GoRedwings19's Computer Help Hotline

I've had the luxury of making my own Mac computing arrangements for both work and play over the last decade or more -- so I haven't really used a version of Windows since 95. Anyway, I'm about to buy a new laptop for my mom and was wondering what I should do about the OS -- is Vista really bad enough that I need to go get a copy of XP instead? She's in her 70s and uses the PC pretty much exclusively for email, Flickr and Skype video chats with the grandkids. Simplicity and stability are key -- as she's also 8,000 miles away and tech support is me. And no, she doesn't want a Macbook.

So with the L3000s sold, I finally have the funds to replace my laptop, and I'm thinking of going Mac this time, as I've never used an Apple computer before and am curious. My question is about hard drive compatibility. Currently I have a 300gig PATA hard drive in an external closure connected to my PC via USB. I am wondering if I need to format the HD to be compatible with OS X. If so, that will be a significant problem because all of my lossless music is stored on that drive.

http://www.pcper.com/news/Displays/Seiki-Announces-28-32-and-40-4K-Ultra-HD-Monitors-HDMI-20-and-DisplayPort-13 Quick Rundown: Seiki will introduce three different sizes including a 28-in (28U4SEP-G02), 32-in (32U4SEP-G02) and 40-in (40U4SEP-G02) offering with the following specs: Vertical Alignment (VA) LED panel technology with 3,840 by 2,160 4K Ultra HD resolution 12-bit color processing and 14-bit gamma mode HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.3(!), MHL 3.0, DVI and VGA standards display connections Picture-by-picture (x4) and daisy chain mode USB 3.0 hub (1 upstream and 2 downstream) VESA-compliant adjustable monitor stand with quick release Probably not go…

A friend of mine just called me with an interesting wireless network problem he is about to have and asked for possible solutions. Currently, he's running a wireless Applenet network at home with an Airport Express as his wireless router, which connects to the cable modem. He runs WPA and he is the only user so his network is pretty much secure. He has several computers on the network which talk together plus he often goes out to the internet. The problem is that he's about to get a roommate who also wants to get out to the internet. This is OK, but he needs to be able to hide his computers and traffic from the new user. Simple enough, eh? Normally I would solv…

For a variety of reasons, I'd really like to pick one of these up. Actually two. Optical audio out, music streaming, wireless internet, etc. I also hope to have a mac somewhere down the road. I know these are Mac + PC compatible, but what I haven't seen answered is whether or not it can be installed from a PC, without ever going through a Mac at all. Is it PC-compatible in a PC-only scenario? I know it can be used to extend the range of a wireless network, but the wireless in my house is an ancient Linksys turd; I'd like to use the airports as THE wireless network. (and in a pc-only environment until I get my Mac)

I thought some of them were pretty funny and of course weird The World's Weirdest Mice - PC World

I have this kick-ass excel macro that is basically capable of cutting down a multi-hour job into a couple of minutes. However, I'm at a loss in the end. The last stage of the macro runs a mail merge through excel as it calls the next client, changes address, adds other personal info, prints the job, and saves it as an individual file. My problem is that I can get the individual files to save under, say, date and client's name as an excel spreadsheet, but I'd really like to save as a pdf file. I am aware of various programs that act as a printer and basically let you save through the print dialog. The issue is, they always prompt for a name and location. Anyone…

Hello I have a 2.5 year old thinkpad T42 that needs to upgrade it's speed. I don't like the new vista.. or the newer T60/61 models so I just want to upgrade what I got (i just spent like a month with a t61p that was so tank-like i called it the "petreaus computer"... and the windows kept crashing like once ever 3 days!) 1. my memory is already 2gb, which is as much as this computer is willing to go. 2. it's a very clean computer... so i don't think i have anything slowing it down.. but eliminating useless programs is always a plus. 3. i want to focus on the hard drive: Should i get a solid state hard drive or should i get http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Sear…

I have an IDE drive (DVD burner with lightscribe) that I'd like to use in my SATA-based machine (has no IDE whatsoever). Any adapters that you can recommend or disrecommend?

I'm looking to add an arduino to control my dac. I'm not worried so much about writing code as that's already done and proven to work for others. This whole platform is new to me. I can see that the initial scrpt or program is the .ino file and that will contain commands as well as references to libraries but I'm not sure how to put this altogether in Arduino IDE to upload it to the Arduino Due. I purchased this display for the project https://www.buydisplay.com/5-inch-tft-display-arduino-touch-shield-ssd1963-library-for-mega-due There is a download with examples in it here https://www.buydisplay.com/arduino/Libraries-Examples_ER-TFTM050-4.zip …

Kick drum You got any you find amusing?

I installed VLC player, and it doesn't read my NetFlix DVDs. Help?

Okay, so I got a new monitor, this one, and found out that my graphics card is so old, it doesn't have a 1680x1050 resolution. It has higher, but not widescreen. And it's old enough that it's no longer being supported. So the short answer is I need a new computer. The longer answer is I ain't gettin' one right away, I was going to build it piecemeal -- a case here, a power supply the next month, motherboard and CPU the following, memory, etc. So what I want is a graphics card that will fit in my current computer, but will be good enough for my new computer. Note: I am not a gamer! I do not need dual SLI thisthatorthother. I won't even be watching DVDs on this thing …

I am looking to buy some RAM/. Any suggestions for a reliable source? PC2700 CL2.5 NP DDR SDRAM SODIMM Memory Thanks!

If I type in Head-Case.org I get this: Everything else (forums and chat) functions as normal but for some reason the main page isn't working. Any ideas?

Just looking for a few suggestions on what sort of router I should go for, including brand, type (G, N, etc.), whatever else. I must be honest and say that networking is a weak point for me and I don't know a heck of a lot about routers in general, but I just need something for here at the apartment that will give me multiple ethernet ports and a solid wireless connection for my roommate's lappy. Thanks folks.

Curious if there is a SATA and IDE BlacX-like device? I see adapters like this, but nothing in the more convenient form factor. Anyone know of one?

I have a really old 1.1ghz computer with 512mb of really old slow ram. I'm getting irked at my computers sluggish speeds when oppening web browsers and files and even transfering things to my portable player. I don't however have the resources to get a whole new computer. I can get a stick of 512mb of ram thats clocked at 633mhz for 39.99 at circuit city. Will I notice any differnce in my computers preformance or will I just have to save for a new computer? Thanks for any help, aaron.

So, Firefox has been getting flakier and flakier on me, so I finally decided to give Opera a shot. It seems decent enough, and isn't having the page-loading issues Firefox had been having. But I'm having one major problem with it... I can't seem to get the scroll pad (next to the touch-pad) on my POS Gateway laptop to work. Using the space bar works, but is definitely less than ideal. And I can't find anything in the documentation to help. Has anyone else had this problem with the scroll pad & Opera? Thanks! Ian

So I've been having problems with my wireless for a month now. The wireless card decides to turn itself off at random times, usually once every two days or so, and when I try to turn it back on, it does nothing. So I try the thinkvantage wireless thing and it says its still on when its obviously off. I tried uninstalling the Thinkvantage wireless manager, fooled around with the power settings of the wireless card and logging in and out, but the only thing that works is restarting the computer. Any recommendations thats not reformatting the comp, buy a mac or get linux?

Hi there, H-C. Yesterday, while I was on a photo shoot, my beloved Blackberry grew legs and took off (FML). I've been in damage control mode for the last 20 or so hours (shutting off the phone, changing a fuck-ton of passwords.) Now I'm moving on to regaining ground so to speak. I have a Google Voice number, and had the GV app for my BB. I also have a Vonage box left over from when I was a customer of theirs. My understanding is that the Vonage only works with their service. It might be hackable, but that's really not my forte. What I'd like is similar box, something with an ethernet (or USB) jack and an RJ11 jack. Failing that, a hardware phone with a USB port…

Ok, so even after I originally said it was stupid, I've been considering the Air recently. I was looking on the Apple Store, and Time Capsule sounds cool, and as I understand it, is also a wireless router? And it has a USB port? It says on their website that you can hookup a USB printer to it. What about a usb optical drive? If you can hook up a USB optical drive, is anyone aware of any wireless printers? If you can't, are there wireless or bluetooth optical drives? If I switch to the Air, I'll be getting rid of my desktop, so this is important. Anyone have experience with bluetooth keyboards and mice? Oh, and can you also partition part of the Time Capsule…

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4217348.html Pretty cool stuff I could really see something like this being the direction that computing goes in the relatively near future.

Can anyone recommend an alternative to wireless or Cat5? Specifically, I'm wondering if powerline or MoCA are actually viable alternatives.

I'm getting tired of crappy AC powered USB hubs going out over time. D-Link DUB-H7 most recently. Anyone have decent luck with one to recommend?