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A! The file or application is probably compressed. Compressing files and applications makes them much smaller than they are in their normal state. This means it takes much less time to upload or download them with a modem.

Compressed files almost always have a special suffix at the end of their filename that lets you know they're compressed, such as .sit or .zip. Additionally, you may see the .bin and .hqx suffixes for compressed files downloaded from the Internet. The various suffixes designate the type of encoding used. For example, .sit means the file was compressed with StuffIt, while .zip means it's a zipped file. The .bin stands for MacBinary 5, and .hqx stands for MacBinary 4.

Before you can use a compressed file, you must first decompress it. To do so, download the freeware utility StuffIt Expander from one of the online services or the World Wide Web. To compress your own files for e-mail or uploading to another computer, get StuffIt Expander's brother, DropStuff, which is a shareware utility. See ZDNet: Mac Download on Links Page

Q? I want to send a picture to someone with my e-mail. How do I do that?

A! Sending an attachment, a picture or a text file along with your e-mail message is easy to do. Depending on which software you use to read your e-mail, look for an option or button to "attach" or "enclose" your scanned picture. It is best to save your picture as a gif or jpeg. Sometimes problems can happens at the other end because of how the mail server is set up to receive your picture. Make sure your attachments aren't too large. A file over 50K could be too big for a mail server. Check with your ISP (Internet Service Provider) to see if there is a file size limitation.

Q? How can you remove a floppy disk that is stuck in the floppy drive?

A! At some time or another we all experience a floppy disk that doesn't want to eject from the floppy drive. The same is true of CD-ROMs in your CD-ROM drive. It's quite easy. Look at your floppy and CD-ROM drives and you'll notice a tiny pinhole next to the door. Simply take a paper clip, straighten it and insert it into the hole. Give the paper clip a gentle push and, like magic, your disk should eject. Use this trick only when you're absolutely sure the disk or CD-ROM is stuck. In most cases, simply restarting your Mac automatically ejects stuck media. And play it safe with floppy disks. Never, ever insert a floppy disk that has a bent shutter (the metal bracket on the edge of a floppy disk) into your floppy drive. Doing so can easily damage the drive when you try extracting

A! First of all check your setup or preference files to make sure that mail server information is complete, especially if your ISP has an incoming(POP) and outgoing mail(SMTP) server address. If you don't have this information, contact your service provider. Once completed, you should be able to send and receive mail.

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