Some of Mint’s 1.5 million customers took to blogs and Twitter to complain about the deal and threaten to close their accounts.

About 1,500 to 2,000 customers did jump ship, said Aaron Patzer, Mint’s CEO, most within two days of the acquisition announcement. The site also, however, added 45,000 members the same week, for a total of 1.7 million users today. (The site typically adds some 30,000 users a week.) The relaunched Mint iPhone application has been downloaded 350,000 times in the last month.

“In general, there’s been more positive than negative,” he said.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Here are a few questions about computers I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability.

Best Buy is offering a free upgrade to Windows 7 if you purchase a machine today that has Vista. Is it better to wait to buy after the release of Windows 7?

A: I’d say so. If you buy a Vista machine now, you’ll likely have to spend at least some time and effort upgrading, and you may run into at least minor issues, which is something that sometimes happens even with straightforward upgrades. Since PCs preloaded with Windows 7 are only two weeks away, it’s worth the wait, unless you are in dire need of a new PC right away.

With the end of Microsoft Money, are there any good alternatives to Quicken? I tried Quicken Online, but it is just too limited.

A: I haven’t reviewed it, but a program called Moneydance might be worth checking out. It runs on Windows, Mac and Linux, and claims to import data from Money and Quicken. Moneydance costs $40, but there’s a free trial. Information and downloads are is at moneydance.com.

I read that upgrading to Windows 7 deactivates the license key for any prior version of Windows, ruling out any chance of reversing the upgrade if it doesn’t work out for some reason.Is this true? If I am going to take the plunge into Windows 7, I want to make sure I can always go back if I’m unhappy.

A: Microsoft says that’s false. The company emailed me to say: “The upgrade process does not deactivate the product key for the previous version of Windows. If you need to uninstall Windows 7 and go back to your previous version of Windows, you can activate it using the original product key.”

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox and my other columns at http://walt.allthingsd.com.

There are networked hard drives from several manufacturers that can back up both laptops wirelessly and allow sharing. One I reviewed recently is the My Book World Edition from Western Digital. Another approach would be to use a Web-based synchronization service. My favorite of these is called SugarSync, from a company called Sharpcast.

SugarSync can automatically, and almost instantly, synchronize files in folders you select among multiple computers, while also backing them up to a password-protected Web account. SugarSync starts at $5 a month or $50 a year for 30 gigabytes of files, and goes up in price based on the amount you use. The company offers a free two-gigabyte account and a free trial of larger accounts for 30 days. More information is at sharpcast.com.

I have been a Windows user for may years but have wanted to change to Mac. Yet every article I read says that Quicken, which I depend upon heavily, will not run—at least reliably—on a Mac, even with the Windows-compatible software. Is this true?

The native Quicken version for the Mac is a less capable program than the Windows version, and doesn’t use the same file format, which makes importing Windows Quicken files a tedious and imperfect process for many users. Intuit, the maker of Quicken, is promising a new, much better native Mac version early next year that it claims will solve these problems, but I haven’t tested it, so I can’t verify that pledge.

However, in tests I have run periodically, Quicken for Windows ran just fine on a Mac equipped to run Windows and Windows programs. This was true when I used either Parallels or Fusion, which allow you to run Windows programs on a Mac simultaneously with Mac programs; or when I used Boot Camp, which converts the Mac into a full-fledged Windows machine, with Apple’s operating system turned off.

I plan to get a new computer after Windows 7 is released in October, to replace my old Compaq running Windows XP. Will I have difficulty moving my files to the new one?

You shouldn’t have much difficulty with your personal data files. Microsoft is building in an Easy Transfer program to move personal files to a new Windows 7 PC. But the Microsoft program won’t move over your programs. You will have to reinstall all your programs, which means finding your installation disks or installer files and re-installing all the updates from that have occurred over the years. A company called LapLink is promising to sell software it says will automate the entire process, including moving programs, to spare you this re-installation burden. But it isn’t out yet, and I haven’t tested it with Windows 7.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox and my other columns at the All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Here are a few questions about computers I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability.

I switched from PC to Mac a year ago, but now I am thinking of adding a Windows laptop. If I do, what kind of compatibility problem would I have? I would be using the laptop mostly to write, to send/receive email and to Web browse.

In the old days, there were compatibility problems, but most of those have gone away. Based on your simple predicted usage, I’d say that you should be fine. For instance, both Macs and PCs can interchangeably open and edit all of the major file types — JPG pictures, MP3 music, Microsoft Office documents, Adobe PDF files, etc. Email and instant messages can, of course, be exchanged between the two platforms, even if you are using different programs. And Macs understand Windows file extensions. Also, you can use both platforms simultaneously on the same home network to access the Internet.

In some cases, you might need different programs to open the same files on the two platforms. But even that obstacle has greatly diminished. For instance, programs like the Firefox and Safari Web browsers, Adobe Reader, iTunes, Microsoft Office, Google Earth, Picasa, Photoshop and many others come in native versions for both platforms that can handle the same files. And, of course, Web-based programs like Gmail and Yahoo Mail work on both. Sometimes, the same programs have different features and user interfaces on Windows and Macs, but I haven’t found these differences hard to master.

The biggest problems for average users are Quicken, whose Mac version is inferior and incompatible; Internet Explorer, which is no longer made for the Mac; and Microsoft Outlook, which is replaced on the Mac by a program called Entourage that is similar but uses a different file format. And networking can be tricky. In general, the Mac does a better job of seeing Windows PCs on a network than Windows does of seeing Macs.

I use Outlook Express for my email, and I store a lot of mail in local folders. Is there a simple way to back these up? If I buy a new computer, can they be transferred?

Yes. There are two methods. One is a manual method, which Microsoft explains in a detailed document at this Web site: support.microsoft.com/kb/270670.

The other, quicker, method is to obtain one of several utility programs that can back up your Outlook Express data and, in some cases, allow you to transfer it to another PC. I haven’t tested these in years, and thus can’t recommend one over another. But one example is a free program called Outlook Express Backup, which can be found at genie-soft.com/products/oeb. Another is a $40 program called Outlook Express Backup Wizard, which can be found at: outlook-express-backup.com.

Do you know of an iPhone GPS application that speaks directions? It would make the iPhone similar to a TomTom or Garvin GPS unit.

A: No, but Apple recently announced that, under its new 3.0 operating system for the iPhone, such programs will be possible. Several companies are believed to be working on them, and I expect them to be available later in the year. The reason none exist yet is partly legal, having to do with the licensing of the underlying maps.

• You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online free of charge at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

I plan to purchase a new laptop. My uses are primarily Internet searching and email. I don’t play videogames. The salespeople are pushing me to buy a fast processor. Will buying a faster processor improve my slow DSL connection?

Compared to your old computer, any new PC, even one with a midrange modern processor and graphics system, plus more modern network components inside, may well be faster at using the Internet. That’s because things like rendering Web pages will likely speed up, and the computer may be better able to take advantage of whatever DSL speed you have entering your home. But even the fastest processor won’t make your DSL connection itself fundamentally speedier. To achieve that, you’d need to pay for faster service from either your current provider or a competitor.

Will my Quicken finances run on a Mac? And how do I transfer, from a Dell PC, my 2007 Quicken data?

There is a version of Quicken for the Mac, and there is a way to export your data from the Windows version and import it into this Mac version. But, because the two programs are actually very different under the hood, this process can be laborious and too often goes wrong. So, for people switching to the Mac who are devoted to Quicken, I suggest installing Windows on your Mac, and continuing to use the Windows version of Quicken. If you’d rather perform the export instead, you can find the instructions at quicken.intuit.com. Click on “Support,” then on “2007 for Mac,” then search for the keyword “convert.”

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online free of charge at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

While he is not exactly minty fresh–in fact, the founder and CEO of Mint is much more circumspect and cool than any 26-year-old I have met recently–Patzer does stand out in a sea of over-touting Web 2.0 entrepreneurs as someone who might actually have created a business with some substance to it.

Rather than offering dopey widgets that let you throw food at each other or yet another version of a social network or the umpteenth music download-share-compare whatever, Mint feels different.

The free Web-based service is aimed at a younger demographic interested in finding a way to manage money better, in learning about their spending habits, in being alerted to unusual activity and even in saving some cash by finding better rates on things like bank accounts and credit cards.

It might sound crazy in these frothy Web times, but the Mountain View, Calif.-based start-up certainly has the potential to be actually useful and relevant to consumers and has a doesn’t-make-me-scoff-out-loud business plan that focuses on lead generation for sponsors.

Mint now claims 100,000 users since its launch last fall and is expanding its features to allow users to track investments, student loans and mortgages soon too.

Mint has not escaped the bubble, of course, having received about $5 million in funding from Shasta Ventures, First Round Capital and a number of prominent angel investors, such as Ron Conway and former Yahoo exec Geoff Ralston. That’s a lot of money for a company with a lot of possible pitfalls.

While there are a few Web competitors, such as Wesabe, the biggest challenge is that Patzer is taking aim at desktop software packages like Intuit’s Quicken and Microsoft’s Money. The pluses of those solutions is that users feel more secure when financial data lives locally than they might loading it up to the Web.

More significantly, giants like Intuit are moving services online too, as with the recent Quicken Online, which makes for a mighty foe to Mint.

Still, Intuit has been woefully slow online and Patzer is obviously nimbler. And he counters that he is using heavy-duty encryption, as well as a number of methods to keep data anonymous, which make the information safe.

Well, we’ll see how it all turns out, as everyone is going to have to battle security concerns and convince people to trust them with important financial information on the Internet. But, it is clear that it is an interesting space to watch.

And, better still, it is–thank you, thank you–not a food fight.

Here is the video I shot with “Mint Guy” Patzer during lunch this past week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where Mint was showing off its service a bit:

But in recent weeks, I’ve been bombarded by reader emails asking for Mac-buying advice. So, here’s a quick guide — a sort of Mac FAQ — to shopping for a Macintosh. As with my Windows guides, this is aimed at average, mainstream users doing typical tasks, not techies or businesses or hobbyists.

Q. Who should consider a Mac?

A. Pretty much every average consumer using a computer should at least look at the Mac. It combines gorgeous hardware with an operating system I consider superior to Windows, with better built-in software. It can even run Windows programs if you buy and install a copy of Windows. And unless you do that, you won’t be vulnerable to the vast array of viruses and spyware that threaten Windows users. Only a handful, so far, have been written to run on the Mac operating system, OS X.

Q. Who shouldn’t consider the Mac?

A. People who spend much of their time playing cutting-edge games should stick to Windows computers, because there are far fewer games written for OS X. Apple doesn’t offer hardware tuned for serious gaming. People looking for the lowest-price PCs should also avoid the Mac, because Apple’s cheapest model, the Mac Mini, costs $599.

Another group that should shun Apple’s computers are people who depend for support on corporate IT departments that are either ignorant about, or hostile to, the Mac. Finally, if you know and like Windows, and expect mainly to use Windows programs, stick with a Windows PC.

Q. Can I run Microsoft Office on a Mac?

A. Yes. Microsoft makes a Mac version of Office, which uses the same file formats that Word, Excel and PowerPoint for Windows have used for years. A new version of Office for the Mac is due in January and it will handle the new file formats Microsoft introduced this year. But the Mac version of Office omits Outlook. It has a similar program called Entourage, but Entourage can’t use Outlook data files. If you want a Mac but must have Outlook, you will have to install Windows.

Q. Can I use all my Windows files on a Mac?

A. Out of the box, Macs can handle all the common file types Windows machines create, including text files, pictures, songs and Adobe PDF files. The Mac even comes with a simple word processor that can open Microsoft Word files.

However, some specialized Windows programs create files that the Mac can’t handle out of the box. And the Mac version of Quicken has a difficult time properly handling Windows Quicken files. If you are a Quicken fan, install Windows and run the Windows version.

Q. Can I mix Macs and Windows on the same home network?

A. Macs can plug and play with most brand-name wired and wireless routers, and can share Internet connections with Windows PCs.

Q. How are Macs at Web surfing?

A. Fine. Apple’s built-in Safari browser is very good and the Mac version of Firefox is essentially identical to the Windows version. However, Macs lack an up-to-date version of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, so you will have to install Windows if you need IE.

Q. Can Macs run standard peripheral hardware?

A. Macs can run nearly all keyboards, mice and printers that use USB connections, even ones that don’t explicitly say they run on Macs.

Q. What desktops does Apple offer for consumers?

A. Apple’s main consumer desktop is the one-piece iMac, which I regard as the best consumer desktop on the market. It comes in four models, with built-in 20-inch or 24-inch, flat-panel screens at starting prices ranging from $1,199 to $2,299.

Q. How about Mac laptops?

A. There are two. The entry-level MacBook has a 13-inch screen and a starting price of $1,099. The high-end MacBook Pro comes with either a 15-inch or 17-inch screen and starts at $1,999. Apple currently doesn’t offer a smaller laptop for road warriors, but there are persistent rumors that it will do so soon.

Q. What minimum specs should I look for on a Mac?

A. All Macs come with at least one gigabyte of memory — twice the minimum required for the new version of OS X, called Leopard. If you can, get two gigabytes. Apple charges a lot for extra memory, but you can buy it for less at stores and online providers.

Macs use the same dual-core Intel processors and graphics systems as many mainstream Windows computers; and, as with Windows, I wouldn’t pay extra for greater processor speed.

The iMac comes with at least a 250-gigabyte hard disk, and Mac laptop hard disks start at 80 gigabytes. Mainstream Windows desktops typically start with larger hard disks. But Apple offers much larger disks as options, which you should consider if you store a lot of photos, music and video files.

Email me at mossberg@wsj.com. Find all my columns and videos online free at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Here are a few questions about computers I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about using Quicken in Vista, blocking people from piggybacking on your wireless router signal and waiting for Mac’s Leopard operating system.

We waited to purchase our new computer until Windows Vista was released. We now have a new HP Pavilion 9000 and were trudging along the learning curve when we came to a complete halt — there is no version of Quicken available for Vista. Since we use Quicken extensively, we are stuck using our old computer. When can we expect to be able to use Quicken on Vista?

I haven’t tested Quicken in Vista, but Quicken’s maker says it works fine in Vista, though you may have to download and install a free update. According to Intuit, the manufacturer, “Quicken 2007 has been tested with Microsoft Windows Vista, and no known issues exist in the most current release.” The current release of Quicken 2007 is called “Release 4 (R4).” If your release is R3 or below, you will have to download and install a patch. You can find more information by going to quicken.custhelp.com and typing “Vista” into the search box.

I use a Linksys Wi-Fi router in my home. How can I make sure that no one else is piggybacking on my signal?

It’s pretty simple. Turn on the password feature in your router, and don’t tell anyone the password. You’ll usually find the password setting in the installation software that came with the router.

I’m thinking of buying a new iMac, but should I wait until Apple releases its new Leopard operating system? When will that be?

Apple is saying that Leopard, the coming version of its Mac OS X operating system, will be released this spring. Based on past experience, any Mac you buy now should be able to run Leopard fine. In recent years, Apple’s operating-system upgrades have been much smoother than Microsoft’s. So, if you really need the new Mac now, I wouldn’t worry about Leopard.

However, if you can wait a few months, and buy your iMac with Leopard preinstalled, I suggest doing so. For one thing, you’ll save some money, since Apple usually charges $129 for new operating systems. For another, it’s possible that Apple will also improve the iMac hardware, though I stress that I know of no such plan.

* * *

Because of the volume of e-mail I receive, I can’t routinely answer individual questions by e-mail, or consult on individual problems or purchasing decisions. I read all questions I receive and select three each week to answer in the column.

• Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com

Here are a few questions about computers I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about Macintosh computers’ ability to handle Windows Vista, Quicken, and the best iPod to use when exercising.

Will the currently available range of Macintosh computers accommodate Microsoft’s new Windows Vista? When will Apple formally offer the successor to Boot Camp, allowing a Mac user to simultaneously run the Mac OS and Vista?

I haven’t tested the new Intel-based Macs with pre-release versions of Vista, Microsoft’s forthcoming version of Windows. And Apple hasn’t made any announcements about Vista compatibility with its Boot Camp program, which allows a current Mac to boot up in Windows instead of in the Mac’s own operating system. Officially, Boot Camp only works with Windows XP.

However, a third-party company, Parallels Inc., has announced that its $80 product, Parallels Desktop for Mac, now allows Vista to run on the 2006-model Macs. Unlike Boot Camp, Parallels permits Mac users to run Windows inside a window in their Mac environments, with no restarting needed. More information is at parallels.com, where the software also can be downloaded.

As for the future of Boot Camp, Apple doesn’t plan any major new releases of that program, though I can’t swear it wouldn’t offer a minor tweak. The company is focused on integrating the functionality of Boot Camp into its own 2007 operating system release, called Leopard, which is due out next spring. I assume that, with this functionality built in, Leopard-equipped Macs should be able to run Vista out of the box, provided you buy and install your own copy of Vista. However, Apple hasn’t specifically promised that Vista will run on Macs.

Quicken has been unstable on my system and is much more complicated than I need. Is there a program available on the Web that simply allows me to track my income and expenses against a budget?

Yes. Microsoft makes a stripped-down $20 version of its Microsoft Money program, called Money Essentials, that does just what you want, and not much more. It runs only on Windows PCs, and can be purchased and downloaded at microsoft.com/money. We reviewed it and found it worked fine. If you use a Mac, you might consider Moneydance, available at moneydance.com. It’s designed to be quick and simple, but I haven’t reviewed it. Moneydance runs on Windows and Linux machines, in addition to Macs using OS X.

What model iPod would you recommend that is affordable and can be easily used while I exercise in a cardiac rehab program? I’d like to record and play back several hours’ worth of classical music.

The best iPod model for exercising is also the least expensive — the tiny new $79 iPod shuffle, which even has a built-in clip for easy attachment to clothing. It holds one gigabyte of music, which should play for more than a few hours. But the shuffle lacks a screen and many features that other iPods include. If you want these things, you should consider the smallest, least expensive iPod nano, which costs $149, holds twice as much music and is still quite small and light. You can get a lanyard or armband made especially for the nano.

However, as a former heart-surgery patient who benefited immensely from cardiac rehab classes, let me suggest that isolating yourself with an iPod may not be the best way to go through the program. In my experience, the information provided by the professionals and the support from fellow patients was invaluable. To absorb those, I found, you have to be social and involved.

• Write to Walt Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com.

Here are a few questions about computers I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about deleting groups of emails on a Treo, eliminating unnecessary background programs and sending files from a Mac to a Windows PC.

How do I delete groups of email messages quickly on the Treo smartphone?

It depends on which Treo model you are using and which email program you are using. If it’s a Windows-based Treo, like the Treo 700w or 700wx, you can’t delete large groups of messages very quickly in the built-in email program. You have to manually select large groups of messages and then use the delete function. If it’s a Treo model that uses the Palm operating system, like the Treo 700p or the 650, it is usually possible to do this automatically with a few keystrokes, though the method varies depending on which email program you are using.

If you are using my favorite Treo email program, SnapperMail, on a Palm-based Treo, and you want to delete all or many of the messages in a mailbox, such as your inbox, you can do so with one hand and as few as three keystrokes. This “Purge” command allows you to delete all the messages, or only messages older than various periods of time you can set. You don’t have to use the stylus, or manually select any messages, or use two hands. You just press the menu button, the “T” key, and the center button on the navigation pad.

When I open the Windows Task Manager, I note that there are anywhere from 52 to 57 “processes” operating on my PC. I am sure this is slowing things down. However, the names of the programs are virtually impossible for a nontechie to understand so I don’t want to eliminate any of them for fear of causing major damage to the operating system. Short of calling a service technician, is there a way for me to find out which processes can be safely shutdown and/or eliminated?

This is one of the major banes of using Windows — every program and even some Web sites think it’s OK to install and run in the background all sorts of little, and not-so-little programs, which create the “processes” you are seeing. Some of them may even be spyware and adware. And, yes, they do slow down your computer.

Unfortunately, I don’t know of any quick, easy way a mainstream, nontechie user can tell which ones can be safely shut down. There are programs like Startup Cop that help you decide which unseen programs you should allow to launch when your computer starts, but they don’t necessarily cover stuff that launches after start-up. And there are Web sites, like processlibrary.com and answersthatwork.com, which let you look up a process to see what it does, but that is a laborious process. The latter Web site offers a $29 program called the Ultimate Troubleshooter for managing all these processes, but it’s pretty intimidating for a nontechie.

Antivirus and antispyware programs can shut down some malicious background processes, or stop them from loading in the first place. But many of the resource-draining “processes” you are finding may be from “legitimate” programs on your PC that simply want to hog the computer.

If I switch from Windows to a Macintosh, will my colleagues be able to read any Mac files I send them?

There is no such thing as a “Mac file.” The Macintosh today can create and read all the major standard types of files that Windows PCs use. For instance, photos in the common JPG format; music files in the common MP3 format; Adobe PDF files; text files; and many other types of files can simply be moved between Windows and Mac computers with no conversion necessary. Microsoft Office files, like Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents, can also be shared between the two platforms, without conversion, if you have the Office program suite on both ends. The Mac’s built-in email program, Apple Mail, even has a setting for sending “Windows Friendly” attachments.

There are some specific programs on both platforms that can create proprietary file types not easily opened, or opened at all, on the other platform. Most annoyingly, the Windows and Mac versions of Quicken don’t share a common file format. But now that the new Macs can also run Windows, you can always launch Windows on your Mac in a pinch to run a program that can handle some Windows-only file type.

* * *

Because of the volume of email I receive, I can’t routinely answer individual questions by email, or consult on individual problems or purchasing decisions. I read all questions I receive and select three each week to answer in the column.

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com

But both software makers realize that there are only a limited number of customers for complicated, deep financial software. So, both are moving this year to simplify things for the rest of us who aren’t as enamored by ledgers and numbers, but still might like to get a better handle on how we spend our money. This week, we reviewed new versions of these top financial programs that omit or play down their most intimidating features, focusing instead on simple budgeting and online bill payments.

Quicken 2007 Basic, $30, focuses on budgeting and bill paying.

We tested Microsoft Corp.’s Microsoft Money Essentials — a $20 download at www.microsoft.com/money that was released about two weeks ago. This is a new, light version of Money, with a limited feature set. We pitted it against Intuit Inc.’s $30 Quicken 2007 Basic, which became available yesterday. The new Quicken retains the product’s full features, but sports a fresh interface that emphasizes budgeting and bill paying for those who don’t want to delve further into such things as investment tracking and planning.

Both programs did a good job of minding their target audiences: normal people who want a simple program without dizzying charts and confusing set-up processes. Microsoft Money Essentials offered a cleaner interface with less clutter on the screen, but we could see more information at a quick glance on the Quicken Basic home page, which we preferred. And overall, Quicken seemed to offer a more detailed, yet still easy-to-use, program that we think is more appealing to users.

These software programs work best for those who already use, or wish to use, online banking to its full capacity, including paying bills online. Using a debit card from your bank also helps. That’s because both programs rely heavily on downloads of your bank statements to figure out where your money’s going, and, debit-card entries on these statements are fully identified. By contrast, people and companies you pay by check are often unidentified on the electronic bank statement.

We were impressed by the setup processes of both software programs. Both guided us, step by step, as we entered our user information, including selecting the name of our bank from a list and entering our online banking log-in information. Quicken offers a list of more than 4,500 financial institutions, while Microsoft says it offers 4,347. If either program doesn’t carry your bank, you’d be unable to use it, so this is an important issue.

Microsoft Money Essentials required our Windows Live ID (Hotmail or Live Mail user name and password) during setup, which was easy for us but might be a pain for users without such an account. Live ID is recommended as an added layer of security and offers another way for your bank to share data with Money Essentials, but is not critical.

Upon opening Money’s homepage for the first time, we noticed our bank’s checking and savings account balances listed in the top left box (credit-card accounts and investment accounts can also be listed here), while the top right box showed bills and deposits. Two more neat boxes below these showed a categorized pie chart of our spending and a spending tracker that could be personalized to closely monitor spending on certain things.

All of these boxes can easily be rearranged and other boxes can be added, including the latest mortgage interest rates and reminders. A neat pull-down menu asks you to choose a task from a list that includes entering a transaction, recording a bill or deposit, seeing your report or viewing your budget. This task-chooser helped us find a starting point each time we opened the Money Essentials program.

Five menus line the top of this program’s screen: Home, Banking, Bills, Reports and Budget. We entered the Banking section and viewed a list of our checking account’s latest transactions, including withdrawals and checks. In the Bills menu, individual items can be selected and paid online with one button click after the initial setup.

The Budget section seemed like it might offer one of the most practical applications for regular users. A budget can be automatically generated based on your bank account, but we created our own by entering a list of income information (entering the income amount and how often it was replenished), budget categories, expenditures and spending tracker categories. This data is then reflected back on your Home page.

Microsoft Money Essentials, a $19.99 download, focuses on simplicity and a clean interface, which is appealing to first-time users of personal finance software programs.

Quicken 2007 Basic asked us for more information about our budget and regular bills as we walked through the setup process, so we had to be ready with all of our data in hand when we began. But this saved us time later — prearranging our budget into already formed categories that were visible when we finished the setup.

In Quicken’s Home section, three large panels labeled “+ In,” “- Out” and “= What’s Left” gave us an easy to read overall view of our funds each time we opened the program. Just below these panels, we could see a list of scheduled bills and deposits, as well as a small calendar on the bottom right.

This calendar was one of our favorite features. It marks in bold each date on which a transaction took place, helping users to see at a glance when account activity occurred. Mousing over these bolded dates displays the activity of the day, such as “Credit card payment, – $1,000,” and “Paycheck $1,200.” Withdrawals are distinguished in red type; income is reflected in black.

You can also view this calendar in a larger view, and every single date shows the balance and transactions of your account, which we found helpful. Microsoft Money Essentials also has a calendar, but it only labels dates with a note about which bills need to be paid when, crossing them off when you’ve paid the bill.

In this same Quicken Home view, three more graphs can be viewed with a click: an Account Balance Graph and two pie charts labeled Spending by Category and Spending by Payee.

On the far left side of Quicken 2007 Basic, a column with three sections is neatly organized into Cash Flow Center, Investing Center and Property & Debt. At the very bottom of this column, your net worth according to those three categories is shown.

A Quicken budget can be created in a manner similar to that of Microsoft Money Essentials, but it was slightly more detailed — including an available budget report that specifically analyzes your spending by category.

Overall, Quicken 2007 Basic is a product we think will be used for a longer period of time compared with Microsoft Money Essentials, which is much more limited. Microsoft Money 2007 Deluxe, which is more comparable to Quicken Basic, is available starting at $50 before a $20 mail-in rebate.

Both of these programs made a good attempt at bringing the work of budgeting and financial assessment down to a regular person’s perspective. But if you’re more serious about using personal-finance management software, Quicken 2007 Basic is the way to go.

• Email: MossbergSolution@wsj.com.

Here are a few questions about computers I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about converting financial records from a PC to a Mac, scheduling anti-spyware scans and burning home videos in VCD format.

If you have a question, send it to me at mossberg@wsj.com, and I may select it to be answered here in Mossberg’s Mailbox.

I am thinking of converting to an Apple machine, to replace my ancient Dell. However, all my financial records are in the Windows version of Quicken, and I need to keep using Quicken to have access to many years of records. I recall you writing earlier that Quicken was one of the products that didn’t convert well to a Macintosh environment. Do you still feel that would be the case?

There is a Macintosh version of Quicken. However, unlike most other software publishers, Intuit, the maker of Quicken, chose to create a Macintosh edition that is very different from its Windows product and uses a different file format. It is possible to convert Windows Quicken files to work on the Mac version, and some readers have reported it went well. But many more have reported problems with the process, which is very time-consuming and can be error-prone. Therefore, I regard Quicken on the Mac as best for somebody who is starting fresh with financial software, and can’t recommend it for somebody like you, who is converting from the Windows version.

As an alternative, you could keep around your old Windows PC for using Quicken. Or, you could try a program called Moneydance (www.moneydance.com), which has compatible versions for both Windows and Mac, claims to be completely portable between platforms and claims to import Quicken data with ease. I haven’t tested Moneydance and can’t verify these claims, or say how it compares with Quicken. But there’s a free trial available.

You suggested running anti-spyware and anti-virus scans nightly. Is there some way to arrange these to run automatically?

Yes. Most such programs have a built-in scheduler where you can specify a frequency and a time of day — say, every day at 4 a.m.

I transfer my home videos from a camcorder and burn them into CDs in the VCD format. My problem is that the video quality deteriorates significantly. The movie looks like an old home video. How do I improve the quality?

It’s difficult because of the format you are using. The VCD format was designed to squeeze large video files, which would normally require the capacity of a DVD disk, into the much smaller space available on a CD. To accomplish this, the format encodes the video at much lower quality than DVDs typically use. As a result, home videos on VCDs can look much worse than they do on camcorder tapes, or than they would if you burned them to DVD, in the format common on DVDs. So, if video quality is important to you, the best suggestion I have is to buy a DVD burner.

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com

Here are a few questions about computers I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about synchronizing bookmarks in Firefox among multiple computers, balancing performance and price when buying a computer and permanently deleting files.

If you have a question, send it to me at mossberg@wsj.com, and I may select it to be answered here in Mossberg’s Mailbox.

I was wondering if there is software or a plug-in that would allow me to synchronize my bookmarks in Firefox among multiple computers. I’ve looked but couldn’t find anything.

You can add functionality to the Firefox Web browser by installing small add-ons called extensions. Some of these are designed to synchronize bookmarks among multiple Firefox-equipped computers, over the Internet. I haven’t tested any of them, so I can’t recommend any particular one. But here’s how to find one.

In Firefox, go to the Tools menu, select Extensions, and then click on the link at the bottom of the window that says “Get More Extensions.” This will take you to a Web page filled with extensions and other add-ons of every type. In the search box, type in the word “synchronize,” and you’ll see some choices. You can also browse the category at the left of the page called “Bookmarks.”

Will a high-end computer perform concurrent multiple office tasks (i.e., Word, Quicken, Internet search) faster and more efficiently than a budget computer?

Sure, because a high-end computer, costing more than $1,500, will have more memory, a faster processor and faster internal pathways through which data can flow. Budget models, costing under $500, have slower, smaller, more bare-bones versions of these components. However, there’s a middle path. If you don’t need the very fastest switching among windows or concurrent programs, a midrange, $600-$800 computer with at least 512 megabytes of memory should do the trick. It will handle concurrent programs and switch between them with a delay so slight as to be fine for most users.

How do I delete files on a computer so that they can’t be recovered by anyone else?

When a file is deleted on a computer, the actual contents of the file aren’t immediately wiped out or overwritten. They can still be recovered by an expert, or even a mainstream user with the right software. To completely delete a file, you need a utility that overwrites the space on your hard disk formerly occupied by the files with multiple layers of nonsense data.

On a Mac, this function is built as an optional deletion method. On a Windows PC, you need to obtain an add-on program that does this. The best one I’ve tried is Window Washer from Webroot, available for $30 at webroot.com. It has multiple functions, but the one you need is the “bleaching” function, which permanently erases files.

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com

Here are a few questions about computers I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about Internet security fears, red-eye elimination in photos and software availability for Macs.

If you have a question, send it to me at mossberg@wsj.com, and I may select it to be answered here in Mossberg’s Mailbox.

Are there any possible security dangers when a DSL modem is left on while the computer is turned off?

No, as long as it’s the only computer connected to the modem. The modem only fetches data from the Internet when a computer program, like a Web browser or email software, requests it to do so. If the computer is off, no such requests can be made, so no data, safe or unsafe, is being received. Similarly, if the computer is on but the modem is off, the computer isn’t connected to the Internet, and can’t receive any data, normal or malicious.

However, I feel compelled to note that, if you allow your Internet usage to be totally ruled by security fears, you may miss out on a lot. One of the great benefits of always-on broadband services like DSL is that your email flows in continuously; upgrades (including security upgrades) can be downloaded automatically, day or night; and you can take advantage of remote backup and file-synchronization services that work in the middle of the night.

I have a new Sony camera and need help editing my photos to eliminate red eye. I have small grandchildren who always have red eyes in my pictures. What software can I use to get rid of it?

Almost every photo software program I have tested has a red-eye elimination feature, and most are adequate. You just have to get the hang of it. If you have a Windows PC, try Google’s free Picasa program, or Adobe Photoshop Elements. On a Mac, you can use the built-in iPhoto software, or the Mac version of Photoshop Elements. You could also use a professional program like Photoshop, though that might be overkill.

I am thinking seriously that my next computer purchase will be an Apple. My question is: How prolific is the software that is written for Macs? I’m thinking of financial software like Quicken, but also the basic Office suite of products.

There are Mac versions of both Quicken and Microsoft Office. The latter can directly read and write to the same file formats as its Windows counterpart; the former cannot. Apple claims there are now thousands of software programs that run on the current Macs. So is there is a decent selection of software for general consumers.

However, there is vastly more software available for Windows, especially in certain categories like games, business software, databases and niche products for specific professions and hobbies. If you are likely to be satisfied with the main types of software — like office programs, Web browsers, email programs and multimedia players — you’ll be fine with the Mac. But if you are interested in any of these other categories, or in generally having the greatest selection, stick with Windows.

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Because of the volume of e-mail I receive, I can’t routinely answer individual questions by e-mail, or consult on individual problems or purchasing decisions. I read all questions I receive and select three each week to answer in the column.

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com

The daunting security problems that have plagued Windows have also prompted many of its users to take a serious look at the Mac. This trend has been further reinforced by the “iPod halo effect,” in which Windows users who own and love Apple’s iPod music players are willing to consider the company’s other products. As a result, Mac sales, while still relatively small, have been growing much faster than overall personal computer sales.

Are you among the PC majority considering a switch to the Mac? Then you probably have some important questions.

How do Macs compare in quality with Windows PCs?

I believe that, at the moment, Apple makes the best computers, and the best operating system, for mainstream consumers doing typical tasks — e-mail, Web surfing, office — productivity functions such as word processing and presentations, photo organizing and editing, playing and collecting music, and editing home video.

Of all the major computer makers, Apple is the most focused on consumers and small businesses. Most make the bulk of their money, and take most of their cues, from the information-technology departments of large corporations.

Apple’s iMac G5 consumer desktop is, in my opinion, the single best home computer on the market. Its PowerBook laptops are among the top portables.

Do Macs run Windows and Windows software?

No: Out of the box, Macintosh computers run only Apple’s own operating system, called OS X, and software written by Apple and other companies that is designed to run on OS X.

You can rig a Mac to run Windows and Windows programs by installing a special, $250 Microsoft program called Virtual PC, which creates a virtual Windows computer inside the Mac. But I don’t recommend this for frequent use, because the faux Windows computer it creates is relatively slow and is susceptible to the same viruses and spyware as a real Windows machine.

How does Mac software compare with Windows?

The Mac’s OS X operating system, the latest version of which is called Tiger, is far better than Microsoft’s aging Windows XP and already boasts many of the key features Microsoft plans to include in its 2006 version of Windows, called Vista. And the Mac comes with an excellent suite of free software that’s generally superior to comparable Windows programs that cost extra.

Out of the box, the Mac has better photo, music, video and DVD — creation software than any Windows computer I’ve seen. It has a better free email program and Web browser than Windows does, a better free word processor and much better search capabilities.

About the only software a typical consumer would have to buy for a new Mac is the Mac edition of Microsoft Office. It includes versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint that are very similar to their Windows counterparts, and a program called Entourage that is different from Microsoft Outlook but performs the same functions.

Are Macs more secure than Windows PCs?

Yes. Since the OS X operating system came out in 2001, there has never been a report of a successful virus for it — that is, a virus that has infected numerous computers, and spread from computer to computer, outside of a lab. And there is little or no known spyware for the Mac. By contrast, there are tens of thousands of viruses for Windows and untold numbers of spyware programs. Just as regular Windows programs can’t run natively on a Mac, none of these malicious Windows-specific programs can run on a Mac either.

The Mac isn’t invulnerable, but it has better built-in security than Windows, and such a small market share that virus and spyware writers haven’t targeted it yet. As a result, most Mac users have been able to dispense with running the morass of security software that Windows users must employ.

Are Mac files compatible with Windows files?

Yes. Unlike older models, the current Macs have been specifically designed for compatibility with Windows PCs. The Mac OS and software can handle, without translation or conversion, all of the common types of files you use on a Windows PC. You can copy to a Mac all your pictures, MP3 music files, text files and Adobe PDF files, and they will open right up in Mac programs. There are also free Mac versions of the Real Player and Windows Media Player, and of Adobe Reader.

Microsoft Word files also can be opened, edited and created in Apple’s free, built-in text editor. And if you buy Microsoft Office for the Mac, all Office files, including Word files, Excel files and PowerPoint files, can be opened, edited and created on the Mac. Office files created on the Mac can be opened and edited in Windows Office, and vice versa.

Some specialized files created by particular programs, like database files or financial files, won’t be usable. For instance, the Mac version of Quicken is quite different from the Windows version and uses a different file format.

For occasional use of these programs, you can install Virtual PC.

In addition, nearly all keyboards, mice, monitors and printers made for Windows computers can be used with a Mac, if they connect via the industry-standard USB or FireWire ports. Macs can also share networks with Windows PCs and even look into the hard disks of Windows computers, and vice versa.

Is there anyone who shouldn’t consider a Mac?

Yes. Serious game players should stick with Windows PCs, which are much better game platforms and can run many more game titles. People who use specialized software or custom corporate software for which there isn’t a Mac equivalent should stick with Windows. While the Mac has rich offerings in mainstream software categories, it has only a fraction of the niche software and specialized business software that Windows does.

Also, you should stick with Windows if your home computer choices are dictated by your company’s IT department and the IT department is ignorant of or hostile to the Mac, as so many are. Although modern Macs are designed to access corporate Windows networks, and many do, if your IT department won’t help you with the transition, it’s not worth the headache to switch to the Mac.

Ten years ago, when Apple was stagnant and its products troubled, I recommended that consumers shun the Mac. If Apple’s quality and innovation slip, I might revert to that position. But for now, the Mac is the best computer, with the best operating system and the fewest security problems, for average consumers.

If you have a question, send it to me at mossberg@wsj.com, and I may select it to be answered here in Mossberg’s Mailbox.

The good news: I just got a laptop. The bad news: I sneezed all over the screen. Yuck! Can you suggest a good way to clean a laptop screen?

Yuck, indeed. It’s best to avoid household cleaners and common rags or cloths or paper products. I advise using a commercial product that includes a liquid cleaning solution and special soft cloths specifically designed for the LCD screens laptops use. These cleaners can also be used on flat-panel TV screens and flat-panel desktop monitors. There are a number of brands, but I’ve had good success with one called Klear Screen, available in stores or at www.klearscreen.com.

The same company makes a product called iKlear, which is for Apple laptops, and a Dell version for Dell laptops, but I assume the products are all basically the same, and this is just a marketing ploy. I don’t believe the screens Apple and Dell use are any different from most others. They all come from a handful of suppliers in Asia.

I recently hooked up to high-speed cable Internet. Up to then I was on AOL and used ZoneAlarm for a firewall and Norton AntiVirus. I would like to have just one security package to worry about. Is this possible?

Yes. Both Norton and Zone Labs make versions that include both a firewall and an antivirus program. But I use the same combination you have been using because I believe ZoneAlarm is a better firewall and Norton is better at catching viruses.

You have indicated that converting Quicken data from Windows to Macintosh can be difficult. I am wondering, just how difficult would it actually be, how would one go about doing it, and whether you think conversion might be any easier in the future after Apple changes to Intel processors?

It’s pretty difficult, partly because the two versions are really entirely different programs with different file formats, and the Mac version has fewer features and supports fewer types of accounts. You can get an idea of how cumbersome the process is, and what kinds of things won’t transfer, at: http://web.intuit.com/support/quicken/2005/win/2159.html. The processor used in the Mac won’t make conversion any easier, unfortunately. That will happen only if and when Intuit invests the money and time to do a truly comparable and fully compatible Mac version of Quicken.

For Quicken users switching to the Mac, I suggest either starting cold turkey with the Mac version, keeping your old Windows machine around just for Quicken, or buying Microsoft’s Virtual PC program. The latter software creates a faux Windows computer inside your Mac where you can run the Windows version of Quicken. This last option is expensive and runs more slowly than Quicken on a real Windows computer, but it does work.

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Because of the volume of e-mail I receive, I can’t routinely answer individual questions by e-mail, or consult on individual problems or purchasing decisions. I read all questions I receive and select three each week to answer in the column.

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com