@helpGG

You have listed the HTC One S as your pick for the best smartphone currently available in India. The variant launched in India doesn’t have the Snapdragon S4 processor based on the 28mm Krait architecture that the One S is known for. It comes with the older S3 processor. I would like to know why you still listed the phone as your top pick.

in Kapoor, on email

At the time of the launch, HTC India had made it clear that the One S would have Snapdragon S3 processor and not the S4. As for our listings, the products are based on reviews. The One S scored higher than the others. We also did a core comparison story sometime back, where the HTC One S on Snapdragon S3 got better scores than the other two devices, including the HTC One X. Hence, it is listed at the top in the GG Top Ten.

This is my first mail to G&G. I am planning to buy a full-fledged entertainment-cum-office-cumgaming laptop after using HP DV 2000 for more than three years. My budget is ` 50,000. My options are Sony Vaio SVE 14A series and Asus K55VM series. Sony offers backlit keys, AMD Radeon 1 GB graphics card, but Intel processor i5-2450 processor. On the other hand, Asus model offers 3rd generation Intel 3210M- 2.50 GHz processor, HDD 750 GB, 2GB Nvidia graphics for gaming, but no backlit keys. However, I am comfortable with non-backlit also. Plus, Asus has a 15.6-inch screen. Please help—your views are important.

am Sood ,on email

Since you are looking for gaming functions also, the Asus laptop seems a better option. Moreover, it doesn’t make much sense to buy a device with a second generation (i5-2xxx) processor when the third generation has been launched. Also, Asus makes better gaming laptops.

How can I digitise physical media like records and tapes. I made some progress with Audacity and connecting my record player through a USB port on my phono pre-amp.

J J,on email

As you might have realised, digitising tapes and records is a lengthy process. For vinyl records, these are value for money options like Pyle Home PVNTT5UT and ION IT21 Quick Play. Since you already have a turntable, there is no point spending more money.

I’ve a Compaq Presario CQ45 with AMD Turion X2 processor which came preinstalled with Windows Vista Basic. At present, I’ve installed an easily available version of Windows Vista Ultimate, but there are certain things that don’t work. For instance, I am unable to install IE8 or IE9 and even IE7 does not work properly. I have an inbuilt fingerprint sensor in my laptop, but since I installed Vista Ultimate even that has stopped working. I have tried different drivers but in vain.

Arpan Jain, Delhi

When you say “easily available”it is not clear if you are using an original Vista software or not. If it is pirated software, you are bound to have lot of trouble. If you still have the original Windows Vista CD, it would be better to reinstall the OS. Else, buy a new Windows 7 CD after checking if it is compatible with your machine. If you do not want to spent extra, try the free Linux-based Ubuntu OS from . It is not complicated and is quite easy to use.

How can I connect my hometheatre set-up to the Internet? My TV is already connected to it but I want to connected a hard disk to the Net to download sitcoms, etc, and watch it on the telly at leisure. Ideally, I’d like to play all media from the hard disk wirelessly.

Josey John, on email

You cannot connect a regular hard disk to the Internet and download stuff to it directly. You will need an Internet-enabled hard-disk (the media player ones), link it to a Wi-Fi and download a torrent app on it. Or if you have a wi-fi enabled external hard disk you can configure the torrent filed to be saved on it.