Hello folks,
My father (in his 80's) recently bought a new computer with XP on it. I'm the family "expert" (go ahead and laugh) and I have Win98SE. I want to make his machine really easy to use and maintain for him; if I can't be there, I have to give give my dad really detailed step by step instructions on the phone. When he had a Win98SE machine, I knew exactly what to do, registry tweaks etc. to secure his machine. I have cleanup, regular maintenance, security, tweaks, tips and programs galore for 98. But this XP thing seems to be quite a different animal. I have persuaded him not to install anything until I get over (mostly he uses it for email, wordprocessing and his digital camera) but I would like to visit equipped with information. And so, what I am asking of you, kind people, please, is,:
1) if you had a new, pristine XP machine, what would you do, what essential programs would you install, to secure the machine and ease the maintenance;
2) what are the BIG differences that you have noticed between 98 and XP, so I know where to concentrate my research (thanks to this board I know why I couldn't find System File Checker!);
3) I know about the "wait and see" mood regarding XPSP2; should I be installing any other MS security updates?
Thanks, in advance, for any help,
Chas