Q I’m considering buying an MP3 player. Can you transfer music CDs onto them or do they play only MP3 files?
John McCarthy, Ireland
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A Most music players don’t play discs, but it is easy to create MP3 files from your own CDs. Try downloading a free copy of CD to MP3 from tinyurl.com/3uygm. Install it and insert that Best of Cliff Richard album into your computer’s CD drive. Launch the program and it will automatically access the CD. Clicking on the Extract button will convert the music into MP3 format, then copy it to the computer. From there, load it onto your portable player.
CAMERA, ACTION
Q How can I set up a security camera in a second home?
R Alun Jones, Surrey
A Dozens of companies are clamouring to sell us security-camera systems, ranging from Argos (www.argos.co.uk) to Bodge-it Enterprises. Most internet-enabled products, such as the Geovision system, from www.rgnetworks.co.uk/cctv_intro.html, start at about £300; you will need a broadband connection for them to work properly. A cheap temporary alternative is to download the free Mobcam from www.mobcam.cz and set up a spare Symbian camera phone at your holiday home. It works brilliantly in daylight over a standard GPRS mobile network.
CHILD MINDER
Q Is there any software that can restrict the time my children spend on our new broadband service?
Steve Talbot, Rutland
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A What a shame: there is so much educational fun to be had from a broadband internet connection, and it is much better than letting them watch endless reruns of cheap sitcoms. Anyway, take a look, at Martin Karlsson’s Conntroll at www.winglink.com/conntroll/index2.php. It costs about £10, with a free 30-day trial.
BLACK BOX
Q Why are some television programmes arbitrarily broadcast with black lines at top and bottom?
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Norman Saunders, Exeter
A Most terrestrial programmes and adverts are broadcast in widescreen 16:9 format, which means that older 4:3-ratio televisions may show black lines at the top and bottom, or cut off the left and right edges of the broadcast, depending on how they are set up. The latest widescreen sets should switch to the correct display automatically: if yours doesn’t, check the settings. However, most cable and satellite material is still transmitted in old-fashioned 4:3 format, so there are no black lines at all, although every channel broadcasts the occasional 14:9 intermediate widescreen programme, which shows up a slight letterbox effect on older televisions.
Send your questions to: dontpanic@sunday-times.co.uk