Q&A

QUESTION: We own an iMac. When we try to download movies, theydownload OK, but when we try to play them, we get an error messagesaying ``Document could not be opened because the application programthat created it could not be found.'' How can we open it?

ANSWER: You probably lack the proper movie player software, or theprogram you have fails to recognize that particular file type.

Download the latest version of QuickTime or Real Player, dependingon the movie format.

Go to www.versiontracker. com-a good source for Macintoshshareware and freeware programs. The site also has tons of Mac newsand tips.

Also try opening the movie from the player's File menu instead ofdouble-clicking on it.

The other possibility is the movie you downloaded is compressedand you need to use a decompression program to open it. In that case,you need to download Stuffit Expander (www.aladdinsys.com).

Q: My grandson has been experiencing difficulty playing videogames on his 266 MHz computer with 32 megabytes of memory. He wastold he needs to upgrade to a 32-megabyte video card and 128megabytes of memory for best results. Outside of an expensiveinvestment for those specs, would a slightly better video card andlesser memory be satisfactory for playing games?

A: Today's video games are some of the most demanding programs youcan run on your home computer. Few consumer programs require as muchprocessing power. Highly detailed 3-D environments use tremendouscomputing resources.

Playing games on a PC is different from playing on a console suchas the PlayStation 2 or Sega Dreamcast. The hardware on a console isthe same for everyone. Because everyone's PC hardware varies, thegame that played so well at your friend's house might not play sosmoothly on your system. Typically, the faster your processor, themore RAM you have and the better your video card, the better yourgames will respond and the better the graphics will look.

Considering computers are coming out with 1.4-gigahertz (GHz)Pentium 4 processors and 64-megabyte 3-D video cards, your grandson'scomputer isn't state-of-the-art anymore. Aside from investing in anew computer, my suggestion is to buy a more powerful 3-D graphicsboard. Costs can range from $100 to $300.

Because your grandson's system is older, he might need to upgradethe processor and RAM dramatically to really see a difference. Adding16 or 32 megabytes of RAM will do little to help.

The price of these upgrades can add up to more than $300.Considering how inexpensive computers are right now, he may be betteroff with a new computer or you might consider investing in a SonyPlayStation 2, which retails at $300.

-Steve Woo, Associated Press