Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2015 January 8

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January 8

Distance to route

When using Google Maps or Mapquest, I've often wanted to ask "What's the closest restaurant/gas station to the route I've entered". Is there a way to do this, as opposed to finding the closest places to one point ? StuRat (talk) 02:25, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

Addendum: The road distance would be ideal, but straight line distance is better than nothing. StuRat (talk) 17:21, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

'D' on my Oyster card

I have a London Oyster card. On the back, it gives the usual blurb about terms and conditions. Underneath, it says 'Mayor of London' and left of that, the letter 'D'. What does the 'D' stand for? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 36.225.127.145 (talk) 05:26, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

As seen here, I presume.  (No idea why 'D' seems to be part of the logo for 'Mayor of London')  ~:71.20.250.51 (talk) 06:09, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

Is it not shorthand for Domine, dirige nos, the motto of the City Corporation? (It's also plausible that a group of incorporated Yankees put the D there (for dissent) and expertly filed legal proceedings banning its removal):

“ It reminded me of something I had read in my youth about the ingenious way in which the aldermen of London raised the money that built the Mansion House. A person who had not taken the Sacrament according to the Anglican rite could not stand as a candidate for sheriff of London. Thus Dissenters were ineligible; they could not run if asked, they could not serve if elected. The aldermen, who without any question were Yankees in disguise, hit upon this neat device: they passed a by-law imposing a fine of L400 upon any one who should refuse to be a candidate for sheriff, and a fine of L600 upon any person who, after being elected sheriff, refused to serve. Then they went to work and elected a lot of Dissenters, one after another, and kept it up until they had collected L15,000 in fines; and there stands the stately Mansion House to this day, to keep the blushing citizen in mind of a long past and lamented day when a band of Yankees slipped into London and played games of the sort that has given their race a unique and shady reputation among all truly good and holy peoples that be in the earth. ” — Chapter 25, A Competitive Examination

Nimur (talk) 14:47, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

No, the City of London is not London, and the Mayor of London is not the Lord Mayor of London. Oyster Cards, as with the rest of Transport for London, have nothing to do with the City of London. -- Finlay McWalterᚠTalk 15:27, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

The D does not appear in any other use of the Mayor of London logo that I've seen; I don't believe it's associated with that. It doesn't appear on all Oyster cards (it's not on the rather old one I have, nor on most of the ones Google Images finds). I can't find mention of any other letters in its place, and I can't find any indication that there is an obvious version scheme in the cards' printing (there is a per-card serial number). -- Finlay McWalterᚠTalk 15:35, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

Do you have a disabled person's card? A Complete staff guide to ticketing on London's Buses (PDF) lists several codes that are printed on the card in a blue box, such as "C" for child, "E" for elderly, "D" for disabled, "VCTS" for veterans, etc. 88.112.50.121 (talk) 17:44, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

No, it's just a standard Oyster card that I ordered online and had delivered to me, as I didn't live in London at the time. Could it mean 'delivery', or perhaps something to do with the deposit?36.225.127.145 (talk) 00:31, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

But don't disabled persons get a Freedom Pass rather than a special Oyster Card? That "D" sort of resembles the format for the other discount cards, but they put the special designation on the front where the name and photo are. -- Finlay McWalterᚠTalk 18:06, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

This page says "The DESfire Oyster card can be identified by the letter ‘D’ in white on a black box on the back of the card." The background in 71.20.250.51's image appears to be blue, but maybe there's a connection anyway. -- BenRG (talk) 06:08, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

MS Word 2010 Navigation pane

Does anyone know how to keep the MS Word’s navigation panes headings unopened? Every time I open MS Word it tends to open all the headings showing the complete hierarchy. I need to keep it unopened. -- (Russell.mo (talk) 17:12, 8 January 2015 (UTC))

Never mind. -- (Russell.mo (talk) 07:13, 9 January 2015 (UTC))

Resolved

Windows server family

Hey guys,
I got few questions and I'll be grateful if you answer for me:
1. If I install Windows Home Server, Must I make it a DHCP server? Or may I choose which computer be connected to it if any?
2.If I install on a different computer this Windows version, must it be always open? Or can I close it sometimes? What will happen if I shall close it sometimes?
3.Does this version have "low-energy" mode, on-which the computer hibernates, but still can awake independently, or at least in scheduled events?
4. Let's assume that I can have both for free, both, I mean Windows Home Server, and Windows Server 2008 R2. Is there any reason to pick Windows Home Server. Does it require crazy requirements for a home-scale network?
Thanks.Exx8 (talk) 17:36, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

1. I don't believe you have to make it a DHCP server, "DHCP server" is a windows server role, any role can be enabled or disabled. You do need at least one DHCP server on a network if you want the computers to talk to each other, in a basic home network DHCP is usually fulfilled by the modem/router. If your home network is centered around such a router, you don't need another DHCP server.

2. I assume you mean is it safe to turn the server off? Well it depends on what role on the network the server is filling. If you do make it a DHCP server for your network, then the server has to be on when any client generates an IP request, otherwise the request will fail. This typically only happens when a computer is joined to the network (this includes when a computer is restarted) AND has an expired DHCP lease. On a home network where you aren't connecting or disconnecting or moving computers very often, this might be a rare occurrence, depending on your particular situation, a DHCP server could be turned off for a long time before it causes any issues. If the server is a file server as another example, then obviously the files will not be available if it is off. It ultimately depends what role the server is filling.

3. I'm not personally familiar with home server, but I'm fairly certain there would be various hibernate or low power modes, those are all fairly basic features on all windows versions.

4. It really depends on what you are trying to do. Obviously 2008r2 is the full featured product, it will have more features and be less limited, but having said that, you will also probably need more knowledge to configure those features, which in a home network setting you probably won't even use 50% if not 90% of those features. If home server does everything you need and is easier to configure, there's no reason to use 2008r2, that is after all the target market of home server. Are you a nerd who loves playing with computers and won't mind troubleshooting for hours when you can't get something working? go with 2008r2. If you just want to set it up and make it work, I'd go for home server. Vespine (talk) 22:47, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

Flickr duplicate pictures

Is there a way through Flickr if one can tell if one has uploaded duplicate pictures? Like for example a listing of JUST the duplicates. I want to be able to somehow find the duplicates quickly and then delete the duplicate ones, which will leave just the one particular picture in my uploads. How can you then can you delete the duplicate Flickr pictures?--Christie the puppy lover (talk) 19:38, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

New type of ad strategy

This was interesting. A screen shot, even if I could remember how, wouldn't have worked. You would have to see a video to understand, and I didn't know how to do that.

After a few seconds, the old ad floated away to reveal the new ad, as if it was on top of a stack of papers and the wind was blowing. Or as if an unseen hand picked it up and put it aside.

Anyone know the name of the technique?— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 20:01, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

Could it have been a Flash ad? -- 143.85.169.18 (talk) 22:57, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

I didn't see it today. And I'm not sure how to ask anyone. I've seen many ads that caused the Adobe Flash Player to crash, so it is used somewhere.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 17:52, 9 January 2015 (UTC)