Q I use a P4 computer with 3GHz processor and 1GB Ram. My current OS is WindowsXP SP2. I installed the game, Commandos—Behind Enemy Lines, but the problem is that the game does not start and gives an initialisation error that reads, “I cannot find Directx 5”. I have already installed DirectX 9.

A Ensure that you're running Windows at 1024 x 768 resolution, and use the compatibility mode set to Windows 95 to make this work. To set compatibility mode to Win95, right-click the programme icon on your desktop or the shortcut on the Start menu for the programme you want to run, and then click Properties.

2. Click the Compatibility tab, and change the compatibility settings for your prograamme.

Q How can I download/install Flash CS3 (freeware) from the internet?

A I am not aware of Flash CS3 as a freeware. The only version of Flash CS3 that I know of is the professional version and that you can download from www.adobe.com/downloads/. But it would be much better if you could upgrade to the CS4 version, since it's far more feature rich than CS3. For example, you can get access to powerful tools for animations such as Object-based animation, Auto-created motion paths, Motion presets, Motion editor, and Inverse kinematics with the Bones tool. It also supports XMP natively. A trial version of the suite is available.

Q How can I play music, videos and games in Linux operating system?

A For music and videos you can download the VLC Player from www.videolan.org/vlc/. As for games, you can play some Open Source games developed for Linux which you can download from SourceForge (www.sourceforge.com) or http://whdb.com/2008/top-25-linux-games-for-2008/.

But if you want to play PC games, you'll require an emulator-like WINEHQ (www.winehq. org)which is Open Source software for running Windows applications on other operating systems. This you can use to boot Windows and install the Windows based games. PC games cannot run on Linux directly.

Q What is the difference between iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS? Also, how can I unlock my iPhone 3G (firmware version: 2.21)and iPhone 3GS (firmware version: 3.0)?

A Aside from video recording, the major new features of 3GS are Voice Control, Compass, Cut, Copy and Paste, Messages inc. MMS, Spotlight search, Landscape keyboard and Voice memos. For details I suggest that you visit http://www.apple.com/iphone/compare-iphones/.

Please do note that unlocking iPhones is against International Law specifically the DMCA in US. This is because the iPhone's firmware is protected by the Copyright Act, and circumventing the access controls in place to get at that code is a violation of the law. If unlocking is what you intend to do, you can go right ahead. Just be aware of the risks, and keep in mind that you'll have zero warranty, and that Apple can stop supporting your phone.

Q I use Microsoft office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) 2007 version. However, I usually save my files in office 2003 version so that others can open my files as well. But most of the times when I save my files, I receive a message saying that the features may be lost or degraded. Recently, I inserted a graph from Excel in a PowerPoint presentation. But when I saved in 2003 version, it lost many of its colours. Please tell me how to solve this problem.

My other problem is that I downloaded a movie from the internet and copied it onto a DVD. But when I tried to run the DVD using a DVD player, it did not work.

A Download the Powerpoint Viewer from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx? FamilyID=048DC840-14E1-467D-8DCA-19D2A8FD7485 &displaylang=en. This utility lets you view full-featured presentations created in PowerPoint 97 and all later versions.

Please note the format of your downloaded movie. Most likely your DVD player didn't support it. If you wish to burn movies to DVDs, the first thing to ensure is that these are in Vob format. To turn the files into Vob format, use either ConvertXtoDVD or Movie DVD Maker (Google for both) or a Utility like Nero Burning Rom 8 Ultra Edition.

The former two will create a folder with the converted files which you can burn with another utility like any DVD, while the latter will also burn them for you.