IT Queries: Computer problems answered

When I open photos on my iPhone, my camera roll album is hidden under the top header “Albums” and I can’t open the roll. How can I access the iPhone’s camera roll?

This problem where the Albums header hides the iPhone camera roll seems to be a bug in the recent iOS software update which Apple will probably fix soon.

Fixing the Albums heading from hiding the camera roll can be done by doing a hard re-start of the phone.

Hold down the “Home” key, the big button on the front, and the off button on the top of the iPhone at the same time and hold both down for ten seconds.

The phone will restart and the iPhone Albums heading should no longer hide the camera roll album.

I read that Apple have a free service to track your iPhone if it gets stolen. How do I get this on my phone?

The Find My iPhone service is part of Apple’s Mobile Me suite and it is free if you have an iPad or an iPhone 4.

You can turn on the built in service by opening the iPhone’s settings, slide down to Mail, Contacts, Calendars then select Add Account

In the Add Account screen select MobileMe and enter your Apple ID and password. If you have an account with the iTunes Store use that ID and password, otherwise create a new account.

Once in the Mobile Me screen, you may be asked to verify your account once and then you’ll be able to turn the Mobile Me account on by sliding across to On the Find My iPhone settings.

Finally you may be asked if you grant Find My iPhone permission to show the phone’s location on a map, select Allow and the iPhone is now being tracked.

I have an iPhone and I want to set a lock on it so only I can use it. How do I set this up?

Apple call this the passcode and to set it up you need to go into Settings, General and Passcode Lock

Once in the Passcode Lock settings your can turn the feature on and set your code as well as choose how long the phone should wait before locking itself again.

Some of the advanced features on the iPhone passcode lock include telling the phone to wipe your data after ten unsuccessful access attempts (not recommended if you have kids) and to set up a complex passcode consisting of a proper password rather than a four digit number.

The latter isn’t a bad idea but can be cumbersome if you want to use the phone in a hurry.

All of these features also work on the iPad and iPod too.

I love my new iPhone but when I type on it, it makes a clicking noise that really bugs me. How do I turn this off?

When you’re typing, the default setting on the iPhone is to make a noise something like a typewriter which can be incredibily irritating for everyone near you.

To turn it off, click the Settings icon (the grey one with gears) on your iPhone, select Sounds then scroll to the bottom of the Sound settings where you’ll find keyboard clicks. Slide the switch to off and the problem will go away.

I have just bought a laptop that comes with Vista. I am having trouble downloading my old Blackberry Curve 8310 Driver into the new laptop, and hence have not been able to sync with Microsoft Outlook to stay on top my of schedules efficiently.

It can be a bit tricky setting up the software to work on Vista. It’s not actually the drivers that cause the problem, but the installation program for the Blackberry Desktop Manager that tries to find a program that isn’t always installed on Vista.

To fix this first download the latest Blackberry Desktop Manager.

Then click the Start button, select find and type regsvr32 vbscript.dll. You’ll be asked a number of times for your Administrator password by Vista .

Reboot your computer and install the Desktop Manager software.

Plug in your Blackberry and it should work fine.

I purchased a Toshiba M200 notebook to use as a means of connection to internet while travelling around Australia.

I have Bigpond ADSL connected via land line at home.
I have a next G mobile phone (Telstra LG phone)

The important thing is the NextG service, this is Telstra’s branding of the 3.5G mobile phone services. 3.5G allows you to connect to the Internet at broadband speeds while on the road. Most countries have such services.

Depending on your phone and the software included with it you should be able to connect your phone as a wireless broadband modem to the laptop.

Australian broadband pricing is mind bogglingly complex and expensive if you choose the wrong plan so you need to be careful. Some of the cheaper plans have massive charges if you go over miniscule monthly data allowances.
The Telstra mobile plans we’d recommend are their $89 or $119 a month Mobile As a  Modem Browsing Packs. Given the excess usage charges, you shouldn’t consider anything less than 1Gb of data a month.

I use Outlook for my e-mail as well as the Calendar which is linked to my smartphone which is using Mobile 6 software.

Does Mozilla support my calendar function or is there a way of linking these if I change?

Unfortunately Sunbird, the calendar function for Mozilla, is still under development and we’re reluctant to recommend beta software.

The next version of Thunderbird will include calendar support, but we wouldn’t be too optimistic about getting it to work with the Windows Mobile ActiveSync.

For the present we’d recommend sticking with Outlook.

My new mobile phone has “bluetooth”. I’ve searched my computer but it doesn’t seem to have the necessary chip, although its only 6 months old. Can something be put into my computer to make it talk to the mobile using bluetooth? I believe that’s the way to download photos from the phone to the computer.
Thanks,
Margaret

Bluetooth is a way of communicating wirelessly between electronic devices. It’s a common alternative to using a USB cable.

It’s unlikely Bluetooth is the only way to communicate between your computer and phone, most phones have a USB cable option. It will be worth checking with your manufacturer or local phone shop to see if you can buy a USB kit, which will also include a CD.

If Bluetooth is the only way to connect then you can purchase a USB Bluetooth adapter. This plugs into a USB port and costs under a $100.

Sometimes it can be a bit tricky setting these up, if you do find yourself with problems, give your local computer tech a call.