So you think you get spam? On the November 19 Nightlife spot we discussed Bill Gates’ spam problem. Feeling brave, we then ventured into the Mac versus PC debate.

We discuss the in detail as our problem of the week. But in summary, the most important part of your choice should be based on what your friends, neighbours and colleagues use. Naturally, a lot of callers had comments.

Apologies

During the segment, Paul mentioned Mac laptops don’t allow you to click the trackpad to use it as a mouse. This isn’t the case, you can turn the feature on in the Control Panel. Our thanks to Peter who called in and the many others who emailed to point out the error.

Font and graphics compatibility

Alex, Michael, and Nick all pointed out that there can be problems in the different ways fonts and colours are processed. While most people can share there are differences between the platforms and packages. This shows why it is essential to keep within the norms of your industry.

This doesn't just apply to the type of computer you use. If sharing files with other people is essential to your business, then you must keep your hardware and software as close to industry standards. Despite most packages having conversion tools, there can still be problems.

Sharing Mac and PC files

Andrew asked about sharing files between Macs and PCs. This is reasonably easy if you have a bit of confidence and there are a number of websites describing how to do it. A good site describing how to share files is here, a good one for printer sharing is here.

Anti-virus

Moving from the Mac versus PC argument, Brad called in with a problem after installing AVG. His email not being received is probably due to the old anti-virus still being on the computer, we recommend uninstalling any old programs. Multiple anti-virus programs are a recipe for trouble.

S.M.A.R.T. errors

Our last caller, Catherine, called in about an error that appeared when her computer started. The error was a SMART error, which indicates the drive is going to fail very soon. Our advice is to backup your data immediately and get the computer to a repair shop.

Friday was our last Nightlife computer spot for the year, we will be back next year, and its likely we’ll have a pop in for a spot over summer. Sydney listeners can catch our Weekend spot at 10am on Sunday, December 19. If you’d like to be informed of next year’s schedule, subscribe to our newsletter.