This week my mailbox contained questions about firewalls, video editing and Windows 2000.

Since I now have a DSL connection at home, I need to buy a firewall and would be quite interested in that review. What's the best choice for a Windows user?
You're absolutely right that anybody with a constantly-on, high-speed connection like DSL should install a firewall program on his or her PC, to ward off intrusions from hackers. They're free or cheap, and simple to download from the Web and to install. For Windows users, my favorites are BlackIce Defender (www.networkice.com) and ZoneAlarm (www.zonealarm.com). BlackIce costs about $40, and it runs without user intervention, blocking outsiders from getting in. ZoneAlarm is free, and it blocks not only outsiders trying to come in, but programs on your PC trying to get out, to log onto the Internet automatically and without your permission or knowledge.

This extra capability can be useful, in case a hacker has planted a program on your PC that allows him to use it for nefarious purposes, or a legitimate program is sending data about you to some Web site without telling you. However, it makes ZoneAlarm more complicated, and requires you to continually tell ZoneAlarm which programs on your PC you want to allow to contact the Internet, especially in the beginning. This isn't easy, because many of these outgoing programs have obscure technical names, even if they are really modules of better-known software, like a personal finance or music product, which you'd like to let go online, to do things like check for updates, or pay bills, or determine the names of the songs on an audio CD.

I've read a lot about editing video, but it mostly seems to apply to people who have Apple iMac computers and expensive digital camcorders, which I guess can just plug into the Apple. But what about all of us who have the more common, and cheaper, standard camcorders, and the more common Windows PCs? What do we need to edit videos?
Computers can only directly recognise digital video, not the more common analog. The reason it's simpler with a digital camcorder is that the computer doesn't have to convert the video from analog to digital. The reason it's simpler with an iMac (or even a few Windows PCs like Sony's) is that they have built-in video editing software and a special high-speed port called a FireWire or 1394 port that matches up with a port that's standard on digital video cameras.

However, if you want to edit analog videos on a Windows PC, you must first install some hardware that will convert the video from analog to digital, and also provide a port that's compatible with the output connectors on an analog camcorder. You can buy such hardware from companies like Pinnacle Systems (www.pinnaclesys.com) and others. Some of these products require you to install an internal video-capture board in the PC, which I don't recommend, and others are external video-capture modules, which are easier to install. Most come with editing software, though you can also buy this separately, or use the simple built-in video editor in Microsoft's new Windows ME operating system.

Is there any downside to purchasing a new notebook with Windows 2000, other than ruling out some very consumer-oriented software? I really want the reported stability because I do so much multitasking, which causes daily problems with Windows 98SE.
Windows 2000 is meant for corporations, not consumers. It has lots of corporate networking and security features and doesn't run every piece of consumer software or work with every consumer peripheral. However, it is far more stable and reliable than Windows 98 or Windows ME, which are meant for consumers. If you are mainly interested in stability, and you mostly run very standard software - Web browsers, e-mail, word processing, and the like - with common printers and other peripherals, it's fine to buy a new PC with Windows 2000 on it. If you have some software or peripherals that you're not sure will work with Windows 2000, check with the manufacturer to see if they're compatible. You may have to download an updated version or updated drivers, the special little programs that allow peripheral products to work with PCs.

Note: I don't recommend that mainstream users try to upgrade existing PCs to Windows 2000. Those wanting to switch should wait, like you, until they are buying a new PC.

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