The clipboard is a very simple tool that hasn't changed much in 20 years. You can use Command+C to copy a piece of text or something else into the clipboard. Then you can use Command+V to paste it somewhere else. But what if you need more...

A number of my friends and business colleagues use Skype and I'd like to be able to chat with them while traveling, but I don't know their Skype account names. Is there some directory of Skype names and/or some best practices about how to search for someone in the Skype universe?

Hi Dave! Since you're such a computer expert, I bet you know all of the smileys and emoticons you can use on Facebook when you're chatting with someone, right? You know, the :-) that turns into a smiley face, the (^^^) that becomes a shark swimming upwards, and on and on. My pals and I can guess at them, or we can ask the guru... :-)

A friend of mine sent me a copy of his film on the computer as an "AVI" file and Quicktime complains and I can't watch it on my Mac. Rather than look like a clueless twit I'd rather figure it out before I ask him for help: Quicktime complains that the movie is "not in a format Quicktime Player understands". Can you help me out?

I've been using Keynote for presentations for a long time (Keynote's part of the iWork package from Apple and only runs on Mac OS X). Recently a friend told me about "Keynote Remote", an app that runs on the Apple iPhone and lets you control the presentation, even if you're not facing your computer. Sounds cool, and I downloaded it, but can't figure out how to get the two to talk together.

Hi Dave. Do you have any advice for a Web site that's primarily user generated content, some of which has affiliate links embedded? Do I need to highlight each and every link or can I use a blanket disclaimer to meet the FTC web disclosure guidelines?

I've been learning more about Apple iPhoto, partially thanks to your great tutorials on the subject, but am stumped. Instead of wanting to grab images directly off my camera, I find that I need to pull in a folder full of photographs from a friend so I can have them as an event. How do I import photos into iPhoto, Dave? If it makes a difference, I'm running Snow Leopard and have Mac OS X version 10.6.1.

I have a question about back links. How do you get relavent back links without getting on link farms? I have been using twitter for a while and just started facebook. I was told to get a tinyurl and add a small fishing report on twitter and it would count as a backlink? I have written 5 articles on ezine but find that time consuming and did not help much.

I was trying to buy a plane ticket online and bumped into something called the DHS TRIP. I once had some problems at airport security when the TSA people found a match for my name on one of their watch lists, and understand it's a way for me to avoid that problem in the future, but can you explain how it works, Dave?

I've been hearing that all the follow Friday stuff is passé and that we should instead be creating Twitter lists. Um, okay, but I don't see how to do that in Seesmic Desktop, which is how I interact with Twitter. What's the big deal with these lists and how can I create one?

Many people have their computer unprotected by a password, so that when you turn on the computer, Windows loads up automatically without the user having to type any password to gain access to the computer. If you decide you want to put a password on the computer after all, here's how to do it.

I just noticed that when I start to type in a search query in Google that it pops up with suggestions based on my partial typing fragment. This isn't so useful and actually bugs me because my wife occasionally uses my computer too and, well, I don't want her to see all my random searches. How can I fix it? I'm using Firefox on a Mac, if that makes a difference.

Somehow I seem to be having an application on Facebook posting to my news stream information about me without ever remembering that I signed up for it. Disconcerting, to say the least! How do I check what apps I have authorized and delete ones I don't want from the Facebook universe?

I want to turn off all the miscellaneous sounds in Windows that make noise when I carry out some action -- like the clicks whenever the web browser goes to a web page, or the dings whenever a box appears on the screen asking me a question. I can turn my speakers off, but I still want to be able to play music or watch movies. Can I disable all the annoying Windows sounds, without turning off music that plays through my computer?

I want to know the IP address that has been assigned to my Microsoft Windows XP computer. How do I find out what my IP address is without going all uber-geek?

I finally switched from carrying a boat anchor (aka a PC laptop) and am now enjoying the slim, lightweight world of a Netbook. All is good. Until I realized that I can't actually update from Windows Vista (slow, clunky) to Microsoft Windows 7. I heard that there's a way I can download it? I don't want to get anything illegal, but I'm definitely intrigued! Can you tell me more about how to download Windows 7?

I know how to open a command prompt in Microsoft Windows, but the normal methods for cutting and copying and pasting -- like Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V -- don't seem to work inside a command prompt window. How can I do copying and pasting with a command prompt?

I have a friend's e-mail address and I want to send them a file from my computer. How do I send it to them by e-mail?

Last week I thought I'd lost my Apple iPhone but after a day I found it. Still, I've become a bit paranoid, but having a security code on the phone itself is too annoying. Instead, is there a way for me to remotely set a security code if I do lose the phone again?

I'm wondering what's the easiest way to connect to someone I've met at a conference when I get back to my office and want to use LinkedIn? Some folk seem to use Facebook, but I'm a recruiter and LinkedIn is my favorite. Tips? Suggestions?

I've seen your blog entries about how to create a search box for Google on my site, and how to create a search box for Google Images on my site, but what I'd love is a single, consolidated search box for both. Is that possible?

I like Google Mail, but the threading feature drives me nuts. I don't want my mail threaded and I don't think of conversations that way. The worst is that every time I print, I print the entire thread, rather than just a single email message in the thread. Darn Gmail! Is there a way to print just one message?

I'm going crazy: I travel a lot on business and when I move to a different timezone, I dutifully change the timezone on my MacBook Pro to match. I just noticed, however, that iCal automatically switches to the new timezone and adjusts all my events. Eek! How do I not have iCal do that?

I know how to move files around on my computer and copy them to/from a disk by dragging and dropping, but it's a pain that I always have to open two windows and line them up side by side to drag and drop from one location to another. Plus, sometimes I'd like to select a group of files to copy or move, but they aren't arranged in order so I can't select a group of them by dragging a dotted-line rectangle around them. What's an easier way to do all of this?

I've been recording my daughter's singing with Audacity, a great open source audio recording and editing app, and it's fun and makes it pretty easy to chop and organize audio tracks. Problem is, I want to save the output as an MP3, not as a WMA file. but when I try to export the audio file in that format, it just pops up an error. How can I fix it?

I have an iPod shuffle and it's pretty neat, though of course I'd love to have a tiny screen on it. Problem is, a lot of the time the music that iTunes drops onto the iPod isn't what I want. I do aerobics, and there's nothing that's a buzzkill faster than a slow song in the middle of a workout!

I've been a mostly casual photographer for more years than I can count, starting with cheesy little cameras and working my way up through Konica gear to Nikon, the gold standard in the world of professional photographers. Today I take photos, sometimes paid, mostly just for fun, with a Nikon D90 tricked out with a full set of additional Nikon gear, about $2500 worth, plus or minus a few hundred dollars.

The results are quite pleasing and I have photos all over the walls of my home, photos that I took, mostly of my children. When I upgraded from the D80 (which was itself an upgrade from my D100), I had shot about 18,000 pictures on it. The D90 is newer, so I think I'm still below 5,000 shots taken.

Nikon Coolpix P90 Digital SLR

When Nikon contacted me to try out one of their Coolpix cameras, the P90, I was quite intrigued. After all, in addition to my big Nikon DSLR setup, my other cameras are a Sony DSC-W90, about the size of a deck of playing cards, and my Apple iPhone. The P90 fits neatly in the middle, less complicated (and expensive) than the D90, and far more capable than the frankly crappy Sony, where 90% of the pics are too grainy to print.

What most attracted me to the P90 was its 24x digital zoom, effectively giving you a staggering focal range of 26-624mm. That's quite a zoom factor in a small camera that can easily nestle in a backpack or computer bag. But since most every feature of a modern digital camera has been commoditized and then end up identical on every camera in a specific price range, regardless of vendor, the only real question to me was: how do the pictures look?

Every so often I get an email message on my iPhone 3GS and want to save it for later, rather than have it vanish as it's replaced by newer messages in the mailbox. I can't see any way to save it, though, other than in folders, and I have a feeling I'll just forget what's there. Is there a better solution?

Imagine a device that's about the size of three credit cards and can let you and four of your friends (or multiple of your devices) connect to the Internet at decent 3G speeds, all while sitting in your briefcase / computer bag / coat pocket. The up-and-coming "mifi" (mobile wifi) devices are a fascinating hybrid gizmo that offers the smallest wifi base station you can imagine, tapping into either the Verizon or Sprint data networks.

Verizon loaned me one of their mifi-2200 units and I have to say this is a fabulous gizmo, one that I'll find out about buying when my loaner period is over. It's that good.

As I said, the device is tiny: even in its little cloth pouch, it's less than half the size of my Apple iPhone, and considerably lighter. It uses a micro-USB connector for both charging and direct connectivity (if you prefer to use it as a tethered cellular data network modem), so it's also extremely portable. I know I've gotten into having it in my computer bag 24x7.

When sending mail from Apple iPhone 3GS my copy says from barber This is incorrect. How can I correct this? Thank you! Barbara

I have Mac OS X 10.5.8. When I try to change my unix shell prompt by putting the line:

  export PS1='mac> '

into my .bash_profile, the prompt is changed but the cursor is in the first column (over the "m" of my prompt) and any typing overwrites the prompt.

I was curious as to why my banner ad reports don't match up with my google analytics visitors. For instance, my recent report shows 1200 clicks on banner ads, but the referring visits from the banners on GA only shows 500 visits.

I have a stalker. Some weird guy seems to have nothing better to do in his life than pay attention to when I log in to Google Gmail and then instantly hit me up for a chat. If I don't respond, he keeps sending messages. It's creepy. I don't like him. How can I block him from bugging me?

How does Facebook make money, Dave? I mean, seems like every time I log in there are new applications from third parties and more friends to connect with, but I never pay a nickel. In fact, the only place I've ever bumped into a request for payment is when I want to send someone a "gift", but that's all based on "facebook credits"? What's the scoop?

Hi Dave. My contract with my current client ends in three weeks. Since I'll finally be a free agent I am going to spend several months in west Africa as I have a good friend living in Sierra Leone. I'm looking to teach, freelance or do whatever paying gigs come my way.

I have the 17in MacBook pro which is great even though I've had it since December 2007. I've been considering selling it for cash toward a new 13 inch MacBook Pro so that I can blog, do podcasts, etc. However I don't know if getting the new one is the right choice considering there's no slot for another battery. I'll be without power for about five hours a day in Freetown.

I'd feel safer having an additional battery in case the power is out for an extended period of time. Should I just look for the previous version of the MacBook? Would I be sacrificing a lot of power?

My computer network has an old Mac Mini running Mac OS X Tiger (10.4), acting as a file and network printer server, along with a number of desktop computers running the newer version of Mac OS X, Snow Leopard. For those computers, everything's fine, but when a colleague hooked up his Vista laptop, he couldn't see the file server at all. How do I enable that?

I just read your information on how to clear search history on a Safari (see how to clear your Safari browser history). It was easy to read and understand. Do you have information on how to clear it on Firefox I have a Macintosh OSX? I can't figure it out.

Now that I'm working in an office setting, after spending a year or so in the kitchen of my house doing contract work, I see that some of my office mates have their music libraries available on the network. Nice, lets me listen to their tunes and learn more about their musical tastes too. I'd like to share my own music library on my Mac too: how do I do that?