You've written about how to edit home videos on a computer like an iMac if you have a digital camcorder. But what about those of us with analog camcorders and piles of tapes we've taken in analog? How can I get my older videos into a PC for editing?

To do that, you need two things: a special piece of hardware that converts analog video to a digital format that a computer can understand, and a software editing program that works with the hardware. Such software usually comes right in the box with the hardware, though you may want to shop for it separately. The hardware attachments are sold by companies like Dazzle (www.dazzle.com), Pinnacle Systems (www.pinnaclesys.com) and Creative www.creative.com). They come in two basic types: cards you insert into PCs, and external boxes that attach to the PC with a USB cable. I prefer the external type, which ranges in price from $50 to $250. Make sure they have all the input jacks you need for video and audio, to match the ones on your camcorder. One warning: Some of the hardware converters, and some software programs, imprison your video inside the PC once it's converted. They assume all you want to is create video computer files, and they don't let you export the edited movie back to your camcorder or to a VCR.So check carefully that the converter also has output jacks and exporting capability, and that the software supports this.

In last week's column, you suggested that the way to weed out unwanted programs that run invisibly on your PC was to use a utility program in Windows called "msconfig." But I tried it on my Windows 95 computer and the program doesn't exist. What should I do? I should have mentioned that "msconfig" only comes with Windows 98, not Windows 95. Sorry for the oversight. But there's an even better utility that does the same thing, and will work with Windows 95 and 98, and probably with other versions. It's a utility called Startup Cop, from PC Magazine. You can download it from the following lengthy Web address:

www.zdnet.com/pcmag/-pctech/content/18/08/ut1808.001.html AOL has assured me that I am "pre-qualified" for DSL service through them. My local telephone company (Verizon) tells me my line is not eligible for DSL because I am too far from the local telephone switching office. I would like to switch to DSL, but I don't want to waste my time. Is it plausible that a third party can provide me with DSL service via my existing telephone line when the telephone company itself can't? Absolutely. In my own case, Verizon insisted that my house didn't qualify up to the day I called them to say that an independent company, Covad, had already installed a fast DSL line. Once I told Verizon that I was preparing to write a column contrasting the two companies' performance, Verizon suddenly revised its view and said my house did, indeed, qualify.

But, unless you have a newspaper column, they may not admit that. I can't give you a technical explanation of why some companies will install DSL when others won't.It's true that there are some locations that won't work with DSL, but I think some of it has to do with policies and business choices, not true technical limitations.