With Andrew Hardy, owner of Worthing based DoubleClick-IT

Q: How can I make my computer play a sound when I receive an e-mail?

A: Windows 98 and NT allow the user to associate sounds with any number of events. The first thing you need to do is get a sound clip that you would like to be played when an event (such as a new mail notification) occurs. There are any number of these freely available on the internet, www.soundcentral.com has a very good selection. Save the sound clips into the Windows media directory (you should only download .wav files), then open the control panel and double-click on the 'Sounds' icon. You will see a large number of events - select 'New Mail Notification' and select your sound clip from the 'Name' drop down. Click 'OK' - the sound clip will now be played every time you get a new e-mail.

Q: Can you tell me how to make a boot disk for Windows 98?

A: Open the control panel (click the 'Start' button, select 'Settings', click 'Control Panel') and double-click on the 'Add/Remove' programmes icon. Click the 'Start-up Disk' tab. Place a blank, formatted floppy in drive 'A' and click on the 'Create Disk' button. Follow the on-screen instructions to create the boot disk. You may be asked to insert your Windows 98 CD.

Q: Can you tell me what are the main differences between a laser and inkjet printers? Why are laser printers so much more expensive?

A: Laser printers employ a very different technology than inkjet printers and can produce very crisp print and images. It was the case that inkjet printers were not able to match the quality of laser-printed output but with modern inkjet printers this is no longer the case. Unless you have a need for heavy-duty print cycles (5,000 + prints per month) you should consider an inkjet. Laser printer consumables (toners, opc belts and so on) tend to cost significantly more than inkjets and are more prone to failure due to the large number of moving parts.

Q: What is a TWAIN driver and where can I get one from?

A: TWAIN is a public standard for applications to connect to image acquisition devices such as scanners and digital cameras. In the early days of computers, many manufacturers would provide their own custom drivers for their devices, leading to a large number of different standards emerging. This caused problems for software developers who wanted to include the option of image acquisition in their software. Your scanner should have been supplied with a TWAIN-compatible driver. If not, try the manufacturer's website where you should be able to download one.