Let Teddy Win

A couple of months back, I downloaded the Lightroom 3 trial to give it a try. I used it to edit a great number of photos, but despite spending a ton of time working with it, was never terribly comfortable with the program. The trial expired, and now I don't know where my edited photos are. I've scoured my computer and can't find them. How do I find them without buying the program?

I have a Dell Zino HD computer. It seemed like a steal when I bought it, but this cheap media center PC is underpowered for HD video, and after 13 months, the DVD drive stopped working. Of course, Dell wants me to pay as much for an extended warranty as I payed for the whole PC in the first place.

My question: Can I replace the DVD drive with any laptop DVD writer, or do is there anything special about the one from Dell? The installed DVD writer that went bad was a Toshiba Samsung model TS-l633.

I am having a table made for our newly-finished basement and am trying to figure out what the OPTIMAL SIZE is. Here are my criteria:

I have space for pretty much any size round or oval, up to 60" diameter.

I want to comfortably accommodate 8 players for poker, but also have the table be functional for a 2- or 4-person board game.

I DON'T want one of those single-function poker tables with padding, felt and cupholders.

Cost is not a concern.

I don't want to be cramped but am concerned 60" round would be too big, particularly with no felt. Thoughts?

I have owned many Dell computers and have generally been happy with the performance and value, but I have always bought mini-towers, because it's easy to upgrade things like memory and video on my own (which is how I've saved money).

Now I want to replace a PC in my kitchen where there's not much space, and ideally I would like to get something that can be tucked away a little more discretely under the desk.

Dell has some "slim desktop" models that fit the bill, but they are generally more expensive and have smaller power supplies and generally less power than their cheaper cousins.

I don't need a workhorse PC but my preference is to get a quad core processor just because I want to stream HD video and would rather not have something become slow or obsolete in 2 years. I assume I can add a low-profile, low-power consumption video card to one of these PCs, like the Inspiron 580s.

Is it worth spending the extra bucks on this less powerful machine, or will I regret it?

I am looking at buying some light fixtures and would like to consider fluorescent fixtures, but I am concerned about ending up with lights that flicker as the bulbs age.

My understanding is that newer COMPACT fluorescents have electronic ballasts which don't flicker like the older tube or circline fluorescent bulbs. If I stick to compact fluorescents, like the ones with the little twin-tube bulbs, do I have nothing to worry about?

I am asking this question again with a slightly different twist.

I have a Dell Studio XPS 8100 with an i7 quad-core processor and 8GB RAM. Love the PC, but when the fan revs up you can hear it in the other room. If I'm playing a multimedia file quietly I have to turn up the volume when the fan revs up.

It doesn't sound like it's broken or anything. It doesn't rumble or rattle. But when the processors are even slightly taxed, such as when processing a RAW image or video, the fan starts blowing like I've never heard on a PC before.

What I didn't clarify before is that the PC is less than 1 year old and has been like this since day one. My question is whether I should complain to Dell since it's still under warranty.

I have a Dell Studio XPS 8100 with an i7 quad-core processor and 8GB RAM. Love the PC, but when the fan revs up you can hear it in the other room. If I'm playing a multimedia file quietly I have to turn up the volume when the fan revs up.

It doesn't sound like it's broken or anything. It doesn't rumble or rattle. But when the processors are even slightly taxed, such as when processing a RAW image or video, the fan starts blowing like I've never heard on a PC before.

Is this normal?

I have the Lumix TZ5 and love it. Recommending a camera for a friend and I see that Panasonic has moved on from the TZ series. Are any of their current lines similar? It's not clear.

The transmission is failing on my 2002 Acura TL.

This model was notorious for transmission problems and so Acura extended the transmission warranty to 7 years/100,000 miles. The car has only 85,000 miles on it but is just barely 8 years old, so it's now technically outside the warranty.

The Acura dealer says I need a new transmission. They said they would pay half the $5000 cost to repair it, making my share $2500. Sounds ridiculous to me. What should this job cost?

PS - I appreciate any/all advice but please don't suggest I replace it myself. I don't even own a toolbox.

I am traveling from the U.S. to Italy and bringing several pieces of electronics (battery chargers, MP3 player, portable hard drive, etc.). The plugs/transformers for all of these devices are labeled 100-240V 50/60Mhz, so I shouldn't need a transformer -- just an adapter.

Question: Can I bring a small U.S.-type extension cord and plug everything into that, then use just one adapter to plug in the extension cord?

Seems to me that this should be OK, but I wanted to ask before I got stuck over there without the right stuff, or worse -- fried my equipment!

1) General question: Can a 529 account be used to get reimbursed for a qualified education expense (tuition) which already occurred?

2) More specific question: I am changing the beneficiary of a 529 account from Dependent A to Dependent B. Assuming the answer to #1 is yes... Can I use the funds from that 529 account to get reimbursed for tuition that was paid before Dependent B was officially the beneficiary?

My Sandisk Sansa E260 resets itself every time I leave it off for a while. The music and video files are still there, but I lose the radio station presets, and have to select English as the language again.

Is there a setting of some kind that I'm overlooking? Is it broken? I can't imagine it's supposed to work this way...