q+a I want to buy a high performance assembled computer. Please suggest which things I should purchase. My budget is around Rs 70,000-80,000.

Deep Chakrabarti

If you are spending that amount of money, I would highly recommend you buy either an iMac or a MacBook. These are very high performance computers and their prices have greatly fallen. The price range starts from Rs 63,000. The best part is you can even run Windows XP or Vista on these Macs. You will be delighted with their performance. You can check them out at any Apple showroom. There is one called Imagine at City Centre, Salt Lake. Buying a Mac will save you a lot of headache. Usually people are wary because they think they will not get the software they need. That is a myth. Every program for the Mac is available. Your only problem may be with some games. For this, you can always switch to Windows which you can run on your Mac.

Google Earth

q+a Is it possible to get the roadmap provided by www.google.com/gmm in my PC with a net connection?

D.K. Roy

For this, you have to use Google Earth. Go to http://earth.google.com and download the application. Google Earth combines the power of its search capability with satellite imagery, maps, terrain and even 3D buildings. You can see almost every place on earth, some with beautiful photographs.

Map on mobile

q+a I am unable to access both Google Mobile Maps and MGMaps with my Excel connection. I use a Sony Ericsson W700i.

Prasun Kumar Chakraborty

You probably have only WAP enabled in your connection plan. You must get web access enabled too. I use a K790i with a Hutch connection and it is working fine. However, sometimes your searches may fail because there still are a lot of spelling mistakes in the maps.

New software

q+a Whenever I try to install new software, a message flashes saying: "The Windows installer service could not be accessed. This can occur if you are running Windows in safe mode or if the Windows installer is not correctly installed. Contact-Support personnel for assistance." How do I get rid of this problem?

Nilesh Saraogi

The Windows Installer Service in your computer has been damaged. You need to download the fix from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx? FamilyId=889482FC-5F56-4A38-B838-DE776FD4138C.

Net interrupted

q+a When I am connected to the Internet through Tata Broadband, all of a sudden the browser says: "Cannot Find Server". I then have to reboot and connect for a while before the same thing is repeated. I am using Windows XP Pro and get a speed of 128 Kbps.

Edward McLuskie

You are definitely affected by some kind of spyware or malware. You must get hold of an anti-spyware utility like Ad-aware from www.lavasoft.de and clean your computer. These malicious programs are trying to hijack your browser.There is another thing you should be aware of. Broadband should always give you speeds of at least 256 kbps. Here is an extract from the Terms and Conditions from www.tataindicombroadband.com. Broadband – TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) has defined broadband as "An always on data connection having the capability of minimum download speeds of 256 kbps". Keep after them till you get this speed since you are paying good money for it.

Save messages

q+a How can I save messages that are now stored in the Inbox, Sent Items, etc. folders in Outlook Express?

Rupnarayan Bose

All your Outlook Express messages are automatically saved in a store folder with a .dbx extension. The path usually looks like this: C:\Documents and Settings\ your name \Local Settings\ Application Data\Identities\ {31391EF3-B3AC-4F12-94D8-DC2DA45E9526}\ Microsoft\Outlook Express. Under this, you will find the files folders.dbx, inbox.dbx, offline.dbx and outbox.dbx. If you ever have to change your computer and do not want to lose your mail, all you have to do is copy the files into the path I have mentioned.

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