Yes, you are correct. Snow Leopard is the first Apple OS version that runs only on Intel-powered Macs, and your iMac runs on the G5 processor, which isn’t an Intel chip.

As for the comparison with Microsoft’s policy: In one way, Apple’s approach is much worse. It is totally cutting off some of its user base from the new OS, including some folks with machines as little as 3 years old. Microsoft isn’t making it impossible for XP owners to move to Windows 7— it’s merely making it so painful, tedious and complicated to upgrade that many non-techies who want Windows 7 may give up and feel compelled to buy new PCs. On the other hand, Apple’s policy affects a smaller proportion of its customers. Only about 20% of its users still use older, non-Intel-based Macs. By contrast, Microsoft’s policy affects a much greater percentage of Windows users, since, despite its advanced age, Windows XP is still the most commonly used version of its OS.

A few years ago Microsoft used a code name of Longhorn for the operating system which ultimately was released as “Vista.” Will Windows 7 have a real name upon release?

The real name of Windows 7 is: Windows 7. It’s not a temporary code name, like “Longhorn” was. The product will be officially called Windows 7 when it comes out on Oct. 22.

Is it possible to connect a netbook directly to a larger PC to transfer data? The data I am interested in would be Word documents, Excel files, a limited number of photos and music files, and other personal files.

While I haven’t tested it, I assume that, since a netbook is just a small, cheap, standard Windows laptop, you could use Microsoft’s built-in file-transfer utilities to accomplish this, provided you use the right cable. In Windows XP, the operating system on most netbooks and most other PCs in use, this is called the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard. In Vista, and the forthcoming Windows 7, it’s called Windows Easy Transfer.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online for free at the 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.

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.

I am shopping for a new laptop, and noticed that some of the models in which I am interested come with Windows Vista Business edition instead of Home Premium, which I understand is the main consumer version. What would I be missing if I went with the Business version instead?

The main thing Vista Business lacks that Home Premium includes is a series of multimedia features. These include Media Center, which allows you to play songs and videos, and view photos, from across a room. In addition, Home Premium offers Windows Movie Maker software for creating movies, DVD maker, and several games the Business version lacks.

On the other hand, the Business edition has some things Home Premium doesn’t, including built-in programs for doing a complete PC backup, for faxing and scanning, and for remotely running programs on another computer. For the most part, however, Vista Business looks and works like Home Premium.

I just bought a new laptop, and want to transfer to it the Firefox bookmarks I have on my old desktop. How can I do that?

There are a number of possible methods, but here’s a simple, straightforward approach.

First, you export the bookmarks from Firefox on your old desktop PC, which creates a single file containing the bookmarks. Then, you copy that file, which Firefox names by default “bookmarks.html,” to a CD or portable USB drive or some other medium you can use to transfer files between computers. Then, you copy the file to the new laptop. Finally, you import the file into the fresh copy of Firefox on the new laptop.

To carry out this process, you use Firefox’s import and export function for bookmarks. On the first computer, from the Firefox Bookmarks menu, choose “Organize bookmarks.” Then, once the bookmark window opens, go to the File menu and choose “Export.” That will create the bookmarks file. After the file is on the second computer, launch Firefox and repeat the process, only this time choose “Import,” and then click on “From File,” and select the file you brought over.

I have Word 2003 and have just started to receive Word 2007 documents, which I cannot open. What is the best solution?

Word 2007 has a new default file format, called DOCX, that is incompatible with older versions, which rely on the long-standing DOC format. The new version can be set to always save files in the old format, but not everyone knows that or chooses to do so.

However, folks such as you with the 2003 version of Word can install a free “Compatibility Pack” from Microsoft that will allow your copy of Word to read the new format. It can be obtained 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 free at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.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 using Microsoft Word to handle page layouts, deleting favorites in Internet Explorer and running Windows Vista on a Mac.

I use Microsoft Word 2003 for writing family histories with many photographs. But the program doesn’t handle photographs well. Is Word 2007 any better?

Word isn’t primarily a page layout program, so I can’t say if you’ll consider the new version dramatically better for photos. But Microsoft did put some effort into improving the graphics, layout and photo-handling features in the new 2007 version. If nothing else, Word’s system for positioning and manipulating photos is easier to understand because of the new interface Microsoft introduced.

In Internet Explorer, is there a way to delete favorites other than one at a time? I have tried to select several while holding the Shift or Control key, but only one at a time is deleted.

One way to do it is to avoid using the very limited Organize Favorites feature in Internet Explorer itself, and locate the folder on your hard disk where the files that represent the Favorites reside. Then, you can delete the Favorites like any other files.

This folder is called Favorites, and can be found through Windows Explorer (as opposed to Internet Explorer). It’s under Documents and Settings, inside a folder bearing the name of the user or account you use in Windows.

For example, if your user account name (the name that appears at the top of the Windows Start Menu) is “Janet,” the Favorites folder would be C:\Documents and Settings\Janet\Favorites. The icon for this folder is a star, rather than a picture of a folder.

Is it true that Microsoft’s license terms for Vista prevent Mac users from installing it using the Parallels software that creates a virtual Windows machine on a Mac? And does this also apply to Apple’s Boot Camp system for running Windows on a Mac?

Microsoft has decided to legally bar the installation of the most common consumer versions of the new Windows Vista operating in a virtual machine. A virtual machine is a software environment that allows one operating system to run inside another by creating a faux, or virtual, computer. This prohibition covers Vista Home Basic and Home Premium, and it applies not only to Parallels on a Mac but to other virtual-machine systems on other kinds of computers, even Windows computers.

Vista Home Basic and Home Premium will, in fact, work fine in Parallels on a Mac, according to the maker of Parallels. But if you install them in Parallels, or any other virtual machine, you will violate the Microsoft license. To comply with the license, you have to buy and install the more expensive Vista Business or Vista Ultimate versions.

However, I don’t believe the Microsoft license prohibition applies to running Windows on a Mac via Apple’s Boot Camp system, since Boot Camp doesn’t create a virtual machine. When you run Windows on a Mac under Boot Camp, the computer becomes a real Windows computer, not a virtual one. No other operating system is running; Windows is in total and sole control of the Mac hardware. I should note, however, that Boot Camp was designed to allow Macs to run Windows XP, and Apple hasn’t yet modified it for Vista.

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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

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 iMac configurations, the Zune’s sound quality and simple digital cameras.

We’re going to be purchasing an Apple iMac desktop in the next few weeks. Do you have any recommended configurations? We will be running Microsoft Word and Excel as well as playing music, organizing family photographs and using the Internet.

Apple separates the iMacs by screen size — 17 inches, 20 inches and 24 inches. As the screen sizes increases, the processor speeds and other specs also rise, although you can alter some of them if you order from Apple online. There are two 17-inch models, one with beefier specs than the other. All iMacs use Intel’s latest dual-core processor, the Core 2 Duo, with speeds ranging from 1.83 gigahertz to 2.33 gigahertz.

For the usage pattern you describe, even the base $999, 17-inch model would be fine, although I would suggest doubling the memory to 1 gigabyte. That upgrade costs $75, bringing the price to $1,074. Its hard disk, at 160 gigabytes, is plenty for the needs you describe, as is its low-end, but capable, graphics system, and its processor speed of 1.83 gigahertz.

If you think you might like to create DVDs of your photos, you’ll need to get at least the beefier 17-inch model, which costs $1,199. That model already has 1 gigabyte of memory. Like the larger-screen iMacs, it can record DVDs, while the base model can only record CDs. It also has a slightly faster processor, at 2.0 gigahertz, and a better graphics system.

If you want bigger screens, you’ll have to spend more. The 20-inch model costs $1,499 and ups the hard disk to 250 gigabytes, in addition to increasing processor speed to 2.16 gigahertz. The 24-inch model costs $1,999 and has a fancier graphics system but the same hard disk and processor as the 20-inch model.

In your lengthy review of the Zune digital music player, you didn’t say much about its sound quality. Was it good? Was it the equal of the iPod?

As I noted in the review, to my ears, the Zune sounded about the same as the iPod. Its sound is quite good. However, the Zune has fewer equalizer settings than the iPod, and I found its earbuds to be less comfortable than the newly improved standard iPod earbuds.

My wife wants to take up photography as a hobby, but she is a devout technophobe. Could you recommend a good quality camera that is simple to use?

Different people have different opinions on what constitutes “simple,” and several brands of cameras are fairly easy to use. But I’d suggest you consider one of the Kodak EasyShare models.

I am thinking of buying a new computer with Windows Vista installed. How can I transfer the files on my current PC to the new one without losing any?

Vista will have a built-in file transfer utility, but I haven’t tested it and thus can’t say if it’s any better than the lousy file transfer “wizard” in Windows XP. In the past, I have recommended a product called Detto Intellimover. I haven’t tested it for a while, but I assume it will have a version that works with Vista.

* * *

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 synchronizing bookmarks in Firefox among multiple computers, balancing performance and price when buying a computer and permanently deleting files.

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 was wondering if there is software or a plug-in that would allow me to synchronize my bookmarks in Firefox among multiple computers. I’ve looked but couldn’t find anything.

You can add functionality to the Firefox Web browser by installing small add-ons called extensions. Some of these are designed to synchronize bookmarks among multiple Firefox-equipped computers, over the Internet. I haven’t tested any of them, so I can’t recommend any particular one. But here’s how to find one.

In Firefox, go to the Tools menu, select Extensions, and then click on the link at the bottom of the window that says “Get More Extensions.” This will take you to a Web page filled with extensions and other add-ons of every type. In the search box, type in the word “synchronize,” and you’ll see some choices. You can also browse the category at the left of the page called “Bookmarks.”

Will a high-end computer perform concurrent multiple office tasks (i.e., Word, Quicken, Internet search) faster and more efficiently than a budget computer?

Sure, because a high-end computer, costing more than $1,500, will have more memory, a faster processor and faster internal pathways through which data can flow. Budget models, costing under $500, have slower, smaller, more bare-bones versions of these components. However, there’s a middle path. If you don’t need the very fastest switching among windows or concurrent programs, a midrange, $600-$800 computer with at least 512 megabytes of memory should do the trick. It will handle concurrent programs and switch between them with a delay so slight as to be fine for most users.

How do I delete files on a computer so that they can’t be recovered by anyone else?

When a file is deleted on a computer, the actual contents of the file aren’t immediately wiped out or overwritten. They can still be recovered by an expert, or even a mainstream user with the right software. To completely delete a file, you need a utility that overwrites the space on your hard disk formerly occupied by the files with multiple layers of nonsense data.

On a Mac, this function is built as an optional deletion method. On a Windows PC, you need to obtain an add-on program that does this. The best one I’ve tried is Window Washer from Webroot, available for $30 at webroot.com. It has multiple functions, but the one you need is the “bleaching” function, which permanently erases files.

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.

In WordPerfect, it’s possible to sort paragraphs alphabetically. For example, in a bibliography you could rearrange the entries, which are short paragraphs, in alphabetical order, even if you didn’t enter them in that way. Is there a way to do this in Microsoft Word?

Yes, though Word makes the command a little hard to find. Just go to the Table menu and choose “Sort…” From its location, you would think this command sorts only entries in tables, but it also sorts paragraphs that aren’t in tables.

When you click on “Sort…” a little window will appear. Make sure the “Sort By” box in this window is set to “Paragraphs,” and the “Type” box is set to “Text.” You can choose to sort your paragraphs in ascending order (A to Z) or descending order (Z to A.)

By default, the command selects and sorts all your paragraphs. If you want to sort only some of them, select the ones you are targeting before you click on the command.

Lately I’ve been running antivirus, antispyware, and fix-it programs daily. Now I’m hearing that some viruses are a “necessary evil” to keep some programs running. Is that true?

No. By definition, a virus is a malicious piece of software that sneaks onto your computer to cause mischief or do real harm. I know of no legitimate program that in any way requires a virus to function. If you did have some program that required a true virus to operate, I would delete that program, because it would be, by definition, malicious software itself.

It’s possible, of course, that your antivirus program is mislabeling as a virus some piece of software you intentionally installed and that you need and want. But that’s a different matter. In that case, you could use the options in the security program to allow the misidentified program to live in peace. But you’d better be absolutely certain what it is, what it does, how you got it, and that you need it. Virus writers are always trying to outwit antivirus programs by creating viruses that pose as legitimate programs.

Early on in the digital photography era, at several seminars I attended, the speakers strongly recommended using a desktop Mac or PC as opposed to a laptop for processing digital images. Is this still the case or are laptops with similar power and memory equal to the task today?

I’m not sure what you mean by “processing” digital images. But if you are referring to organizing and editing images, most laptops sold today would do the job fine, whether they run Windows or the Macintosh operating system. They have enough power, memory and hard-disk capacity to handle the digital photo needs of mainstream consumers.

The exception might be a case where a professional photographer, or a very serious amateur, is doing extensive editing in Adobe Photoshop of hundreds or thousands of images — or the laptop is a low-end, lightly equipped model. In those cases, I’d advise using a costlier, well-equipped laptop, or a powerful desktop.

* * *

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