Microsoft Access and Macintosh
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 Microsoft Access and Macs, the toolbar in the new Internet Explorer and the latest version of Windows XP.
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Q: I have an old H-P notebook and am thinking of replacing it with a Mac. However, I use Microsoft Access to keep all the information of my clients and I was told by a friend that the Microsoft Office suite on a Mac doesn't have MS Access. Is this true? If so, what do you suggest I should do? I mainly use Access and email.
A: Your friend is correct. Microsoft doesn't make a Mac version of Access, and while there are some database programs for the Mac, there's nothing I know of that's exactly like Access or is fully and easily compatible with it. You could install Windows on your new Mac and boot into Windows when you need to run Access. In my tests of Apple's Boot Camp software for running Windows on a Mac, Access ran quickly and well.
However, I suggest that you avoid the Mac and buy a Windows machine. If your main use of your computer is to run a single program that only works in Windows, that means that, even with a Mac, you'll be spending most of your time in the Windows environment, and won't gain many of the advantages of the Mac operating system and its tight integration with the Mac hardware. So, you might as well just buy another H-P or a Dell or Lenovo.
Q: I was encouraged by your column of Oct. 19 to download Internet Explorer 7. It seems fine but I no longer have the Outlook Express icon on the toolbar. I found this quite convenient and wonder how to get it onto IE 7.
A: In the new Version 7 of Internet Explorer, Microsoft took pains to strip down and simplify the menus and toolbars, so as to streamline the look and feel. One of the things that was dropped as a default option was the icon for your email program, such as Outlook Express. But IE 7 allows you to restore it. Here's how:
First, right-click on the toolbar, which is the short strip of icons that includes the Home button, and choose "Customize Command Bar." Then, choose "Add or Remove Commands...". From the list on the left, choose "Read Mail" and click the "Add" button. Then, with the "Read Mail" entry highlighted, use the buttons marked "Move Up" and "Move Down" to place the email icon where you want on the toolbar. Finally, click the "Close" button.
Q: Several products you've reviewed recently, like Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 and Apple's Boot Camp, require the "latest version" of Windows XP. What is the latest version?
A: The latest, and likely the last, version of Windows XP is called "SP2," for "Service Pack 2." The box will have that phrase on it. However, this version of Windows XP will be superseded in early 2007 by the all-new Windows Vista, which is a complete overhaul of Windows.
Access程序与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。
本周我将回答读者有关微软Access程序和Mac电脑、IE 7的工具栏以及最新版本Windows XP的问题。
问：我有一台老的惠普笔记本电脑，现在我想换成Mac电脑。不过，我还是想用微软(Microsoft)的Access程序来保存所有的客户资料。我朋友说微软Mac版的Office套装软件里没有Access，这是真的吗？如果是的话，我该怎么办呢？我主要要用Access和电子邮件。
答：你朋友是对的。微软没有开发Mac版的Access。虽然市面上有一些适用于Mac电脑的数据库程序，但据我所知，还没有哪个程序和Access完全一样，或者与它全面兼容。你可以在新的Mac电脑上安装Windows操作系统，在你需要运行Access的时候启动Windows。苹果(Apple)的Boot Camp软件可以启动Windows，根据我对它的测试，Access能在其中很快地顺利运行起来。
不过，我建议你别买Mac电脑，还是买Windows电脑吧。如果你的电脑主要是用来运行一种只能在Windows上使用的程序，这意味着即便你买了Mac电脑，在多数时间里你还是会在Windows环境下工作，享受不了Mac操作系统的种种好处。因此你最好还是买一台惠普、或是戴尔(Dell)、或是联想(Lenovo)的电脑。
问：读了你10月19日的专栏后，我下载了Internet Explorer 7。它看起来很不错，但是我在工具栏里却找不到Outlook Express的图标了。我觉得这个图标用起来很方便，你能告诉我怎样把它放到IE 7上面吗？
答：在新版IE 7中，微软花了大力气来简化菜单和工具栏，让它们看起来更加有条理，其中被去除的一个缺省选项就是Outlook Express等电子邮件程序的图标。不过你可以把它加回到IE 7中。以下就是具体操作步骤。
首先，在工具栏上点击右键，选择“自定义工具栏”(Customize Command Bar)，然后选择“新增或移除按钮”(Add or Remove Commands . . .)。从左边的列表中选择“阅读邮件”(Read Mail)，点击“新增”。然后，选中“阅读邮件”条目，根据需要使用“上移”(Move Up)和“下移”(Move Down)按钮确定邮件图标在工具栏上的位置，最后点击“关闭”按钮即可。
问：你最近测评的一些产品，如Internet Explorer 7和苹果的Boot Camp都要求安装最新版本的Windows XP，什么样才算最新版本呢？
答：最新版的Windows XP被称为“SP2”，是“Service Pack 2”的缩写。产品包装盒上会标注这一名称。不过，这个版本的Windows XP将在2007年初被全新的Windows Vista所取代。
Walter S. Mossberg
