How do I totally and permanently delete my account from Facebook? I know that you can “deactivate” an account, but that’s not the same thing.

A:

Facebook makes it much easier to “deactivate” than to delete an account. The former option retains your profile information on Facebook’s servers, but hides you from everyone else on the service. If you choose to “reactivate” later, all your information reappears as it was when you dropped out. But Facebook says you can also irrevocably delete your account by following the link in this help page: http://on.fb.me/auz93K.

Facebook won’t immediately act on your decision to delete an account.

The company says on its site: “Our system delays the deletion process in case you change your mind and no longer want to permanently delete your account. Note that logging in to your account again will undo a pending deletion request.”

It doesn’t say how long the delay is.

Q:

I have a small weekend farm about an hour away from my home. I don’t want to get satellite service there and there is no cable or high-speed Internet service. What is the easiest way to record TV programs at home, then bring them to my farm to watch? I have an iPad and a Mac laptop.

A:

There are a number of alternatives. One simple one would be to download TV episodes from Apple’s iTunes or another source, and save them to your laptop’s hard disk. Then you’d tote the laptop to the farm and watch them there, either on the computer screen, or on a TV screen, if you plug the laptop into the TV. You can also download TV shows on your iPad and watch them on that device. Another approach: You could buy a product called EyeTV by Elgato, which allows Macs to receive and record TV shows. You could then watch these recorded shows at your farm. (You can do the same things with Windows laptops.) A third option is to forgo the computer route and record shows at home using a DVD recorder or even a VCR and play them back on DVD or VCR players at the farm.

Q:

I need to convert audio files from the “WAV” format to the MP3 format. How do I do that?

A:

There are numerous software utilities available that do such conversions, some of which are free. You can find these by doing a search on “convert WAV to MP3.” I haven’t tested any of these, so I can’t recommend one over another. However, I have done such conversions using iTunes, which is already present on many Windows and Mac computers. To do the conversion in the latest version of iTunes, first go into Preferences, then select the “General” tab, and click on “Import Settings” at the bottom right. Under “Import Using,” select “MP3 encoder.” Then, import your WAV file into iTunes, select it, and, in the Advanced menu, click on “Create MP3 version.”

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

I haven’t tested campusbackup.org, whose Student Backup service copies an unlimited quantity of word-processing, spreadsheet, presentation and PDF files, once nightly, to a remote server for $50 a year. But there are other, more versatile options I have tested that, unlike Student Backup, copy photos and music and other types of files. These include MozyHome ($4.95 a month for unlimited storage, at mozy.com) and Carbonite ($55 a year for unlimited storage at carbonite.com). All three work with either Windows or Mac computers.

I read that importing the newly remastered Beatles CDs into iTunes and listening to them on a computer or portable player is like buying a masterpiece and staring at a photocopy of it. Any truth to this? Does importing really lose that much quality?

It depends on how sensitive an ear you have. In most cases, when you import a CD into iTunes or any other software jukebox program, you are converting the songs into a compressed file, such as an MP3 or AAC file. This saves a ton of space on your hard disk, but at least subtly diminishes quality. To an audiophile, that can make a big, negative difference, especially when you add the insult of listening to the music through iPod headphones or small computer speakers. To most of the rest of us, though—especially with rock, pop, urban or country music—it’s no big deal.

However, there is a compromise. If you don’t care about the songs taking up lots more space on your hard disk, iTunes will allow you to import them in a much less compressed format called Apple Lossless or an uncompressed format called WAV. You can choose which format to use in the iTunes Preferences settings. In the latest version of iTunes, called iTunes 9, this particular option is found under the General tab in Preferences, by clicking on the button called “Import Settings.”

Previously I had a Dell and Windows and used Family Tree Maker for genealogy records. Now that I’m an Apple owner, I find that Family Tree Maker does not work on an Apple, only Windows. What can I do about this?

It seems to me that you have three obvious options. If you still have your old Dell, you could crank it up again just for the purpose of running Family Tree Maker. Or, you could buy a boxed copy of Windows and install it on your Mac, which is fully capable of running Windows and Windows programs (assuming it’s an Intel-based Mac). Finally, you could switch to one of the native Mac-based genealogy programs and import your data from Family Tree Maker via the standard GEDCOM file format used in genealogy. One such program, called Reunion, includes specific instructions on importing data from Family Tree Maker on its “Top 10 Questions” page, at leisterpro.com.

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

In the component model, many companies make hardware and software that run on a standard platform, creating inexpensive commodity devices that don’t always work perfectly together, but get the job done. In the end-to-end model, one company designs both the hardware and software, which work smoothly together, but the products cost more and limit choice.

In the first war between these models, the war for dominance of the personal-computer market, Microsoft’s approach won decisively. Aided by efficient assemblers like Dell, and by corporate IT departments employed to integrate the components, Microsoft’s component-based Windows platform crushed Apple’s end-to-end Macintosh platform.

But in the post-PC era we’re in today, where the focus is on things like music players, game consoles and cellphones, the end-to-end model is the early winner. Tightly linking hardware, software and Web services propelled Apple to a huge success with its iPod. Microsoft, meanwhile, has struggled to make its component model work on these devices and, in a telling sign, is using the Apple end-to-end model itself in its Xbox game-console business. Now, Apple is working on other projects built on the same end-to-end model as the iPod: a media-playing cellphone and a home-media hub.

The jury is still out on whether the end-to-end model will prevail in the long term. Many at Microsoft, and some outside analysts as well, believe the new devices will eventually succumb to the component model, and that Apple’s success with the iPod will fade, just as its early dominance of the PC market did. Apple officials say history won’t repeat itself if the company continues to make great products and avoid the business blunders committed by its past management.

I think the end-to-end model can prevail this time, both for Apple and other companies. Consumers want choice and low prices. But they also crave the kind of simplicity and integration that the end-to-end model delivers best.

Sure, you can get more variety in music players and in online music services if you opt for the Microsoft-based music instead of the iPod system. But the iPod, Apple’s iTunes software, and the iTunes Music Store work so well together that users can just relax and enjoy the music. By contrast, the hodgepodge of players, software and online music stores on the Microsoft side frequently have trouble synchronizing between computers and players. Apple sells as many or more songs than the many stores that use Microsoft software.

Critics attack the iPod and iTunes as “closed” and “proprietary,” because the songs Apple sells at its iTunes Music Store play only on iPods, and iPods can’t play songs purchased from other music stores. But both the iPod and iTunes handle the two most common open audio formats, MP3 and WAV, and the most common open video format, MP4. They work well even if you never buy a song from Apple. And iTunes and the iPod work on Windows computers, not just Macs. So how is that closed?

Even the Mac isn’t as closed as its critics charge. It’s still designed to work with Apple’s own operating system and software. But it can handle all the common files Windows uses, can network with Windows machines, and can use all of the common Windows printers, scanners, keyboards and mice. The Mac gives you the same access to the Internet as Windows. Heck, the newest Macs can even run Windows itself.

You do get a choice of more software with Windows. And that’s great for hard-core gamers and users of corporate, or niche, software. But for mainstream users doing typical tasks, the Windows choice advantage is illusory. Mac users can choose among thousands of third-party programs, including multiple Web browsers, word processors and email programs. They can run Mac versions of popular software like Microsoft Office and the Firefox browser. How much more choice do you need?

Microsoft is hedging its bets. It has, in effect, created a little Apple inside Microsoft with the Xbox group. The Xbox team shunned Windows and wrote its own operating system and user interface, and built its own hardware. (The new Xbox was even developed using Macintosh computers.)

Some Microsoft officials dismiss this anomaly by claiming that the game-console business is a special case. But now, Microsoft has assigned the Xbox team to create a portable music player it hopes can knock off the iPod. Why? Because the company is frustrated that the component model, which separates hardware and software, has failed in the music market. It’s looking for more integration.

Still, the end-to-end model isn’t a lock. If Apple can’t keep churning out cool products at reasonable prices, it could crash and burn. Unlike Microsoft, it doesn’t have much help from other companies to succeed. But the iPod experience has shown that the PC model may not be best for all digital devices.

• Email me at mossberg@wsj.com.