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MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed in by our readers.

This week readers wrote in with questions about upgrading to OS X Lion or Mountain Lion when it is released, managing large attachments in e-mail messages, using NTFS disks with OS X, whether to wait for Mountain Lion to upgrade or purchase Lion right now, and managing 0KB files that appear in various places in OS X. We welcome views from readers, so if you have any suggestions or alternative approaches to these problems, post them in the comments!

Question: The need for OS upgrades … Read more

Many of the files I receive attached to Gmail messages end up in my Google Drive account. Previously this required downloading or viewing the file, saving it to a drive of the PC I'm using, signing into and opening Google Drive (formerly Google Docs), and uploading the file.

That's a lot of mileage for a file to travel just to get from one Google service to another.

Last month, Jason Cipriani of CNET's Blog Network described a technique developed by Amit Agarwal that automatically adds Gmail attachments to Google Drive.

As Jason explains, the process entails copying … Read more

Sparrow is an attempt to get away from supercomplex, feature-packed e-mail clients in favor of a simpler e-mail experience on iOS. The interface is elegant while remaining very straightforward: e-mails are listed with the newest on top, and all your actions can be completed with simple gestures. Setup only requires that you add accounts; then you can get started right away.

Though the interface is sparse you still get plenty of the common actions and options you'd expect from a basic e-mail app in Sparrow. You can save your draft e-mails; Star (or mark as favorite) specific conversations; add … Read more

Google Drive launched with one feature missing -- the ability to save Gmail attachments directly to your Google Drive account. Well, thanks to Amit Agarwal, after doing a bit of work, your attachments will automatically be saved to your Google Drive.

The process requires you to copy a document from Amit's Google Drive account to yours, and grant it permission to monitor your Gmail account. You'll then have to create a Gmail filter that applies the label of GoogleDrive to any e-mail with an attachment that comes into your Inbox. If you prefer not to have every attachment … Read more

The new Sony Nasne tuner and media device, due in Japan on July 19 for 16,980 yen ($209), sort of looks like a miniature PlayStation 3. However, don't let the aesthetics fool you: Nasne contains many features the game console lacks, such as a built-in 500GB hard drive for recording content from digital terrestrial or satellite TV broadcasts. … Read more

The official Gmail client for Android is relatively complete; you can handle most of your e-mail tasks without ever needing to sit in front of a PC. Unfortunately, there's one specific task where the app falls short: downloading attachments.

Sometimes you'll be able to preview and download an attachment, and other times you won't. Instead of letting you grab an MP3, PDF, or even DLL from an e-mail, it just opens the files -- or worse, it's a file type you can't preview. So here's a look at a plug-in for the … Read more

Gmail, as long as I can remember, has always displayed a paperclip icon next to the date/time of an e-mail indicating a file is attached to that particular e-mail. While the basic indicator of an attachment is great, it would be nice to have a heads up of what kind of file is attached, especially if you are expecting a specific type of document from someone. With a Chrome extension called Attachment Icons for Gmail, getting alerted to type of file attached is possible.

Visit the Chrome Web Store to install the extension; it's free and … Read more

While e-mail was never intended to be a file storage method, it often ends up being used that way. This design shortfall can lead to some infuriating searches for attachments you know are in your account.

Attachments.me wants to help you solve this frustrating problem. To get started, you need to visit Attachments.me on your computer, and sign in using your Gmail account. You will then be asked to grant the service permission to access your account.

After gaining access to your Gmail account, Attachments.me will index attachments in your Gmail account. Going forward, you can then … Read more

One of the features of Apple's Mail application in OS X is its option to save a specific e-mail message as a text file to a desired location on the hard drive. If you press Shift-Command-S or choose "Save As..." from the File menu with a message selected, you will be given the option to save the message in either Rich Text, Plain Text, or Raw Message formats.

If you choose either of the text formats, then you will have the option to include any attachments in the message with the text document. This will result in … Read more