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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 finding people or companies mentioned in blogs, disabling the Caps Lock key and playing Windows Media Video files from the Web on a Mac.
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.
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Q: How can I tell if a person or company is mentioned in an online blog?
A: You can't tell with 100% certainty. But there are some search engines that can give you a pretty good idea. These sites search blogs, or the syndicated feeds of blog headlines and article summaries called RSS feeds.
Google is testing a blog search site, at blogsearch.google.com. You might also try Feedster, at feedster.com; and Bloglines, at bloglines.com. If you want to be automatically alerted when a person or company pops up in a blog, you can use a so-called news reader, which scours the feeds of blogs and other sites.
Some allow you to set up a custom feed, based on search terms of your choice. When you create such a feed, the news reader software will periodically list headlines of blog entries that match your search terms.
Q: Is there a way to disable the Caps Lock key on a Windows PC?
A: There are a number of small programs and tweaking methods for disabling the Caps Lock key, so you don't hit it accidentally while typing. I have tried only one, called CapsUnlock, that worked well in a brief test I conducted. It can be downloaded at
www.brainsystems.com/capsunlock. CapsUnlock is a tiny program that runs in the background. When it is running, tapping the Caps Lock key has no effect. You can override this effect by holding down the Shift key while tapping Caps Lock. The program also disables the Insert key, another annoying accident waiting to happen.
Q: Is there any program that will play Windows Media Video (.wmv) files from the Web on a Mac?
A: There are three major programs for playing video and audio files on the Internet -- Microsoft's Windows Media Player, RealNetworks' RealPlayer, and Apple's QuickTime Player. Because Apple makes the Macintosh, it bundles QuickTime on each Mac, but not the others. However, Mac owners can have all three, free of charge. And so can Windows users.
Microsoft has created a free, simple version of Windows Media Player for the Macintosh. It will play back Windows Media files, both video and audio. You can download it free at
www.microsoft.com/mac/. Just click on "Other Products" in the list at the left, and scroll down until you see the listing for Windows Media Player. Once it's installed, you can play Windows Media clips from Web sites, or from a disk, or from email attachments.
Similarly, RealNetworks makes a free version of RealPlayer for the Mac. Go to
www.real.com/mac/, and click on the button at the top right that says "RealPlayer -- Free."
If you are a Windows user, you already have Windows Media Player. You can download QuickTime at
www.apple.com/quicktime/. You can download RealPlayer at
www.real.com -- just be sure to find the small link for the free version of the player, unless you want a paid subscription to Real's content services.
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.
搜索博客
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。
本周我将回答读者有关如何搜索博客、屏蔽Caps Lock键以及在Mac电脑上播放.wmv文件等问题。
问：我怎么才能知道网络博客里是否提及了某人或某公司？
答：你无法百分之百地肯定。但确实有一些搜索引擎能够给你一个相当准确的答案。这些网站搜索博客，或者是被称为RSS feeds的博客标题和文章摘要的合成内容源。
Google正在测试其博客搜索网站blogsearch.google.com。你也可以试试Feedster，其网址是feedster.com；以及Bloglines，其网址是bloglines.com。如果你想在某人或某公司出现在某个博客里的时候获得自动提示，你可以使用一种所谓的新闻阅读器，它可以搜索博客和其他网站的内容源。
有一些允许你根据你所选择的搜索条目进行定制。当你创建一个这样的内容源，新闻阅读器软件会定期列出和你的搜索条目相符的博客标题。
问：有没有什么方法可是屏蔽Windows个人电脑上的Caps Lock键？
答：有许多小程序和调整方法可以屏蔽Caps Lock键，这样你就不会在打字的时候不小心碰到它了。我只试过其中一个名为CapsUnlock的程序，我进行过简单的测试，它很有效，你可以登录
www.brainsystems.com/capsunlock进行下载。Caps Unlock是一个后台运行的小程序，它运行的时候，敲击Caps Lock键就不起作用了。要解除屏蔽，你可以同时按下Shift和Caps Lock键。这个程序还可以屏蔽我们经常误敲的Insert键。
问：有什么程序可以在Mac电脑上播放从互联网上下载下来的Windows Media Video(.wmv)文件吗？
答：有三个主要的程序可以用来播放互联网上的视频和音频文件，即微软(Microsoft)的Windows Media Player、RealNetworks的RealPlayer和苹果电脑(Apple)的QuickTime Player。因为苹果电脑生产Macintosh电脑，每台Mac电脑都内置有QuickTime，但其他播放器则没有。
微软已经针对Macintosh电脑设计了一个免费的Windows Media Player简单版本。它可以播放Windows Media文件，视频和音频都可以。你可以登录
www.microsoft.com/mac/免费下载。只需点击左侧的“Other Products”菜单，向下滑动直到看见Windows Media Player。安装后，你就可以播放从网站、磁盘或电子邮件附件里下载的Windows Media文件了。
相似地，RealNetworks也为Mac电脑设计了RealPlayer版本，你可以登录
www.real.com/mac/免费下载，只需点击右上方的“RealPlayer -- Free”按钮。
如果你是Windows用户，你已经有Windows Media Player了。你可以登录
www.apple.com/quicktime/下载QuickTime，登录
www.real.com下载RealPlayer──只不过一定要找到播放器免费版本的小链接，除非你想付费订阅Real的内容服务。
