Wow. Haven’t posted an update in a while. Year 11 Leadership Day tomorrow. Running a 3 hour orienteering event on Mt Majura.

When using Mac applications you may have noticed that each application is a single-file. This means to install an application you simply need to drag and drop the single program file into the Applications folder and you are done. Some may wonder exactly where all the support files for the application are located, since each application is only a single file. While the application looks like a single file, it is actually not – that file is called a “package” and contains many other files. In other words, the single application “file” is more like a directory. In order to view the contents of the application “file” package, simply right-click on the file and select “Show Package Contents”.

There are two separate problems with my computer I was hoping you could help with. First, when running Norton Disk Doctor to scan and fix the hard drives a message appears saying the security descriptors have not been fixed. Ticking the options to fix errors within Norton Disk Doctor does not result in the issue being addressed as CHKDSK runs on the next boot and does not detect any errors. Can you explain what the security descriptors are and how they can be fixed? Second, when I use Windows Media Player 10 or 11 to download information on CDs often this information is wrong. I am unsure why this occurs, and it would be useful to obtain the correct information for the CDs. Can you also tell me where Windows Media Player stores the CD information database, so I can back this up should I need to reinstall Windows (to avoid having to re-download all the CD information)? (more…)

I am encountering difficulties receiving email from certain people, particularly from Hotmail addresses. Some people who I contact regularly, and some who I infrequently contact, have reported that they send me an email but I have not received the message. This makes me concerned that they are sending me email which is not getting through. It does not seem to matter whether the sender uses the reply option or composes a new email to me. I recently changed ISPs but the problem existed before changing to our new ISP. The computer is running Windows XP with Outlook Express for email. (more…)

When selecting multiple files in Windows Explorer you can use either the SHIFT key (to select a group of files in consecutive order) or the CTRL key (to select specific files). However, it is very easy to make a mistake which results in your painstaking file selection operation being lost, forcing you to start again. Windows Vista has simplified this procedure, and you can select files using checkboxes. Open My Computer or Windows Explorer within Windows Vista and press the ALT key then go to the “Tools” menu > “Folder Options”. Click the “View” tab and enable the option “Use check boxes to select items”. Click OK. You will now notice that all file and folder listings have a new column, and a checkbox appears in the column when the folder or file is active. In order to select multiple files or folders, simply tick the checkbox for the file or folder to make it actively selected.