Alexander: She can text from an iPad, but only to a limited audience

Q: My daughter, who is hearing-impaired, has been told that she can text from an iPad. Is this possible?

My daughter also wants to take the iPad outside her building, which doesn't have Wi-Fi, and somehow still get on the Internet. What would she need to do this?

Maurine Dyrdahl, Mounds View

A: Any iPad using the current iOS 6 operating system, or the previous iOS 5, can send text messages using Apple's iMessage function. But text messages can be sent only between Apple devices, so your daughter could only text people who have an iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch or Macintosh computer using a newer operating system. Your daughter could broaden her reach a bit with iPad apps such as the free Textie, which will work on iPads using an operating systems as old as iOS 3.1; but everyone she texted would need to have the Textie app, too.

There are two ways to get on the Internet with an iPad: Wi-Fi, or, if you've bought the more expensive cellular iPad model, via the cellphone system. Using a cellular connection requires setting up a separate cellphone account for the iPad.

Q: I would like to download e-books to my laptop, which runs Windows 7, and to my desktop, which runs Windows XP. How can I do this?

Harold Gabriel, Brooklyn Center

Q: My HP computer had a problem with a sticking keyboard. Cleaning the keyboard didn't help, so I bought a new keyboard. But I still had the same problem.

When I hit a key, the letter either does not appear, or else it will appear after I hit the subsequent key. Is there a PC adjustment that can fix this?

Gloria Palmentieri, Margate, Fla.

A: There are a couple of adjustments to try.

Make sure you haven't accidentally activated a special Windows program for people with disabilities. Called "slow keys," it allows the user to specify how long a key must be depressed before it registers on the screen. It can be set for as long as two seconds. Go to Start, then Control Panel, then click on "Ease of Access Center." Click on "Make the keyboard easier to use." Make sure the box next to "Turn on filter keys" is unchecked. Click OK.