OK, the computer for my FIL is really coming along.  We returned the not working stuff.  We got all new stuff.  Woot!  I’ll post specs at another time when I post pictures of it.

I’ve got Windows XP loaded.  Will be easy for me to maintain from VA and hopefully easy for them to use.  I’ve been loading software onto the system trying to get them a nice little package.  I don’t want a lot of junk, but I would like to make sure they are set up.  When I’m done I’m going to definately make an image so that we can restore easily back to scratch.

Here’s what I have so far on the system.

Windows XP Pro
Adobe Acrobat Reader
Quicktime
ITunes (came with QT)
Open Office  (Open Source, Free, and not MICROJUNK)
Ad-Aware (Die Spyware Die!)
Slimbrowser (yay tabbed browsing and pop up killer!)
Mozilla Firefox (yay tabbed browsing and not IE)
Trillian (yay multi-IM!!)
Real Player (why?  Because invariably they’ll actually want to use it for something)
Flash

I wanted to make sure they wouldn’t hit that bump two weeks down the road and need something like flash or whatever.  Nothing worse than getting your new pc, taking it out of the box, playing with it, and then two or three weeks down the road your surfing gets put on hold while you go download some dumb little program for a website!  LOL.  I know I’m always like “Aughh!  Flash!  Why on earth didn’t this just come loaded.  I can’t believe I don’t have it!”  And I laugh at manufactorer’s who aren’t bright enough to throw this up…  LOL

OK, I still have to go get AVG Virus Software.  Never use a computer without, I say.  Then I will need to find some kind of PIM for calendar/addy/etc  I would like FREE.  I may just go with Palm Destop, but I’m only so so sold on Palm.

Please, if there is anything you can think of, let me know.  If you know of a few free games i could throw on there for time killing and their grandson, Anthony, I’d appreciate it.  (He’s around 10 so that would be good for him.)

I would really like people to help me out by telling me stuff they find useful that I might have missed.

The final step will be for me to find them some nice themes/backgrounds.  If anyone has any advice on this, let me know.  I definately want a hot air balloon one for my step-mother.  She LOVES hot air balloons.  And my FIL loves anything dealing with firemen and trucking as he does both.  (He delivers medical supplies on a local route and he’s also a volunteer fireman.)  I know they’d also like Americana (would definately fit the Americana room) and nature.  They love to camp.  (Camper camp, not tent camp.  They are smart people!!  They go for comfort!  This is coming from me, my idea of roughing it is a Super 8 with bad cable and no wifi for my laptop!)  So if anyone has some advice on possibly making a theme/screensaver or know where I can find background/theme/screensavers let me know!  🙂 

I can’t believe this is moving along now!  Woohoo!  It’s so nice.

I did configure Windows so they each have a login.  I probably should have added one for Anthony.  Hmmm.  Wonder how I can do that and lock his down strict.  I might have to investigate that idea.  But I bet he’d like that and they would like the extra security.  Wish I’d thought of that earlier, oh well a new login isn’t particularly hard.  It’s just the figuring out how to lock it down for a kid so that they don’t have to worry about inappropriate…

So that’s where I am sitting.  I also do need to zip tie the cords to clean up the inside of the box.  That won’t take long, the cords aren’t too bad a mess right now.  Woohoo!  I really like this case, it is nice.

So… comments and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!