Standing by the Mac
There's no other major item most of us own that is as confusing, unpredictable and unreliable as our personal computers. Everybody has questions about them, and we aim to help.
Here are a few questions about computers I've received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about whether Microsoft has gotten to him, the differences between Word and WordPerfect, and resetting your default photo program.
If you have a question, send it to me at
mossberg@wsj.com, and I may select it to be answered here in Mossberg's Mailbox.
Because of the volume of e-mail I receive, I can't routinely answer individual questions by e-mail, or consult on individual problems or purchasing decisions. I read all questions I receive and select three each week to answer in the column.
Q: For months you've been praising the Apple Macintosh and suggesting that Windows users consider switching. But, last week, you wrote a long column listing a bunch of reasons not to switch. Have you changed your mind? Has Microsoft gotten to you?
A: No, and no. I stand by my view that the Mac is an excellent computer, and that switching to the Mac is a very good way for mainstream consumers to avoid the viruses and spyware that are now plaguing Windows users. Most consumers who use Windows at home and in very small businesses are good candidates for switching. But every product, no matter how good, has some drawbacks and disadvantages. And, for some groups of Windows users, the Mac's drawbacks may outweigh its pluses.
For instance, if you are a heavy PC game player, the Windows platform is far superior because the hottest games appear late on the Mac, if at all. If you use specialized software, including many financial programs, that are available only for Windows, you shouldn't switch. And, if you depend on a corporate IT department to support or maintain your home PC, you may be locked into Windows, because many IT staffs are ignorant about Apple's machines and refuse to support them.
Q: In your opinion, which is the better word-processing program, Microsoft Word or WordPerfect?
A: I haven't reviewed WordPerfect in recent years, so I can't comment on any new features or refinements it may contain. But, in general, I am a fan of Word, even though Microsoft hasn't made many core improvements in it for quite a while. I use it almost daily, on both Windows and the Macintosh, and find that it works quite well. In addition, it has become the global standard for word processing, so the documents it produces can be viewed and edited by a huge number of computer users.
WordPerfect is a fine word processor, and it is especially valued by those users who are addicted to a feature called "Reveal Codes." This is a method by which users can see, and edit, the hidden codes that word processors use to govern the way text is laid out on the screen and on paper. WordPerfect can also read and write documents in Microsoft Word's format, though not quite as well as Word itself.
Q: I stopped using Netscape last year, but all my digital photo files that are in the "JPEG" format, and have a "JPG" extension still insist on opening up in Netscape. How can I change this so they open in another program?
A: Here's a method that works in Windows XP. First select the icon of a JPEG file, one that has the "JPG" extension. Now, click the right button on your mouse so a menu pops up. Highlight the item called "Open With..." on this menu, and another menu appears, listing some programs that can be used to display the file. Select the last item, "Choose Program..."
Next, pick a program from the list that appears. One good choice is the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer . Then, check the box that says, "Always use the selected program to open this kind of file." That should reset the system so that your photos open in whatever program you chose, instead of Netscape.
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Because of the volume of e-mail I receive, I can't routinely answer individual questions by e-mail, or consult on individual problems or purchasing decisions. I read all questions I receive and select three each week to answer in the column.
莫博士信箱：仍然支持Mac电脑
在我们大多数人拥有的大件电器中，再没有什么比个人电脑更令人费解、更变幻莫测的了。每个人或许都有些关于电脑的问题，而《莫博士信箱》将为您提供帮助。
本周我将回答有关我是否因收取了微软(Microsoft)的好处而改变对Windows的看法，Word和WordPerfect的区别以及如何重新设置系统默认照片程序的问题。
问：数月来你一直对苹果电脑的Macintosh操作系统赞赏有加，并建议Windows用户考虑转而使用Macintosh。然而，你上周又写了一篇很长的专栏文章，列举了不使用Macintosh的若干理由，你是否改变了立场？是不是微软给了你什么好处？
答：都不是。我依然坚持我的观点，认为Mac电脑相当出色。对于那些希望免受病毒和间谍软件困扰的主流电脑用户而言，改用Mac是一个非常好的解决之道。绝大多数家庭电脑用户和小公司电脑用户就很适合转用Mac电脑。但是每种产品，无论它有多么好，都免不了会有一些缺点和不足。而对于部分Windows电脑用户而言，Mac的不足可能超过了它的优点。
比如，如果你是个超级电脑游戏迷，Windows操作系统就凸现出它的长处，因为最热门的电脑游戏，即使有Mac版，推出的时间也会较晚。如果你使用只在Windows上运行的专业化软件，包括许多金融软件，你就不应该转而使用Mac电脑。另外，如果你指望公司的IT部门为你家里的电脑提供技术支持和维护，你也应该继续使用Windows，因为许多IT技术人员对苹果电脑知之甚少，不会为它们提供技术支持。
问：你认为哪种文字处理软件更好，Microsoft Word还是WordPerfect？
答：近几年我一直未对WordPerfect进行过测试，因此无法对其可能增加的新功能或改进之处发表意见。不过，一般而论，我还是比较喜欢Word，尽管微软已经有一段时间没有对其进行重大的升级。无论是在Windows电脑还是在Macintosh电脑上，我几乎每天都要用到Word，它用起来十分不错。另外，Word已经成为了文字处理的全球标准，因此用它生成的文件可以被大量的电脑用户浏览和编辑。
WordPerfect也是一个不错的文字处理软件，它其中一项名为“Reveal Codes”的功能尤其受到部分用户的青睐。用户使用这项功能可以阅读和编辑文字处理软件的一些隐藏代码，这些代码控制著文章在屏幕和纸张上的排版格式。WordPerfect还能以Microsoft Word的格式读取和书写文档，但效果不如Word本身那么好。
问：我去年开始停止使用Netscape，但我所有“JPEG”格式和扩展名为“JPG”的数码照片依然在Netscape中打开，我怎样做才能让它们在其他程序中打开呢？
答：在Windows XP中有一个解决办法。首先选中一个扩展名为“JPG”的JPEG文件，然后点击鼠标右键，这时会弹出一个菜单，选中其中的“打开方式”('Open With . . .')，之后又会出现另一个菜单，列出了能用来显示这个文件的一些程序，这时候选中最后一项“选择程序”('Choose Program . . .')。
下一步就是从列出的程序中选择一个程序。Windows Picture and Fax Viewer是一个不错的选择。然后点中“总是使用这个选中的程序开启此类文件”(Always use the selected program to open this kind of file.)的对话框，这样一来系统的设置将会改变，你以后就能使用选中的程序、而不是Netscape开启照片文件了。
