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Personal Tech: Laptop Guide

Posted on: Friday, 22 September 2006, 12:00 CDT

By Rob Pegoraro, Washington Post Personal Technology Columnist

The Washington Post's was online to answer your personal tech questions and discuss recent columns, including this Sunday's laptop guide on at .

Read his latest column: The Laptop-Buying Learning Curve and view the interactive guide .

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Want to know what upcoming topics are being covered? Sign up for the Fast Forward e-letter -- get updated information on personal technology news and product demos.

Past editions of Rob's e-letter are online here .

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Greetings, and welcome to this special edition of my usual tech chat. We're here to talk about yesterday's guide to laptop computers--but also any other computing or electronics topics you might be curious about (I see we've got a couple of HDTV questions lined up).

Let's get started.

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Heard on the way in this morning that computer prices are falling -- you can now get a decent laptop for $400. So why did you only review models in the $1K-plus range?

When I talked to the PR departments of the various manufacturers, I asked for a laptop that weighed about 5 pounds or less and cost under $1,500. There was no minimum price requirement--but the weight specification ensured that we didn't have any under-$1,000 machines, as all of those exceed that limit. (And since I was reviewing laptops with an eye towards student use, I didn't want to bother with 7-lb. computers that nobody would want to lug across campus in the first place.)

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My home wireless router needs to be rebooted several times a month.

Are wireless routers reliable enough that I could set one up for my non-techie parents and expect it to stay up?

In general, they are. But not always... my own wireless router, a four-year-old AirPort Extreme, has started requiring pretty frequent reboots itself. (*Just* what I needed in a week when I was working from home most of the time :(

I'm about to try reflashing its firmware with the most recent update from Apple, but I'm not super-confident about the outcome; I may just have to suck it up and buy a new router.

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What are the benefits of buying a laptop with a 64 bit processor? I know Windows Vista will have a 64 bit architecture, but what does that mean to the end user? What other software is on the horizon that will let us take advantage of these benefits?

To the end-user, 64-bit computing means pretty much nothing. See this Help File item for more details: HELP FILE

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Appreciated your article on "The laptop curve" but am still curious to know what to look for in a laptop for a traveling teacher who ustilizes overhead slide shows and teaching CDs. The only comparisons you gave were for students (who probably plug into a LAN) and or people around the house. I've been a Dell person so actually only need Internet Explorer so do you think that I should upgrade to MAC if MAC has more enhancements? I've always been curious about MAC and want to try one out anyway. Again, I only travel to teach and then only use my laptop to browse and check email. I don't run a corporation. Thank you

First of all: Apple sells computers called "Macs"--no all-caps. It's not an acronym of any sort. (Sorry, this is a pet peeve of mine :)

Second: Sure, a MacBook would handle those uses just fine. By your mention of slide shows, I assume you're talking PowerPoint; in that case, you'd need to budget an extra $100 and change for the Student and Teacher Edition of Microsoft Office 2004 on top of the cost of a Mac.

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Rob, This past weekend I saw two Toshiba Laptop's. Same price and same chip with the following differences. Laptop A: 17" screen, 1024 gb ram, 100gb hard drive. Laptop B: 14.1" screen, 2048 gb ram, 120gb hard drive, fingerprint security. My basic usage: dial up, email, surf the web, video games, power point. What Laptop would you recommend? Thanks

I'd be inclined to get the second machine--it ought to weigh a lot less, and the added hard drive capacity will help a lot in the long run.

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Rob, you have great timing, as I am about to use a chunk of my grad school student loan to purchase a laptop. The MacBook appeals to me because of security and software, but I look at the cheaper PC laptops and wonder if the potential savings (up to $500 less at purchase) would be offset or not. I don't have any extraordinary needs, though I would like to be ready for Vista when it arrives. Am I forgetting other costs associated with owning a Dell or similar (more repairs? more software to buy?)? Also, you mentioned a problem in your MacBook review that you expected could be tweaked within a few months. Has or will Apple address it in new shipments of the MacBook?

Are you referring to my first review of the MacBook, where I complained about poor WiFi reception. That seems to have been solved, to judge from the performance of the model that I just tried out.

The MacBook still runs awfully hot, and you do decide if you can deal with it or not. At least this thing's hot spot is at the back end of the machine.

Re: Vista... from what I've been able to tell, the added cost of Vista-ready components (extra memory and an Aero Glass-capable graphics chipset) will eat up most or all of the cost gap between a MacBook--though not a MacBook Pro--and a Windows laptop.

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Rob, I have a Dell tower running WIN XP MCE wired to a LINKSYS WRT54G router, a Dell notebook running WIN2K wired to the router and a Dell notebook running WIN2K wireless to the router. I want to network the three together to give the two notebooks access to the printer attached to the tower. In WIN XP, I can run the Networking Wizard but on the two notebooks WIN2K doesn't support that program. Right now I am concentrating on the two wired computers and I can see the laptop from the My Network Places on the tower but can't access any folders. I have ZoneLabs Zone Alarm basic running on all computers. What do I need to turn off (or on for that matter) to get access across all of the computers? Thanks.

This is a really complicated question, but I'll try to start answering it with this simple reply: Turn off ZoneAlarm on the Dell tower and use the built-in XP firewall instead. The Microsoft firewall is often a lot smarter about knowing when you've got file/printer sharing turned on and reacting accordingly.

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I am looking at laptops but also wanted your opinion on the new release of Kubuntu (Linux)desktop OS and office software. My thought is that I can give my wife's laptop new life by putting this OS on it. So far all my MS office applications seem to work flawlessly on the boot up demo disk I downloaded on my laptop, and it would save me having to buy Office and a new copy of XP for her as the XP was OEMed on her machine from Dell.

I've been working on a review of Ubuntu for some time now. Watch this space...

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I have a fairly new Dell laptop and the cursor likes to jump around while I'm typing. I sent it back to Dell and they say it's fine. Am I doing something funky, like channeling static electricity from low-flying clouds, or is Dell giving me the runaround?

Check the touchpad settings (under Control Panel, choose the Printers and Other Hardware category). A lot of Windows laptops come set up to be way too sensitive--for instance, many of them are configured to recognize a tap of the touchpad as a mouse click.

But it might also be the touchpad. The HP Pavilion I tried kept on sending the cursor skittering into random corners, even after I turned off all these options with the control-panel software.

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I am a journalist who essentially uses a computer to write his copies, send emails and surf the Web. I would like to buy my first laptop, but don't want to spend much on it. The cheapest laptops on the Indian market are those with Celeron processor (usually with clockspeeds of 1.5 or 1.6G)and 40 GB harddisk and 512MB RAM. Do you think these specs are enough for the kind of job I am in. Secondly, is a Celeron laptop going to support the Windos Vista OS when it's launched in January 2007? Or you need a faster processor (like Pentium M/ Core Solo or Dual Core) to run Vista? Would be grateful for the answer.

Yes, a Celeron laptop with those specs would be more than fine for word processing, Web browsing and e-mail. *Any* processor made in the last three or four years should be fine for that.

But this hypothetical Celeron machine probably won't handle Vista well at all. You'd need much more memory and hard drive space, and without an upgraded graphics card you'd only be able to run the "standard" Vista interface, not Aero Glass.

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Rob, very much enjoy your columns. Glad to hear you're still enjoying your Treo 650. I continue to be satisfied with my 600, but would like to upgrade soon. Question--if buying a second TV for the bed room (to supplement a 10 year old JVC 27 inch in the main room), should I buy HDTV at this time, or simply flat or LCD and purchase add-on equipment when the changeover is mandated (2008?)? Thanks.

Get an "integrated"--i.e., digital tuner included--HDTV. At a 27-inch size, you're probably not going to find many, or any, non-integrated sets anyway; the FCC has required manufacturers to include digital tuners on those sets since March or so. And it's not like you won't get use out of the digital tuner before 2008--assuming you have decent analog reception today, you should be able to get vastly better digital reception with the new set.

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Hi Rob. I have McAfee security software for my laptop. Is that sufficient to stop spyware or do I need to download something additional? Thanks.

Depends--McAfee sells both a standalone anti-virus application as well as an Internet-security suite that adds spyware protection (although not terribly effective protection, in my experience). If you only have the anti-virus app, try Microsoft's free Windows Defender for XP, plus the free Ad-Aware (www.lavasoftusa.com) and SpyBot Search & Destroy (www.spybot.info)

If only I got a dollar for every time I've typed the second part of the above sentence in just the last six months...

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Short of an extended try-out, how will I know which laptops are going to run hot enough to set my legs on fire? FWIW, I'd prefer my legs NOT to be set on fire.

That's what I'm here for! Of the machines I tried out for yesterday's column, the MacBook was the hottest, followed by the HP and the Gateway. All the others were fine in routine operation... the Toshiba and the Lenovo were the coolest models overall, as I recall.

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I plan on buying laptop in a few days. If I get one with "built-in wireless technology" (that's the same as WiFi?), what do I need to do to use wireless Internet at say, a hotel or Starbucks? Do I have to have already subscribed to a service? I live outside of the U.S. and will only be using Internet in the U.S. for a couple of weeks.

Usually, "built-in wireless technology" does mean WiFi, which means you can use the wireless access at the places you described. Some laptops, however, include wireless-data receivers that use a particular cellular carrier's data service--that will cost extra (whereas WiFi access is often free) but will also work in vast swaths of the country, not just isolated hot spots.

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Hello, Rob. I'd like to use an LCD or plasma TV for both TV and computer use. Is there anything that prohibits this? Is there something I should look for in the TV's specs?

I would stick with an LCD for that use pattern. If you hook up a computer to a plasma TV and, in so doing, keep a menu bar or arrangement of windows in a fixed position on the screen for a while, you may still see a ghostly echo of that image on the plasma's screen for the next half hour to hour. It's called "temporary image retention"; it does go away on newer sets, but you still don't want to see the Windows taskbar leftover while you're watching a DVD.

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Hi -- I am in the market for a new computer for use at home and would like your advice on what to purchase. My needs are simple -- I would like to: download music and/or burn CDs and DVDs; handle my personal finance (i.e. Quicken); send and receive emails, and attach photos, etc.; download photos from my digital camera; internet use; and basic wordprocessing. My budget is under $1,000. I have been looking at the usual PCs from Dell, Gateway and Compaq, but I am also extremely tempted by the new iMac, especially since it's compact and the computer is in the monitor. The iMac is above my budget, but I could be persuaded. What computer would be the best deal for my money? Thank you.

Well, you can get a MacBook for $999 at Amazon--they've got a $100 rebate on it.

But: while most of your uses are completely Mac-compatible, the personal-finance thing does bring one issue. That is, the Mac version of Quicken is a lot less compatible with online banking services than the Windows version. If your accounts are only with big, name-brand firms (e.g., American Express), you'll probably be OK; that's not so likely with smaller companies. (This gap is entirely Intuit's fault for creating an entirely separate data-download format for Mac instead of letting the Mac version download the same format as the Windows version.)

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Rob, I read your laptop purchasing guide. I'm trying to help someone purchase a laptop right now so your timing was great! One of the reasons I have purchased from Dell in the past is that they offer in-home support. Now that the quality of Dell's tech support has declined so much I'm wondering if any other manufacturers provide in-home support. Or do you have to find an "authorized repair center"? BTW, I looked all over Apple's site for warranty/extended warranty information on MacBook - could not find it. It was late and I was sleepy, maybe I just missed it.

You can always buy in-home support from most PC manufacturers, but it will cost you extra.

Apple doesn't offer that, but it does provide an option that most other companies can't or won't--free tech support at its own stores. (The catch is you may have to wait to get it; the "Genius Bar" at popular Apple Stores routinely gets packed with customers.)

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Rob,nice to have you back in Chatland two weeks in a row! Are you going to a weekly schedule? There is another alternative for streaming music from your PC to stereo system for TiVo owners. With a wireless adapater, TiVo not only gets its updates through a WiFi connection, it can also port music and photos from your computer, including iTunes. You can use the TiVo remote to scroll through your playlists on the TV screen. I have TiVo sound output hooked up to my stereo and this arrangement works really well for me.

Nah, not going week-by-week just yet. We basically moved up next week's chat to today.

Good point about the TiVo desktop option--although the last time I tried it, I didn't find it did a particularly good job of reproducing the computer's own set of playlists.

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My laptop recently died and I have now replaced it. My files were backed up by the Geeks onto an external hard drive and I have transferred the files to the new computer. I found everything except my earthlink Outlook and Outlook Express emails. As you know, this gets saved onto the computer rather than residing on their server. Where is the email and how do I transfer it to my new computer? Thanks in advance for your help.

Both Outlook and Outlook Express files are a pain to back up and recover. They don't get parked in a recognizable area of My Documents, as you might expect; instead, they're parked in the following hidden directories--you'll have to type them out to see in Windows Explorer:

Outlook Express:

C:\Documents and Settings\[your user name]\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities

Outlook:

C:\Documents and Settings\[your user name]\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

Real intuitive, eh?

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I prefer IBM laptops (now from the China-based Lenovo, I guess) because of their "eraser head" pointing device. Is that technology patented? If so, when will it go public domain? I also think IBM laptop keyboards have the best feel. Which if any competitors have similar input hardware?

It may be patented, but not in a way that's stopped other manufacturers from offering their own versions of it. However, most no longer do; only Dell still does, and that seems to be limited to their corporate-oriented Latitude models.

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I have a new 32-inch HDTV from Panasonic. Love the TV, shows DVDs in crisp wonderful color, but....I have noticed that TV shows on DVD often are a little blurry during fast action sequences. My TV doesn't appear to have a problem playing the Matrix as it should, but give it a quick sequence in 24 and there is a slight blurring effect. Is there something I'm missing? Folks on the net talk about "calibrating" the TV, but I'm a little wary...

That can be an issue with some LCD sets. Look for the "refresh rate" for an LCD; higher numbers are worse than lower numbers.

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Is AMD or the Intel chip better? I've been looking at buying a new computer, and find HP's that are cheaper with more memory and a large harddrive, but only an AMD chip. I keep thinking: what's the difference? Does one do video better, and the other... something else?

There is no meaningful difference in overall capability between AMD and Intel processors; one can do everything that the other can. They differ in aspects like cost, performance and power consumption--but even then, those differences can be outweighed by the rest of a PC's hardware. For instance, a PC with an otherwise efficient Intel chip might deliver lousy battery life because of the LCD and CD/DVD drive on board.

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Rob- I just got a Windows Mobile 5.0 cell phone with wi-fi and GPRS internet service. I love it and am able to do many things in the Internet (more than I expected possible) despite the small screen and (slower) internet service. I know this isn't really your problem, but I was wondering if you could help out. That being said, trying to get the Washington Post website to run on a Windows Mobile 5.0 PDA just doesn't work. I have tried to use the mywashingtonpost.com but I was wondering if there was some sort of trick to getting the WaPo content effectively on the smaller screen. Are there any plans to develop a WaPo Mobile or should I just be using an RSS aggregator? The TWP.com site is way too bare bones, but all the multimedia ads and all the rest from the main page are just too much for a little phone to handle. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance for your help and your excellent articles and chats.

I haven't had any problem browsing the regular Post site on all the WM 5.0 devices I've tried lately--most recently, the Treo 700p. (As you might guess, it's part of my standard test routine with any Web-capable handheld.) The washingtonpost.com home page and individual stories take a little time to download and render on the phone's screen, but they all show up fine. Never had any problem registering to use the site, either.

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Many of us "old timers" have old long playing records that are played on turntables. How can I transfer these to a CD that I can play on a CD player?

Here's a story link that never gets old: Digital Transformation Revives Old Records

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Hi Rob, What do yo know about the much-anticipated release of DirecTV's new generation (ie, MPEG-4) HD DVR? The latest news I heard wasthat it would be rolled out in Los Angeles this month and to the rest of the country in the fall. Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

I've heard very little about it myself. I am, however, surprised that it's taken DirecTV this long to get this thing in the market--Dish Network has had its MPEG-4 DVR out for many months now.

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Is there any real advantage to using the new "dual core processor" PCs' for the average PC user? As a general rule I use the PC for word processing, minor spreadsheets, some presentations, minor photo editing etc. Why would I want to consider dual core for my next desktop or notebook?

I don't know that you should. If you generally only run one program at a time, you're not likely to get as much utility out of the second core. So opting out of that for a single-core CPU can save you a decent chunk of change.

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Would you rate weight and battery life as the two most important factors when considering purchasing a graphics tablet PC? TIA (Thanks, in advance),

I don't know much about graphics tablets, but I do know that in *any* portable electronic device, weight and battery life are at the top of my priorities.

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Doesn't Apple offer an extended warranty called AppleCare, or something like that?

Of course. But who ever said Apple doesn't offer a warranty?

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I just purchased a Samsung 204B LCD Monitor with both digital and analog inputs. What do you think about upgrading my computer to run the digital inputs? Will the image improve? I gather I will need a new video card. Thanks.

You probably will see a slightly sharper picture, but I'm not sure the improvement would justify the cost of a new card with the required DVI output. If the computer's more than a couple of years old, I wouldn't bother; its replacement, whenever that arrives, probably will offer a DVI port--the monitor should stay usable for years longer than any one PC.

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What's your take on the reliability of Mac notebooks? My two college student children each have one and each has had a problem. On one the hard drive died and the other, just yesterday, decided not to powerup any more - diagnosed by Apple as a probable logic board problem. Two notebooks and two problems seems like a high rate.

There's a saying on the Internet--the plural of "anecdote" is not "data" :)

Apple ships some defective hardware like everybody else. But more than everybody else? Not from what I've seen, or from what surveys in Consumer Reports have found. I think your kids just had bad luck.

This survey done by the dean of Mac-news sites has more detalis on MacBook/MacBook Pro reliability; interesting reading, if somewhat technical in parts:

MacBook/MacBook Pro Initial Reliability

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How do you rate Sony support?

I didn't--Sony had a laptop line that met my requirements (5 or so pounds, price under $1,500) but the company couldn't get a review unit sent my way for the review. Anybody have any Sony experiences to share?

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Hi Rob, I can't make your live discussion so I'm submitting this comment and question early. Comment: I enjoyed your laptop article on Sunday. My laptop needs are at the lowest end of the spectrum -- my wife won't make the trip to the basement to use the "family" computer to read e-mail. When I brought home an old IBM T30 from work, I discovered that she would read e-mail every day as long as she could do it on the couch (or bedroom or anywhere except the basement). When the T30 failed to turn on last week, I bought a $399 Acer at Microcenter. She's very happy with it and there's no separate wireless network card to plug in. The question: I have the 20 meg HD from the old laptop. What's the best way to get the data since I can't turn on the old system. I read somewhere that I could buy an adaptor to run a laptop HD on a desktop PC. I only want to copy the data, then trash the old HD. I'm not great at working inside the PC box, but think I could handle a master slave connection on the HDs. Thanks in advance. Suggestions?

Your basic understanding sounds correct to me--if you can open the old laptop and unplug the hard drive (as should be the case with a ThinkPad), you can then put in a drive enclosure that will provide power and a connection to another computer's USB port, you will then have yourself an external USB drive.

The trick is making sure the enclosure supports the type of hard drive inside the T30, and here I've reached the limit of my own expertise (like that's hard!). Anybody with suggestions for Annandale?

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I'm a photojournalist and have been advised by a collegue not to purchase a Macbook Pro until its problems with Adobe Photoshop have been resolved, perhaps next year. Can you offer an insight?

There's no incompatibility between the MacBook Pro (or any other Mac) and Photoshop; it's just that Photoshop hasn't been revised for the new Intel processors yet, and instead runs in a slower translated mode using the Rosetta software on every Intel-based Mac.

There should be an Intel-ready "universal" release of Photoshop by sometime next year; I'd be shocked if it wasn't done by mid-year, but I have no specifics on when that might happen.

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Is Sony still trying to zombify everyone's computers with their cds of popular music?

No; the company pledged to stop using Windows-infecting "digital rights management" software on its audio CDs after its first attempt blew up in its face.

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Do you have a brand preference for a Windows based laptop. We've had Dell desktops at work & home but have found that the service from Dell is less than quality these days. I use an IBM ThinkPad (Pre Lennovo) at work but I am looking for one to use - home & for my real estate business. Uses will mostly be Office, Internet & Email.

Of the computers that I just tried out, the ThinkPad was easily the best Windows machine out there. Then again, it was also the most expensive machine in the whole roundup...

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Rob, briefly read your article. Seems like there's an emerging segment that was not covered - high end laptops like the HP dv8000 series that are intended to replace desktops yet still are somewhat "carryable". Any thoughts?

The dv8000 weighs in at 8 pounds. That's not something I'd want to carry any farther than car to office (and that's assuming you snag a decent space in the lot). I chose to leave out those heavier machines because this story was timed for back-to-school shopping.

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Hi Rob, Are there special CD's that play in a CD/DVD player? I ask because I copied pictures from iPhoto onto a CD and tried to play it in the CD/DVD player and nothing happened. The CD works fine on the Mac. thanks

The "burn CD" command in iPhoto, as I recall it, reproduces your iPhoto library, or a portion of it, on the CD. That will be playable on a Mac, but many DVD players may not be able to handle it. If your Mac has a DVD burner, you could create a slideshow and burn it to DVD; that should work on any DVD player, not just those capable of displaying JPEG files.

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How important is cache? Is it in the "more is better" category, along with memory, or can you buy too much, such as with a processor?

You don't usually have a choice; you get whatever comes with the machine. More cache--a stash of high-speed memory used by the processor--is better in the abstract, but other components on the machine can have just as big or a greater effect on performance.

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I have had a Sony Vaio TR Series for three years. I purchased the extended service plan. When the hard drive crashed Sony had someone in my office within 24 hours to replace the hard drive. First they successfully tried to recover my data. After they finished they reinstalled all the Sony software, all the Ofice Software and they helped me reinstall all my other software. That compares to Dell that leaves you with a C prompt. I want to get Sony desktops for my office but they come with Windows Media and I don't know how that will work on my four computer network.

Thanks for sharing your experience!

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Rob, I currently have a Toshiba satellite (sans the fingerprint pad) that I use often as a home CD player. I run a wire(s) from the headphone output to the RCA jacks in the, but I'm not satisfied with the sound. Is there a better way? Do I need an additional card?Thanks.

The analog outputs on computers can often pick up some interference from other internal components, and I'd imagine this would happen more often on a laptop, where everything's packed tighter together.

You can buy a cheap external box with line-in and line-out jacks that connects via USB (which should eliminate that electrical interference). You can also try an external sound card like Creative's Audigy.

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Any thoughts on whether smaller laptops (Fujitsu and Sony make some tiny ones) will become more widespread, and maybe cheaper?

If they become cheaper, they'll certainly get more widespread! Personally, I am fascinated by this category, if for no other reason than the fact that a 3-pound computer is a lot less work to lug through the Consumer Electronics Show. But at their current prices, they remain the kind of thing that you hope your employer buys for you.

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On Sony DVD players, is there an option to "upconvert" a movie for HD viewing? I know you've mentioned before that this process looks nearly as good as the HD-DVD options, but I'm not sure how to enable the option on my player. I wasn't sure if this is something that is usually done automatically.

If it's available, it usually is done automatically. But it also normally requires using a particular video output--an HDMI digital connection. If your DVD player doesn't have that, it's almost certainly not upconversion-capable.

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When I turn on my computer(Dell Dimension E310 with Windows XP)I frequently get an error message saying "your virtual memory is too low - Windows is increasing your virtual memory paging file". Why is this happening and what can be done to resolve the apparent problem?Thanks!

Hope this doesn't come off as too obvious: Add more memory! If you're seeing that message, Windows is spending too much time shuffling data from RAM to the hard drive. If your machine has only 256 megs available, that's not nearly enough; upgrade to 512 MB right away.

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Would you consider a used laptop as opposed to a new low-end machine, considering that many common PC tasks (web, e-mail, word processing) don't require a significant amount of computing resources? My company offers retired laptops for sale to employees (all cleaned of data, of course).

It depends on whether you get a full warranty on it. With your company's offer, it would have to be a very good deal I know the kind of abuse corporate laptops can take on the road, seeing as I've dished out some of it myself. (Note to any Post IT-department employees: Please disregard previous statement!)

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I'm interested in a new Windows-based laptop. Should I wait until MS releases its new OS or will it be easy to upgrade then. Thanks.

I just can't tell you yet. Vista won't arrive in stores until January; the version that I tried a few weeks ago clearly needed a lot of work. If you are going to buy a machine with a Vista upgrade in mind, make sure it has a gigabyte of memory, about 20 GB more hard-drive space than you'd normally budget and a graphics card that can handle Aero Glass. Unfortunately, answering the last bit will probably require interrogating the manufacturer directly.

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Rob: I came to using a computer late in life. I bought an iMac because its ease of use and resistance to viruses was more important to me than the number of video games that were available for it. However, on many of the sites I go to (CNN, CBS, etc.) I am unable to view video because I don't have Windows Media Player. I have talked to other Mac users who tell me that the WMP for iMacs is terrible. A couple have suggested that I use Flip4Mac software instead. Have you ever reviewed this software? Since I'm so new to computers, I'm a little hesitant to download software from the web.

The Flip4Mac program is actually pretty good--it plugs into the QuickTime software already on the computer and seems to stay out of the way otherwise. Go ahead and install it.

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My wife is planning on taking our afore-mentioned Sony Vaio laptop to Europe when she visits her family. Will she be able to buy a different wall-to-black box power cable and continue to use the same black box-to-computer power set-up?

All you should need is a simple plug adapter; if the Vaio is like every other laptop, it already handles European voltages and frequencies.

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Rob, thanks for this guide! I was worried that it came too late for me here in NC (tax-free shopping was last weekend), but pleased that your previous columns and advice had already pointed me in the right direction. I got a MacBook (which I LOVE) when I needed to replace my ThinkPad recently. Talking to the folks at the Apple store (who were really helpful) I went ahead and bumped up the memory and speed, taking me up to $1449 -- about halfway between the Dell and the Lenovo ThinkPad I'd configured similarly. As for the peripherals, I find that I move around so much, I rarely have more than one plugged in at any one time, so the few ports aren't bothering me.

Thanks for the report, Chapel Hill...

As usual, we're running over. But I'll stick around for a few more minutes anyway.

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Hi Rob, Getting ready to buy my first wireless router and would appreciate a recommendation. I'll be hooking up a TiVo and my desktop computer with USB adapters; the range is less than 100 feet (although through a wall/floor -- the cable jack is in a different room from both items), but I'm happy to spend money on a higher-end set to get quality. Many thanks.

If you don't have metal plates in your walls, you should be fine with any standard 802.11g adapters. (You'll probably see "802.11n" hardware, designed to an unfinished WiFi standard; I'd avoid that unless the 802.11g gear doesn't hack it. Why pay extra for something that may be obsolete when the 802.11n standard is finalized?)

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With the upcoming Windows Vista and Mac Leopard OS releases next year, I cannot believe how someone (mostly Windows users) can look forward to Vista. From what I've seen and read, the Windows OS looks like a bad Mac OS X upgrade, albeit a behemoth one that sadly fails at what the Mac does now. On a slightly different note, I use Parallels software to run XP Pro for those two applications that are not Mac native. Given the upcoming Vista release and hardware requirements, do you know if Parallels will be able to run Vista on my Intel MacBook Pro?

I don't think that Parallels will run Vista--at least not yet. But Boot Camp can be tweaked to run Vista. In fact, I'm sending back an iMac review unit with Vista on board. I can only imagine the look on the Apple reps' faces when they boot up the thing and see the Vista login prompt...

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Rob- I want to buy a Mac; but I have been using PCs forever. All of my files are on Windows. I know you can get the $100 Windows package for the Mac, but a friend of mine said that if you try to go back and forth between a Mac and a PC (home to work), you will have problems. What is the best solution for someone who really wants the quality Mac has to offer with the practicality of the PC? Thanks!

I've been doing that kind of "commute" for years, and it's not hard at all. Microsoft Office for Mac and Office for Windows exchange files without any translation needed. (The $100 package referred to here is, I think, the Move2Mac data-migration program, used to get your data from a Windows PC to a Mac.)

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Is the "Aero Glass" interfaces really so unassailably awesome as to warrant the extra $$$ for upgraded components. Or is it something an average Joe (like me) could live without?

You probably could. Without Aero Glass, Vista looks and feels a bit more like XP, and this does have some real-world effects; for instance, without the little preview of each window's contents that you get while Alt-Tabbing in Aero Glass, it takes fractionally longer to switch over to the window you want. Microsoft also says that some software may require Aero Glass at some point.

Of course, this whole discussion assumes that Aero Glass won't be the memory hog that it appears to be in Vista Beta 2. We shall see...

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I'm debating between the MacBook and the MacBook Pro as my primary computer. Do you think the faster processor speed and larger screen and hard drive would justify the $400 more? Any inside scoop on the laptops getting the newer Intel processors (I know this will happen eventually, would hate to find out it happens the day after buying mine!) Thanks!

I don't think I'd spring for a MacBook Pro myself. For one thing, it's more like a $700 gap (white MacBook with a SuperDrive versus the entry-level MBP). For another, I find that the MacBook's screen *feels* fine. I'm not straining my eyes at all to use the thing. The faster processor isn't likely to make much real-world difference unless you live in Photoshop or iMovie, and you can always upgrade the hard drive on a MacBook.

(I notice you left out the Express Card capability of the MBP, but I can see why; there isn't much hardware that uses that expansion standard just yet.)

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I wish this conversation had occurred two weeks ago as I was in the process of configuring a Dell E1505. Ultimately, I think I made the right choices, though the crazy world of pricing a Dell is enough to turn you off (discovered a e-coupon at a non-Dell site that offered $750 off a $1999 or more unit), which was a much better deal than the guy on the phone was offering. Why do they not just set a price and not make it into a treasure hunt? Here is my substantive question: the phone order guy plugged in a lesser display screen than I requested, and I now have to decide whether to return the entire unit after loading all my own apps (which required getting special number keys from the manufacturers). I requested a display with about 1.3 million pixels. They sent me one with 1 million. You never miss what you haven't experienced. What am I missing in terms of functionality?

Dell has supposedly recently cleaned up its price structure; I can only hope it's done so. You should never feel like you're at a used-car dealership, where you'll only get the right price if you ask the right questions first.

I would squawk about the screen if you're not getting what you paid for. But if you got a lesser screen at a lower price, I might live with it. The higher-resolution option on the E1505--1,680 by 1,050 pixels--is going to put some really tiny type on the screen. I don't know that I'd *want* to use a display at that setting.

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I want to give my old desktop to charity. How do I erase/clean everything?

Help File to the rescue! Scrubbing Your Hard Drive; Going Online to Complain

(I'm planning on updating that story, though; there may be better programs for this task. If you know of some that I should try out, click the byline link on that story to send me a note about it.)

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Rob, Thanks for your wonderful articles and chat sessions. They are very informative. I am in the market for a 32" LCD HDTV. I have been waiting for prices to drop and alas, that's not happening. What's the best 32" LCD out there in the market now? There's so much research that it just confusing sometimes. I am hoping to get a Sharp or Panasonic or Samsung.

Those are all good brands. In my own limited research, however, Samsung's had the best prices lately--they've had a bunch of 40-inch LCDs going under $2,000 at Amazon for some time now.

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I'm going to buy a new iPod in the next couple of weeks. Before I do, I thought I'd check to see if you've heard anything about new models being released anytime soon. It's been a while since Apple released the current 5th gen and Nanos, so it seems like we're due.

We are! I can only guess--emphasize, guess--that Apple will have some new models out soon for that fall/winter shopping season. But how soon? I've seen mid or late September suggested,--but I wouldn't bet much money on it.

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Rob: I am being told that I should hold off on computer purchases until the Intel Core 2 Duo processor makes its debut at month's end. Is it THAT much better and faster than the Core Duo, the Pentium D, and the various Athlon dual-core processors? Can you shed some light on this for the uninitiated? Thank you.

The Core 2 Duo is made for desktops, not laptops: Intel Processors Product List . Also, it's already debuted, but it's in limited circulation at the moment; I'm pretty sure that Dell, for instance, only offers it on its high-end XPS desktops.

I would hold off on a desktop purchase to get a machine with a Core 2 Duo inside. But I wouldn't delay a laptop purchase.

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Hi Rob, I have last years PowerBook-not Intel- running Mac OSX. When it goes online to update the software, there is an update for it but then in brackets it says (PowerPC). Should I not bother updating then? Thanks

Yes, you do want that update. Your PowerBook has a PowerPC chip. (You won't see updates that require Intel processors; Apple's update system only provides the stuff your machine can run.)

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If I purchase lots of memory with a new Mac laptop with the Intel processor, will I see much degradation of speed when running PC programs? I'm especially concerned about PhotoShop which does not yet have a Mac-Intel version and has to run PhotoShop though one of the emulation softwares. I'm not a PhotoShop "professional" so while time isn't money for me, I'm concerned about getting bogged down in emulation anti-space.

Those older programs will run slower, but you may not notice the difference--Office 2004 seems as fast as ever. With Photoshop, you will notice it... OTOH, if you're upgrading from a three or four-year-old Mac, an Intel one might still outpace the old one at Photoshop, even after the Rosetta effect.

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Thanks for the guidance on the MacBook.

Quick question: When you use Windows through BootCamp do you need to have duplicate applications? i.e. Firefox for Windows on the Windows partions and Firefox for Mac on the Mac partition?

Yes. Boot Camp gives you a completely separate copy of Windows on its own partition; you may be able to access your Mac files (if you format the Windows partition in the "FAT32" file system) but you can't run any Mac apps in Windows or vice versa.

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Hello, I'd love to dump my desktop. It takes up so much space. I'd like to get a laptop. I only use the computer for surfing and word processing. I believe you said in the article that in this instance, cheaper models will do. Even ones for under $1000? I still want a good computer at a decent price.

If you're not going to take the laptop anywhere, you certainly can buy one of the cheaper and heavier models available. Just make sure it meets the other guidelines I suggest in yesterday's column--512 megs of memory as an absolute minimum and enough USB ports, for instance.

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The "Merom" chip is supposed to be released now/soon and will be the Core 2 Duo chip for laptops. It might be worthwhile delaying a laptop purchase by a couple of weeks to see what turns up.

That's true. "Merom" is an Intel code name; the chip will get some more recognizable name when it ships.

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Rob,

Herndon could also be getting that error message because he has a "memory leak" (You can probably explain what that is better than I can) in one of his frequently used programs. He should probably check the Task Manager first to see if there is a memory hog there before adding more RAM.

And to open the Task Manager, hit Ctrl-Shift-Esc and click the "processes" tab, then click the "mem usage" header to see what program is using the most memory. Be aware that it will be listed by the program's own file's name, not the plain-English brand name you might know (for instance, Adobe Reader becomes something like AcroRd32.exe).

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A follow-up to the low virtual memory question.My computer came with 512mb; does this mean I would need to add still more ram memory? Thanks again.

Possibly; also, see the previous answer.

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Alright, I gotta go... this is longer than I usually can stay at a chat, but it *is* the middle of August and it's not quite the busiest news day ever. Still, work awaits.

Thanks!

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Source: Newsbytes

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