Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2012 January 1

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= January 1 =

fuses that can be attached to a printed resistive heating device so as to maintain a temperature range ie: 100 degrees F

Looking to improve temperature control over a printed resistive heating device. Have been testing using a themistor type system, but am looking for added protection. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.155.19.96 (talk) 09:51, 1 January 2012 (UTC)

:[http://www.teamwavelength.com/info/temperaturecontrollers.php this] looks as complex as the question ;-) fredgandt 10:18, 1 January 2012 (UTC)

Laptop Purchase

{{resolved}}

Hi,

Not sure if this belongs here, but I am looking at buying a new 14" laptop in Canada for around $400. I'm planning to use it in class (high school), and around the house for web browsing, video watching, and hopefully some gaming too. I've pretty much narrowed it down to two options, an HP with 4GB of RAM and an AMD Quad-Core A6-3400M processor. [http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/hewlett-packard-hp-14-amd-quad-core-a6-3400m-laptop-g4-1264ca-pewter-g6-1264ca/10182247.aspx?path=dadf191be68522e5b26e4db0c6af1411en02] The other option is not available online but is an Acer with 6GB of RAM and an Intel Core i3-370m processor. It seems to me to be a tradeoff between the extra RAM on the Acer and the better processor and integrated video on the HP. I am computer literate (I've published applications on the Android Market, etc.), but I am not sure which one to go for. Any suggestions? Thanks, 99.240.226.174 (talk) 17:54, 1 January 2012 (UTC)

:If you are planning any serious gaming, I would recommend that you focus on the graphics capabilities. Memory is easily upgradable, but most other laptop components are not. 24.254.222.77 (talk) 18:53, 1 January 2012 (UTC)

::That's true. [http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c03058737&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=5186397 HP's product spec page] says that it's upgradable to 8GB by yanking out the old 4GB DIMM and inserting a new 8GB one, so eventually you can get more RAM if that is needed. I would not say this is a "serious gaming" laptop, though, because video RAM appears to be shared with main RAM. Comet Tuttle (talk) 19:45, 1 January 2012 (UTC)

: If you're going to be moving it around a lot, which it sounds like you are, you should check the respective weights of the laptops (the HP is 2.12kg). If one is significantly heavier, you may regret having to lug it around for the next few years. There's always a tradeoff to be had - between portability, performance, and price. -- Finlay McWalterTalk 19:53, 1 January 2012 (UTC)

You saying they're the same price? What's the graphics device on the Acer? ¦ Reisio (talk) 23:19, 1 January 2012 (UTC)

OP here. Thanks for the help: I decided to go with the HP, on the principle that RAM is more easily upgraded than a processor. For the record, the Acer had only an Intel Graphics 3000. Thanks, 72.136.170.188 (talk) 03:31, 2 January 2012 (UTC)

Keyboard layout defaults to English/US on Fedora 14 Linux

Now that I've upgraded to Fedora 14 Linux, I have found that my keyboard layout defaults to English/US instead of Finnish. I specifically configured the original Fedora 12 system to use the Finnish layout, and I didn't change that when upgrading to Fedora 14. But still, when I boot up the computer, and try to enter the letter ä, the computer prints an apostrophe ('). (The "ä" key on the Finnish layout is two keys right of the "l" key.) When I go to keyboard preferences and select the "layout" tab, there are two options listed: "Finnish" first and "English/US" second. After I delete the "English/US" option, the keyboard starts working with the Finnish layout as normal. But when I reboot the computer, the problem comes back. How can I make this setting permanent? JIP | Talk 19:45, 1 January 2012 (UTC)

:You'd really get more Fedora help on IRC: http://webchat.freenode.net/?nick=JIP&channels=#fedora ¦ Reisio (talk) 20:10, 3 January 2012 (UTC)