Question Time
The Age
Tuesday June 24, 2008
Q I have VCR tapes I want to transfer to DVD. My PC has a Radeon9600XT video card. Is this adequate?
K. BollardA Your video card is more than adequate. What you need is hardware to capture the output to the video card and software to convert the resulting file to a DVD format for burning. There are devices that capture the analog signal from a VCR player. Some cheap USBTV cards have a digital and analog ability and have software to save the incoming video. When shopping, ensure that it supports analog transmission. They are about $100. Another cheap product is the USB 2.0 Easy Video Grabber for $37 including postage: zazz.com.au/pastproducts.php?past=791.Q Can you tell me if it is possible to password-protect individual directories in Windows XP?L. PopeA Yes - as long as there are no other users' logon with your username and password. To protect a folder, open Windows Explorer and right-click on the folder that you wish to make private, then click on Properties. If you see a Security tab then you must set permission for each user, typically deny all access. If you do not see the Security tab then click on Sharing and select "Make this folder private so that only I have access to it".Q The font in Outlook messages is often too small for comfortable reading. How can I enlarge the text for my ageing eyes?M. TrachslerAThis will depend on what version of Outlook you are using. Make sure that you are not in the preview pane by double-clicking on that email then click on View and select Text Size and pick one of the Large options. In Outlook 2007 this task is very easy. Hold the Ctrl key and use the scroll wheel on the mouse to make the font larger or smaller.George Skarbek's book, Computer Guide, has been updated and is available from www.skarbek.com.au.
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