Another Day With My PC

Do you have that habit of clicking on “Next” whenever you install something on your computer?

There used to be a time when installing applications required having read the 50-page ReadMe file that comes with the pack. Worse, there were times when you’re even required to have certain applications in order to proceed with the process, such as ZIP programs. Needless to say, having a new resident in your hard drive back then wasn’t so easy.

It’s a good thing that hair-pulling installation processes are already things of the past. Installation wizards have practically reduced user participation in the procedure to a point that even a paralytic who could only move his finger could go through the steps and finish the installation.

Installation wizards seem so reassuring that we’re often beguiled into mindlessly clicking the Next button until the whole process comes to its conclusion. If you give a little thought about it, that practice of clicking through the whole procedure like an epileptic is dangerous. Introducing new programs into your computer means introducing changes into your system files. The changes may be unpleasant, especially if it tinkers with your system’s registry.

While it may seem tedious and sometimes needless, you should devote a sufficient amount of time in going through the installation process (meaning you have to read what the installation wizard is flashing on the boxes). Don’t take the procedure lightly. You may be inadvertently allowing or agreeing to drastic system changes or interferences by mechanically clicking Next or Yes to every prompt or query that you get whenever you plant something in your hard drive. The consequences might be harmless (but annoying) in some cases, like having an additional toolbar in your Web browser. However, the repercussions could also be debilitating, such as incessant pop ups.

Installing applications, including operating systems, was a very daunting task before optical disks came along. I remember juggling around 14 floppy disks when I installed a 60MB game 15 years ago. Not surprisingly, software came in big boxes at that time. You could just imagine the shelf space that those programs take up. Some even rival that of bookstores!

Of course, installation dilemmas are already a thing of the past, as in Windows 95 past. You could now load gigabytes of data by just popping in a single DVD installer. Many software companies are even dispensing the disk altogether by providing the files online, enabling users to just download it.

Things are getting a lot more complicated, especially in the IT industry. Fortunately, there are still a number of things that are not getting too esoteric for those who want an uncomplicated life, be it the virtual or the real one.

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