Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2011 April 27

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April 27

Blackberry .REM Files

Hi Guys,

I work for the DoD and carry a BlackBerry Bold 9700. It contains a 2gb micro SD card that holds the photos that are taken. The other day, the screen went completely white and stopped responding to all keyboard inputs. (Strangely, it can still receive phone calls.) I took it to the IT department, who told me that it was dead, and to have my group's BlackBerry PoC return it under its warranty and issue me another one. Unfortunately for me, he is away on business for three weeks.

While it's a relief that the photos that I have taken are stored on the SD card and not on the phone itself, they are encrypted with BlackBerry's proprietary ".REM" extension. Such encryption is apparently mandated by DOD Security policy. There is also a toggle within the device options for allowing files to be transferred off of a BlackBerry SD card (which term escapes me at the moment). This is also mandatorily set to "locked" by the DOD. As such, I cannot transfer the photos off of the phone with BlackBerry's desktop manager or media transfer utilities. Neither can I simply plug the SD card into a USB adapter, and then into the computer, and transfer them to my hard drive. (Well, I can do that, but the pictures remain in encrypted format, and cannot be viewed.) The only bona fide way that I have been able to access the BlackBerry's photos in the past has been to e-mail them to myself from the BlackBerry itself. (I know. Dumb.) But with a crashed device, that is no longer possible. My sister-in-law has a BlackBerry as well, (a Curve, I think,) so I popped my SD card into her phone and instantly got a message that files were found, but they were encrypted, so I couldn't access them from her device either.

My question: Am I... SOL? If I am issued another Bold 9700, will the files be accessible, or does it have to be the exact same device? I would ask IT, but to be frank, since picture-taking with a DoD-issued device isn't considered "mission-essential," they likely will not consider my predicament very urgent. Thanks in advance, as always! Kingsfold (Quack quack!) 01:21, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

With all due respect, I don't think we should offer any advice about accessing encrypted data on a Government-owned computing device (let alone DoD)! We can assume that the data is strongly encrypted, and as such can't be practically recovered unless you know the encryption type and password; you should get assistance from your I.T. guys, because even if the contents were personal, the device is not. Here is some information on encryption on Blackberry devices from the manufacturer's site. Nimur (talk) 04:02, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

Update: In frustration, I put everything back together this morning (media card, battery, cover) and clapped it a few times, very firmly, into the palm of my other hand. My suspicion is/was that it's simply a short in the connection with the screen. It flickered and miraculously I could make out "BlackBerry" on a startup screen. I slapped it a few more times, ran a quick errand, and when I came back, it seemed to be fine. (!) Now I'm e-mailing myself my photos as quickly as I can, realizing that I'm probably on borrowed time. I guess sometimes violence IS the answer. Kingsfold (Quack quack!) 12:06, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

If it's functioning, you should be able to plug it into a computer and suck the stuff off the memory card through Desktop Manager, unless it's prevented via IT Policy. Foofish (talk) 05:04, 28 April 2011 (UTC)

Yes, it is prevented. (Grrr.) Luckily, though, I was able (as noted above) to get it to work long enough to e-mail myself all of the pictures in question, so I'm "all set." Lesson learned though-- either don't take pictures that I care about keeping with a DoD BlackBerry, or e-mail them to myself the night I take them. Kingsfold (Quack quack!) 12:58, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

Samba share-level logging options

Is it possible for me to set different logging options for individual shares in samba? O'reilly tells me I expressly can't do this, however I wondered if there were any common workarounds or other tricks. Specifically I want extended logging on a particular share (actually a particular user, so if there was a way to do user level logging either through samba or with the system in general that could work as well) including any file actions (open, modify, delete, permission changes) but I don't want that level of detail on other shares. Shadowjams (talk) 05:59, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

How about setting up detailed logging for every share and every user; then use tail and/or grep to extract only those log messages you care about? You can further set up a cron job to delete the "complete" version of the log as often as you desire. Nimur (talk) 16:02, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

I'm afraid I may have to do something like that, which is a lot more trouble and also means writing and maintaining another script. Is there perhaps a way I can setup access logging within the OS itself? For example, if a sysadmin wanted to monitor the actions of shell users is there a way to log actions to the filesystem?

Another idea I considered is using preexec and postexec to manually change the log settings, but I'm not sure if that'd work (restarting samba in the midst of a share open could lead to some strange behavior)? Shadowjams (talk) 19:03, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

computer field

i am doing BCA from distance education of sikkim manipal university.i have to know that can i fill all the forms of government sector its certificate is valuable in every sector or not? give me some better way to find a better carrier. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Niraj kumar bca (talk • contribs) 09:38, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

If I understand you correctly you're doing a Bachelor of Computer Application and want to know if your degree will be valuable in all areas of government? Am I also correct that you only mean for jobs related to computing or more particularly computer applications? Because to state the obvious your degree is only likely to be of limited use if you want to become a government economist or a diplomat. You may still be able to get a job in say the Ministry of Finance (India) or the Ministry of External Affairs (India) but without significant on job training or further qualifications it's likely to be concentrated on the area of you degree. If my understanding is correct, then I would think most areas of government would probably have enough use of computers that there may be jobs available for people with a degree like yours but the number of jobs available is likely to vary. Nil Einne (talk) 01:25, 28 April 2011 (UTC)

SQLite on Ubuntu

Can somebody give me a step by step guide (or a link to a good one) on how to install SQLite on Ubuntu 10.10, to work with Java? I tried through Synaptic, but didn't work. Any method is fine as long as it works. Many thanks, 13:51, 27 April 2011 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.255.9.203 (talk)

You almost certainly have the sqlite library (/usr/lib/libsqlite.so.0) already (if not, sudo apt-get install libsqlite0). Then you need a JDBC driver for it. This one, which includes instructions on how to use it, which worked fine for me. There are several other JDBC drivers for sqlite; I don't know if this one is better or worse than the others. I can't immediately see any in the normal Ubuntu repositories, however. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 14:47, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

What is downloading?

Recently I found following note on a webpage:

"Reproduction, including downloading of ARS works is prohibited by copyright laws and international conventions without the express written permission of Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York."

But, if I'm seeing the page, I will be automatically downloading it (even if it's only saved in the cache directory). Would pressing the save button of my browser make this different? Quest09 (talk) 16:38, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

This is text written by an idiot lawyer, or wannabe lawyer, who doesn't understand as well as you do that any viewing of a web page requires a download. My bet is that the idiot lawyer or wannabe lawyer means "downloading via Napster", and is hoping his or her legal notice will come in handy if they ever sue a torrent downloader. Not that the idiot lawyer or wannabe lawyer knows what "torrent" means. Of course if they put stuff on their publicly accessible web site there's implied consent for any visitor to view the page at will with no legal consequences. Saving the page would count as a fair use in the US almost certainly but I'm not aware of any case law that enshrines this. Comet Tuttle (talk) 16:48, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

IANAL, so this is just my own personal feeling, but I tend to think that if I get to view something on the net in the first place, I have the full right to save it as well. Distributing it further is a whole different kettle of fish though, and isn't generally allowed without permission. JIP | Talk 18:05, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

This is actually a bit ambiguous. As our article on uploading and downloading states, "The use of the terms uploading and downloading often imply that the data sent or received is to be stored permanently, or at least stored more than temporarily.". Looie496 (talk) 18:12, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

Copyright law doesn't usually require that notice anymore (although it helps for a variety of reasons) and even without it, copying works is still covered by copyright law. What makes most of what's legitimately offered on the internet non infringing is the fact that the owner offered it up to the public at large. That's a sort of implied license, which does not require a writing in most circumstances.

It's hard to comment on this particular case without broader context, but in general when someone offers something up on a public web page they're giving you an implied license to, at the least, view it (including having it saved in your browser's cache). They're probably not giving you a license to go publish a book with the same content. How you determine what's in-between is where the "idiot lawyers" come into play. That all depends on the circumstances and context. Shadowjams (talk) 19:08, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

Verizon iPhone in China

Hi guys,
I'm an American going to China next year. I want to get an iPhone, but I'm unsure how best to go about it. I'm on Verizon (which doesn't have SIM cards, right?), and I'm hoping for a phone that will work both here and in China (so that I don't have to switch phones if I switch countries).
So the question is, what are my options for this? Should I buy an AT&T iPhone 4 (can I just buy the phone, without a plan?) and then jailbreak it/switch SIM cards? Should I stick with Verizon and just switch plans when I switch back and forth between countries? What's the cheapest/most effective way to get effectively full use (3G, cheap intranational calling plan, etc) out of my phone in both countries?
Thanks so much,
140.247.157.117 (talk) 21:09, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

China Unicom seems to offer the GSM iPhone 4 in China. I am no expert but as far as I know, your Cingular iPhone should work with China Unicom. I think it is reasonable to presume that if your iPhone is not sim-locked, it should work although probably not perfectly. High-Speed Downlink Packet Access. Kushal (talk) 01:27, 30 April 2011 (UTC)

My friend is going blind and needs help with her computer

My friend has a condition in which her eyesight has degraded and needs assistance in interacting with Windows. She refuses to budge on the switch to open source technology, so my ability to help her is exceptionally limited. She already uses ZoomText, and has an exceptionally large computer monitor.

The immediate problems I've run into: The Norton virus is stuck on her computer. What software do I need to remove Norton? What open source antivirus is best for Windows? The high contrast setting doesn't allow her to see certain hyperlinks (blue on white is hard to see). The automatic updates are all interactive (they keep asking her before doing anything, and are not automatic at all). ZoomText can't seem run as a Daemon process. Windows in general does random unexpected things (As expected).

Please note that I understand how to solve all these problems in the Gnome environment, with Compiz Fusion; As I stated, she doesn't want to switch to open source tech. I would also like to state that I will remove any responses that are off subject (i.e. "what's her condition," or "you spelled 'bananas' wrong.").

Please cite any information sources you can. Any and all help is appreciated. --67.173.155.123 (talk) 21:59, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

Learn how to use the accessibility features of Windows 7, from Microsoft. Nimur (talk) 22:17, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

Personal taste only, but fwiw I tend to use the AVG Free anti-virus product [1]; it's not open source but it is licensed for free use by individuals. Unlike any Norton experiences I've had (admittedly in the very dim past), it tends to get on with its job with the minimum of fuss. I'd have expected that there would be an Add/Remove Programme option in Control Panel that would allow you to remove Norton. There is a Norton removal tool [2] for older versions of Norton. The standard assistive technology products in use where I work, again fwiw, are JAWS [3] as a screen reader, Dragon Dictate for speach entry, and Zoomtext. I forget what the braille output application's name is. Oh; and texthelp [4] billed as being useful for dyslexics and those with mild visual impairments. As to Zoomtext, as possibly per Nimur's pointer, I noticed recently (by toggling it on & not being fully in control of getting it to go away) a built in screen magnifier in newer versions of Windows. Possily this would be a substitute for zoomtext. Windows doesn't (to my knowledge) do daemons as linux does, but it'll be possible to configure zoomtext to start when the machine boots, if only by putting the app in the start-up menu option. You spelled banana correctly, but my guess is that your friend wants your help more than she wants the whole thing to become a venue for refighting the free versus propritary software battle. --Tagishsimon (talk) 22:48, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

If you can get it to work on Windows (apparently some graphics devices are unsupported, see README), xcalib could be useful for just inverting the colors, instead of bothering with any of the 'contrast' themes. Can make looking at a screen much easier on the eyes. ¦ Reisio (talk) 00:46, 28 April 2011 (UTC)

Zoom Text has options for changing colors, so try those out to see if you can find a good combo for her. You might also consider dual monitors, as one at normal magnification and the other zoomed in is a good way to work. Also, don't forget to change the screen resolution to the minimum in the normal Windows way, too (Start + Control Panel + Display + Settings Tab). That will help her when Zoom Text is off. And her medical condition does matter, for at least 2 reasons:

1) For some medical problems, like macular degeneration, which produces multiple blind spots, bigger isn't necessarily better, since a larger word is likely to encounter more blind spots.

2) A rapidly deteriorating condition would indicate that she needs to move to a screen reader, while a gradual deterioration may allow her to continue with screen magnifiers, etc. StuRat (talk) 03:10, 28 April 2011 (UTC)

I'm a screen reader user. I've never used screen magnifiers, but I can try to help. Here's a page with a link to ZoomText's user guide, in case it's of any use. It says that ZoomText can be started automatically when Windows starts through the preferences dialogue, but it doesn't seem to say whether it starts as a service, a rough equivalent to daemons on Linux. Have you considered asking your friend to try Magic, another major screen magnifier for Windows? I agree with all the points above ... especially about replacing Norton with something like AVG! Graham87 03:55, 28 April 2011 (UTC)

"What's the best anti-virus" is a discussion with no end, but if you're willing to drop the open-source requirement, I would consider Microsoft Security Essentials - it's by far the least obtrusive I've come across and can be set to update automatically (as can Windows itself, if it's not doing so already) which will minimise the notifications you friend receives. (depends on version of Windows, but somewhere like Control Panel > Windows Update > Change settings). Browser accessibility settings can be altered to make hyperlinks better visible (for example: in Internet Explorer, choose Settings > Internet Options > General > Accessibility to disable stylesheets and/or specify your own which could force hyperlinks to display in a preferred colour). Zoomtext's X-font feature may make text including links easier to read when magnified. Zoomtext can be set to start up before logging on and can also start minimised with the icon only in the notification area (bottom right), but that's as close as you'll get to running as daemon/service. Your friend will need to click on the icon to access ZT's various features, but many features can be accessed via hotkeys.--Kateshortforbob _talk 23:08, 28 April 2011 (UTC)