Microsoft XP has been called the Fisher Price operating system for more than just its bright colors and rounded edges. This is an OS for everyone, clear and easy to use. If you are ever lost, balloon tips appear to tell you where a new program is hiding, among other "helpful" messages.
While these tips can be convenient for mom and pop, they are far from necessary for the power user. Some of these tips, like the balloon urging you to sign up for a Passport account, give up after a while and stop coming out to play. Others, like the balloon reminding you to download and install the latest and greatest from Windows Update, never leave you.
You can get rid of them all in one fell swoop, and this was the first thing I did when I installed XP on my home computer. I had enough settings and tweaks to worry about without Windows telling me that it put the Photoshop icon in the Programs menu.
Just be careful to check Windows Update often, because your friendly animated reminder will not pop up to help you out. Another thing you will miss is Windows' friendly reminder that hard-drive space has run low. You will still get a little picture of a hard drive in your task bar, but you won't be accosted by a big yellow balloon that won't go away.
News source: TechTV - Screensavers
