Does the new Palm Pre smart phone use the traditional Palm operating system and the many programs that have been written for it?

Palm’s Pre, which is due out later this year to compete with the iPhone and the BlackBerry, doesn’t use this older software, which was once the best smart-phone operating system, but has grown stale. It uses an entirely new operating system called the Palm webOS, which will have to attract developers willing to write new programs for it. It is a clean break from Palm’s previous hardware and software.

How does the Clickfree computer backup system you covered last week compare with Apple’s Time Machine or online backup services like Mozy or Carbonite?

Clickfree simplifies the chore of backing up files to an external hard disk. However, as I noted in the review, it doesn’t back up your whole hard disk, it doesn’t work automatically in the background, and it doesn’t create a backup physically distant from your computer.

Time Machine, which is built into the Macintosh operating system, automatically backs up your entire computer in the background and includes a very easy method for recovering files. It works with external hard disks. But it doesn’t work on Windows PCs, and it doesn’t create a remote backup over the Internet.

Mozy and Carbonite are online backup solutions. Their advantages are that they work unattended and create offsite backups. But they aren’t intended to back up an entire computer, they don’t create a local backup, and they carry service fees.

Does my 13-inch MacBook come with the capability to view PowerPoint files?

No. While Macs come out of the box with the ability to view and create files in the Microsoft Word and Adobe PDF formats, they don’t come with a PowerPoint viewer. In order to view (and create) PowerPoint files on a Mac, your best bet is to buy the Macintosh version of Microsoft Office, which includes PowerPoint itself. There are other methods as well. For instance, Apple’s own lower-priced iWork suite can also open PowerPoint files and create files in the PowerPoint format. And some Web-based office programs, like Google Docs, allow you to view PowerPoint files on Macs.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online free of charge at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

After reading your positive review, I downloaded Firefox 3.0, only to discover that some of my favorite add-ons, including a search toolbar, are incompatible. What can I do about this?

Wait. As I noted in the review, when major new versions of Firefox come out, it takes a while for some of the many add-ons for the browser to be updated so they are compatible with the new version. Because these are written by a very large number of different companies and individuals, the process will be gradual, and some will be updated more quickly than others.

As for search toolbars, like those from Google (GOOG) and Yahoo (YHOO), I doubt that most people still need them. When they first came out, these toolbars provided things the top browsers lacked: a permanent search box, pop-up blocking and a few other useful features. But all the major browsers now provide these things without requiring the installation of any external toolbar. The companies that make the toolbars can use them to sell advertising or attract you to their search engines. But, for many users today, they are redundant.

I don’t want to run antivirus software constantly, but I would like to periodically run a program that could scan my computer and remove viruses and the like. Does such a program exist?

Yes. Here’s one example. Microsoft (MSFT) makes a small, free program called the Malicious Software Removal Tool that looks for, and tries to remove, a limited number of the worst examples of malicious software. It can be downloaded at www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove.

However, this isn’t a comprehensive antivirus program. Microsoft says it detects and removes only “specific, prevalent malicious software,” and advises that “You should also use up-to-date antivirus software to help protect your computer from other malicious software.”

I am in the market for a laptop. I was considering a Dell (DELL) or an H-P (HPQ) but have learned that Apples now run Windows. I have financial (Quicken) and other business files (Excel, Word and PowerPoint) that would need to be transferred to the new computer. Would this be possible on an Apple (AAPL)?

Yes, in the same ways you could transfer files from one Windows PC to another. For example, you could burn them to a CD or DVD, copy them to an external USB drive, or transfer them over a network or via the Internet. In fact, if you buy your Mac at an Apple retail store, the store’s staff will move your files over free, or for a modest fee, depending on which folders, and how many, you want transferred.

Once the files are on the Mac, you can either use native Mac programs to read and/or modify them, or you can install Windows and run your usual Windows programs to handle the files.

For instance, even if you never installed Windows on an Apple, your Excel, Word and PowerPoint files could be used in the Mac version of Microsoft Office. However, the Mac version of Quicken isn’t as compatible with the Windows version’s files. So, for Quicken, I suggest installing Windows on the Mac and running the Windows version of Quicken.

• You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online for free at the new All Things Digital web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Do Macs last longer than Windows PCs? I am willing to pay the additional cost for a Mac if it will last significantly longer, but if it has approximately the same lifespan as a PC from a reputable manufacturer, I will stay with PCs.

In my years of using both types of computers daily, I have never noticed a significant difference in when Macs and Windows PCs become unfit to use, and I have never seen claims from Apple (AAPL) that its computers last longer than competing models. Obviously, on the Windows side, there’s a much greater variety of manufacturers and of quality levels, while Apple makes all Macs, and receives generally high marks in well-known surveys of reliability. But so do some Windows PC makers. All computer makers turn out the occasional lemon, and how long a computer “lasts” depends tremendously on how you use it and how you judge its usefulness over time.

My laptop hard drive crashed last year and I lost some digital pictures that were on it. My daughter had accidentally copied those digital pictures onto her iPod but she didn’t select the option to store them at full resolution. I know I can get the pictures back off the iPod, but is there any software that can get them back at full resolution?

Not as far as I know. Unless you tell iTunes to store the photo at full resolution, what is on the iPod is a version of the photo that has been scaled down for the iPod’s screen resolution and storage capacity, and that is the resolution they would retain if you copied them back to a computer.

I have an H-P (HPQ) laptop using Windows XP and Microsoft (MSFT) Office 2003. If I purchase a new H-P laptop with Vista and Office 2007, what must be done to make the two machines compatible? My goal is to be able to take a copy of Office files from one computer and use them on the other.

The difference in the operating systems won’t affect your plan, but the difference in the Office versions might. The newer 2007 version of Office can easily handle your files from the older version. But Office 2003 can’t handle files in the new default Office formats introduced in the 2007 version. These formats use file suffixes that end in the letter x. For instance, the new Word format has an extension of docx, instead of the old, familiar doc.

Luckily, the new Office can still save files automatically in the old formats, if you change a setting. Here’s how.

On the computer with the new version of Office, click on the round “Office Button” at the top left of the 2007 versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Then, in the window that appears, click on “Options.” In the next screen that comes up, click on “Save” in the column at the left. In the panel that appears at the right, you’ll notice an option called “Save Files in this format,” with a drop-down list of choices next to it. Display the list of choices by clicking on the arrow and select the format that corresponds to Office 2003. Then, click OK at the bottom of the window. For instance, in Word 2007, the format you want is called “Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc).”

The other option is to enable Office 2003 to handle the new formats, by downloading a free “Compatibility Pack” from the company’s “Download Center,” at www.microsoft.com/downloads. You’ll find it listed there under “Popular Downloads.”

• You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online for free at the new All Things Digital web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

When will Google offer its much-discussed cellphone for sale?

Google says it isn’t planning to build or sell mobile phones. Instead, it is developing a cellphone operating system, or software platform, called Android. And it has assembled an alliance of companies, including phone makers and cellular network providers, to create phones based on this new platform. This group is called the Open Handset Alliance. In addition, since Android will be so-called “open source” software, Google expects numerous developers around the world, large and small, to modify the operating system and create programs that will run on it.

If all goes according to plan, Google says it expects to see many different Android-based cellphones and other mobile devices, from a variety of manufacturers and carriers, in various designs and with differing functionality and capabilities. Some may be larger-screen “smart phones,” similar to an iPhone or BlackBerry. Others might be smaller, simpler phones. Still others might fall somewhere between an iPhone and a small laptop.

Google officials say they expect the first Android devices to be available later this year.

After reading your Jan. 3 column, I looked unsuccessfully for a Home and Student version of Office for Mac 2004. Does such a version exist?

In the 2004 release of Microsoft Office for the Mac, this low-priced version had a different name: the Student and Teacher edition. Microsoft presumably changed the name of this $150 product to the Home and Student edition in both Office 2007 for Windows and Office 2008 for the Mac, because, while it was technically limited for sale to families containing students or teachers, no proof was required and it was widely purchased by consumers in general.

However, there’s a big difference between the latest Windows and Mac versions of the Home and Student edition. In the Mac version, it includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Entourage, Microsoft’s equivalent of Outlook on the Mac, which, like Outlook, includes email, calendar and contact functions. But the new Windows version now omits Outlook, and instead substitutes OneNote, a note-taking and information organizing program that is far less commonly used. So, Windows users must spend much more money to get a version of Office that includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.

Is there a way to back up Microsoft Outlook Express emails, particularly Inbox items?

Outlook Express stores your emails in database files, with all the messages in each of your mail folders lumped into a single such file. These files can be backed up, or copied, onto other hard disks, or storage media.

The email data files are usually buried in obscure subfolders in Windows. But you can locate them by clicking on the Tools menu, then Options. This will open a tabbed window. In this window, click on the tab called Maintenance, then the button called Store Folder. This will generally give you a long, complicated path to the folder.

Next, copy this path by selecting it and pressing Control and C. Then, click on the Start menu, select “Run…”, and then press Control and V and then click OK. This should open the folder that contains your email. The inbox is contained in a file called Inbox.dbx. This is the file you will want to back up. If you want to back up other folders, such as the Sent mail folder, you will find them along with the inbox file, with the same “.dbx” suffix.

Some backup programs may automate this process by simply allowing you to designate that you want to back up your Outlook Express emails. There are even some programs specially designed to back up Outlook Express messages. You can find some of these by simply performing a Web search on “backup Outlook Express.”

• You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online for free at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Do I need antivirus or antispyware software on a Macintosh running the Leopard operating system?

The Macintosh isn’t inherently invulnerable to malicious software. In fact, last week it was reported that there is a new scam on the Web that can plant a malicious “Trojan horse” program on the Mac. However, this is a rare event. There have been practically no viruses, spyware or other malicious programs written for the Macintosh that have actually spread outside the laboratory.

For that reason, most Mac users don’t run security software, and security software companies don’t make much of an effort to sell it for Macs. I don’t believe it is necessary, so far, for all except the most paranoid (and those who run Windows on their Macs). In fact, freedom from the burdens of running and updating security software has been one of the Mac’s big advantages.

Even the new Trojan Horse apparently relies on tricking the user, rather than on sneaking through holes in the Mac operating system. According to reports, to get infected you must go to a pornography site, and agree to download a program allegedly needed to view the porn. Next, the Mac will require that you type in your administrator ID and password to complete the installation, thus agreeing to install the program a second time. If you do all that, you get a program that supposedly redirects your Web browser to bogus Web sites. My advice: even if you frequent porn sites, don’t agree to download any programs from them (that goes for Windows users as well).

Some interpret the appearance of this new Trojan Horse as a sign that the Mac’s increasing market share will begin to attract a flood of viruses and spyware, and that Mac users will soon have to start running security software. If it happens, and the threats are more insidious than the latest one, I will be ready to change my recommendation. But not yet.

In reply to a question last week, you mentioned that there are free security programs available for Windows. Could you please suggest where to download such alternatives?

There are a number of them, but ones that I like are free, basic antivirus and antispyware programs called AVG from a company called Grisoft, which also makes more elaborate security software. You can download these programs at free.grisoft.com/doc/5390/us/frt/0.

I don’t have Microsoft PowerPoint but I occasionally get PowerPoint files as email attachments. Somewhere I read that one can download a free PowerPoint program so you can read these files. Can you help me with this, please?

I don’t know of any free versions of PowerPoint, but Microsoft does offer a free program that will let you view, but not create or edit, PowerPoint files. You can download it here.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online for free at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com

On two different new computers, I’ve created Word files and they’re automatically saved with the extension “.docx.” What is that? When I send these files via email, no one can open them. Can you shed some light?

In the 2007 version of Microsoft Office for Windows, which you appear to have on your two new PCs, Microsoft introduced new default file formats whose extensions end in the letter “x”. The one for Word is “docx,” for Excel it’s “xlsx” and for PowerPoint it’s “pptx.” You are using Word 2007, and all of your files are thus automatically being saved in the “docx” format.

Your correspondents can’t open these files because they are using older versions of Office that don’t recognize the new formats. Microsoft has made available a free auto-conversion patch for the older Windows Office versions, but most people don’t have this patch. (It can be found at microsoft.com/downloads under “Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats.”)

There’s also a kludgy free stand-alone converter from Microsoft for the Mac versions of Word and PowerPoint, available at microsoft.com/mac under the name “Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter for Mac.”

Unless you can persuade all of your correspondents to install these workarounds, I suggest you change a setting in Word 2007 so that, henceforth, all of your files will be saved in the traditional “doc” format. That familiar format isn’t only compatible with older versions of Microsoft Office, but with many other programs, on both Windows and the Macintosh.

To make the change, first click on the round “Office Button” at the top left of Word 2007. Then, at the lower right of the window that appears, click on “Word Options.” In the next screen that comes up, click on “Save” in the column at the left. In the panel that appears at the right, you’ll notice an option called “Save Files in this format,” with a drop-down list of choices next to it. Display the list of choices by clicking on the arrow and select “Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc)”. Then, click OK at the bottom of the window.

Microsoft warns that some new features in Word 2007 won’t translate into the old format, but I believe that this will prove irrelevant in 99% of cases and is outweighed in any case by the incompatibility you have run into.

How can I transfer all my Outlook contacts from a Windows PC to a Macintosh contacts program?

There are a number of methods. You can use a PDA or smart phone that can synchronize the contacts with a Mac, after having first synchronized with Outlook on your PC. Or you can use a $10 program called O2M, which is specifically designed to move Outlook data to a variety of Mac programs. It can be downloaded at littlemachines.com.

Or you could get Apple to do it. The company offers a basic file transfer for free if you buy the Mac from an Apple retail store. But, if you want Apple to move Outlook contacts in just the way you want, you may have to purchase the company’s $99 a year ProCare service, which comes with a more complete transfer service.

I recently replaced an old Windows XP computer that was running very slowly. I want to continue to use it as the computer for our young kids, and I was thinking that if I format the hard drive and reinstall XP (which I bought to upgrade the machine a while back), it will probably improve its performance. Do you agree? And, can I reinstall my copy of XP, when I have already “activated” the software when I originally installed it?

I do agree that the computer will likely run faster after you wipe the hard drive and reinstall Windows. That is the usual outcome. And it should be possible to use it legally, as long as you haven’t made any major changes to the hardware, since Microsoft’s activation system typically allows Windows to be reinstalled on the same machine. If activation fails, you can call Microsoft and explain that it’s the same machine, and the company says it will usually OK activation in such cases.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online for free at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com

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 deleting groups of emails on a Treo, eliminating unnecessary background programs and sending files from a Mac to a Windows PC.

How do I delete groups of email messages quickly on the Treo smartphone?

It depends on which Treo model you are using and which email program you are using. If it’s a Windows-based Treo, like the Treo 700w or 700wx, you can’t delete large groups of messages very quickly in the built-in email program. You have to manually select large groups of messages and then use the delete function. If it’s a Treo model that uses the Palm operating system, like the Treo 700p or the 650, it is usually possible to do this automatically with a few keystrokes, though the method varies depending on which email program you are using.

If you are using my favorite Treo email program, SnapperMail, on a Palm-based Treo, and you want to delete all or many of the messages in a mailbox, such as your inbox, you can do so with one hand and as few as three keystrokes. This “Purge” command allows you to delete all the messages, or only messages older than various periods of time you can set. You don’t have to use the stylus, or manually select any messages, or use two hands. You just press the menu button, the “T” key, and the center button on the navigation pad.

When I open the Windows Task Manager, I note that there are anywhere from 52 to 57 “processes” operating on my PC. I am sure this is slowing things down. However, the names of the programs are virtually impossible for a nontechie to understand so I don’t want to eliminate any of them for fear of causing major damage to the operating system. Short of calling a service technician, is there a way for me to find out which processes can be safely shutdown and/or eliminated?

This is one of the major banes of using Windows — every program and even some Web sites think it’s OK to install and run in the background all sorts of little, and not-so-little programs, which create the “processes” you are seeing. Some of them may even be spyware and adware. And, yes, they do slow down your computer.

Unfortunately, I don’t know of any quick, easy way a mainstream, nontechie user can tell which ones can be safely shut down. There are programs like Startup Cop that help you decide which unseen programs you should allow to launch when your computer starts, but they don’t necessarily cover stuff that launches after start-up. And there are Web sites, like processlibrary.com and answersthatwork.com, which let you look up a process to see what it does, but that is a laborious process. The latter Web site offers a $29 program called the Ultimate Troubleshooter for managing all these processes, but it’s pretty intimidating for a nontechie.

Antivirus and antispyware programs can shut down some malicious background processes, or stop them from loading in the first place. But many of the resource-draining “processes” you are finding may be from “legitimate” programs on your PC that simply want to hog the computer.

If I switch from Windows to a Macintosh, will my colleagues be able to read any Mac files I send them?

There is no such thing as a “Mac file.” The Macintosh today can create and read all the major standard types of files that Windows PCs use. For instance, photos in the common JPG format; music files in the common MP3 format; Adobe PDF files; text files; and many other types of files can simply be moved between Windows and Mac computers with no conversion necessary. Microsoft Office files, like Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents, can also be shared between the two platforms, without conversion, if you have the Office program suite on both ends. The Mac’s built-in email program, Apple Mail, even has a setting for sending “Windows Friendly” attachments.

There are some specific programs on both platforms that can create proprietary file types not easily opened, or opened at all, on the other platform. Most annoyingly, the Windows and Mac versions of Quicken don’t share a common file format. But now that the new Macs can also run Windows, you can always launch Windows on your Mac in a pinch to run a program that can handle some Windows-only file type.

* * *

Because of the volume of email I receive, I can’t routinely answer individual questions by email, 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

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 breaking MP3s into separate tracks, wireless mice and transferring emails to Microsoft’s Entourage from a PC.

I’m downloading some lectures in MP3 format and then transferring each to an audio CD to listen to while driving. An occasional lecture in the series is too large to transfer to CD. Is there a program that will divide these into two tracks so that they can be written to separate CDs?

Yes, there are multiple little utility programs that can split (or join) MP3 files. I haven’t tested any of them, so I can’t recommend one. But you can find them by going to www.download.com and typing in “mp3 splitter.”

I am in the market for a wireless mouse for my Dell notebook. Do they perform well? Do you recommend a particular one?

Cordless mice do perform well, in my experience, and are now quite common. The only downside is that you have to replace their batteries occasionally, or remember to place them in a charger, if they use one. For laptops, especially on the road, Logitech and Microsoft make cordless mice, which are smaller than typical desktop models. But you should go to a store and actually try some out, to see which size and feel you prefer.

How can I transfer my Microsoft Outlook contacts and email from my Dell into Microsoft’s Entourage program on my new MacBook Pro? Entourage, which is supposed to be Outlook’s equivalent for the Mac, doesn’t seem to recognize my Outlook files. Shouldn’t a Microsoft email program recognize files from another Microsoft email program?

Yes, it absolutely should. It amazes me that Microsoft Office for the Mac includes compatible versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, but not Outlook. And it is truly annoying that Microsoft’s Outlook substitute for the Mac, Entourage, has no built-in way to recognize or automatically convert Outlook files from Windows.

Luckily, there’s a $10 third-party program that can do the conversion. It’s called O2M, from a company called Little Machines, and can be found at www.littlemachines.com. It turns your Outlook data into files that can be imported into Entourage, or into the Mac’s built-in email, address book, and calendar programs.

* * *

Because of the volume of email I receive, I can’t routinely answer individual questions by email, 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

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.

I am thinking of switching from my Windows notebook to an Apple PowerBook. My question is whether my years of Word, PowerPoint and PDF files really will work seamlessly on the Mac. Apple says they will, but I wonder if you have any experience in this matter.

In my experience, your Word and PowerPoint files (as well as Excel files) will work fine on a Mac, if you buy the Macintosh version of Microsoft Office. The Mac version uses the exact same file formats as the Windows version, and it can read files created in the Windows version without requiring any conversion or translation. Files you create in the Mac version can be read by the Windows version just as well.

Some complex Word and PowerPoint files don’t carry over perfectly. Depending on how the file was created, graphics may not be aligned correctly and some fonts may not be the same. But, in my experience, these issues are rare for typical documents created most of the time by most users.

As for Adobe’s PDF files, they are truly cross-platform. There are Mac versions of Adobe’s free Reader program and its full Acrobat program, for creating and handling PDF files, and they are essentially identical to the Windows versions. But you don’t even need Adobe software to handle PDF files on a Mac. Out of the box, every Mac can read — and even create — PDF files, using built-in software provided by Apple.

I switch between Windows PCs and Macs all day, every day, and find these file-compatibility problems to be nonexistent. Sometimes, I start a column on a Windows PC using Word for Windows, then email the partial draft to myself, and open it on a Mac and finish it in Word for the Mac. It’s just no problem. I get Word, PowerPoint, PDF and Excel files as email attachments all the time, and they open equally well on PCs and Macs.

By the way, in addition to Microsoft Office files, and Adobe PDF files, many other common file types carry over perfectly from the Windows platform to the Mac, and vice versa. These include JPG picture files, MP3 music files, and HTML files created for the Web. None need conversion or translation.

I have a digital camera and a camcorder, but hate to carry both on business trips, vacations or family visits, since they require different chargers, extra batteries, different types of memory cards, etc. I wondered if there was a combo digital camera that could take both decent still pictures and long videos.

Actually, in the digital era, the consumer still camera and video camera are slowly merging. Most digital still cameras can take short movies, and some can take movies that last as long as the capacity of their memory cards will allow. Also, a new class of “tapeless” video cameras has emerged. These small models save their videos to memory cards instead of tapes, and also function as digital still cameras.

The best-known camera in this new combo category is the Panasonic D-Snap. Sony makes one called the DSC-M1. But the category isn’t mature yet, and doesn’t offer a complete balance between the two modes. For instance, the Sony is really a still camera with video capability, and lacks the complete set of features you might want in a video camera. (Sony sells it as a still camera.) The Panasonic is more of a video camera with still capability. Its still pictures are only two megapixels in resolution.

So, you may still be stuck carrying two cameras, unless you can content yourself with the simple videos available on still cameras, or the limited still pictures available on video cameras.

Is there a small device that I can use to download Web pages from my home computer to read on my commute? I am thinking of an e-book type device that I can use to read the Web version of the paper.

I know of nothing that works in that way. However, you could buy a Palm or Pocket PC-based PDA, with Wi-Fi or another wireless capability, and download the Web pages directly to the device, using its built-in Web browser.

Or, even with a PDA that lacks wireless capability, you could subscribe to a service called AvantGo, which allows you to download news and other content from a PC to the PDA for later reading. AvantGo doesn’t place actual Web sites on the PDA. Instead, it loads the device with “channels” containing news, weather, sports, stock quotes, maps, movie listings, and more. These channels come from name-brand sources such as MarketWatch, Rolling Stone, Reuters, Wired and USA Today. MarketWatch is owned by Dow Jones & Co., publisher of this newspaper.

* * *

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