DEAR SUN SPOTS: I have two requests. You may separate them if you do not accept twofers.

First, I have two Philips Norelco rotary-blade electric shavers. One is a three-head shaver; the other has two heads. I am having a problem with the two-head. I would like to return the two-head shaver to Philips Norelco for repair, as I get a better shave with it than with the three-head shaver. Could Sun Spots help me here?

Second, I found a 20-plus-year-old 5.25-inch Kaypro floppy disc I thought was lost. It has a document on it. It would be a blessing to have this old disc translated to a format my Microsoft Office World program could read. Is there a service or someone who can do this for me? — No Name, Auburn

ANSWER: Sun Spots is fine with twofers, although sometimes she does separate them to keep topics together.

As for your first question, as Sun Spots has noted previously, it is often more expensive to fix electronics and small appliances than it is to replace them, and she knows of no one locally (please write if you offer this service).

It does appear that Philips offers repair service, if you are online to access it. If you go to www.usa.philips.com, click on “support” then look for “service and repair information,” you can enter your model number and other information to see if they can help you. You will probably have to ship it to a repair center, but at least razors are small.

As for your second question, that is one old disc. Sun Spots does not know of anyone locally who advertises that conversion service, although there may be someone who can help you and will write to Sun Spots.

Meanwhile, she went online and found a company in California that specializes in data conversion and recovery. She talked to Larry, who said that in your case it depends on whether the Kaypro disc you have is simply a disc manufactured by Kaypro and used on a standard PC or whether it is a disc designed to work on an old Kaypro computer.

If it is the former, you are looking at a starting fee of $50. If the disc is from a Kaypro machine, you will have to start saving. Larry said the fees for that would start at about $300.

For more information, you can email recovery@datarecoverymasters.com, phone 562-421-7105 or visit www.datarecoverymasters.com for more information.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Great job, keep it up! I have a computer-geek-type question. Is it possible to convert a digital CD of a four-hour meeting and have it transcribed via a computer program or some software?

I find it hard to believe that there are no programs available today. It is not financially responsible to pay someone to listen and type this for me. Unless perhaps some retired secretary is willing to do it for me at a fair price. Thank you. — No Name, No Town

ANSWER: Mr. Sun Spots was once very interested in the software you describe — called speech recognition software — and tried some products, including one called Dragon Naturally Speaking. Microsoft has a similar capability included with Windows 7 and also embedded in Office. While initially impressive, this genre of software, even with a relatively low error rate, can make enough mistakes to make editing a tedious task.

The problem with them for the application you seek is that the software “learns” to understand your particular speaking cadence to reduce errors. If you have several different people speaking, it makes it even more difficult.

Also, recording speech inevitably introduced some deterioration in quality, creating a major challenge for the software.

Sun Spots thinks you’d be better off searching for that helpful secretary.

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name (we won’t use it if you ask us not to). Please include your phone number. Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be emailed to sunspots@sunjournal.com.

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