Midweek Q&A

Just a couple of basics this week but sometimes it's the simple stuff that trips us up.

Q: I've downloaded photos from my email and I want to put them on a flash drive but they're a zip file. What do I do? I'm on a laptop running Windows 7.

Gadget Girl: Does the icon for the zip file look like folder with a zipper running through it?
Erin: Yes.

Since you're using a Windows machine and the icon for the zip file is a yellow folder with a zipper running through it, it's actually pretty easy and you don't need a special application. Just double-click the file and it will open like a normal folder. Simply copy the files you want and then paste into a different folder or drive.

Q: I've setup a hotspot on my Android smart phone so I can use it to connect my laptop to the internet but I can't see the wireless network to connect to it. What could be wrong?

Ensure the phone is broadcasting its Service Set Identifier (SSID). That's the name you've given to the wireless network.

On my HTC One, it's on by default and in the advanced options is the ability to hide the SSID. Your phone may be different but just look for the setting where it talks about turning on or off the SSID broadcast, or hide or show SSID.

If the SSID isn't hidden, it may be that the wireless is off on your laptop: ensure that the wireless is enabled and check that there isn't an external hardware switch as well as within your operating system.

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