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If by ‘processing power’ you are referring to the CPU capacity of your computers, the closest creation to what you’re suggesting is known as a cluster, more specifically a Beowulf or a Mini cluster. If you are interested in dismantling your computers and constructing a combined machine with the components, then you can look up information about creating a Beowulf or a Mini cluster. Both are intense hardware computing projects and are nowhere near as simple as connecting your units with a network cable.

The long and short of it is that you can’t link up your different computers to combine the processing power of each. The most you can do in this respect, without needing a sophisticated tool kit and a blowtorch, is link up your different systems into a Local Area Network so they can share data, Internet connectivity and files. To do this you will need a router, wireless if you would like to keep the laptop mobile. Apple produces one called the Apple Airport Base Station. Plug in the computers and then enable files sharing on each computer. Now, when you open the

Finder Window in one, the others will appear in the sidebar menu.

Still, it is possible that this type of computer network may actually slow computer processes down as they ship data back and forth across the LAN. It is not as simple as if you wanted to increase the CPU processing speed or add more RAM. If you want to increase the power of your computers, you might think about considering upgrading the speed and capacity of one of your systems by purchasing additional RAM and higher speed and quality CPU chips. This is generally not possible in laptops, where the chips are usually smoldered into the motherboard, but is likely fairly straight forward in your towers.

If the computer you use most often for high speed processing is equipped with a 3.2Ghz processor like in the new Mac Pro tower, you can upgrade by removing the existing processor and replacing it with the faster model, although the latest model of this design is pretty fast.

 If your computer is stuck in start up, it is possible that there was a power surge or another type of power disruption or an incomplete shutdown that created a system problem and stalled the process creating a system error. In Mac OS X there are two disk repair tools built in - Disk Utility and fsck. Apple advises that if you are using Mac OS X 10.4 or later, that you try Disk Utility instead of fsck whenever possible.

Since you don’t have the install disk that came with your computer you can’t use

Disk Utility, but if you could it would go like this:

Put the Mac OS X disk in the computer then restart the system while pressing down the “c” key. This will boot the computer from the disk and then open the Installer Menu. If prompted to, select your language to proceed, then select Disk Utility. It is important that you do not press Continue on the first Installer screen, as this will require you to reboot from the disk again. Next, find and select the First Aid menu. This will display a triangle that you select to view your hard drive and its volumes and partitions. Now you should choose the Mac OS X volume and then Repair.

Since you don’t have the system disks that were included with your computer you should use the fsck command line tool. If the DOS-like mode you mention is text that says something similar to “file system dirty, run fsck” followed by a # command prompt then you are ready to go but if you are not receiving the error messaged detailed above, you will need to start your computer in Single User Mode to open a command line prompt. To do this you will need to turn off and power down your computer. Press the power key to turn it back on and then immediately press and hold down the Command/Apple button and the “s” key. If this is done correctly, white text will appear on the screen, concluding with a # sign, the command line prompt.

Next, type /sbin/fsck -fy and then hit Return and the tool will check the hard disk. If there is no problem on the hard drive, fsck will display a message that says “the volume —— appears to be OK”. If there are problems, the message will read “file system was modified”. In this case, repeat step two, re-enter the command line and run fsck again until you get the OK report. This time type reboot at the # command prompt, then Return to restart your computer. Hopefully this solves the problem.

The other thing worth trying, and perhaps worth trying first is a Safe Boot, but you must have OS X version 10.2 or newer to do it. First, shut down the computer and then press the power key to turn it back on. As soon as you hear the start up tone, press the Shift key and hold it down. It is important that you wait until you hear the tone to press Shift. Wait for the grey Apple and the spinning gear progress indicator then release Shift. This will launch a Safe Boot. Once it has fully loaded, turn it off and start it up again normally, pressing only the power button. Sometimes this is enough to restore the hard drive.

A codec, a short form that takes the first two and three letters of compressor-decompressor or coder-decoder, is a computer program or device that is able to encode and decode information in a digital signal or data stream. These days, codecs are software programs that can encode a data signal for storage, encryption or transfer. For example, in the case of audio codecs, audio transmissions are encrypted into digital data for transmission then decoded back to audio for use. There are different types of codecs for different media types, like audio and video. There are also different grades of codecs, generally when data is compressed and decompressed from audio or video to data and back there is a decrease in quality. This class of codec is referred to as “lossy” indicating some loss. There are also “lossless” codecs that are most often used for large data files.

More important for your question than the type of recordable device you plan to use is the video program that you want to use. Different media players use different codecs. There is a popular QuickTime code called AC3 that plays AC3 audio in AVI files. In order to use this codec, you need to have installed DivX 5.1 to load the file into QuickTime. Then, using Mac OSX, you can put the AC3Codec.Component into the /Library/QuickTime folder. If you are using Mac OSX Leopard you might have noticed problems trying to play .avi video files in DivX, or you might not be getting any sound, if so, there are a couple QuickTime codecs available here http://installingcats.com/2007/11/30/play-avi-divx-codec-movies-on-quicktime-in-mac-os-x-leopard/ as well as detailed instructions for download and use.

There is another codec package called Perian that calls advertises itself as “the Swiss Army Knife for QuickTime”. It is a free download, available at http://perian.org/ that includes support for numerous media file types. There are some media types, for example WMA files that are not supported by Perian, for which you can download Flip4Mac to use with the QuickTime player. You should also visit http://labs.divx.com/codec for the absolute latest in codec releases and check out the advice offered for your specific system requirements.

Secure Sockets Layer, or SSL, is vital in securing Internet transactions. It’s important for users of the Internet to understand and determine whether their session with a site for shopping or banking is secure. Modern browsers provide visual cues to help the user make quick determination of their security status, but different browsers use different cues. While a user can always glance at the browser’s address bar and look for “https” instead of “http”, it’s helpful to know less subtle things to look for.

Four popular web browsers for the Macintosh OS X platform are Safari, Firefox, Camino, and Opera. Each indicates a secure site differently. Here is what to look for to make sure your shopping or banking session is secure and immune from eavesdroppers.

The current version of Apple’s Safari web browser is 3.1.1. The Safari browser is often applauded for having good performance and excellent standards compliance. However, its security indicator leaves much to be desired. Safari indicates a secure SSL session by embedding a small padlock icon in the upper-right corner of the browser window. Clicking on this padlock opens the certificate details, by which a user may peruse the chain of authority that vouches for the site’s security. Hopefully future versions of Safari will have more accessible security indicators, but right now it’s just as easy to look for that little “s” in the address bar as it is to search for that padlock way in the corner.

Firefox is a popular cross-platform browser that offers users a similar experience whether it’s used on Windows, Mac, or Linux. It also has a great visual cue that a session is secure. In Firefox 2, an SSL-protected site results in the entire address bar turning yellow. It also places a padlock icon at the far-right edge of the address bar. Like in Safari, clicking this padlock opens a window in which the user can validate the SSL status of the site.

Camino, an OS X-only browser from the same Mozilla group that develops Firefox, is currently at version 1.6. It has a security cue similar to Firefox: the address bar turns yellow and a padlock appears next to the URL. In Camino, clicking the padlock offers the user the option of opening the Page Info window or the Site Certificate window.

Opera, another cross-platform browser — which even supplies versions for game consoles and smartphones — is a browser with a storied history. It started as a paid product with a free trial, changed to an ad-supported product, and current versions are entirely free to use. The current version of Opera, 9.2, identifies a secure site by putting not only a padlock but the identified company name in a gold box in the address bar. As in other browsers, clicking this indicator opens a security information window for the user to verify the contents.

Internet security is an ever-important facet of online life, and only becomes more relevant with time. It is important to understand the feedback our browsers provide us. Sometimes looking for “https” instead of “http” isn’t good enough, since many elements on the page might still be retrieved through insecure means. Understanding how these four Mac browsers provide security information means their users are better informed and better protected.