Some PC Basics

My niece recently got a new laptop and I was walking her through the steps to set up a new PC. We didn't finish, so I told her I would write up a little guide for the topic.

Then my PC developed a nasty error and I restored the system to factory settings, so I had to take some time and set my own rig up again.

1. This guide is for Windows, primarily XP though most applies to Vista. Mac and Linux systems tend to have tightly integrated programs of their own. Worth mentioning however is that it is often worthwhile to install a dual-boot Linux OS such as Ubuntu on most PCs. Linux is a nice OS to work with at times, and can be worth it just for the ability to fix Windows when Windows is broken since Linux can be used to access the internet and repair files.

1a. Clean up any demo or other trial programs on the PC. Some just waste hard drive space, others actually waste CPU cycles and clutter the RAM, decreasing performance.

1b. Fire up Internet Explorer and hit the Windows Update option under Tools. Download and Install the critical updates and any hardware drivers it offers. In my last round of this this was in the neighborhood of 120 updates requiring about four hours and multiple reboots for the install parts. Also turn on the Windows Firewall and decide whether to update Windows manually each week or turn on Automatic Updates.

1c. Get a list of all the hardware bits of the PC and their drivers. Go to their company websites if possible and get the newest drivers. Video Card drivers qualify as one of the types that needs to be kept up-to-date.

2. PC upkeep out of the way, it's time to get the good programs installed.

2a. Although the guide recommends Internet Explorer for doing the Windows Update quickly and directly, IE is one of the worst browsers available. Although IE has improved over the years, it's always lagged behind in features and usability, plus it represents a significant security risk. The same feature that makes it work for the Windows Update portion is the same security risk involved with visiting other sites with IE.

2b. The good freely available browsers I'll recommend are Firefox and Chrome. Firefox has a lot of customization options with a number of different looks and add-ons. Chrome on the other hand is very simple to use. Although I used Firefox for a long time, I like the minimalist Chrome.

2chrome. My only suggestion for Chrome is to click the wrench icon > Options > Basics > On Start-up: Open pages that were open last; this restores the main window of Chrome to how it was when Chrome was last used. Chrome tabs can be rearranged at will however, including splitting into new windows or merging simply by dragging the tabs. It's also worth mentioning that Chrome is pretty secure and stable. It runs in a sandbox state, tabs are run as individual processes and even plug-ins like flash are kept separate.

3-Security: Windows Defender(free download for XP and standard in Vista) works surprisingly well. Paired with AVG free, Windows firewall and Windows updates and the system will be pretty secure. An anti-virus such as AVG free is optional as good security habits will keep most threats away, but for most the extra security is a good thing.

4-Productivity: I favor open source programs and other community development free programs pretty heavily. In that regard, I will endorse Open Office over the Microsoft equivalents any day. Not only is it a free suite of work programs, but the updates are also free and expedited. With a free suite like this, new features will never be held back just to get more money with the next version. New versions do often introduce a lot of features, but this is because more core parts of the program get upgraded in those instances. The other suggested document system is Google Documents, but I will cover that in another post.

That's most of the important and somewhat basic programs someone might need for their computer. Download.com is good source for programs, so I'll briefly list some nice ones I've played with in the last year.

Miro: A video distribution and download service with integrated viewer. There are subscriber channels to a number of series there including the TED talks, which are presentations about new ideas and products.

Media Monkey: Music organizer and player.

FastStone: A nice picture viewer that can do some minor picture tweaking and batch rename and convert multiple files at once.

GIMP: A free graphics program that originated from the Linux community.

Blender: A free 3D modeling program that likewise originated from the Linux Community.

~VP

Eternity's Picks:

Thunderbird, the email companion to Firefox which can handle email and newsgroup accounts.

Zone Alarm, a firewall and security ap that has a free version.

Spybot, an alternative to AVG for anti-viral duties.

Flashget, a helpful downloader program for getting big files or multiple smaller files at once such as a picture gallery.