Jim Galbraith

Looking to share an external hard drive between a Mac and PC? The best way to do it is with a drive formatted as FAT32. Though this format has some limitations, it enjoys nearly universal support from active platforms, including Mac and Windows operating systems, and many gaming and Linux OSs.

The chief drawbacks of FAT32 involve file and partition size limitations. FAT32 imposes a size limit of 4GB on single files. So if you work with bulky video clips, for example, adopting FAT32 may not be a good idea. When formatting partitions, Windows 7's Disk Management utility won't let you create one that's larger than 32GB, whereas Mac OS X Lion can create partitions as large as 2TB using its Disk Utility application. Finally, Mac OS X's Time Machine backup utility won't work with FAT32.

Windows prefers to use NTFS (which stands for New Technology File System, though it has been around for nearly 20 years now). Macs running Snow Leopard or Lion can read from drives formatted as NTFS, but they can't write to such drives unless you install a third-party driver or muck about in the Terminal. Conversely, Windows 7 can't read and write to drives formatted as HFS+--also known as Mac OS Extended (journaled)--unless you install third-party software such as Paragon's.

HP's new ePrint service sounds great: You can print from anywhere to one of HP's ePrint-enabled printers by sending the job via e-mail. Instead of a driver or a direct connection, cloud computing allows you to send your job through an HP-managed server to the printer. HP's promotional text encourages you to "use HP ePrint mobile printing to instantly share memories (send a photo of your child's first steps directly to Grandma's printer two states away) or print important materials without delay (print itineraries, directions, purchase confirmations, and more, right from your mobile device)."

Instantly? Without delay? Dig into HP's ePrint FAQ, and you'll find this disclaimer: "As with any email, there is no guarantee when or if it will be received." That's what PCWorld/Macworld Labs' Jim Galbraith experienced when reviewing the HP Photosmart Premium and other ePrint-enabled models recently. Most of the ePrint jobs he sent through his iPhone printed quickly--within a minute or two. One, however, took hours to print, and another never printed at all. Checking HP's support forums, he found a raft of HP users who were having the same sorts of problems.

The 12-megapixel Kodak EasyShare Z950 ($250 as of 12/7/09) is an easy-to-use pocket megazoom camera with an impressive list of advanced features. In addition to a 10X-optical-zoom lens, it has exposure bracketing, shutter priority, aperture priority, high ISO, and high-definition 720p video capture. Regrettably, while the zoom lived up to expectations, the video quality did not.

The Z950's bricky, all-black design won't win any awards, but you could consider it a bit retro; it reminded me of my first 35mm camera from childhood. Though the Z950 has a 3-inch LCD, it lacks an optical viewfinder.