A: Windows programs cannot be “converted” to run directly in the Mac operating system, which is called Snow Leopard. But, if you use virtualization software like Parallels or VMware fusion, and install Windows, then a Windows program like Microsoft Outlook can run simultaneously with your Mac programs. Technically, you are running it in Windows, but the two operating systems are active at the same time. With both of these virtualization products, you can even hide the entire Windows desktop, so that the Windows program you are running simply occupies a window on your Mac like any Mac program does. You don’t even notice that Windows is running.

In the case of files you created in Windows, the situation is even simpler. Most of the common types of files consumers use—including Microsoft Office documents, MP3 music files, MP4 video files, JPG picture files, text files, Adobe PDF files, and others—can be run in native Macintosh programs without conversion and without the need to run Windows programs. So you can just copy them to the Mac side and use them in Mac programs like iPhoto, iTunes, or the native Mac version of Microsoft Office, which uses the same file formats as the Windows version.

If you have an unusual or proprietary Windows file for which there isn’t an equivalent program on the Mac, you would run it in a Windows program, as described above.

If I am planning to upgrade a Windows XP machine to Windows 7, can I buy the upgrade copy of 7 or must I buy the full version?

A: According to Microsoft’s Web site, XP is one of the older versions of Windows upon which you can indeed indeed use the less expensive upgrade versions of Windows 7. The company’s online store says: “All editions of Windows XP and Windows Vista qualify you to upgrade. So, if you’re running either on your PC today, buy a package labeled ‘Upgrade’.”

I’ve been holding out (for what feels like forever) on purchasing a Netbook because I read that Apple was coming out with one. Can you tell me anything about when they might really begin selling them?

A: Apple executives have said repeatedly and emphatically that they don’t plan to offer a netbook, which is essentially a cheap, small laptop. Instead, Apple is widely believed to be working on a small slate or tablet device that would be controlled via a fingertip touch screen. This would be sort of like a larger iPhone or iPod Touch. The company hasn’t confirmed that such a product is in the works, but many analysts and Apple bloggers predict it will debut early next year.

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

A: You will begin to see more touch-screen laptops after Oct. 22, when Windows 7 comes out, because that new operating system has optional fingertip touch-screen navigation built in. In addition, many of the major Windows PC makers are adding their own touch-navigation systems to newer models.

However, I’d offer two caveats. First, not every touch screen will be capable of performing all the multitouch actions and gestures Windows 7 will offer. Some are more limited in their capabilities.

Second, the hardware makers will likely be cautious at first about adding fully capable touch screens to all or most of their laptops.

This is partly because these screens can add significant cost in a price-conscious market, and partly because nobody is certain how popular touch-screen navigation will be on laptops as opposed to, say, on all-in-one desktops where reaching for the screen is more obvious and natural.

I have an Apple iMac, and an Apple iPhone with around 122 apps. My question is, why don’t these iPhone apps work on the iMac? Both units use the same operating system, so why not?

A: While the iPhone and the iMac each use a version of the same operating system, Apple’s OS X, they aren’t the same operating systems. The version on the iPhone is stripped down, and has been modified to support an entirely different user interface, navigation system and set of hardware capabilities.

So there are two separate collections of apps, or programs, that run on the two platforms.

I am currently running Windows Vista Ultimate on my Dell PC. I have regretted it ever since I upgraded from XP because of its terribly slow performance. I have heard good things about Windows 7 but I am afraid I will have to buy the more expensive Ultimate upgrade (which I don’t really need) instead of an upgrade to Home Premium or Professional. Is that true?

A: According to Microsoft, owners of Vista Ultimate can only perform an “in-place upgrade” to Windows 7 Ultimate, not to lesser versions. An “in-place upgrade” is the type most people think of, the type where all your programs and files and settings are preserved just as they were, but you emerge with the new operating system.

Even then, you must be careful to buy the edition of Ultimate that matches the type of architecture your machine possesses, either 32-bit or 64-bit.

However, you can downgrade to the Home Premium or Professional versions of Windows 7, if you are willing to do a lot more work, by opting for what Microsoft calls a “custom installation,” something commonly known as a “clean install.” This typically means, first, backing up all your files and settings to an external hard disk, then allowing the Windows 7 installation disk to wipe your hard disk clean before installing your preferred version of Windows 7.

You would then copy back all your files. But you cannot do the same with your programs. For these, you would have to reinstall every one, from their original disks or downloaded installation files, and then download and re-install all the patches and program upgrades that have been issued by their makers since you acquired them.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online for free at the All Things Digital Web site,

http://walt.allthingsd.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.

A friend’s Windows XP PC is having troubles. He wants to copy its contents onto a separate backup drive. Will he encounter problems if he tries to transfer this material to a Windows 7 unit he plans to buy when available?

He should have no problem at all with the data files, such as Office documents, music or photos. However, it may not be possible to transfer the programs and settings without reinstalling them from the original disks or downloaded installation files. And he may also have to re-install any patches or updates to these programs. Microsoft plans some sort of system to make this process simpler than it might be, but I don’t yet know how it will work.

I am not a super techie but would like to view Internet videos from my computer, attached to my TV. What do you recommend? Is there a system or a product that would be best for my needs?

You very likely don’t need any special product, other than the right cables and, if need be, adapters, to connect your computer and your TV. This choice depends on the details of your computer’s graphics capabilities and output ports, and the input ports and capabilities of your TV. All of this is much easier if the PC and TV are relatively modern — say, two years old or less. But, whatever their age, you should visit a competent electronics store that sells cables, provide the staff with the details of the two products, and seek their specific advice.

With the rising popularity of the netbook, do you know, or expect, that Apple will come out with a netbook? I would be very interested in getting one.

I know of no such plans. In fact, Apple officials have said they have no interest in producing a netbook, which is a small, inexpensive laptop, and have disparaged the category. However, Apple is quite secretive, and sometimes enters categories it had previously laughed off. Also, there are persistent rumors that Apple is working on a flat, tablet-style computer — perhaps a much larger version of its iPod Touch pocket-size device. If these rumors prove true, such a tablet might compete with netbooks.

Our daughter has asked for nothing but a Nintendo DS game system for more than a year now. Her birthday’s in two weeks. She says she’d be happy with the cheaper DS Lite, but is it worth going with the new DSi for $40 more? Do you think the DS Lite will become obsolete, in terms of new games for it?

Obviously, this depends on your budget, and I don’t think there’ll never be another new game for the DS Lite. But if the $40 price difference isn’t an obstacle, I’d go with the DSi, because I assume that, over time, more and more games and other software will emerge that will run only on the higher-end model.

• 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.

Is there a way to transfer a Windows Media music file to iTunes?

If the Windows Media file is copy-protected, typically because you bought it from an online store that copy-protects its music, iTunes cannot import or play it. However, if it is unprotected, which is typical for files you created from your own CDs using Windows Media Player, iTunes can import the file and automatically convert it into a format it can use.

I would like to purchase an iPhone, but run it on the Verizon network. I realize that AT&T has an exclusive at this time, but is there a way to do this on the secondary market?

No. The radio inside the iPhone is incompatible with the network technology used by Verizon and Sprint. That cannot be changed by hacking the software, or replacing the SIM card in the phone.

I need to buy a new laptop computer and am wondering if you think Vista is wise at this point or should I still stick with Windows XP if I can find it? I only do emails, browsing the net and some downloading of music and photos. I am retired and don’t know much about computers.

Vista easily handles the tasks you want to do, but it will require heftier hardware to work at acceptable speeds, and, assuming you are used to working with XP, Vista will require you to learn some new things. If you buy XP, you can get away with a more modestly equipped computer, and you will be working with a more familiar interface. So, in your particular situation, I would suggest an XP machine. But I urge you to make sure it gets upgraded to the latest revision, called SP3, which bolsters the security of XP, so it is closer to that of Vista. Depending on your setup, this upgrade may be delivered automatically by Microsoft, but you may have to agree to accept it.

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.

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.

A lot of the laptop companies seem to have abandoned the traditional docking station. These docking stations have a large rectangular connector that interconnects with the notebook from the bottom. The newer docking stations seem to be much smaller, with fewer connection options. Is a new trend in docking-station design emerging?

The kind of large, fully equipped docking station you describe was born years ago, when laptops were different. They tended to have smaller screens and hard disks, more-cramped keyboards, weaker batteries, only wired Internet connections, and many fewer ports and connectors.

But the need for such docks has diminished, since modern laptops come with more ports, larger screens and keyboards, better batteries, wireless connections, and more-spacious hard disks. The old-style, more fully equipped docking stations are still available for some laptop models.

I suggest you look around at laptops meant for large businesses, which typically have been the market segment most interested in these accessories.

My daughter was given a Sony laptop. It has a 40-gigabyte hard drive that has two 20-gigabyte partitions. What is the best way, either using software that comes with XP or an after-market program, to remove the partition and then have one 40-gigabyte hard drive again?

I suggest you use a program from Symantec called Norton PartitionMagic, which can either split a hard drive into partitions, or merge partitions into one, without data loss. It can be downloaded from symantec.com/norton/partitionmagic or purchased from various other merchants.

I notice on my iPhone calendar that I can’t get a “week at a glance.” Is there a solution or alternative available?

The only built-in alternative I know of is the calendar’s “list view,” which displays all your appointments in a scrolling list that is organized by day, but not by week.

There is a third-party calendar program for the iPhone called SaiSuke that appears to have a week view, as well as a detailed month view. It costs $9.99 and is meant to sync with Google Calendar. I haven’t tested it, so I can’t say how well it works.

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

I am in the market for a new Windows computer, but I prefer the Windows XP operating system, not Vista. I understand Microsoft has now barred the major PC vendors from selling XP systems. Is there a way I can get around this?

If you want a new, brand-name PC that comes pre-loaded with the seven-year-old Windows XP operating system, you can still get one through an odd and circuitous process. Most major PC makers will sell you selected Vista models with an option, which sometimes costs extra, officially called a “downgrade,” but sometimes marketed as an “upgrade” or “bonus.” You may have to hunt through the selections offered by the computer makers to find one that has this XP option.

When you order a PC in this fashion, you are technically buying a Vista machine, and Microsoft counts it as a Vista sale. But the computer company actually loads XP on the new hardware, in place of Vista, before it leaves the factory. In many cases, you also get discs containing Vista, in the event you wish to switch to the newer Vista operating system later.

I was wondering if you could give me some suggestions of a small, light portable radio-type gadget with earbuds that would be good for me while I do athletic activities like riding my bike. I want something that will give me different pre-programmed selections of music, not something that I have to load with music (I don’t remember names of songs). I love my Sirius satellite radio in my car.

My first reaction is to suggest you simply get the portable, small, personal Sirius radio that is meant for carrying on your person. It’s called the Stiletto 2 and costs around $300. Like the one in your car, it does require a subscription, but it is much smaller. I haven’t tested it, but you can get more information at sirius.com.

However, this unit isn’t in the smallest class of portable music players, so another alternative might be to get a very small portable player, which, while it allows you to download music, also has a built-in FM radio. Among these is the smallest Microsoft Zune, called the Zune 4 GB, at about $100, and the Sansa Clip, starting at about $35. Neither requires a subscription fee. Information is at zune.com and sansa.com.

The popular Rhapsody subscription music service is also available on portable players, and offers pre-programmed channels of music. Some of these players also include FM radios. Information on these is at learn.rhapsody.com/devices.

Last week, you said you didn’t know of a dedicated gadget that simply allows people to both send and receive emails. What about the MailBug?

Thanks for reminding me. The MailBug, which I haven’t tested, is a small, text-only terminal for sending and receiving email over a dial-up connection. It costs about $125 and requires a companion email service that is about $100 a year. It’s made by a company called Landel and can be ordered at mailbug.com.

While the device itself can’t send or receive photos or other nontext attachments, account holders with access to a computer can view such attachments via a Web-based version of their email accounts.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online, 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.

I recently lost my cellphone for a few hours. What was most upsetting was that I have nearly three years of family photos stored on my phone’s memory card. Other than emailing all of these photos to myself and then saving, is there any way you can think of how I can move these en masse (over 100 pictures) to a hard drive or disc?

Well, assuming the card is removable, you can simply remove it from the phone, pop it into your computer, and copy the pictures to the computer’s hard disk. Depending on what slots your computer has, and the type of memory card the phone uses, this might require using a cheap, small adapter for the computer.

This should work with any modern computer, Windows (MSFT) or Mac (AAPL), and no special software should be required. The memory card should show up as an external disk drive, and you would just open the folder or folders containing the images and copy them to a folder on your hard disk, as you would with any other file. You can leave the originals on the card if you wish. Alternatively, you could import the pictures using photo software like the Vista Photo Gallery or Apple’s iPhoto, although you will want to be sure that the photo software is set to save a duplicate of each photo on the hard disk.

I read your column about avoiding identity theft last week, but am still concerned. I look at my T. Rowe Price (TROW) account, my Chase account, and my J.P. Morgan (JPM) account every day. I also pay my bills online. Is it safe to do this? I am afraid someone will try to steal my passwords and get my money.

There is nothing wrong with checking your accounts and paying your bills online. Millions of people do that safely. All I was saying last week is that there are some rules you should follow to avoid falling into traps commonly set by crooks. One important rule is to never, ever trust any email you get purporting to be from a financial institution, even if it looks official. Never click on any link in any such email, or enter any login or account information in such an email.

Beyond that, just log into the sites manually or using bookmarks you created yourself. Keep your login IDs and passwords for these sites safe, either by memorizing them or writing them someplace where they won’t be easily seen or found. Choose passwords that are hard to guess, and change them every so often. I would also advise against checking financial sites or doing online banking when on public networks, especially wireless networks at hotels, coffee shops, or airports, because some crooks monitor what is typed on such networks.

What exactly was Microsoft’s thinking in moving from XP to Vista as its operating system? If it was for improved resistance to viruses and phishing, I can accept the slower operating speeds along with the few other glitches.

As with any new operating-system project, the development of Vista had numerous aims, including easier networking and an improved user interface. However, Microsoft officials at the time repeatedly said that much more robust security was the main design goal for Vista. And, in fact, Vista does have an array of security features Windows XP lacked. However, much of the antiphishing work is contained in version 7 of the Internet Explorer Web browser, which is also available to XP users. And Vista didn’t eliminate the need to operate add-on security software.

It’s also worth noting that Microsoft is continuing to bolster the security and other features of Windows XP, and will soon release a major XP update called Service Pack 3, or SP3. It includes improved security.

• 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 want to buy a new ultralight laptop for travel. Few are available with Windows XP, which I would prefer. If I get a Vista machine, will I have compatibility issues with transferring files back and forth between it and my older laptops, both of which have XP operating systems and MS Office 2003?

Your Microsoft (MSFT) Office files, and other standard files, such as photos, songs and PDF documents, should all be compatible with both Vista and XP. While Vista has compatibility problems with some programs and some hardware, in my tests I have never found that Vista caused compatibility problems with standard, common types of files.

I plan to install Windows XP on my Apple (AAPL) iMac using Boot Camp. Whenever I am using the Windows side of the machine, I plan to shut off access to the Internet — no Web browsing or email. I even intend to unplug my wireless base station. Will this protect me from getting the Windows viruses?

Well, that’s a drastic plan, but it will probably work, since most viruses and other malicious software are acquired via email or Web sites. However, by cutting yourself off from the Internet, you may make your computer less useful while running Windows. Many programs have Internet components, and those that run locally often download new versions and features over the Internet. Plus, Microsoft distributes updates for Windows and Office using the Internet, including security fixes. For those reasons, it might be more effective to install security software on the Windows portion of your Mac and leave the Internet connection on.

I have a relatively new PC with Windows Vista. Typically, I may have five or six programs running at the same time, sometimes with multiple documents open in each one, and I like to leave my PC this way. However, I’ve noticed that every few weeks or so, Vista has an annoying tendency to restart my PC when I’m away from it, and I see a message that “Your computer was restarted to finish installing updates.” Is there any way to prevent or minimize this?

Yes. In the settings for Microsoft’s automatic update service, called Windows Update, the recommended option is to automatically download updates and install them. The second step, installing the updates, can lead to a restart. But you can change the settings to minimize or eliminate the annoyance this causes.

You can choose a specific schedule for installing the updates at a time when you won’t be interrupted. Or, you can choose an option called “Download updates but let me choose whether to install them.” A third option is called “Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them.” You could opt out of the update program, but that could leave your PC vulnerable to malicious software.

These options can be found by opening the Windows Security Center, then clicking on “Windows Update” at the upper left. Then, in the next window, click on “Change settings” in the left column. Similar settings are also available in Windows XP, by opening the Security Center and clicking on “Manage Security Settings for: Automatic Updates.”

• 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.

We plan to buy a new computer running the XP version of Windows, not Vista. We are afraid to take the step to the Mac since we are in our 70s, and are just average on the computer. We rely on our children for help when we get into a jam, and they have no experience with a Mac. Would you recommend we venture into Mac land, fear and all?

No. While I believe Apple’s (AAPL) hardware is very good, and the Mac operating system is better than either version of Windows (MSFT), I also believe that average users whose operating system works well for them, and who can buy new hardware that runs the same system, shouldn’t feel pressure to change. That’s especially true when they have a ready source of support.

However, that course of action will become more difficult this summer, when Microsoft plans to stop licensing Windows XP to computer makers for preloading on new machines. That will make Vista the only version of Windows available to new computer buyers. Buying a new Vista PC does require users to learn new techniques and to cope with hardware and software incompatibilities.

I heard that you could still use your AOL email address without paying for the other AOL services, which are no longer used in our household. I am wondering if this is true.

Yes. AOL (TWX) has made its email free. The email service is also now available from a Web site, and no longer requires special AOL software.

I have purchased a new laptop. How do I transfer the songs from the iTunes library on the old laptop into the iTunes library on my new laptop? None of these songs are copy-protected. I created them from my own CDs.

If your setup is typical, I would recommend copying the entire iTunes folder that is found under My Music or Music on a PC, or under Music on a Mac. This folder should contain both a subfolder called “iTunes Music” (which contains the actual song files iTunes manages) and one or more files containing the words “iTunes” and “Library,” which tell the program about your playlists and other details. If your setup is atypical, you may have to copy music files from other folders and have the copy of iTunes on your new machine re-import them.

Another approach is to use an iPod, if it has all your music and playlists on it. There are small utility programs available on the Web that will copy the contents of an iPod, including playlists, into a fresh version of iTunes on another computer. One that I have used successfully is called Music Rescue and is at www.kennettnet.co.uk. It comes in both Windows and Mac versions. But there are others.

Reminder: if you are discarding or giving away the old computer, be sure to deauthorize it from your iTunes Store account before doing so. Just go to the “Store” menu in iTunes and click on “Deauthorize computer…”.

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.