Get a new PC ready for everyday use
Four hours. That's how long it took me to prepare my new notebook computer for the workaday world. And that includes restoring all my data files and e-mail.
I've got the process down to 12 steps:
Step 1: Establish a network connection.
My computer is pretty useless without an Internet link. (Well, less useless than it was before Google Gears arrived; more on that in Step 12 below.) I discovered this fact last fall when I was networkless in the wilds of southeastern Maine. Getting on my home's wireless network was a breeze using Vista's Network and Sharing Center. Click "Connect to a network" in the left pane, choose your network, click Connect, enter your network's password, and click Connect again.
I described my search for a solution to a recurring wireless-network problem in a post from last July. Microsoft's Help and Support site offers help with XP wireless-connection glitches and Vista wireless woes.
Step 2: Update Windows.
No matter how recently the machine's version of Windows was installed, there's probably an important security patch--perhaps several--waiting for it on the Microsoft Update site. To download and install it, click Start > All Programs > Windows Update. The Microsoft service will determine whether your system is missing any critical updates.
Step 3: Download
Firefox.
It's ironic that the one and only time I'm likely to open Internet Explorer is to download Mozilla's Firefox browser. (Actually, I need to use IE to restore my online data backups; see Step 11 below.) Then I used Firefox to download the Opera and Google Chrome browsers as well. You never know when you're going to need another browser, and they don't cost anything.
Step 4: Download NoScript.
Giorgio Maone's NoScript script-blocking plug-in (donationware) is the one-and-only Firefox add-on I consider mandatory. The program lets you block scripts on a site-by-site and source-by-source basis.
Step 5: Install security software.
Personally, I prefer the convenience and relative simplicity of an all-in-one security suite. However, lots of PC users want to avoid the heavy-handedness of security suites from such big-name vendors as Symantec and McAfee. Choosing best-of-breed antivirus, antispyware, and software-firewall programs gives you more control over your security settings. However, using multiple security utilities increases the chances of a conflicts with Windows.
People tend to have strong opinions about their security software. The fact is, a security configuration that works great on one person's PC will crash and burn someone else's system. You have to experiment to find the right security-software strategy for your machine and tastes.
Step 6: Download and install your bookmarks from Delicious.
Last October, I described how to upload your bookmarks to the Delicious bookmark site. To export your bookmarks from Delicious, click Settings in the top-right corner of the Delicious site, choose Export/Backup Bookmarks in the Bookmarks section, and click Export.
Export your Delicious bookmarks to your new PC via the site's Export options.
(Credit: Delicious)To add the bookmarks to Firefox, click Bookmarks > Organize Bookmarks > Import and Backup > Import HTML. In the Import HTML wizard, choose From an HTML File, click Next, browse to and select the file you just exported from Delicious, and click Open. Your bookmarks should be back where they belong.
Step 7: Clear out the trialware.
There are plenty of utilities that will help you remove the trialware versions of programs that your PC vendor likely loaded onto your hard drive. I use Piriform's free CCleaner for this and other system-maintenance chores. CCleaner makes it easy to uninstall the adware and other programs your system can do without.
Click Tools in the left pane, choose Uninstall, select the programs you want to remove one at a time, and click Run Uninstaller on the right side of the program window. You can also use CCleaner to pare down the list of apps that start automatically with Windows, among other useful tools in the program.
Step 8: Customize your desktop.
I like an iconless desktop, but that doesn't keep me from having easy access to the items I place on my desktop. I'd rather choose them from a Desktop menu that pops out of the taskbar. To clear the icons from the desktop, right-click anywhere on it, choose View, and deselect Show Desktop Icons.
Now right-click the taskbar, uncheck Lock the Taskbar, and choose Toolbars > Desktop. Drag the Desktop toolbar to the right--toward the notification area (aka the system tray)--until only the word "Desktop" and the double chevron are showing. To reach one of your desktop items, click the double chevron and select it from the menu that pops up.
My next stop is the Web Museum, where I choose my desktop wallpaper. Once you find a painting you like (and that generally matches your desktop dimensions), right-click it and choose Set as Desktop Background (in Firefox). Click Stretch to ensure that the picture will fill your screen. Just be sure you don't violate any copyrights for the artwork you select.
Step 9: Install and update Office (optional).
This is the step I would like to skip, but for now, my work requires that I have Office on my system. Installing Office 2007 from disc is one of the most time-consuming of the 12 steps, in part because you have to install Service Pack 1 via Microsoft Update after the disc installation completes. One of these days....
Step 10: Download your Outlook mail.
I have my ISP e-mail account set to save all messages on the server, so once I create the new account in Outlook, all my mail downloads automatically. Likewise, I use the Flexadex online contact manager, which I described in a post last month. Flexadex lets you export your contacts as a .csv file that you can import to Outlook.
Once you have the .csv file saved locally, open Outlook, click File > Import and Export > Import from another program or file > Next > Comma Separated Values (Windows) > Next. Browse to and select the .csv file, click Next, choose Contacts in the folder tree, click Next again, choose the appropriate fields for the data (if necessary), and click Finish. Your contacts may require a little cleanup, but the process beats relying on Outlook for your contacts backup (in my humble opinion).
Step 11: Download your online data backup.
I use the IDrive online-backup service, which does a good job of backing up my data in the background. To restore a backup, log into your account on the IDrive site (using Internet Explorer--the service doesn't support Firefox, unfortunately), choose Folder Restore, and follow the prompts.
Step 12: Download Google Gears.
I waited a long time for Google's offline component to support Gmail, which finally arrived early last month. The service also lets you work with your Google Docs & Spreadsheets and other Web services without an Internet connection. I'm happy to report that I haven't yet needed offline access to my Gmail account or other online services, but I know it's only a matter of time. With Gears in place, I'll be ready for my next network failure. Well, sort of.
Dennis O'Reilly has covered PCs and other technologies in print and online since 1985. Along with more than a decade as editor for Ziff-Davis's Computer Select, Dennis edited PC World's award-winning Here's How section for more than seven years. He is a member of the CNET blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. 
1/2 hour to install Ubuntu
1/2 hour to install any new applications, make some setting changes and download and install some themes.
I'm using it right now and I consider it more user-friendly than Windows. The problem is that people just don't want to change. Once I've seem a guy that when he found out that on on the Linux distro his computer came with all programs had different names, he just gave up and installed Windows.
Several hours to update all the software to current versions. At least.
I then just leave it running overnight, and by the morning my computer is 100% ready for use.
So, I only have to be at the computer for less than an hour. Angmarr: If you wished Ubuntu was user-friendly, then you'd already be using it because it IS user-friendly.
Takes me longer than dragonbite, I always tinker with a new setup...
if anything, I'd add downloading and getting used to Objectdock 1.9 (its free) its great for shortcuts to useful programs especially when you like to have a clean desktop
2. Plug in
3. Press power button
4. Create user
5. Never turn back....
Incompatibility.. ??? With what? Plug and play on the Mac compared to Plug and Pray on Windows? Hell... if you want to slum it with windows... you can install that too..
I'm trolling because it amazes me what people (including myself) have to go through just to get a fresh version of Windows up and running. I really hope Microsoft will get it right with 7... even then, they will be at least 5 years behind the competition with regard to usability. An OS can be powerful and efficient (easy to use) at the same time. People mistake the clunkiness of Windows with it being an OS for tech-minded people.... that's because it takes a tech-minded person to get it up and running properly. Apple has put together an OS that any one can use... from my dad... to the Unix system admin...who takes full advantage of the OS.
Example: As an experiment, I gave my dad a 5 minute tutorial on web serving... and he was able to take advantage of Apple's built-in (and easily configurable) web server and FTP capabilities.
It was easier for my dad to set-up an index.html page and host it on his computer than it is to turn on and use a windows based computer. Targeting the corporate IT crowd has lead to Windows being poorly organized and filled with inconsistent UI quirks... for example, try putting two open excel or ppt files next to each other... you can't... but you can with Word.. go figure. If all you want to do is transfer a few slides from one presentation to another.. you have to copy and paste or use an import wizard... a big waste of time... If you have a dual monitor set-up... you can't have a different picture on each screen... a little thing.. but one of the many poorly though out "features" of Windows..
Little things like Automator allow the novice an opportunity to delve into creating their own applications/scripts.. or you can get into more with the supplied developer tools...
......
Get a life. This article is about PCs, and you are off-topic.
As a practical matter, this blog is called "Worker's Edge", and the overwhelming majority of Businesses run on Windows.
IMO, for the final user, Mac is just like some uber-expensive-completely-locked-down Linux distro, that make the user think he is cool because his computer.
no, this is the steps for a Mac
1. open box
2. plug in
3. press power button
4. create user
5. wait for it to overheat due to a horrid thermal paste job
6. throw away
7. repeat OR buy a PC
Amazing I bought a dell and the steps were basically the same.
1. Open Box
2. Hook up monitor
3. Hook up speakers
4. Press power button
5. Create user
PC's can work right out of the box to don't kid yourself.
Except no doubt some Mac users would skip Step 5.
And by Preference might actually use Safari.
But you don't unbox it power it up n bam its on your network, fully updated, with Office installed n your wallpaper of Choice.
And step 11 isn't Mac Compatible
Get an external hard drive to make a local backup.
It never hurts to have a backup of your backup. Your online backup may fail, or your online backup company may go out of business.
1. Establish a network connection
Mac did it for me.
2. Update Software
Mac automatically looked for me... no need to make it do a thing.
3. Download Firefox
Why? Oh that's right.... IE doesn't work on a Mac... or a PC for that matter!
4. Download NoScript
Well, I guess if you have to use Firefox... but then again, Safari works just fine for me.
5. Install security software
Why? The supposed security issues that were supposed to happen to Mac still have not happened.
6. Download and install your bookmarks from Delicious
Safari knew my bookmarks from my other computer and automatically updated itself.
7. Clear out the trialware
What trialware??
8. Customize your desktop
Drag and dropped stuff to my Dock... quick and easy.
9. Install and update Office (optional)
VERY optional!!!
10. Download your Outlook mail
Huh? Mac Mail took care of everything for me.
11. Download your online data backup
Time Machine set itself up... no need to download a thing.
12. Download Google Gears
Well, I guess if you have a computer that needs the eleven previous steps to make it work...
I much prefer to purchase items that work when I buy them.
So, to summarize, I set up my Mac by:
1. Customizing my desktop
The end.
And for those that whine about Mac Fanbois, don't knock it till you tried it. I lived the PC world for decades before I finally gave up on all of it. No more viruses, no more crashes, no more "can't find the internet connection" notices, no more pop ups every second of the day telling me something I already know, no more hassle, no more problems. And everyone in my department does the exact same thing. So when the rest of the building can't get online... we can; when the wireless printers stop working, ours don't; when there is a virus that shuts everyone else down (just happened!), we have no problems.
Sucks to be you there. "Everyone can go home but the Apple people! They can keep working but the PC users have the rest of the day off, Enjoy!" LOL
The point is the article is written to target PC's so going off topic is called a troll. Your welcome to do that as all apple/ms fanboys do to each other. If the title was "How does a new Mac compare to a new PC" then by all means it'd be on topic. I've yet to hear anyone forced to use an Apple but people are forced to use PC's which is why they are the greater demographic and thus the point of the article. A mac isn't an option for a lot of people due to price, company policy, etc. Spending more money to buy a mac to run windows for a windows requirement in business would be plan stupid. The best option is optimise your PC the best you can. Again that's the topic in this article.
Find me a case of a PC user telling people to get a PC over a MAC or feel the need to do the manufacturers advertising?
8. And that's about all the customization a Mac can do? Pretty boring.
9. If you need office, last I saw iWork costs money just as MS Office, unless you want to download OpenOffice, either way it's basically the same scenario.
10. Wow, I would be scared of a computer that knows my Mail address without me telling it to! That's partially why I use IMAP to connect to my GMail, so there is no downloading/moving.
So to summarize, your Mac settup just requires
1. Customizing your desktop
and by "Customizing" that means... adding things to the Dock and changing the backgroud? Even Windows has more flexibitily.. you can move the start bar to the top, left or right!
ooooh...riiiiiight. I bought a Mac :) Silly Windows users. Too much work.
PC's come out of boxes ready to use as well I don't recall dell or hp requiring their users to do anything like install drivers.
Silly ignorant mac users how much is Steve paying you to post things like this?
Anyone who buys a mac is someone who doesn't know the meaning of higher price, same specs = not good idea.
C'mon guys, anyone who has a good state of mind either runs vista, 7, ubuntu or hackintosh.
And if anyone disses vista then you need to update your pc, even the pc I'm on now running an athlon 64 3200+ with 1gb of ddr400 runs it fine.
Also to the writer, steps should be;
Open Box
Plug in
Create User
Install Antivirus software
Establish Network connection(or connect to internet via 3g via phone via bluetooth)
Open IE7 and download IE8 or Chrome
Finished!
Antivirus should always be installed first, especially if your not running SP3 on XP or SP1 on vista.
never connect a Windows PC to the internet without the security software already on there!
it is entirely possible to catch malware just by an open connection - no user errors required
blaster worm etc
this article implies unprotected web surfing around steps 3-4... kind of like unprotected hooker sex
also this article illustrates what a drag Windows actually is!
Thanks,
Dennis
1. Install Windows from disc. If it's already there, do it again. Get rid of all that bloody bloatware.
2. Update Windows via Microsoft Update.
3. Create a new partition. Point "My Documents" to it. (When will we be able to change our Documents and Settings path without registry tinkering? /sigh)
4. Restore backed up data, preferably to the partition you just created.
4. Install your core apps whose installers you should keep handy. (Browser, anti-virus, office suite, media players, the basics.) Update them.
5. If you use Firefox, you should use the FEBE extension which allows for an easy backup of extensions, bookmarks, passwords, etc.
6. Make juvenile and ill-informed posts about Windows vs OS X vs Linux on CNET, as all proper fanboys should do.
7. Make minor tweaks as needed. Reduce the number of System Restore points, put your Quick Launch icons in order, get your favorite Solitaire deck picture, configure the software you installed in step four, and so on. This is an article in itself.
And after a line of deleting crapware? This guy has installed more crap than I have ever seen - firefox, chrom, opera, noscript, bookmarks, web museum, flexadex, gears. My god, even an HP conumer PC does not have that much crapware installed ( well maybe almost as much)
There's a big, big difference between the programs I choose to download and install and those I didn't ask for, don't want, don't need, and would like to get the heck out of my way. Also, you didn't have to restore anybody's data files or e-mail archive on the five Dell notebooks you worked on, nor did you do any Windows customizations, which the users will do themselves. Please read the article carefully to avoid making such nonsensical posts.
Respectfully,
Dennis
I bought a Acer desktop
Pulled it out of the box
Hooked it up
It installed antivirus/firewall for me upon boot up
Windows automatically went and downloaded updates recommended newer drivers.
Cleaned out the crap(MAC users if im gonna pay 500 - 2000 more then the machine is worth the thing better be crap free) but I personally paid $600 for a higher spec machine then apple offered at a higher price.
Figured I wanted to put in a better graphics card installed a Geforce 8800 booted up and Windows found drivers for me.
So yeah fairly simple.
And 4 hrs to set up windows? Doing all that above and installing Office 07 took me less then a hour.
- by kingblues March 11, 2009 1:32 PM PDT
- I going to try that tool bar thing, thanks.
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