Dear George "Are you familiar with the Visual Tour software? Have you ever used it? It appears to be much less costly than other virtual tours. Any information you can supply would be much appreciated." -- Tourist

Dear Tourist I have not purchased the VisualTour software application yet. However, I watched a demonstration at the last NAR meeting in Washington, D.C. I was impressed. That was VisualTour version 3.X. On August 3rd, VisualTour.com issued a press release stating that Version 4.0 is now available. It has some equally impressive enhancements. For example, now the user can preview a VisualTour for free on the user's PC before uploading it to the Internet. Another example is its new stitching engine. The engine not only provides faster stitching, it also handles larger images. I'm reluctant to recommend an application until I've actually used it. However, I have spoken with a good friend who operates a competing brokerage. He has used VisualTour. After he got used to the positioning of his digital camera, he appeared to be very satisfied.

Dear George "I use a Kyocera 6035 phone that has a built in Palm. I'm just getting used to it, so I hope this is not a 'dumb' question. Where is the quotation mark located? I have searched the alphabet input. I have searched the numeric input. I even searched the International keyboard input. I cannot find the quotation marks. Is it possible the Palm OS does not provide such an elementary thing as quotation marks?" -- Unquotable

Dear Unquotable There are no "dumb" questions. If there were, I would be the "hands-down" winner for having asked the greatest number of them. Select the "abc" keyboard input. Note that the single mark ( ' ) is located directly above the "Return" or "Enter" arrow. Now click on the "shift" key. The quotation marks you are seeking ( " ) are located in the same place as the single mark, immediately above the "Return" or "Enter" arrow.

Dear George I just bought a Dell Inspiron 5000 laptop. It uses Windows 2000. I'm, of course, accustomed to using Windows 98. When I pressed Ctrl + Alt + Delete in Windows 98, I got information about the applications I was running. In Windows 2000 I get a bunch of buttons. How can I get the information, especially about an application that is not responding, that I used to get so easily in Windows 98?" -- Lost

Dear Lost There are six buttons that appear on the "Windows Security" screen that opens when you press Ctrl+Alt+Delete. From left to right they are (1st row) Lock Computer, Log Off..., Shut Down..., (2nd row) Change Password..., Task Manager, and Cancel. A notation above the buttons reads, "Use the Task Manager to close an application that is not responding." When you click on the Task Manager button, you will note three tabs. They are "Applications, Processes and Performance." The applications you are running are listed in the "Task" column, while information as to whether the application is running or not is listed in the "Status" column. I believe once you get used to Windows 2000, you will find that this function supplies much more information than the one used in Windows 98.

Dear George "I work in a real estate office that assigns 'Help Desks' to agents that have not yet earned a desk assignment. The Help Desk to which I am assigned is not always open when I need it. Since I cannot keep my clients waiting, I often use another desk where another agent is not currently using the computer. Our office uses MLS Passport to access the MLS and it has a very convenient feature that allows an agent to select certain search returns, then email them to a client. I have sent emails several times with a message stating that the link to the properties is from me. But, the email states that it is from a different agent with our firm. What am I doing wrong?" -- Confused

Dear Confused I suspect you are not logging off MLS Passport then logging back on under your own public and private ID.

Dear George I own a Gateway Profile computer. It has been an excellent workhorse. However, after about a year and a half of use I have a problem with the floppy drive. It will not read floppies! The floppy drive looks like it is functioning because its light comes on. But I keep getting an error message that says it is not accessible. I use this computer every day. Is there a way to replace the floppy drive without sending the computer back to Gateway? I sent an email to their online support people. They told me I would have to send it back." --Unwilling

Dear Unwilling The Gateway Profile unit you have is the first "Profile" sold by Gateway. The entire CPU, floppy drive, CD Drive and every other component of this computer, is built-in to the housing that also contains the display (monitor). Due to the Profile's integrated functionality, I'm told it must be opened in a "clean room" in order to replace your floppy drive. That means, you must ship it to Gateway to perform the replacement.

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George Stephens welcomes your tech questions by e-mail. Because of the volume of mail received, questions cannot be answered individually.

Published: August 10, 2001

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

George C. Stephens, CRB is the Broker of deRaat Stephens, Inc. dba ERA Stephens Properties and the Director of Compliance for eRealty, Inc. Stephens served as 1998 Chairman of the 13,000+ member Houston Association of REALTORS® and is the Vice Chairman of HAR’s wholly owned subsidiary, e-Har, Inc. He is the 2001 Secretary/Treasurer of the 50,000+ member Texas Association of REALTORS® and TAR’s 2002 Chairman-Elect. Stephens holds a Texas Real Estate Broker license as well as a Texas Mortgage Broker License.