Hate iOS7? Can you change back? Do you need a digital camera if you've got a smartphone? And can you dump your computer and live in an 'i' world? Just some of the issues readers have for our expert this month

Q I have been reading your blog, and I think that you may be able to help me with a problem. I love Apple, always have, and buy everything they make (even the MacBook Air). However after the recent upgrade to iOS 7, I have really struggled to cope with the new additions and changes. Do you have any idea how to change it back to the previous versions? Sarah Yates, via email

A Yes, the MacBook Air is an excellent machine – I recently began using one as my own daily and work computer. As for iPhones and iPads, iOS 7 has brought with it a wealth of changes, and I know you are not alone when it comes to struggling to adapt.

However, you cannot backdate to iOS 6 as Apple stops "signing" installs of old releases when it launches new ones, mainly to prevent people from reverting to older, "jailbreakable" versions of the OS (this is why some people save something called SHSH blobs from each iOS version, allowing you to use an old version of the OS).

There are, however, some great guides to explain some of the changes and new features and actions, and these can be found on techradar.com, forbes.com and techcrunch.com.

Best of luck with the transition!

Q I need to print documents occasionally but not every day or week. However my printer cartridges quickly run out. I presume they are just drying up. Cartridges are expensive, a bit of a rip-off. Do you have a strategy or some advice for the infrequent printer like myself? Thomas North, via email

A As a student I've felt this many times in the past, often going months without printing, to find cartridges are dried out on that morning when I need to hand in several assignments. Fortunately, there are a few methods of getting around this, including:

a) Doing a regular print-head cleaning (using your printer's test page). I suggest once a fortnight.

b) If your cartridge does dry out, you can restore it by placing the ink cartridge in a bowl of warm water (to reduce the risk of an accident happening and staining your sink or bath) then drying it with a paper towel or lint-free cloth, then running the printer's head-cleaning program.

Q Why should I buy a digital camera when the latest smartphones have lots of megapixels, optical zoom lenses and wide apertures – and they are connected for easy uploading to Instagram, Flickr etc? Bethan Firth, via email

A good question, and it isn't one with a simple answer, as it depends on multiple factors. For example: where will the images be used? What environment will you be shooting in? How much control do you want over the final image?

It also depends what you mean by a digital camera – a simple point-and-shoot, or a DSLR? I would argue that we can discount the former, as it offers no significant advantage over a smartphone, other than optical zoom.

However, if you are pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved with a phone camera, or wish to shoot professional photos and video, then you need to move into DSLR territory, where the flexibility of lenses, attachments and larger sensors provide many, many advantages over a phone, and allow photographers to alter things such as the depth of field, aperture and shutter speed.

I would also like to dispel the myth that megapixels are what make a good quality image – more important is the sensor size and lens. One of the best mobile cameras, HTC One, only has a four megapixel camera but has a large sensor that allows more light into the image, improving colour reproduction and low-light quality.

This isn't to say that the resolution of the image means nothing, but it is not the most important factor.

As for being socially connected, some newer DSLR's also have built-in Wi-Fi and sharing features, such as the Canon 6D, and others such as the Nikon D3200 can be Wi-Fi ready with the addition of an accessory, although you will probably find yourself editing photos on a computer before uploading them to 500Px or Flickr.

Q Is it truly viable to get rid of laptops/computers completely and just use iPhones, iPads and the "cloud" for everything? For instance, is there a way of running and managing a large iTunes music library saved on a portable hard drive and listened to on an iPhone without having to use a desktop computer or laptop? Amelia Drummond, via email

A This is a tricky question as it depends on your individual use. If you mostly use a computer for social networking and content consumption, and maybe editing the odd document – then yes, it is perfectly possible to move over to a post-PC world, and experience its benefits, such as increased battery life, less power consumption, and being able to remove the typically ugly computers, desks and monitors from the corner of the living room/kitchen.

However, if you create and edit lots of documents or images, then although you could get by with an iPad, a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device and a bluetooth keyboard, you'd be better off with a full-blown desktop or laptop.

A large music/video collection could be tricky, however. You could use something like the Seagate Wireless Plus, allowing you to store hundreds of gigabytes of data and access it from multiple devices. It even has an iOS and Android app to manage content. However, you would need to initially load your collection from your computer – so you may want to keep one around for a little while longer.

Streaming services such as Spotify, Rdio and Netflix are getting better and better, potentially replacing the need for most stored media. Spotify and Rdio also allow you to create offline playlists – downloading a local copy for when you don't have a net connection – making a post-PC world even more reachable.

Daniel is a freelance programmer for iOS and the web. He is a student and has been coding since he was eight. He is an ambassador for Young Rewired State and can be found on Twitter @DanToml. If you have a tech problem for Daniel, email tech.questions@observer.co.uk