FAQS! FACTS! FAX! 121 (06/08/98)

HOLES IN THE NET

I use Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.02 as my Web browser and accessed the web site for the AA to book an overnight stay at a B&B. Before booking with a debit/credit card, the thought occurred to me, just how secure would it be using online booking? The browser widow indicated it had changed to secure mode with the small lock appearing in the bottom right hand corner of the browser window. Perhaps you could answer the question for me.

Ray Hassell

Whenever you use a credit card in a shop or restaurant you provide them with a copy of your signature and your card details, do you know what happens to the counterfoils? If you order goods or services by phone and pay with plastic you give a complete stranger your credit card number and address, how safe is that? The Internet is as prone to fraud as any other trading system, the only real difference is that it is easier for crooks to set up seemingly respectable businesses, especially outside the UK, where they will be beyond the reach of our legal system. In any event your credit card company protects you, and it is they who pick up the tab if your card is used fraudulently. 

WINDOWS 98 AND DOS

I read the article and comments about Windows 98 in Boot Camp (Connected. July 16th) with some interest. I noticed that there was no mention of MS DOS. Does DOS still exist in the background, as it does with Windows 95? I have a number of DOS applications that I have been running for years, which happily meet my requirements. They worked under Windows 3.1 and now on my latest

Pentium machine, using Windows 95. If I were to upgrade to Windows 98, (if your article was anything to go by, perhaps later rather than sooner) would I still be able to run such applications? I am naturally reluctant to change as these old programs do just what I want and I am thoroughly familiar with them and how to manipulate them.

Roger Hills

Our old friend DOS is still there chugging away behind the scenes. There are the same options as Windows 95, for the PC to run in DOS mode or DOS in a window. Windows 98 has caused problems for some DOS users though. There have been reports of PC users loosing access to their CD-ROM drive because the necessary driver is not supported or included in Windows 98. Fortunately the cure is usually quite simple and new drivers are available from most CD-ROM manufacturers. Nevertheless, if you're about to upgrade to Windows 98 it is worth contacting your PC vendor or manufacturer, to check whether there are any compatibility issues you should know about.

SPELLBINDING?

When the supplier of my PC installed Office 97, the installer miss-spelled my surname. Consequently when Word or Excel etc., open up the system tells me that this product is registered to.... and my wrongly spelled name appears. No one seems to know how I can correct the spelling other than completely removing Office 97 and starting from scratch. Admittedly this is nothing more than a minor irritation but it would be nice for my correct name to appear.

Ian G. Fairnie

Uninstalling Office and starting over again is the only method we're aware of, though it's possible someone somewhere has a simpler solution, if so we'll gladly pass it on.

HELP FONTS

Further to the recent correspondence regarding the default Fonts in Word 97, I have a similar problem. I cannot find out how to change the font that is used when I am printing 'Help' topics, Readme files and the like. I am running Windows 95 (upgraded from 3.1) and don't have a dedicated Word Processor, getting all I need from WordPad. Can you help?

Bryan Duffelen

You can't easily alter the typeface used in Windows Help dialogue boxes though there's nothing to stop you copying and pasting the text into WordPad, where you will be able to choose font and size. Simply highlight the text by clicking and holding the left mouse button at the top of the page or section of text and moving it down the screen to the end. Then press Ctrl + C, to copy the text onto the clipboard. Open WordPad, and press Ctrl + V, to paste the text on to the blank page. Now, by highlighting the text once again you can change the font and font size from the WordPad toolbar.

A IS FOR APPLE…

I have a bizarre problem with my Mac Extended Keyboard and my Apple Performa 6400/200, which I have had for over a year. If I press the ‘A’ key, nothing happens. If I keep it depressed, it correctly types ‘aaaaaaa’ If I hold down the Shift key and press ‘A’ it correctly prints a capital ‘A’. If I use the Caps Lock key and press ‘A’, nothing happens.

Only the letter ‘A’ key is affected, nothing else. The problem happens in all applications where I can type. I have tried three different keyboards (which all work) but the fault is the same on each. I have rebuilt the desktop. I have thrown away Keyboard Preferences; I have run Norton Utilities. I have reinstalled OS 8.1. I have replaced the Keyboard Control Panel with a copy of one from my other Mac which I know works.

The fault suddenly appeared one afternoon. I am not aware of having done anything between morning and afternoon. I did not load any new software. I did not use the Internet. I have had System 8.1 installed for over a month. I have had Disinfectant 3.7.1 installed for several months. My laptop has almost exactly the same software, folders and files and has not developed this problem.It is clearly not a keyboard fault and I cannot see where the problem can possibly lie. Unlike PC owners, I am totally unused to anything ever going wrong on an Apple. Help!

John Fleming

A

Thanks for proving that Mac users can occasionally suffer baffling problems… We passed this one on to Apple and after much head scratching they failed to come up with an answer. Our best guess is that it is a hardware problem, possibly something to do with the keyboard controller on the motherboard. The only way you're going to find out is take it to a dealer or engineer and have it checked.

NEGATIVE RESPONSE

Mr Q Sharp of Ascot wants to scan negatives larger than 35mm (F!F!F! 9th July). A suitable adaptor, which can take negatives up to 8"x 6" and costing £99, is available for the highly regarded Black Widow 9636PRO which currently retails for around £200. Both are advertised regularly in monthly computer magazines, though the adaptor has only recently become available. The cost of enlarging non-standard black and white negatives is considerably more than for 35mm colour and it may be difficult to find a suitable negative carrier if you wanted to do it yourself,

R. N. Scholes

A useful tip, you can get more details from the Black Widow web site at: http://www.blackwidow.co.uk/

FONTS OF WISDOM

In Windows 95, by calling up Setting + Control Panel + Fonts, the list of fonts shown includes Garamond Italic TTF.  I would like to be able to use this in correspondence etc., in Word 97, however it is not included in font list. How can I get it installed?

Norman Miller, Fenham, Newcastle on Type

It is there, simply select Garamond in the font window and click on the Italic button on the Word toolbar. Garamond bold can be accessed in the same way.