Category Archives: Computer Questions and Answers

Questions and answers on a broad range of computer related topics

Q. How do I get my Bookmarks onto a new computer?

Posted on July 4, 2011 by quill

Bookmarks or Favorites in a Web browser can be moved from one browser to another, or from one computer to another. Go into your present browser, and look for the function to export bookmarks or favorites. This will result in … Continue reading →

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Q.Why am I missing 7% of my hard drive space?

Posted on June 30, 2011 by quill

You format your new 500 GB hard drive and it comes up 465 GB – 7% less – where did the extra space go?  Strange as it seems, you’re not missing any bytes on your drive, it’s a difference of … Continue reading →

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Q. What is Thunderbolt?

Posted on June 25, 2011 by quill

Thunderbolt is a new computer data interface format that combines high speed data transfer plus digital video into one cable. The release of the Apple Mac Book Pro in February 2011 introduced Thunderbolt to the market, followed by the iMac … Continue reading →

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Q. Can I make music on an iPad?

Posted on June 7, 2011 by quill

Making music on iPad and iPhone An iPad, iPod Touch or iPhone is a computer in your hand, complete with a stunning display and touch screen interface. With a tool this portable and powerful, it’s a natural next step to … Continue reading →

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Q. Can I plug my guitar into the computer?

Posted on June 2, 2011 by quill

Guitar Audio Interfaces You could plug an electric guitar jack directly into the microphone or line input jack of a computer and it may record a sound.  But it will probably be a really awful sound, not at all what … Continue reading →

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Q. What is a USB microphone?

Posted on May 31, 2011 by quill

See companion article on Software for computer recording See companion article on Hardware for computer recording A USB microphone is a hybrid – it is a microphone cross-bred with a USB audio interface, so that it can plug directly into … Continue reading →

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Q. What hardware do I need to make professional recordings?

Posted on May 28, 2011 by quill

See the companion article on digital recording software When you want to record music and get a good sounding result, you will want better quality and more flexible audio interfaces than the Mic jack on your computer.  Getting the audio … Continue reading →

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Q. What software do I need to make professional recordings?

Posted on May 28, 2011 by quill

When you are setting up a digital recording studio, the first question is to choose the Digital Audio Workstation software that you will base your studio around. That will drive the choice of the computer. A DAW combines recording of … Continue reading →

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Q. My program disappeared from my Mac’s Dock.

Posted on May 28, 2011 by quill

You probably inadvertently dragged the icon off the Dock. Don’t worry, you didn’t delete the program, only the alias to the program that was in the dock.;  Let’s take iCal as an example. In the Finder, open the Applications folder … Continue reading →

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Q. What’s in my PC?

Posted on May 28, 2011 by quill

How can you tell what components are in your PC without taking it apart? There are some system reporting tool programs that give a good snapshot of the components of the computer, and the software installed as well.  This is … Continue reading →

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Q. Where do downloads get saved?

Posted on May 28, 2011 by quill

When you download a file in a web browser, and it doesn’t ask you to specify a location for it, where does it go? The answer is, either to the location on your hard drive that you have specified for … Continue reading →

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Q. Where can I get free software?

Posted on May 28, 2011 by quill

Commercial software is not legal to download for free, but there is a large amount of freeware, open source and shareware software available. I don’t recommend downloading from random websites or bittorrents, because downloads are a playground for virus writers … Continue reading →

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Q. I deleted one of the Apple applications from OSX

Posted on May 28, 2011 by quill

How do you reinstall one of the bundled Macintosh applications? Let’s take iPhoto as an example. First of all put in your installer DVD and look on it for a package called Optional Installs. Double click on that and you … Continue reading →

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Q. What webcams work with Mac?

Posted on May 28, 2011 by quill

For Mac Minis and MacPros which don’t have a built in camera, you can add a USB webcam. However, webcams require drivers to operate, and most of those come from the factory with only Windows drivers. Some cameras are supported … Continue reading →

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Q. Windows on my new PC says it isn’t genuine

Posted on May 28, 2011 by quill

Windows and other Microsoft programs like Office will run for a while without being activated / registered, but then they will stop and insist that you activate them. You should have an activation key on a label on the back, … Continue reading →

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