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he e-mail servers at Geek Central were churning away this week, as fellow-Geeks from throughout the community responded to my query for ways to get rid of aging computer hardware.  Most of these ideas have been mentioned in previous columns, but the info is certainly worth repeating to have it all in one place for […]

Q: Spring cleaning is underway, and it’s time to get rid of the old desktop.  The dinosaur still works fine (Windows 98SE), along with monitor, printer and scanner that connect with serial and parallel cables.  (The computer also has 2 USB ports.)  Is there any place to donate the equipment in the Destin/Fort Walton area?  […]

Q: I hope you can solve this problem I’m having with my proxy server.  When I turn on the computer and go online, I’m restricted from certain sites and get an error page.  The reason is in the Internet tools, a check appears in the box for proxy server.  Cox cable does not use a […]

Q: I would like to convert my audiobook cassette to MP3 files and I have the hardware/software to do that.  What I would like to know is what you would recommend for a CD Ripper/Burner software so that I can put these files on a CD.  Most books are less than 10 hrs and would […]

Q: I was looking for an old e-mail within Outlook and realized I may have put it in an archive.  The archive was generated on my old machine so there was no telling where it might have been as I squirrel stuff under non-default locations.  So I started searching for my .PST files.  When I […]

Q: I run Outlook Express and can only open .pdf files if I double click the attachment and send to documents folder to then be opened.  Is there a way to open in outlook express without having to save the file?  When clicking on the email drop down menu a message comes up reading:  “This […]

Q: I have a full-size laptop and just purchased a mini-laptop with an 8G hard drive  My question is where I should load Microsoft Office so I can access it on both laptops.  I plan to buy an external hard drive to take with me if I need to use Microsoft Office products.  Can I […]

Q: I removed a 40gb WD Enhanced IDE Hard Drive from an old computer and was wondering if it would be worth turning it into a portable, stand-alone drive.  If so, what would I need to do that and how would I go about doing that. – Bill H. Fort Walton Beach, Fla A: Definitely […]

Q: How do you unpin a program from the start menu when there is no option in the program itself to not run at startup?  Specifically, in Windows Vista, Windows Defender starts up automatically?  I run Cox Security Suite with McAfee and Defender is redundant.  I would like to uninstall Defender, since on startup it […]

Anyone with even a passing interest in technology and gadgetry has surely heard about the Apple iPhone by now.  I successfully resisted the allure of owning this hottest piece of technology until my beloved RAZR V9m developed a problem with the internal LCD display a week after its warranty expired.  At $199 for an 8 […]