wknight40

If you indeed have a legitimate copy purchased by you it is time to call MS to plead your case that your key has been stolen. If you are convincing enough they might give you a new key to input into the software. Keep in mind that if a friend gave you Office or Windows after they installed it on their computer it is not a legitimate install. The end user license normally allows the installation of the software on only one computer at a time. Remember MS has nothing to lose by not giving you a new key. In the case of XP there are certain items you can upgrade without it triggering the WGA even though it is solely your copy. One of these is the motherboard. I believe if that is changed XP detects this as a new computer and does not allow the computer to validate. Another thing that catches people is the purchase of OEM software that is supposed to be sold with a particular model computer. It could give the same WGA message because it did not detect specific hardware that was expected by Windows. All the above pretty much applies to Vista also.

As long as the last set of numbers in the IP address are different and the subnet are the same ther should be no problems with the crossover. Example: Computer A:192.168.1.10 Computer B:192.168.1.20 If Computer A is connected to to a network already it would be better to have a router or a 4-5 port switch.

I have been using Mac myself for about 6 months now. Still use Windows on a regular basis but I like the Mac. Some things are easier because alot of what you do in windows is built into Mac. Initially things will be difficult but stick it out and you like the Mac. Myself I do not differentiate between Mac and PC. PC is "Personnal Computer", which Mac and Windows both are.

Do the above, but the reason it will not allow the install with Vista loaded is it detects a newer OS and does not allow a downgrade. So as mentioned above you will first have to get rid of Vista completely then you can install XP.

SP2 does not require a product key. It will check your current version of XP that is installed to see if it is a valid install. If you have an internet connection after installing XP it will download SP2 if you do not have it during the "Update" process.

Download is about what I get on Comcast, but your upload is twice what I get. As what is mentioned, it depends on the package you are paying for. Other than that good speeds.

Just in my limited experiance yes and no. A DHCP server can be set to use the MAC address to reserve an IP address for that computer/network card only. With netware I have seen them use the MAC address to locate and connect a computer to the system. This may not be entirely true. Just what I have seen.

Ok, I'm wrong. There is no Linux in OS X. But did you sign up just to point that out or do you have other things to provide?

Actually Mac OS X is now based on Linux at it's core.

Not to confuse you but the address that does not change on the computer is the "MAC" address. This is hard coded into the network card itself. Generally it is a unique number but it is possible for two cards to have the same number. Genrally this will not happen with in a local or most company networks though.

Do filter for SMTP and POP3. These are the incoming and out going protocols.

Unless that is where the ISP e-mail server is and that is what is being picked up instead of the IP of the actual PC?

Do you have true unlimited data on the BB or still limited to 5G a month?

On the Mac make sure you have Sharing enabled naturally. If you do decide to go the Remote desktop route and for some reason it gets stubborn checkout http://teamviewer.com/download/index.aspx . It works with Mac and PC and is free for personnal use. Very easy setup. Even has a module for unattended access use. Requires no port forwarding or opening of firewalls. Everything should work as you want. Just a matter of getting the settings right. I"m new to Mac and mudman won't steer you wrong.

Ok, my apologies. Somehow I did not see the smilies. May give a few others something to think about though. Kinda like no cell phone use at a gas station since they can cause a car to blow up. Ya right. Any take care.