not being the problem. I think I maybe have a corrupt or unneccessary keychain file somewhere that is pointing to the old WPA key for the previous router (there's a WPA key for Router3 in the 'System' keychain that I can't delete or otherwise remove).

What on earth is going on here?

No mo' Nomadix?

jacob — Mon, 04 May 2009 07:59:00 -0800

Is there a way for me to disable/block Nomadix interstitial pages? I'm staying at a hotel for the next several weeks, and while there's a relatively speedy Internet connection here, the hotel's Nomadix hotspot software inserts an interstitial page titled "Launch the Nomadix Console" after every few requests.

This interstitial page is a minor inconvenience for general web browsing, but when I use other apps (Transmit FTP, Lightroom upload to Flickr, etc.), the page often leads to stalled requests and stopped transfers.

Does anyone know of a way to instruct my computer -- OS X, Leopard, btw -- to ignore these interstitial pages?

PC won't recognize my HD.

reenum — Mon, 04 May 2009 07:14:21 -0800

My computer is having problems with recognizing capacity of hard drives or recognizing the drives at all. I have an old Dell desktop tower. It has a 1.8 Ghz processor and 384 MB of RAM. I use it mostly to store my music and surf the web, so it doesn't need to be top of the line. It has a 40GB drive, and a second hard drive my dad installed.

On Friday, I tried to replace the existing second HD with a 250GB drive. When I started up the unit after replacing drives, the computer wouldn't boot. It kept asking for a boot disk.

So, I swapped the original drive back in. As I was putting that drive back in, I noticed that it has a listed capacity of 120GB. However, when installed, the computer shows it as being a 40GB HD.

I'd like to have more storage on my computer. So, is there a way for me to get this PC to recognize the full capacity of the 120GB HD or to boot up with the 250GB HD?

Need a store that's quick and cheap

arniec — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:49:30 -0800

Me, being the family resident techie, has been asked to build an online shopping site for an in-law. EASY and FAST is the name of the game...what should I use? (asking for Father-In-Law...so the less effort I have to put into it the better).

My FIL runs a local clothing business and would like to sell his wares online. Requirements:

1) Secure online checkout using credit cards.
2) Shopping cart capability so a user can purchase multiple things at once
3) Ability to have multiple items at multiple prices.
4) Ability to have "versions" of items (shirts in S, M, L, XL, and surcharges for shirts 2X, 3X, etc).

It would be best if items can be grouped by category (say shirts, hats, etc. where a user can click on a group to see all items or a paginated list of items in that group).

The inventory will be fairly static, and there will be no "on demand" work (so think Amazon, not CafePress).

I can build him a site no problem, but the secure checkout and credit card processing...I'm not sure what the best option is. I have seen several on-line merchants using Yahoo stores for this type of functionality... How can I get this set up easily with a minimum of hassle?

I can't get online

ihavepromisestokeep — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:22:11 -0800

Norton detected a virus (?), Downloader.MisleadApp, on my laptop. According to Norton, the problem has been "fixed." But ever since then, I cannot access the Internet. How do I get back online? So, here is the story:

Some fishy computer activity made me think my laptop was infected. I ran Norton, which detected the Downloader.MisleadApp (which I think is some kind of generic term?). Norton says the security threat is "high" but doesn't seem to be able to resolve the issue. I download updates to Norton and run the scan again. I click "fix" on Norton and it seems to successfully take care of it. Ever since then I have not been able to access the Internet.

I have wireless internet, and according to my computer, the connection is excellent. I called my Internet Service Provider and they suggested that Norton caused the problem in resolving the virus issue by making my security settings extra high. They said I should "turn off" Norton and then turn it back on. I happily said "OK," thinking my Internet troubles were behind me and that birds would sing again. But after I hung up, I realized I didn't know what they meant by "turn off." Uninstall? I didn't do that, but I did turn off certain things for a few minutes. For instance, there is the option of turning spyware protection off. I tried that but still couldn't get online.

Argh. So, I'm frustrated and obviously naive about all this stuff and not sure what to do next. If it is relevant, I have a sony vaio and use Windows XP. What do I do now??

Problems with large scale telecommuting

Raichle — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:53:31 -0800

What are some obvious problems you would forsee in large scale telecomputing/telecommuting? Essentially, I'm looking to brainstorm on a few big technical problems that would occur if a city decided to move most of it's resources into telecommuters to solve traffic issues, etc. What would be the foremost problems that would have to be addressed to make this possible?

Machine, point me to food

klangklangston — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:45:20 -0800

Where's my food? How to make a web ap that tells me how to find vegetarian food easily? Ok, so, first off—I'm not tremendously programming savvy, so don't be afraid to talk down to me in simple terms (seriously, don't assume I know anything).

Here is what I want: I want to be able to go to a page (either on a computer or a phone) and see where the nearest vegetarian food is (vegetarian restaurant or just a place that has veggie food). I would like to make this open, so that I don't have to find every vegetarian dish everywhere (crowdsource).

I assume that what I need will be some sort of database that accepts submissions easily, and that will work with google maps; and some server space to run it from.

Given that—if I want to build something that does this, what do I need and what do I need to know? Is this something that can be built by a programming novice (I haven't done any programming since high school and that was still mostly basic. I have a moderate grasp of HTML, but little CSS)? How hard will this be? What should I know when I start to build it?

Need to decide which computer skills I need

cherie72 — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 08:28:49 -0800

What computer skills should I acquire to be relevant today? Dreamweaver? HTML? Flash? I don't even know what the options are! I'm not old (30something), but I didn't grow up with computers. I taught myself Basic from a book as a kid, tested out of that class in high school, and never took another class like that again. I learned MS Office on the job and have always had admin jobs that didn't require any programming or more involved computer skills.

In order to be relevant, it seems employers want more knowledge than I have to offer. Everyone wants either design program experience (I'm not a designer, but nowadays they expect an office coordinator to get involved, it seems) like Adobe Creative Suite, or web-related experience.

My question: if I want to work in marketing, small-business sales, etc., should I take a class in web design? Which programs should I know? Do I need to know HTML? (I don't even know basic HTML tags)

Every business has a web site, Facebook page, Twitter account...I can use those things, but I can't create them. Is taking a class the way to go? Or are there books you can recommend that are better? I'm actually quite comfortable with computers and a pretty quick study. But I won't lie about my skills and try to fake it as I learn on the job.

How do you disable access to a root directory on a web server?

jrholt — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 12:14:15 -0800

How do you disable access to a root directory on a web server? We have individual files that we're happy to let people download, but we don't necessarily want them going to the root directory to download all the files.

e.g.

http://www.example.com/files/filenumber1.jpg (okay)
http://www.example.com/files/ (not okay)

Can anybody point me in the right direction so that a user who tries the second URL is denied access? Should we be looking in httaccess? cpanel? Somewhere else? I was surprised to not find an answer after Googling around.

Resize a Website Neatly

mahoganyslide — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 11:58:45 -0800

How do I make a website behave nicely when a browser window is resized so that the website elements don't cascade onto each other? I work for a non-profit that cannot afford to hire someone to build a website that represents the organization. I'm probably the only computer literate person in the organization, but that doesn't mean much. I know a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, but I'm definitely a noob at building websites. Regardless, I (stupidly?) volunteered to try my best and build at least something.

So, I took a look at some online tutorials on HTML/CSS, played around with a few templates, and threw together a website. On the whole, it's pretty decent except for one problem: when you resize the browser window on the screen, all of the different elements of the website start collapsing onto each other which makes for a really ugly display of our content. How do I make it so that a window resize just starts cutting into the website or at least resizes the components neatly? For example, when you resize the browser window while you're surfing Wikipedia, the text and buttons don't jumble up. They're merely resized up to a point and then only a small segment of the website is displayed.

I don't even know what the relevant terminology is, and Google has therefore failed me. Are there any search terms I can use to find a guide, or do you know of any specific HTML/CSS code?

By the way, I'm using Dreamweaver to edit the website.

I appreciate any help that you can provide!