Mossberg's Mailbox

Q: My home PC using XP has become very unreliable and I am intending to replace it. The question is whether to move on to Windows 7 or switch to Apple? Our house is a Windows house with Windows based external hard drives, games and photo-processing software. However Microsoft's products seem to lose reliability over time. Then there is the virus issue. In contrast, I have yet to come across anybody who has made the switch from Windows to Apple and regretted it.

A: My bet is you'd likely be happy with Apple, but, given your long and total commitment to Windows, I would wait to see how you feel about the heavily revamped new Windows 8, due this fall, and the new PCs on which it will come preinstalled.

Q: My wife and I recently switched to HTC Thunderbolt Android phones and find we cannot easily coordinate our phones and computers. Often when we sync, we get double and triple contacts and events. Is there a phone or something that can easily work for us?

A: It's hard to know what specific issue your phones or accounts are having. Android phones naturally use Google Calendar and Google Contacts, and, in my experience, they sync both calendar events and contacts well among Android mobile devices, PCs, Macs, iPhones and iPads, even with multiple users. On computers, most Google Calendar and Contacts users access these services from within Web browsers (contacts are typically accessed from within Gmail.) However, if syncing won't work for you, try one of the many other calendar or contact apps in the Google Play store, before going to new phones.