Converting Your Clips for iPod Video
November 10, 2005
by Walter S. Mossberg
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 converting video clips for use with the new iPod, different DVD formats and finding the FolderShare program for a Mac.
If you have a question, send it to me at recommended a program called FolderShare, which can automatically synchronize files among multiple Windows and Macintosh computers. Now the company has been bought by Microsoft, and the Mac version of the software has disappeared from its Web site. Do you know if they are abandoning the Mac?
FolderShare removed its Macintosh version for a couple of weeks to rework it, but now has restored it. Not only that, but Microsoft has converted FolderShare to a free, instead of a paid, service. However, one advanced feature has been removed, and the number of files you can synchronize has been lowered, though at 100,000 files, it’s still a lot. It is available, for both Windows and Mac users, at www.foldershare.com. I should note that, in addition to working in mixed groups of Windows and Mac computers, FolderShare will work in groups with only Windows, or only Macintosh, machines. I use it daily, and find that it works well.
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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.
Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com
