“Nemo’s 365 Q&A v.2006 [1-31]”
A professional computer tutor has to answer a huge range of questions. Here are the first 31, for all of January, in a series that will span the entire year of 2006.
Q#1: How do I see the photos on a Flickr.com album when its slide show won’t run?
A#1: Click through the individual pictures via the Next and Previous photo links (they are very small on the page).
Q#2: How do I open a photo attachment download from Windows email, with a long name and generic grey icon?
A#2: Add .jpg to the end of the name (you may need to remove the final four characters) and then double click to open it.
Q#3: When using Carbon Copy Cloner, how do I know what’s going to be duplicated and what’s going to be newly copied, when cloning to add to an existing CCC archive?
A#3: You can erase the previous volume or partition using Disk Utility, and Carbon Copy Cloner sends your data to an empty volume.
Q#4: Why do the classical symphony tracks on my new iPod not display all the correct info for composer and movement?
A#4: iTunes grabs tracks from a user database that is not consistent.
Q#5: When booking an airline ticket online, what to do when I’m unable even to register on log in to United Airlines’ site?
A#5: Pick up the phone and call the airline instead. Ask the agent to refund the $10 booking fee. Hint: Life is short. Invoke Nemo’s 10-minute rule for online frustration, and use the telephone as often as necessary, when possible.
Q#6: Why does my new Panasonic video camera use both a Mini-DV-cassette and an SD card chip?
A#6: Cassette is for movies and SD is for still photos, because your camera does both.
Q#7: What was the best web site and writer for Macworld SF predictions?
A#7: Chuck Toporek from O’Reilly Media, and all his articles and blogs are posted at http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/au/45
Q#8: When I drag a photo from iPhoto to the Photoshop Dock symbol, am I opening the JPG in Photoshop as a copy of the untouched original, still in iPhoto?
A#8: Yes.
Q#9: Will a freshly burned audio CD play from the built-in burner?
A#9: Yes. Open the song list and double click. That usually works.
Q#10: What’s the best way to send AOL email with photos?
A#10: Reduce the size of each JPG, then drag the JPG(s) into the body of your AOL email message. If this doesn’t work, you’ll need to attach them to the message.
Q#11: When I go back and forth between full Photoshop and Elements, are all the commands and tools identical?
A#11: No. They are slightly different, but most of them are there some place if you look around and are patient.
Q#12: When I take an old inkjet cartridge to Cartridge World, do they refill it on the spot?
A#12: No. They exchange it for a previously refilled one and take your old one for cleaning and refilling for another customer.
Q#13: What’s the best Photoshop image resolution for printing?
A#13: Resolution at 150 for plain paper or card stock, and at 240 for photo paper.
Q#14: How come I can’t find a company by typing its URL into Safari?
A#14: Make sure you’re correct by instead doing a Google search for the company and product.
Q#15: What to do when Safari doesn’t work, for some reason?
A#15: First try Firefox browser, then Internet Explorer, and one of them should work fine.
Q#16: Why can’t I open this attachment called .wpd?
A#16: It’s a Word Perfect document from Windows, so ask the sender to copy and paste the text into an ordinary email message, and it will read fine in your email.
Q#17: Anything I need to do after updating my OS or installing new applications?
A#17: Run Disk Utility, and Repair Permissions on your hard drive.
Q#18: How do I add incoming email addresses to my Mail Address Book?
A#18: Click on Add Sender to Address Book, after first highlighting or opening the message containing the sender’s address.
Q#19: How do I change the Internet Explorer browser font size in Windows XP, because it’s too large?
A#19: Choose View / Text Size / Smallest.
Q#20: How do I change the Real Player AudioHijack recorded MP3 file names to make them more indicative of the recorded content?
A#20: Click once on the temporary name, then type in any name you want.
Q#21: What to do when I can’t register Apple Care online?
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A#21: In the United States, call 1-800-275-2273 and follow the prompts, with all serial numbers and Apple Care info handy for your product(s). There are comparable phone numbers for nearly every other country also.
Q#22: How to change billing info in AOL, when I get a different credit card?
A#22: Keyword: billing, plus your individual secret word, and follow the links.
Q#23: Can I take the dual-layer iLife ’06 DVD installer, and copy it onto two single-layer DVDs to have a backup installer?
A#23: No! You need the original DVD, or an exact copy of it on a dual-layer disk.
Q#24: Can I run an Apple 30″ display from my G4 iBook?
A#24: No. You need a special G5 tower, or possibly the new MacBook Pro.
Q#25: How much RAM on my original G3 iMac do I need to run Adobe Photoshop Elements v.2?
A#25: Add 256 MB in the in the second slot and you should be okay.
Q#26: Why do my Excel cells sometimes show weird dates or fractions instead of ordinary numbers?
A#26: Choose Format / Cells to reset them to General / Numbers, or to Currency.
Q#27: How can I tell which photos are in which folders, scattered around my Desktop?
A#27: Use Photoshop’s File Browser or Bridge for graphical display of folders’ contents.
Q#28: What to do when my HP printer stalls?
A#28: Turn it off. Choose Apple’s Printer Setup Utility and click / Delete the file you are wanting to print. Turn on the printer and try again.
Q#29: Why does iPhoto ’06 launch slowly on new Intel iMacs at the Apple stores?
A#29: Low memory. It will open faster after additional RAM is added to a computer.
Q#30: How do I whiten teeth in a photo?
A#30: Select the teeth using the Magic Wand tool in Photoshop or Elements, then use Levels or Brightness and Contrast to make them whiter. Hint: You may want to have a Photoshop expert help you out.
Q#31: Why doesn’t my HP scanner work properly to send OCR to an application?
A#31: You need to pay and upgrade to ReadIRIS Pro v.11, or buy a new scanner with this software installed.
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