How do I convert these files? Google (and YouTube) probably knows

Has this ever happened to you? You have a folder full of files that won't open or play on your computer. In many cases, at least for me, I have a file intended for use on a PC, but I’m running an Apple Macintosh. The scenario may also be reversed: A Mac file won't open on a Windows PC.

This happened to me last night, as I was helping my wife get voice mail files from her old BlackBerry saved onto her Macbook. After removing, then reinstalling the Visual Voice Mail app on the BlackBerry, the files were tucked safely into a folder on the phone’s 2 gigabyte Micro Secure Digital storage card. I slid the card into a tiny Micro SD card reader and copied the files to the desktop.

I was halfway home, then I hit a wall. I got an error message saying there was no application on the Mac that could play the .qcp audio files.

So, I went to Google. I did a search for ".qcp file conversion," and found a program called "Switch," that looked promising. After downloading and installing the free application, I tried to convert the 14 audio files from .qcp to the mp3 format.

The red x's next to the files suggested failure. On further review, the .qcp format is not one of the dozen or so supported. So, it was back to zero and back to Google. I spotted a YouTube video that showed how to perform the exact conversion I was trying to do. Better yet, it was done on a Mac.

Proving that simpler is usually best, the video instructs users to head to an online file conversion site called — drumroll please — "Online Convert." It's at www.online-convert.com/

With Online Convert, files are uploaded from your computer to the site through your Web browser and an upload function on the page. The files are then converted and ready for the user to download. The only slowdown is that files must be uploaded one by one; there’s no way to upload an entire folder of files. I’m not complaining; I was listening to the voice mail messages using iTunes in just minutes.

Online Convert also handles file format conversions of videos, documents, images and e-books. There's also something called a "hash generator." A hash generator is defined as: "Hash Generator. A tool that takes a blob of submitted text and creates 37 different hashes from it, and also gives you the string length in bytes."

By using Online Convert, I also saved at least $50 and several days, I'd spotted other websites offering similar services for a fee based on the total length of the files being converted. One service sends compact discs in the mail with the converted files. How 1990s.

The lesson learned is that once again, YouTube is a great place to begin any search that starts with the question: "How do I ...?"

Chances are, there's a video for that.