The Washington Post's Rob Pegoraro will be for a special Tuesday discussion to answer your personal tech questions, discuss recent product reviews and share his thoughts on the Consumer Electronics Show and Macworld .

Rob explored digital TV in Sunday's column: Bright and Clear Digitally -- Over the Air .

A transcript follows .

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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Rob Pegoraro: After spending most of the last two weeks on the road at CES and Macworld--that's two cities, six different convention-center halls, four columns, three video appearances, more blog postings than I can count and not one decent bagel for breakfast the whole time--I'm back. It sure is good to be logging onto this chat from the 202 area code again.

I see we've got a serious backlog of questions already, so let's get to it. Onward!

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Washington, DC: Hi Rob,

I bought an iMac G5 on Jan. 2nd 2006 and was dismayed when I heard Steve Jobs' announcement that Apple was rolling out its new Intel-based iMacs last week. I have read the reviews on this new i(ntel)Macs and am wondering if I should return my PowerPC iMac G5 to get the new one. Any thoughts?

washingtonpost.com: Fast Forward: Apple Rolls the Dice With Intel Chips

Rob Pegoraro: This is Topic A in the Apple universe. Apple is sending an Intel-based iMac my way, so I hope to have a detailed answer to D.C.'s question Real Soon Now. In the meantime, it does seem that the Intel iMac is a lot faster than the G5 version in many, but not all operations. If you find that you're waiting on the computer often--an unlikely thing when it comes to most home-computing tasks--then you might want to look into returning that iMac.

BTW, as a general rule, NEVER buy anything from Apple between Christmas and Macworld. The company always has some kind of surprise in January, so if you don't need an Apple product by Christmas you should wait until the end of the Jobs keynote before putting in any orders.

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Washington, D.C.: Are either of the new high-definition DVD standards backwards compatible with current DVD players?

washingtonpost.com: Fast Forward: As HDTV Prices Fall, Manufacturers Create DVD Format War

Rob Pegoraro: And here is Topic A from CES. Both the Blu-Ray and HD DVD formats allow studios to release hybrid discs with a layer or a side that plays like a normal DVD--but neither format requires that, nor have I heard of any commitments by movie studios to release only hybrid discs. (And the Blu-Ray hybrid spec, I'm told, is not quite nailed down yet anyway.)

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Arlington, VA: Hi Rob,

How much better can my HDTV look with an HDMI cable instead of RCA-type plugs? Is it worth $50 of $100? I have Comcast Cable with an Aquos 26" TV, which I think is amazing. But am I missing out on being more thoroughly awed?

Rob Pegoraro: If you're watching an HDTV feed over composite RCA cables, you are throwing away *all* of that higher resolution. Every last pixel of it--composite video is the lowest-quality analog connection you can get on an HD set. You need either component video (three analog cables carry the video signal) or a digital connection (DVI, HDMI or FireWire) to preserve your signal source's quality.

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Tyler, TX: Last year I tried Mozilla but there was a glitch and the colors were physchodelic (purples and red-pinks and greens predominantly.) The size was unmanageably huge and nothing I did was useful though I could go to tiny and weird. I 'un-install' and tried the 1.5 which not only pick up these old traits but often says to me "Server refuses to...." Please see if those Mozilla developers can advice me on this since I really want to switch since I bought the t-shirt.

washingtonpost.com: Fast Forward: Question Hour With Mozilla (January 11, 2006)

Rob Pegoraro: Your best bet is to post a message in the support forum at mozillazine.org. Also try the workaround I included in Help File--deleting your Firefox user profile, then reinstalling it: Reinstalling Firefox; Adobe Reader 6.0

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Columbia, SC: Do you think it would make sense to use these sets with digital tuners in tandem with cable service? My interest is really only the nets primarily for sports programming and it would eliminate the hassle and expense of both set top boxes and paying for the digital tier. I have been looking at a Samsung "Slim-fit" that has a built in digital tuner.

Rob Pegoraro: As I wrote in Sunday's column (a review of RCA's super-cheap standard-definition digital TV), if there's any chance at all that you'll be getting some digital programming off the air, you should hold out for a set with a built-in ATSC digital tuner. Nobody likes dealing with extra boxes and remote controls, so why buy a set that would require one?

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Washington, DC: I understand that the people who brought us the Roomba have a floor-scrubbing robot dubbed the Scooba. I did not trust the small Roomba to do a decent job vacuuming at twice the price of my Consumer Reports-rated vacuum. What were your impressions of the Scooba? I have had great interest in living in the House of Tomorrow since attending the 1964 Worlds Fair and frankly, I'm getting a little old and want these robot maid issues quickly resolved. What was your take Rob?

washingtonpost.com: Video: Mop Robot

Rob Pegoraro: I stopped by iRobot's booth at CES and saw their little Scooba demonstration, but that's all I've seen of it. I'm certainly interested in this (almost the entire first floor of my house has hardwood flooring), but like you say, this or any other floor-mopping robot has to do a good job. Hopefully, we'll have a review of the Scooba in print soon.

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Los Angeles, Calif.: Hi Rob,

We have a 4 month old baby. We've been taking a LOT of still photos, but we think we're going to want to take video of him soon, especially as he becomes mobile in the next few months. So we're looking for a video camera. We've been doing some research and think we'd prefer mini-DV as opposed to a mini DVD (unless there's a good reason to do the DVD on the camera). I plan to connect to my computer via Firewire and move the video there, then burn to DVD after editing. Cost is, of course, an issue. So is shooting indoors (and out, when/if he starts playing sports. Obviously we want to keep this for awhile) We'd like to be about $400-500, but we'd rather spend a few more dollars now than have to buy something else because the one we bought to save a little doesn't have what we want. Do you have some recommendations? It's pretty confusing out there!

Rob Pegoraro: Unfortunately, your requirements don't narrow down the field much at all. Everybody and their brother has, or will very soon have, good MiniDV camcorders on the market below that price. I think you're right to go with MiniDV over mini DVD, though; those 8 cm DVDs don't hold much footage (usually, 30 minutes in high-quality mode), and they may not play on every computer or DVD player you try.

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Parkville, MD: I was just reading your article on Apple's switch to Intel processors. It's a real smart move for several reasons, but here's one: it will allow Apple cheaply and quickly expand its hardware offering to fill neglected niches.

For instance, I have just bought a Sharp MM20 notebook computer (should arrive today... can't wait!) and what makes this computer special is that the darned thing weighs less than 2 lbs with battery! Now, I've been reading the web about this machine and found more than one Mac user lamenting the fact that Apple has no offering this dainty. So they bought one anyway and found ways to share data between the laptop and their Mac.

But with Apple's move to Intel, I could envision the day when Apple licenses their OS for select 3rd party hardware solutions that Apple feels would not be worthwhile to develop or market in-house.

Good luck, Apple!

Rob Pegoraro: I'm one of those users who has lamented the lack of an ultralight Apple laptop. That said, just because you and I might like such a thing doesn't mean that Apple will make one; sometimes Apple says "there's no market for this" and then winds up releasing that kind of product anyway (see: video iPod), but sometimes it doesn't.

I'm a lot more skeptical of the odds of Apple letting other people build Mac OS X-compatible PCs. Remember, one of Jobs' first acts as Apple's interim CEO was to axe the licensing deals with Mac-clone builders like Power Computing, Umax and Motorola. My guess is that people will figure out ways to install OS X on standard PCs (just as they did with development releases of OS X for Intel) and Apple will either turn a blind eye to that or make only tepid attempts to stop it.

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Canada: Hi Rob,

Posting this early as won't have access to computer when you will be online.

My sister needs a PDA with a decent camera (MPEG too), Bluetooth and internet capabilities. She would use it for data, Word and pdf files storage. She's a doc and also teaches residents so the PDA will likely need fair amount of memory. She doesn't want to use it as a phone as she already has a cell phone. She, four-five years ago, used to use a Flintstones era Palm-black and white display. I have never used a PDA, or seen one in action, so can't offer any advice. Appreciate your help.

Rob Pegoraro: If she liked the Palm OS way back when, she would have been happiest with a Palm model that's no longer sold--the Zire 72, which met all of those requirements you listed. Now, she'd be better off junking her cell phone and getting a Treo 650. Windows Mobile devices are an option too, but the same contraints apply AFAIK--if you want a built-in camera, you need to buy a smartphone, not just a handheld organizer.

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Manassas, VA: Hi Rob,

Got 2 simple questions for you. If you were to buy an MP3 player today, would it be the Creative Vision M (Best in Show at CES) or Ipod Video 30 GB?

I'm leaning toward the Vision M (has more features) but am afraid as far as Video files are concerned, Apple's got the wrap up on Video PODCASTS (otherwise, why would they be called POD-Casts!)

Thanks for answering.

Rob Pegoraro: The iPod. Creative's done some good work, but it has yet to match the iPod's elegance and ease of use. The only reason I'd go with the Vision M would be to use a song-rental service like Napster To Go or Yahoo Music Unlimited... but I'm not that anxious to add another monthly bill to my budget, not when I can listen to new music for free via Web radio and Rhapsody's 25 songs/month freebie offering.

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Wireless Audio: I have an extensive music collection on my Windows computer, and I want to share it throughout my house via my wireless network. What devices can I use for this purpose? Some of the remote locations don't have a TV (and I'm not adding one, either), so any devices that use a video interface are out. So far, I've found the Roku Soundesign M1001; are there others? What can you tell me about how hard these devices are to set up. Thanks.

Rob Pegoraro: Take a look at Slim Devices' Squeezebox, if your collection doesn't include any songs purchased from music stores like iTunes or Napster. If yours does, I'd go with one of Roku's SoundBridge products.

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Looking for something to record TV: Hi Rob,

I'm a parent of two young kids. I'd like to record tv shows for them and then skip the ads, and also record tv shows for my wife and I.

We have a VCR, but it seems like too much hassle...it would be nice to record things to a hard drive...and perhaps even to a dvd.

I'm hesitant to get a Tivo, because I hear stories about some sort of broadcast flag that will disable recording of tv shows in the future. I also don't want to have to subscribe to any tivo scheduling service that will cost $ every month. I'm happy to input recording times manually.

Is there such a thing? Should I wait a year or two?

Rob Pegoraro: You can get what you're looking for if you buy a DVD recorder. Some include a separate hard drive for temporary time-shifting and to ease editing, but you can also edit out commercials even without a hard drive. Just make sure the recorder you buy can save shows to DVD+RW discs, not just DVD-RW or DVD-RAM (both of the latter formats either don't work in most existing DVD players or only do so if you choose a recording mode that makes it much harder to edit recordings or reuse discs).

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DC: Would you say that Sony is the market leader for manufacturing televisions? Is there any other company whose TVs are considered comparable, or even better, than Sony's?

Rob Pegoraro: No, Sony is not the market leader in TVs and has not been for quite a few years. It's trying to catch up, but between the likes of Samsung, Sharp and Panasonic it doesn't have an easy job. (Sharp says it now sells more LCDs than anybody else, while Panasonic says it's the top plasma seller.)

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Bethesda, MD: Please help! We're a family of four -- both children and my husband have cell phones (I don't). We have Verizon local telephone service and MCI long distance (although we make few long distance calls). We have regular analog TVs, no cable, connected to a rooftop antenna. We have AOL dial-up Internet access, although it is on a second phone line. What do we need to do to bring our home into the 21st century?

Rob Pegoraro: Let's see...

1) Ditch your AOL dial-up for the cheapest broadband you can get (likely Verizon's $15/month DSL offer), and you'll increase your connection speeds by a factor of 10 or so while shaving $8 off your monthly bill.

2) When your TVs die, replace them with sets that include ATSC tuners. Your monthly costs stay the same, but the quality of reception should be *far* better.

3) If you only make a few long-distance calls a month, use the cell phone for that (but make sure your MCI plan or any other LD plan you get doesn't include any minimum monthly fees). If you're on LD all the time, get a VoIP service.

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Jim - NY: Rob,

As with a previous user, I have a newborn and I am also looking for a video camera. I am not really that iterested in editing my videos. I just want to play the video on tv and I want to be able to easily send a copy to mine and my wife's parents. 30 minutes of recording time seems like plenty for me with the kind of videos we will be taking. Would you still recommend that I go with mini-dv as opposed to mini-dvd? Having to go from tape to dvd, especially since my laptop does not currently have a dvd write drive, seems like I should go with mini-dvd. If you agree, which mini-dvd cameras would you recommend in the $500 range.

Thanks.

Rob Pegoraro: And here's an opposing use case. Jim in NY sounds like the perfect person to get a mini DVD camcorder. But again, alas, I can't make any specific recommendation; prices in this category are coming down at a ridiculous rate.

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Arlington, Va.: Hi Rob,

Quick question about Verizon DSL for home. I'd heard horror stories about Verizon but it appears most of the rants I find online are from a year or more ago. Is there a consensus that they've gotten their act together?

I'm interested in the cheaper "slow" DSL so I don't think speed will be an issue. I imagine for $15/mo. I'll get what I pay for but I'm not asking for much, just something not dialup. I'm about to bite on this but thought I'd run it by you and the chatters.

Thanks!

Rob Pegoraro: The Verizon complaints I get these days are almost uniformly focused on problems with getting service set up--only you're online, you should be fine.

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Springfield, VA: I think that your answer to Arlington about HDTV cables jumped to the wrong conclusion. She surely would not have thought that the picture on her tv was "amazing" if she were using the composite input. Component video cables use RCA connectors, so that must be what she is using. Considering the ridiculous prices for HDMI cables (at least at Best Buy, CC, etc.) and minimal improvement in signal quality, I would stick with component cables unless the significantly smaller size of the single HDMI cable is important. My cable company, Cox, includes component cables at no extra charge with their HDTV set top boxes.

Rob Pegoraro: In fact, Arlington sent in a later message saying that the cables in question were component, not composite. I'd concur with Springfield's assessment; on a smaller set like Arlington's 26-incher, any improvements from a digital connection would be even harder to spot.

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Alexandria, VA: I purchased a new 12" iBook just before Christmas. This is my first Apple, and so far I am very happy with my decision to make "The Switch". I know that Macs are generally safer from viruses, etc, than PCs, and that was one of my reasons for making the purchase.

My question is -- do I need to do anything specific to protect my Apple against these threats? Should I get virus and spyware protection software, or is my iBook already protected? If not, where would I get this type of software for Mac?

Thanks! Renee

Rob Pegoraro: I've only heard of one Mac anti-spyware program, whose name I can't even remember--which would make sense, given that Mac OS X spyware basically does not exist. There are only a handful of Mac anti-virus programs, for the same reason. I would skip the anti-spyware app and the anti-virus app, honestly. OS X's limits on what any one program can do without the user's first entering an administrator password are your best defense against spyware and viruses. If you know not to type in that admin password whenever any old program asks for it, you should be safe enough... unless there's some major shift in the efforts of malware developers.

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Washington, D.C.: Hi, Rob. If I were to buy a high definition TV with a built in ATSC digital tuner and use an antenna for off the air reception, do I need any particular kind of cable to connect the antenna to the TV? Any particular kind of antenna?

I now have a large 15 year old rotatable antenna with a cable that splits to connect to two TVs in different parts of our home. I suspect that the cable connections in the splitter may have degraded. Would an antenna company come and check the signal? Thanks.

Rob Pegoraro: Any antenna that can pull in a UHF signal should be fine for HDTV reception. Don't know about the answer to the second question, but if you plug in a new DTV set and don't get clear reception off the bat (well, assuming you're not right next to the TV transmitters in upper Northwest), your wiring probably is at fault.

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Rockville, Maryland: I just fixed a computer problem by upgrading my bios (version 1 to version 4.) The computer would go several months then refuse to boot Windows XP. One of the bios version improvements was to help its ability to use large drives and I had two 250 GB hard drives.

My problem was that Dell replace one drive and never diagnosed the problem. "We fix hardware not software." I was reluctant to pay another hundred dollars or so for software diagnosis and plodded away until I thought to fix the bios. Took me nine months to get from problem to solution. Was Dell at fault or is this an unusual enough problem that they could not have fixed it?

Rob Pegoraro: From your description--sure, this sounds like it should have been an easy thing for Dell to check for.

BTW, one of the big reasons why people buy Macs is that you don't get that "we fix hardware, not software" crap from Apple. It's in charge of both, so both tend to work well. And when they don't, there's no doubt about who to call and who has to fix the problem.

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Toronto, Ontario: Hi Rob,

I am in the market for a 36" to 42" FPD (either LCD or plasma). I am told DLP will not give me 1080p resolution. I am also told that plasma gives you better visuals at low light, but that the panels only have 10,000 hour life spans. On the other hand, LCDs will last longer but suffer during action or fast-moving sequences. Do you have an opinion or personal preference on which to get given your exposure to CES product announcements?

Rob Pegoraro: First I'll translate Toronto's question, then I'll answer it :)

FPD = front projection display

DLP = digital light processing, a "microdisplay" technology that gives you a large screen that's not quite flat (DLP sets are anywhere from 9 to 18 inches deep)

1080p = highest possible digital-TV resolution, one not available from any video source as yet.

Now, my advice: Forget about 1080p. You will never see any benefits from that capability on 36 or 42" display unless you hook it up to a computer and use it as a monitor--or you get up off the couch and inspect the display from up close.

Every plasma that I've heard of advertises a 60,000 hour life before the screen reaches half brightness; that's something like 20 years of 8 hour/day watching. So forget about the lifespan issues too.

It's true that the refresh rate on LCDs lags that of other HDTV technologies, but this has gotten better as well. Look for an LCD with a "gray to gray" refresh rate of no more than 12 ms, preferably less (I've seen this figure drop as low as 6 ms, maybe less--don't have all my CES notes in front of me).

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Arlington, Va: Hi Rob,

Speaking of DVD burning, I have many .wmv files on my computer that I would like to burn to DVD. I've heard that .wmv files cannot be burned directly to DVD. Is this true? If so, is there any way to convert .wmv files to something else that can be burned (for free)?

Rob Pegoraro: Windows doesn't include any DVD-burning software of its own, but any DVD-recording utility should be able to convert those .wmv files into the MPEG-2 video format used by DVDs. (The same goes for any computer-only compressed video format, like QuickTime.)

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Rockville, Md.: We bought an LCD HD ready TV this weekend (cheaper to buy the TV and tuner separately than the all-in-one version). As you mentioned in your article, the stations that came in were amazing. After several years of watching over the air analog TV, we have gotten pretty good at positioning the antenna for the best possible signal, but most of the stations did not have a stable digital signal with our antenna, and the discontinuity in the moments that the signal was lost was worse than watching with an analog signal. I have three questions: Are there any differences in tuners (stability, sensitivity)? Do amplified antennas solve the problem? Are there plans to increase the signal strength for digital broadcasting? Thanks.

Rob Pegoraro: There are certainly differences in tuner quality; the technology has advanced a lot over the last few years. Amplifying the signal may help if you're farther out (at my home, turning on the amplifier in the RCA antenna made reception a lot worse); you may do better just by putting an antenna on your roof instead of using a set-top antenna.

Signal strengths of digital broadcasts do vary. There are some FCC mandates about that, but I don't know that they've all kicked in, and many broadcasters have received waivers from those requirements anyway.

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wdc: re macs & viruses (earlier post) -- you may be right that viruses don't harm macs, but can macs be "carriers" so that if you forward an infected e-mail from a mac to a p.c., the p.c. does get infected?a salesperson told me to get virus protection for a mac for this reason. maybe he just wanted a higher commission.

Rob Pegoraro: That is a risk, but a PC virus will stick out badly when it shows up on a Mac--how often would you otherwise get a .exe or .zip file that you can't do anything with? There's also a pretty good free anti-virus app for the Mac, called ClamXav, that's made for this particular worry: http://www.clamxav.com/

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I've got my Intel iMac: and it's not THAT much faster than my old G4 iMac. But the form factor and the isight and some other things make it better.

Unfortunately a few programs (AudioHijack) don't work, and there's no more OS9 (byebye Willmaker).

Still I'm glad I bought it. When I up the memory it will probably go somewhat faster.

Rob Pegoraro: Thanks for the posting, IgmIiM...

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Gaithersburg, MD: I'm having a problem with Firefox (a first!). When I click to open a new window, (for example, a photo on the washingtonpost.com web site), the new window pops up about one inch high. It's still the width of the screen, but I can't expand it, so I have to scroll down to see the entire photo. This started right after I installed 1.5. Any idea how to fix this? I thought about uninstalling and reinstalling the program, but I'm not sure how to do that without losing my bookmarks.

Rob Pegoraro: See the Help File link I posted here earlier--all you need to do is export your bookmarks (from the Manage Bookmarks window, logically enough), and then you can trash your old profile without losing that file.

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Merion Station (near Philly) PA: Have you an opinion on the quality of those come-to-your-house-to-fix-stuff folks like Geek Squad, Geek Patrol, etc.? I notice that Staples now offers a (contracted, I suppose) fix-it-at-home service. Presumably others are doing the same.

Rob Pegoraro: I have none, except from what I've heard from readers--my job pretty much demands that I learn how to fix things on my own.

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King George, VA: The problems you were having with reception of digital TV were probably due to the phenomenon that causes ghosts on analog TV: multipath. There are two reasons I believe this. First, the digital broadcasts for CBS (WUSA) and ABC (WJLA) come from the same tower. The only difference in your reception of the two signals is the channel (frequency) that they are broadcast on, and multipath effects can change with frequency. Second, you mentioned that using a different digital receiver changed the results. Not all receivers are created equal - some can tolerate more multipath interference than others.

From my location about 60 miles south of DC, using a nothing-special Radio Shack antenna designed for fringe reception mounted in the attic, I can get rock-solid reception of the digital signals for WRC, WTTG, WJLA, WUSA, and the little independent WNVT. WETA's DTV comes in about 90% of the time while WBDC and WFDC, the Spanish-language station, come in about 50% of the time.

Rob Pegoraro: Thanks!

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Seattle, WA: Rob,

I'm looking for a good MP3 player. I like the iPod Nano but want something around $100 that works with Napster, Rhapsody and the like. As I understand it iPods will only work with iTunes. Suggestions?

Rob Pegoraro: Lotsa competition in that end of the market--a lot of the non-iPod vendors seem to be focusing their efforts on the sub-$100, flash-memory player market. (For example, that's Dell's plan going forward.) Look for a "Plays For Sure" logo that reports compatibility with the subscription services offered by the stores you cited--then hope that the player actually lives up to that promise.

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Strasburg: Concerning Arlington's question a little earlier, can't Windows Movie Maker DVD's? I know that Movie Maker projects aren't wmv.'s, but you could make a movie from the movie.

Rob Pegoraro: Nope, Windows Movie Maker doesn't have any DVD movie-making capability. It's a puzzling omission in what's otherwise a pretty good video editor.

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Seattle, WA: After hearing more about the new MacIntels at the MacWorld, do you have anymore insight into the feasibility of these computers dual booting (both Windows and Mac) operating systems? Also, would you expect a performance hit if one wanted to pursue this option?

Rob Pegoraro: Since Macworld, I've seen a couple of reports that a regular Windows XP disc will not, in fact, boot up an Intel Mac. That's apparently because of the EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) startup software these machines use instead of the traditional PC BIOS (or the Open Firmware other Macs employ). Windows Vista is supposed to support EFI, but XP apparently does not, at least without some hacking that has not yet been documented.

As anybody with a Linux partition on their PC can attest, there's no performance hit in a dual-boot scenario aside from the extra second or two it takes for the boot-loader screen to come up and accept your choice of which operating system to run.

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Washington, DC: With the Motorola Q set to come out (soon?), and with the release of the Palm 700, do you expect prices to drop on the Palm 650 any time soon? What options are there for a decent PDA phone that doesn't cost over $300+ unlocked?

Thanks!

Rob Pegoraro: I expect Treo 650 prices to drop as well, but that's also because this model has been in the market for a while; its replacement can't be that far off. (I mean, c'mon, I bought one--if there isn't a surer guarantee of obsolescence than that, I haven't heard of it yet :)

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Sacramento, California: Notebooks not ready for HD.

From my reading, I have learned that display of high definition (HD) using a computer will require something called HDCP compatibility and something else to do with the OS. Notebooks and desktops are not being sold with the necessary capabilities. For example, XP will not do the trick (VISTA will) and very few monitors (and no notebook screens?) are HDCP compatible. To avoid the major expense of replacing a new notebook in a year or two, I am holding off on purchasing a notebook. Am I missing something here?

Rob Pegoraro: First, why do you want to watch HDTV on a laptop computer in the first place? I could see that being a wish-list item on a desktop that you'd plug into a big-screen TV, but not on a laptop.

Second, this HDCP standard doesn't apply to off-air broadcasts, only some recording systems (like what's in the Vista edition of Microsoft's Media Center software) and the Blu-Ray and HD DVD "standards." I'm not sure that a laptop's own monitor wouldn't be allowed even in those cases.

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Washington, D.C.: I am a Windows based developer, and I guess I have been 'brain-washed' by MS badly that when I used Mac to test if my web applications run well under Mac, I had to ask for help for basic operations. So in your estimate, how long or how hard it would be for me to get/use a Mac at home? Second question: For Cingular user, how/where can I find out what the frequency bands are used in DC area? I am thinking getting a non-US version of GSM phone, which is GSM 900/1800/1900 ( Cingular is 850/1800/1900), so if DC is under 1800 or 1900, then I will go ahead and buy the phone.

Rob Pegoraro: Well, my mother-in-law seems to be adapting to her new iBook quite well, and my sister-in-law made the same transition a few years ago without any lingering effects.

According to Cingular's site, its network uses both the 850 and 1900 MHz bands.

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Boston, Ma: My neighbor's wifi keeps bumping me off my wifi network -- any suggestions for how to fix?

Rob Pegoraro: Train a squirrel or two to nibble on their electrical wires... no, wait, the squirrels won't enjoy the results of that.

Is your neighbor's signal causing your network to drop offline, or are your computers connection to your neighbor's network on their own? If it's the latter, you can tell your computers to connect automatically only to your own network; this Microsoft article has the details on how to do that:

Microsoft Windows XP - Set up automatic wireless network configuration

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Strasburg, VA: Hey Rob, what's all this stuff about "off the air reception"? DTV is not my strong point.

Rob Pegoraro: In two words, free TV.

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Lorton, VA: Rob,

I can access msconfig in WIN98SE and WIN XP to change my startup files, but I can't find msconfig in WIN2000. Where might I find it? Thanks

Rob Pegoraro: This helpful system-configuration tool isn't included in Windows 2000. Instead, copy the msconfig.exe file off a Windows XP system and add that to a Win 2000 box.

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Pasadena, California: Can the ISPs offering "accelerator" service using a 56 K modem deliver smooth video conferencing service similar to what I get on Broadband?

Rob Pegoraro: No.

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Hallandale Beach, Florida: Rob,

Kind of the same question as the Apple computer buyer...I just bought the Treo 650 at a reduced price because the Treo 700w is coming out shortly. Is is worth the wait for a Sprint customer to get the 700w?

Rob Pegoraro: I'll have an answer to that question in my column very soon. Sit tight...

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Alexandria, VA: I'm trying to navigate the uneasy seas of purchasing an HD TV and I am baffled by a clear message on the Cox cable website saying that ONLY sets with 1080 resolution will be able to receive programming through their cable service. Have you seen this? Am I not understanding something? Or is it just time to ditch cable altogether? Thanks for all your great info.

Rob Pegoraro: It's Cox that's not understanding something. Every HDTV that I've heard of can accept inputs at resolution levels above or below its native format, then "upconvert" or "downconvert" them as necessary.

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Oakland, CA: In talking with Mozilla developers, did you or they address the issue regarding the latest release of Firefox (1.5) being so buggy? Since the release date, we've not heard how they plan to address the problems that many people are having.

Thanks!

Rob Pegoraro: I asked them about reports I've seen of Mozilla--any version--malfunctioning in ways that can only be fixed by a profile deletion, but they didn't have any good ideas as to what might cause that. (My theory: It's just one of those charming ways that Windows breaks down.)

FWIW, I would not call Firefox 1.5 "so buggy" at all. I've installed it on five or six different machines without any problems. And that seems to be the case with most users. Some people aren't getting the same results, but without any clear pattern to them it's hard to say that this release is any better or worse than earlier versions.

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Baltimore, Md.: For chatter interested in Verizon DSL, we have had it for almost 2 years and have had NO problems with the service itself--including setting it up. It has been much more reliable than the previous two years when we had Comcast Internet. If you have issues with billing or anything, however, you will want to bash your head against the wall...

Rob Pegoraro: Thanks, Baltimore!

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re: Treo 650: I believe there is a Treo 700p coming out this year to compliment the 700w (Palm OS vs Windows Mobile).

Speaking of cell news, do you have any thoughts on the Verizon Wireless music store? I read that you can only play .wma's on your phone once you install the store. This seems like another bad move similar to their Bluetooth disabling.

Unfortunately, I like their Metro service and have a good monthly plan.

Rob Pegoraro: I have zero interest in any of these wireless music stores. Between the high prices they charge per download and the time it would take to download a song, I'm a lot happier restraining my "must... buy... now" impulse until I'm in front of a computer.

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Columbia, Md: I know this isn't on topic, but perhaps you will have a chance to answer. Can I down load SP1 over an existing OS, with SP 1 and SP2 installed. I want to recover my pictures and fax viewer. Other efforts, e.g., register modifications have not been successful.

Rob Pegoraro: Installing an older service pack over a newer one sounds like an extraordinarily bad idea. I'd find a good, free image-viewing program instead (or just set your Web browser to open JPEGs by default).

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Washington, D.C. re: used iMacs: Hello, Rob,I'm wondering how to "inspect" a used iMac G4 before purchase (what do I look for, and how?), and also how to decide if the asking price is too high, and how to know if the machine is so out-of-date it'll probably cost me lots of money in repairs or updates or whatever to keep it running. I assume that buying a used anything carries risks, like no warranty and not knowing if the hardware is eight years old and only the OS is kind of recent, or if it was only driven on Sundays and will last for years. The advertised prices locally for used iMacs vary so widely, even within the G4 category, that I'm tempted to think I've found a great bargain in these, advertised by individual sellers for around $300, $350. But how to tell if they're lower-priced because they've been dropped or were in constant use since purchase X number of years ago?I simply cannot afford to buy an iMac new unless I go for the lowest-end Mac mini --$500 and also a G4. Is the mini a wiser move even if a used unit appears to have some additional attractions like a bigger hard drive?I feel like I'm choosing whether to move to an efficiency (Mac mini) or a one-bedroom; I'd much rather the one bedroom, but not if it has asbestos floors or the a/c breaks down every five minutes. You've helped convince me to move out of the leaky, bug-infested, virus-infested, basically crime-infested neighborhood of PCs (whether you meant to or not!); now I just need a little help deciding which unit to move to in Mac-world, for now.Lots of thanks, Rob!

Rob Pegoraro: Recent Macs (but maybe not the iMac you're considering) come with a hardware test DVD that should report any lurking issues. Otherwise, you're best off booting the machine off an OS X CD and using the Disk Utility program included on that to look for any hard-drive problems.

As for checking prices, look on eBay.

The biggest gotcha with any older Mac is an absence of USB 2.0 ports, without which using any new iPod will be a painfully slow experience. Otherwise, these things tend to age pretty well. I've got an iMac that will turn 4 years old this spring; it's still in daily service. It could probably use a memory upgrade, but it's soldiering on pretty well otherwise.

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Columbia, Md.: Hey Rob,

I got some DVDs that i'd like to rip on my hard drive. What program can i use to do so?

Rob Pegoraro: Try DVD Shrink.

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Silver Spring, Md.: My contract with Sprint is nearly up. I want to move to a network with bluetooth phones that support some sort of bluetooth car kit. Which of the majors provides that type of service? Coverage is important of course, but my wife and I basically spend our time around town because of school or we're just shooting up and down the I-95 corridor to visit family, and all the majors seem to have that covered.

Rob Pegoraro: T-Mobile and Cingular have traditionally been more aggressive about offering Bluetooth hardware, but that doesn't mean that any given phone will work with your car's Bluetooth, even when you look at one model of phone sold by multiple carriers. Case in point: The Treo 650 sold by Verizon can't pair with the Bluetooth receiver in a Toyota Prius, while those sold by Sprint and Cingular apparently can. (That, in turn, seems to be because Verizon still hasn't shipped a Bluetooth software update for the Treo that the other two carriers released months ago.)

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Tampa, FL: Re: External DVD RW burners

Should I worry about the Blue Ray vs. HD DVD format war if I buy an external DVD burner for my TiBook? Or is resolution of this and reasonably-priced (under $150) DVD burners using the winning format more than a few years off in the future?

If I do buy now, what should I look for? I use Mac OS 10.4.4 in a 667 mHz TiBook with 786 MB RAM.

Rob Pegoraro: Nobody should worry about this (IMHO) idiotic format war anytime soon. Unless one format creams the other in the market right out of the gate, there won't be any good reason for consumers to place a bet on either technology--especially not when so many DVD players can upconvert a regular DVD into a decent approximation of high-definition video.

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Arlington, Va.: You're putting in the long chat hours. Thanks!

It seems like Windows-based machines get progressively slower the more programs one installes on them, even if the programs are later removed. Is there a way to counter the effect of this without formatting the hard drive?

Rob Pegoraro: Well, my last chat was a little rushed :)

What you need is a registry cleaning program to sweep away the remnants of the old applications from the Windows Registry (their uninstallers should have done that, but many don't).

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Washington, D.C.: Will any other cellular provider ever be able to provide a signal within the DC Metro subway system? It seems anti-competitive to only allow Verizon to provide this benefit.

Rob Pegoraro: Sure, but that's the contract Metro chose to sign. Other subway systems (for instance, BART in San Francisco) have opted for systems that let any carrier choose to offer service.

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Glens Falls, NY: Rob - What's a cable card and if I get a TV with one will I be able to get HDTV in 2009 without having a cable box? Or will I still need a HDTV/ATSC tuner? Right now I just hook my cable wire from the wall right into my TV and that is fine with me. The more I read about all the changes the more confused I am. But I do need a new TV soon.

Rob Pegoraro: A CableCard does exactly what you describe--lets you watch digital cable without needing a box. The catch is that you can't use interactive services, like video on demand, with a CableCard setup, at least not those that support the "1.0" version of it. Some sets are, or will soon be, shipping with upgraded CableCard capabilities that allow for interactive options.

An ATSC tuner does nothing for or against cable reception; it only handles over-the-air broadcasts.

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Followon to HD Cable question...: So if I have an antenna in the attic from the days of yore w/a coax cable running to my family room connected to my HD set (built in tuner), I'm not really seeing as good a picture as I -could- be seeing?

Rob Pegoraro: Probably not. With DTV, either you get the channel or you don't; there's no boost in picture quality to be had by using gold-plated antennas or whatnot. So if you're already pulling in the digital signals from all the local broadcasters, you don't need to spend another cent on your TV-reception hardware.

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Odenton, Md.: Hi Rob-

Got a question for you or the 'nuts about OTA signals and wind. I noticed this weekend, when it was especially windy, that my OTA signals for my digital tuner suffer occasional drop-out. As you discussed in you article, this is much more annoying than crappy signal from an analog source.

Not sure I'm looking for advice, I just wanted to know if this happens to other people (and confirm I'm not crazy). We're about 20 miles from the transmission towers according to antennaweb.org, if that helps.

Rob Pegoraro: I'll post this and see if anybody chimes in (in the remaining 15 minutes or so I've got for this today).

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DC: Rob, a number of questions about RCA's inexpensive DTV. How does 130 pounds compare to analog CRT TVs? Since TV's 25" and up will have to have digital receivers (if they have any receivers) starting March 1, is it worth waiting until then to get a larger choice of brands, especially ones with better reliability? When RCA announced the inexpensive DTV at the -2005- CEA, it announced seven models in this price range. Any idea what is happening with the other six? The RCA site says the TV is available at WalMart. Do you know if anyone else is selling it (or a similar model)? And is it actually available in our area? The WalMart website doesn't show it, and everytime I've called a local WalMart, they don't have it. Thanks.

Rob Pegoraro: If your TV works fine now and you're going to be shopping for a smaller screen, you should wait until that expanded tuner mandate kicks in. You pretty much spelled out why with the rest of your question--as you correctly note, RCA unveiled this set over a year ago, and has yet to make it available in great numbers. (I could have written that review weeks ago, but I wanted to see if its distribution would expand beyond the current limited availability.)

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Sacramento, Calif.: Rob, As a follow-up to my question about HD on notebooks, I want to shoot with an HD camcorder and then edit on a capable notebook. That's a year or so down the road for me. Meanwhile I would use the notebook in other ways, but don't want to spend $2000-plus now to only have to replace in a year to get HDCP capability and a new OS and maybe a 64 bit processor, etc.

Rob Pegoraro: HDCP is something that would be imposed by cable or satellite broadasters, not any HD camcorder you could buy--it would be a completely idiotic feature for any manufacturer to add on those.

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McLean, VA: Is there usually a price drop on high end HDTV's right after the Super Bowl (the same way, say, there are after-T'giving & after-Xmas sales on certain items)?

Rob Pegoraro: The HDTV market is a little too young for anybody to make those predictions for sure, but the article I read in a competing newspaper (alright, it was the WSJ) this afternoon said that holiday sale prices would persist through the Super Bowl, which suggests they might actually increase at that point. Then you might want to wait until the spring or early summer, when the sets introduced at CES will go on sale--generally, at substantial discounts from the current hardware.

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Re: Backwards-compatible DVDs: Regarding the backwards compatibility of DVDs, will the Bluray and HD-DVD players be able to play the standard DVDs we've been buying for years?

Rob Pegoraro: Yes.

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Vienna, Va.: I've been reading about Verizon's FIOS fiber to the home service.. is any chance that other companies will be able to offer service on the fiber lines, like with DSL? I currently have cable, but before living here I tried both Verizon and Speakeasy DSL, and vastly preferred Speakeasy.. if I were to switch to the fiber optic lines, I'd prefer to avoid Verizon if possible, and I'm wondering if that is going to happen in the near future.

Rob Pegoraro: When I talked to Speakeasy's CEO about this last year, he said they were having serious talks with Verizon about offering service over Fios. I heard the same thing from EarthLink at the time. Haven't heard anything new on those fronts since, though.

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Arlington, Va.: Rob,

I have over 30 old VHS-C tapes that I'd like to convert to DVDs. Can you recommend a piece of hardware and software which I could use to make the conversion. I'd rather buy the stuff myself than pay a store to do it for me.

Thanks!

Rob Pegoraro: Buy a DVD recorder that includes a VCR as well. If you don't plan on doing any editing of the VHS-C footage, that's all you need.

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Falls Church, Va.: Not a question, but a comment...

I, too, was at MacWord -- loads of fun! It was neat for me as a fairly new Mac user to interact with other Mac users and to see what is on offer or will be on offer, and to have brief hands-on experience with the new Mac Book Pros (I prefer the name Powerbook and hope that they'll go back to that eventually) and the new iMacs.

I bought my iMac and my PB only a few months ago, and I'm not in the market for purchasing either of the new machines. I just wanted to add some thoughts directed to the user who had wondered about going with the new intel-based iMac vs sticking with the one he had just bought. While the new iMacs and new Mac Book Pros may be faster, that should not be the only criterion for purchasing them, especially in their very first iterations. Consider how you're planning to use your new machine. What software will you need to be using? Right now there is not a lot of "native" software, meaning that if you want to run programs such as Photoshop or Dreamweaver or even Apple's own "pro" programs such as Aperture or Final Cut Pro, you'll have to run them using Rosetta, which will definitely not be as satisfactory and which may hamper the speed that the machine is supposed to have.

Also, the new Mac Book Pros do come with a different configuration than the previous Powerbooks, and if you need such things as an internal modem, you're out of luck unless you buy an external one for extra money. The new iMacs also do not offer an internal modem. What exactly is so compelling about the new iMac and new Mac Book Pro if someone already has a fairly current iMac or PB? Sure, for a first-time buyer it would make sense or for someone who has an elderly machine that needs to be replaced, it would make sense, but frankly, I'm surprised at the people who are saying that they're rushing to sell off their few-months'-old iMac or PB just to get the newest computers coming out of Apple. Me, I'm happy as can be with my two machines and will be using them for the next couple of years. By the time I'm ready to buy again, goodness knows what features will be offered on new Macs!

Rob Pegoraro: Thanks, Falls Church!

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Washington, DC: Rob, The open-source audio compression format OGG has pretty good software support but has gained very little traction among hardware makers, even though it's free. Many folks feel the OGG format delivers more audio fidelity per byte than other formats. Do you see any sign of increased hardware support, or is OGG just another Betamax -- an arguably superior product that didn't make it in the market? Thanks.

Rob Pegoraro: More the latter, I'm afraid. The only formats that have provided any sort of challenge to the almight MP3 are AAC (in particular, the copy-restricted form sold at the iTunes Music Store) and Microsoft's Windows Media Audio. Both had the advantage of backing by powerful tech companies, something that has never been the case with Ogg.

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Ithaca, NY: Rob,

I gave up on macs a few years back when no one had them. However, my PC is so slow (has to be a virus tried to get rid of it), that I'm thinking of going back to a Mac. However, the fact that certain programs are PC only still bothers me. There is some debate as to whether the new PC macs will be able to boot windows as well. Care to comment?

I'd go totally mac but I need my online poker sites!!

Rob Pegoraro: As I wrote earlier today (it seems like hours ago now :), people haven't gotten XP to boot on Intel Macs yet. I suspect that in the long run ("long run" meaning maybe "in a year"), you won't need to. You'll run a utility like Virtual PC that lets you run a complete XP system inside a regular Mac program, or you'll use a translation application like Wine that lets you run individual Windows programs inside OS X, *without* needing to install Windows at all. The last option is the one I want to see--dual-booting is a pain in daily experience.

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Harrisonburg, Virginia: Apple's iLife includes a new iWeb application. I am web-page-creation-challenged. Is this the solution? If I already own iLife from last year, is it worth plunking $80 down on this application so that I can quickly and easily create my own pages without HTML coding worries?

Ernie

Rob Pegoraro: Maybe not. iWeb is template-based; you can't make up your own designs from scratch or work off a page you created in some other program. If you need to do either of those things, the program to check out is apparently Karelia Software's Sandvox, now available in a public beta for OS X 10.4: http://www.karelia.com/

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Fairfax, Virginia: I was delighted to receive a 30G iPod for Christmas. I am experiencing some difficulty in synching from my so called "older computer." Apple takes the position that the problem is my 1.1 USB ports. Have you heard others with the same problem? Is there an inexpensive workaround for this short of the expense of a 2.0 USB card on an otherwise acceptable PC?

Rob Pegoraro: Just get a USB 2.0 card. It will cost only $20 or $30 and it will save you hours, if not days, of time.

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Rob Pegoraro: This chat is now hitting the two-hour mark, which is my cue to call it a day. Thanks for keeping me busy with some great questions! I should be back here in a couple of weeks... see y'all then.

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