Two Birds One Stone

Q: I tried to open some attachments according to your article in the paper but it didn't seem to work on my Mac. Are there special instructions for Mac's?
Cliff
Q: Unfortunately, I am a Mac person with an eMac. I would like to know how to put the information of your article to use with my OS X system. Also I get pictures which create a drop down saying 'camera not ready' as well as many other file extensions which I can't open.
Bert
A: The instructions that I gave for opening picture attachments were given with Windows operating systems in mind. This little tidbit was obvious to the many Mac owners that read this column. The divide between Windows based PC’s and Macs has decreased in recent years. This is due in large part to Apple changing the processor in its newer computers, and the concerted effort of software makers and web application designers to create a quasi standard for personal computing that is independent of the system that you are using. Even with those efforts a divide still exits, and it is even more pronounced in older Mac systems.
The reality is that with Macs you have an advantage as far as computing power and flexibility compared to PC’s, but in terms of practical productivity you are at a disadvantage. This is because the standard for productivity software has been the Microsoft Office suite of programs. Microsoft naturally made all of their products to be compatible and even included free stripped down versions of their productivity programs with many of their operating systems. This means that even if you don’t have the full version of a program installed on your computer, you can still open attachments sent to you created with programs like PowerPoint or Microsoft Word. You are not able to do this with older Macs. This essentially means that if you are sent a file created with a program that you don’t have installed on your computer, you won’t be able to open it.
In regards to pictures sent to you as an attachment, you should be able to see all image files using the QuickTime Picture Viewer. A possible work around for other attachments sent to you that were created by Microsoft Office programs is to download OpenOffice for Macs. These programs are free, compatible with Microsoft Office programs, and did I mention free? You can download it from http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/.
The “camera not ready” message should only appear if you have a digital camera attached. If you get this message from an attachment, ask the sender to resend it. If you get the message again, try opening it on another system. If the message is the result of trying to view photos from a digital camera attached to your computer, try updating the drivers for you camera. You should be able to find them on the website of the manufacturer of your camera.