FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  539 (14/11/06)

Q. Here’s an odd one!  Some of my outward emails to one specific recipient are not getting through. I get no “fail” messages when this happens, so neither of us is aware of a problem. There is no problem with any of my other email correspondence and around half of my e mails to this elusive address are, in fact, arriving safely; the other half are not.  I suspect the problem lies with the other computer, but what could it be?  Perhaps he is getting intermittent failures from other people trying to send him emails – but who is to know.

We are both subscribed to the same provider, who doesn’t seem particularly interested in finding out what the problem could be. Both of our computers are secured with anti-virus and spyware protection and I have the Microsoft Firewall installed on my XP system. His operating system is ME and I use Microsoft Outlook as my email client and he Outlook Express. Any ideas?

Bob Pragnell, via email

A. That is strange but I suggest that your friend checks his anti-spam filter -- if he has one -- and the Outlook Express Message Rules and Blocked Senders list. A Message Rule would explain why some emails get through and I suspect there’s something in the ‘To’, ‘From’ or ‘Subject’ lines, or the message body that is triggering an automatic delete. Message Rules configuration is on the Tools menu and you need to compare messages that get though with the ones that don’t to find out which rule is responsible.

The Blocked Senders list is another possible candidate because it is very easy to inadvertently add people to it when a message windows is open, however, I’m not sure why it doesn’t affect all emails unless you are using a second account or a different name to send some message. To check if your name is on the list your friend needs to go to OE’s Tools menu, select Message Rules then Blocked Senders.

Q. I have a Panasonic digital camera, which records video clips in Quick Time format. I would like to perform simple edits such as trimming and joining clips with transitions but am unable to do this in Microsoft Movie Maker. Can you please suggest suitable software to do this, preferably low cost?
John Jervis, via email

A. The Quick Time format was developed by Apple, which may explain why it is not supported by Windows Movie Maker. Several Quick Time editing programs will run under Windows, including Apple’s own Quick Time Pro, which sells for around £20. There’s also Video Edit Magic, a more versatile multi-format video editing application costing £25. Alternatively, you can convert your Quick Time ‘Mov’ files into the Windows compatible .avi format and edit them in Movie Maker using a freeware utility called Rad Video Tools.  

Q. Firstly - thanks for giving me the confidence to go ahead and build my own computer - its now successfully up and running (total cost £226 inc VAT, with upgrades to a 160Gb Samsung HD and a NEC ND-4570 DVD-RW drive).

I've installed (exclusively) Linux Ubuntu - as they sent a free CD. After struggling though the USB ADSL modem installation (probably enough to put many people off Linux) I'm very happy with it, but have a couple of queries:

Does the motherboard need any drivers installing, I'm assuming the CD works only in Windows?

Do you know any (preferably free) anti virus software and firewalls suitable for Linux? Trawling through the community pages I keep getting the answer 'viruses don't exist in Linux' but I have my doubts! Ubuntu claims to have a built in firewall, but I don't know how good this is, and have no control over it. Any comments would be much appreciated.

Nick Lakin, via email

A. The installation CD supplied with the ASRock motherboard, used on the DT MK2 PC, and most other motherboards for that matter usually only contain Windows drivers, though quite often you will find Linux drivers on the mobo manufacturer’s website. However, most Linux distributions nowadays come with a very comprehensive set of device drivers. Any that are missing can normally be found on the web, though drivers for newly launched graphics and sound cards and peripherals can sometimes take a little time to appear.

Linux viruses do exist but they are incredibly rare and the chances of you catching one are vanishingly small because they have no easy way to propagate. A Firewall is also almost unnecessary because Linux is so well protected and I am sure the Ubuntu Firewall will do an excellent job. Nevertheless, Linux is becoming very popular and bound to attract the attention of virus writers and hackers so it doesn’t hurt to be prepared. I suggest the Linux version of Avast! anti-virus and if you want to try another Firewall Smoothwall is very popular and both programs are completely free.

Q. Is it possible to set PowerPoint to show slides in random order? I know that this is not its main design function but it would be useful to teach international code flags
Peter Lewis, via email

A. As far as I am aware there’s no facility within PowerPoint to randomise a slide slow but there is a freeware add-on, called Randomslideshow that claims to do just that.

Q. I seem to remember from a while ago a tip about Word creating multiple copies of the Normal.dot template leading to poor performance and instability as they build up, and there being a way to turn this off. I can't find it in your archives, was I dreaming, or am I just very poor at searching?
Philip Whitehead, via email

A. I think you have got hold of the wrong end of the stick. There is only one copy of the normal.dot document template, but Word constantly rewrites and updates the file and over time it can become corrupted. My suggestion was to make a copy of normal.dot when Word is working properly and if it starts acting up, use it to replace the current normal.dot file. You will usually find it in C:\Documents and Settings\<yourname>\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates

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© R. Maybury 2006, 0711