Compuvision

As I spend more time with Windows 7, I care less and less about Windows XP, but I'm not ready to let go of it yet.  One general rule here - DO NOT activate program until the last possible moment, in case you need to start over or if your problem comes back in the next few days.  In theory, reactivations of the same program on the same machine should not be a problem, but I have seen exceptions.  (During my six years with Microsoft, I was one of the people who constantly fought against Product Activation.  It didn't happen until after I was gone.)

I have been planning on doing a guide like this for years now, so today I am starting on the process with this long rambling page.  Eventually, this will be broken into seperate pages with more information about each item.  Hopefully, in the near future, I will have checked my spelling and improved verbage as well.  In the meantime, this is just a very rough draft!  I hope that you find some of it useful.  Please feel encouraged to eMail me suggestions, corrections and even complete rewrites of any sections that you can do better.

I hope that the product download links will continue to work over time, but things are constantly changing, so be prepared for broken links.  Only download programs from their official websites or a trusted source like Download.com or SourceForge.net.

Install Windows XP on a clean partition.

DO NOT install IE7 or IE8!  IE6 is one of the best things about Windows XP from a User Interface perspective.  If you are using "restore" disks that already have IE7, then you might as well go to IE8.  (IE6 has the best, cleanest UI for browsing trusted sites.  Unfortunately, many sites hate IE6 (and even Microsoft hates it (now)) because of it's non-standard "quirks".  Also unfortunately, there are a number of well-known unpatched security holes in IE6.  The bad news is that  IE7, IE8 and IE9 all have annoying, cartoonish user interfaces with a certain amount of screen space wasted by hard-coded limitations.  The good news is that we will also be installing Google Chrome as our safe, "standards-compliant" browser for use with questionable sites and sites that don't seem to look right in IE6. 

DO NOT install newer versions of Windows Media Player.  I think that it's UI went bad with version 11 in late 2006, but I don't remember what I thought of the difference between versions 9 and 10, so it's simpler for now to just stick with version 9.

These programs are security risks, system resourse hogs and operate in non-standard ways.  Avoid them if at all possible:

Java - It's just not worth it.
iTunes / QuickTime - The Windows versions are terrible and only needed if you made the mistake of buying into Apple's ecosystem.
Adobe Reader - A big security hole.  An alternative is covered later on.
RealPlayer - UNLESS you want to be able to download Flash videos from sites like YouTube.  (Please eMail me with a better choice.)

The same warning would also generally apply to all Instant Messenger programs and internet toolbars.  Be careful becuase
almost every free download will try get you to install a toolbar or anti-virus program.  (They get paid a few cents from the makers of those programs for each installation.)

Sadly, I will list some exceptions later on, but for now, "just say no".