Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2014 May 30

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May 30

The Cloud

Has computer science reached the point where hardware is virtual in the cloud and the end user can just have a screen and a keyboard with an internet connection? QuackingLoudly (talk) 21:00, 30 May 2014 (UTC)

Computer terminal and thin client are the articles. This isn't so much the future of computing as it is the past, but yes, to an extent you can do this. Obviously you need some hardware at the client end, and it won't necessarily be much cheaper than a general-purpose computing machine. -- BenRG (talk) 21:16, 30 May 2014 (UTC)

... and, of course, such a system relies on a fast, reliable internet connection which is not available in some areas. CPUs and hard drives are (in general) cheaper than screens, so there is not a big advantage in omitting these from the system. We have an article on Cloud computing. Dbfirs 07:51, 31 May 2014 (UTC)

When you consider that you can now have a fully-fledged Linux computer for $20 that is one inch by one inch in size and runs off of a couple of AA batteries...there really isn't any point in trying to make a classical "thin client" - it doesn't save you anything to eliminate the computer. However, the Google ChromeOS systems operate much like a thin client would (even though they run Linux under the hood)...early versions did absolutely everything inside the browser - so all of your applications and data files were "in the cloud". I believe they slightly backed away from that radical position, and some software does actually reside inside the computer. SteveBaker (talk) 19:29, 2 June 2014 (UTC)

How do you fit a AA battery into something one inch by one inch? Are you just giving us the cross-section of a long thin computer? --Trovatore (talk) 23:13, 2 June 2014 (UTC)

You power your computer using AA batteries??? A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 17:37, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

Cameras

There seemed to be two camps in regards to Digital cameras; the AA battery camp and the L-ION camp. I understand the differences between NiMH and L-ION (AA can be bought anywhere whereas L-ION is expensive and needs a brand specific charger but has better performance). But in practical terms is that that much difference between the two for the armature camera enthusiast? What about cameras that take 4 AAs vs L-ION, when the voltage drops does the camera have enough logic not to just shut down in mid-flow?

I'm not a specialist but having owned cameras of both forms (both same brand, Pentax) I can say in my experience there's absolutely no difference in general usage. ny156uk (talk) 15:38, 31 May 2014 (UTC)

Swapping boot drive to a different SATA data connection

On a Windows machine, if you move the boot drive to a different SATA data connection, will it still know to boot from it? Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 22:39, 30 May 2014 (UTC)

I got the answer elsewhere. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 04:15, 31 May 2014 (UTC)