Ask A Geek Girl

This question comes from reader tlmort13 in the Ask a Geek Girl group:

I recently finished an Italian class where the instructor would email us homework each week, and so the entire class now has my e-mail address. One guy in the class keeps sending forwards and PowerPoint slideshows. I really don't need or want these cluttering up my inbox, and as far as I can tell there is no way to simply block his email. Is it rude if I ask him to stop sending me these emails or to remove me from his contact list so I no longer have to receive them?

To view a few of your suggestions and to see what I think, read more

With so many features and an expanding collection of Labs, inevitably some Gmail features get overlooked, even by the savviest user. I had no idea what "mute" or "archive" meant in the Gmail options toolbar; I just knew that I accidentally archived several messages when checking Gmail on my BlackBerry — something about the combination of buttons I pushed would cause messages to be archived. After a few "disappearing" emails, I finally figured out where they were going.

Archiving a message in Gmail is an easy way to clean up your inbox without deleting messages. The conversation is saved — and if someone replies, the reply will pop back into your inbox. Muting a message is similar, but a little more final. If you mute an email thread, it disappears from your inbox entirely, even if new replies are added. But where are these messages actually going? To find out, read more

Today's question comes from reader glamourette142:

I purchased a new external hard drive to back up all my music on in case my laptop crashes. As I was transferring music I noticed that I have duplicates of the same songs; is there a way that I delete files that there are two of without going though my entire music collection artist by artist?

Good news! There is a simple way to find and delete duplicates in iTunes without going through your entire library. To find out how, just read more

Reader lockandkey recently posted this question in the Ask a Geek Girl group:

I just got a new laptop, yet still have my old iPod. Now, even if I try to sync my iPod to my computer, it doesn't transfer everything that I have on my iPod on to my laptop, it just charges it. So, I have an iTunes account that shows all of my songs, but they have an exclamation point next to them and if I click on them, it says that iTunes cannot locate the song. How do I get everything that is on my iPod back onto my computer?

To see my short and sweet answer, just read more

Reader eicmarie recently posted this question in the Ask a Geek Girl group:

"I have two iPods on one account. I need to separate the iPods so that each one has its own account. Is there a way to do that so that none of the music on either is lost and can be played in a new account?"

Since iPods are designed to be synced to one computer with one iTunes account, the answer to this question is pretty straightforward. First, make sure all of the music from the iPod you'd like to switch is backed up on your computer. If you have music on your iPod that isn't on your computer, you'll have to use a special program — I like PodWorks ($8) — to move the files from your iPod into your iTunes account.

To find out how to reset your iPod and sync it with a new iTunes account, read more

I got this frantic text from a friend last night: "I just spilled tea on my MacBook Pro and now it won't turn on. I think it's gone." While my initial reaction was the same as hers (cry), I instinctively told her to take out the battery (which hadn't gotten wet), dry off the laptop as much as she could, and pop the whole thing in a bag of rice. I know more than a few BlackBerrys and iPhones that have been saved this way. I've never heard of a laptop in a bag of rice coming out unscathed, though. Have you? Or do you have any other tips? She's planning on leaving it in the bag to dry for a few days, but she's worried it may be too late. Please share any helpful success stories!

Do you have a tech question you'd like to ask the community? Create a PopSugar Account or log in to your account. Then join the Ask a Geek Girl group where you can ask everything and anything related to technology. And you never know, it could be featured on GeekSugar! Here's a detailed guide to posting questions or posts to groups if you are new to the PopSugar Community.

This question comes to us from Community member Koneal:

As I download more apps to my BlackBerry Bold, I notice it is saving to my device memory and it's running out. How can I have new apps saved to my memory card — a nice, delicious 1GB of memory?

Do you have any advice for Koneal on how to best save her new apps to her 1GB card? Let her know in the comments below! If you have a question you'd like answered by our community of geeks, then post them in our Ask a Geek Girl group! Your questions may end up featured on GeekSugar. Need some help getting started? Here's a detailed guide to posting questions or posts to groups if you are new to the PopSugar Community.

This question comes from reader Lauren:

So I have had my iPhone 3GS for less than six months and have loved every moment of it. Until last week, when I realized my headphones were only outputting to my left ear. The volume toggle still works on the right ear but there is absolutely no sound coming from the right earbud. I am just wondering if anyone else has had this problem and do you think Apple will replace the headphones with ones that work?

Have you had a similar experience or any luck getting Apple to replace broken headphones? Let us know!