Either Avoid Hotmail or Update Outlook
Q: I have trouble using more than one account in Outlook Express on a Mac. I am using a Mac OS 8.6. It seems to work well with one account, but it will not send or receive mail from any additional accounts. This seems to occur when I am using a Hotmail account and a POP3 account simultaneously. Is there a trick I don’t know about?
A: The friendly geeks at Q&A; labs are pretty certain that this is a Hotmail problem, and we recommend avoidance. However, Mac aficionado Tom Wanat says the version of Outlook that came with the 8.6 version of the operating system was pretty awful and suggests trying the free download of Outlook 5.0 from Microsoft.
Q: I upgraded to Mac OS 9.0.4 and now cannot print to my Hewlett-Packard 870ci. Although my Mac tells me there is a printer there--and even recognizes it as an HP 870ci--it labels it as “unavailable.” I get the error message from all applications when I try to print. I have tried several things--from reinstalling OS 9.0.4 and the HP software to playing with extensions--but I am at a loss.
A: You need an updated driver. You can download an update from Hewlett-Packard at https://www.hp.com/cposupport/printers/software/dj900en.hqx.html.
Q: I have a Mac Blue/White G3. I’m asking about monitors. I would like to move to a 17-inch screen. Apple makes a 17-inch that’s a lot more expensive than some dual PC/Mac format monitors. I like graphics, but I’m certainly no Web or graphics designer. Do I lose a lot moving away from an Apple monitor?
A: We asked our pal Tom Moore of https://www.landslidedesign.com for an informed opinion. Here’s the gist of what he told us. You don’t lose much by not buying an Apple monitor, since Apple doesn’t really build monitors--it just puts fancy boxes around other people’s monitors.
It’s not so much who slaps a label on a monitor, it’s who built the tube that’s inside it. Mitsubishi--not Apple--makes the Diamondtron tube used in Apple’s 17-inch monitor. So, really, any Diamondtron 17-incher produced by anyone will be equivalent.
Sony’s Trinitron technology also is excellent. You can’t go wrong with a monitor with a Trinitron tube.
How flat the monitor is and how quickly it can refresh itself are more reliable indicators of the visual quality of a monitor than the price. The tubes in Apple’s iMac computers are neither Trinitron nor Diamondtron, but they’re relatively flat and can handle high resolutions at quick refresh rates.
We wouldn’t want to do color corrections for National Geographic on them, but they’re great for just about anything else. They’re excellent for Web surfing and text work, and for mid-level graphics as well. I’d suggest going to a local retailer and laying eyes on the monitor you’re considering. Set it to its highest resolution, put some small text on it and squint at it for a while. If you can imagine doing that for a few hours on end without going blind, the monitor probably is good enough for your uses.
Q: I have been an Apple user since 1985 and am currently using an Apple 9500 with a 120 CPU and 128 megabytes of RAM, a 1-gigabyte internal hard drive and an external 2-GB hard drive, a Radius IntelliColor Display/20e (20 inches) with an Ethernet connection, an Apple Laser Writer 16/600, a Global Village fax modem (56 Kbps) and external Apple speakers. I paid about $5,000 for the whole thing in 1995.
I need a much faster system and would like to be able to still use my old files. The big debate is whether to bite the bullet and go to a PC or to just get a new computer and keep all the extras that I like. Two further considerations: Due to complications from brain surgery, it takes me a long time to learn new things and I cannot have a long down time during the switch.
A: If we were in your shoes, we’d stick with an Apple system. We think that many of the accessories you currently have--such as the monitor--could easily be used with a newer, faster Apple computer, which you should be able to pick up for about $2,000. Research available systems carefully to make sure they’ll meet your needs.
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Dave Wilson is The Times’ personal technology columnist. Submit questions to Tech Q&A; at techtimes@latimes.com.
