Abelard

I have received a letter from DVLA requesting me to renew the photo on my driving licence by 1 March 2012 (10 years since I had the licence). And yet I already wanted to renew my licence on 21 April 2012 when I am eligible for removal of all my penalty points (will be 4 years since the last offence). DVLA charges for both operations. Is there any way I could have these two done in one go to reduce the cost and hassle? (e.g. renew photo 52 days later than requested by DVLA or ask DVLA to remove all my points already on 1 March) Which solution would be possible and legal?

I know that both handsets have the same OS and should be compatible. The problem is - I have all my 5800 apps on the SD card, yet X6 has no SD card slot, so it is not just a matter of moving it from one to the other.

My computer has recently been attacked by virus. I have an outdated version of Norton Security to protect it and firewall it. When I discovered the infection I downloaded Avast anti-virus. It detected a virus asked me to restart the computer and ran the several hour check of all the files. After the computer finished restarting all my exe files (basically all the programmes) cannot be executed. It asks me to associate the file with a programme. The only programmes I seem to be able to run at the moment are Firefox and MS Outlook. What can I do to fix it? (even the Avast application or Avast installer do not want to start)

I need to take my notebook for a repair of its keyboard. I know that the servicing place does not guarantee that they can keep my programmes and data intact when doing the repairs. And they are very valuable to me - especially the contents of my mailbox.

What is the best way of making a mirror copy of my hard drive and then using that copy to restore its entire contents in case it gets wiped out? The tool which I have at my disposal is a brand new portable hard drive which has enough space to take all the data from my notebook's internal drive.

Please let me know which software I need to use and what steps I need to take.

I envy iPhone users as they have an access to a large amount of paid for and free apps for their phones. I have found some paid for apps for Nokia 5800, but I was wondering if there is also a good source for free apps for the phone.

I have recently bought a hi-def camcorder by Panasonic. Rather than going the long and difficult way of recording my films by connecting it to a DVD recorder and running it all with the REC button pressed on the recorder, I am trying to find a way of transferring the files onto my computer, editing them with the HD Writer software, and then producing a universally playable DVD directly from my computer's DVD-R drive.

There are theories which say that children are born with perfect pitch and one has to train them in some way to retain that ability. Can anyone recommend anything scientific on the subject (a book, an article, a name of researcher)?

I mean - for the purpose of making a precise horoscope?

Please help. When I was in the US last May I got a speeding ticket from a NY state trooper. I tried to settle it exactly as instructed. I send it to the local County Court with my London address - there was no reply for two months. Then in July I called the County Court clerk - they said they received my form, but they could not accept a credit card payment over the phone - they promised to send me a proper payment form to the UK. Nothing has happened since then. What do I need to do? I have heard all the terrible stories about how people with outstanding penalties are being treated at the US border when trying to come back to the US, so want to sort that out or at least have a proof that I did everything I could to settle this. Is there an office or someone within a US embassy (like the one in London) where I should enquire in writing about that?

I am looking into buying one of the combination car seats (for the age 0-4). I have narrowed down my choice to Mothercare Seville and different models of Britax First Class Si (also Ultra). My questions are: if you have/had or have seen any of those

- which did you choose and why?

- how easy it is in any of those for a child to release the lock?

- how do they look after months of use?

- are all of those offering enough support for a new-born's head?

- how comfortable are they for children?

- what is the quality of the fabric on Geneva (Grey) model of Britax (it is available only on-line and we were concerned with poor quality of Britax Swirl model which we saw in Mothercare shop)?

Also - is Mothercare the best place to buy those? They claim that they are the only ones helping with fitting it into the car.

I have recently bought a brand new Sattelite Pro 120 laptop from Toshiba. The deal was that I was officially buying this with Vista, but would receive the computer with an XP pre-installed, and then would have to apply for an upgrade Vista CD from a Toshiba authorised company. The computer had also a number of the usual extra applications like Bluetooth driver, DVD copier and reader etc. When I received the Vista (it took 2 months!!!) and upgraded, most of those programmes stopped working. I was able to download some of the upgrades from Toshiba's page, but there was nothing that could replace the Windows XP application for coping and reading DVDs. I called them and they deny any responsibility for providing me with the suitable upgrade. What should I do? Is there any chance of achieving anything with them or should I switch to a free and new application which you could recommend? BTW I am not surprised that now computer retailers offer a paid option of DOWNGRADING to XP. So much fuss!

I drive Skoda Octavia with alloy wheels. So far I would just leave my car for the service check at a Skoda workshop, have my tyres changed when necessary, and just pay the bill, praying that I got good quality for the right price. However I am wondering how you choose the right set of tyres for your car with so many different brands and types, what you look for when assesing the quality. When you shop around - how do you compare your Dunlop in one workshop to your Michelin in another workshop to see which offers the best value for money?

For the last few years I have been using it. It was fantastic and I could not find a comparable product. Then its price started creeping up and now Body Shop has discontinued it. BTW Does anyone know why they stopped selling it? It seemed to be a very popular product.

Ich suche die tiefe Preisen und Sonderangeboten. Ich fahre mit meinem Auto nach Deutschland. Verzehen Sie mein Deutsch. Ich schreibe aus England.

Is it practical? Comfortable to use and put in your car? Value for money (it's around £650)? You can buy it with different options and extras. Anything which is not particularly useful? If you could recommend any retailers in Britain, Germany, Holland or Belgium, that would be an extra bonus. Many thanks for any help.

I have Toshiba Satellite Pro laptop, which is supposed to be pretty fast. However it seems that it is slowed down very much by Vista. The speed scoring which I get is: Processor 5.1, Memory (RAM) 4.4, Primary hard disk 4.5, Gaming graphics (3D Gaming and business graphics performance) 3.0, Graphics (Desktop performance for Windows Aero) 2.1. Is there any way I can improve the last two ratings without switching off Aero feature? Many thanks for any help.

I have noticed that it is cheaper to buy software in US than in the UK. I wanted to ask my cousin to buy a programme for me in US and bring it to UK. Is it legal? Do they have to declare it for the customs at the border?