What Do I Do When I Get a New Computer?
(note: some of this is satire)
I’ve been wanting to talk about this. And now I have the chance. So, what exactly do I do when I have a brand new computer?
Operating Systems
I myself, use Windows 11; the Pro edition, to be exact. Because I don’t give a crap about all the hate for it. So if I see that the computer has Windows 10 Pro on it, I’ll deploy my Windows 11 USB out and start installing.
Unfortunately, some computers, especially laptops, have Windows 10 Home installed. If that’s the case I have to first install the Pro edition by any means possible, then I’ll deploy my Windows 11 USB.
Nowadays, I have seen a laptop with Windows 11 pre-installed. However I cannot check what edition it was, but I think it was running at 100% text scaling, so it’s probably Pro (Home runs at 125% text scaling by default).
The Setup
Most computers here in Vietnam are always set up first before delivery. For me, I don’t like that, since the OOBE (Out-of-Box Experience) is where you create your account and stuff.
A lot of sellers here basically create an account (probably via the OOBE), name it Admin or whatever, then they ship the computer. Even though you can change the username in the Settings app or the Control Panel, there will still be remnants of the old username, e.g. your user folder in the Users directory of the drive that Windows is installed in, and the USERNAME environment variable in CMD/Batch and PowerShell. The latter remnant also shows up when playing Sneky; the player name is the old username, as it also uses the same variable for the player name.
Software
Up next is the important stuff: the software. Without the software, you’ll have to use the crappy bloatware that comes with Windows.
Browser
For the browser, I use Google Chrome. Microsoft Edge is basically trash. Internet Explorer is even trashier. They did remove IE from Windows 11, though, but that was just to encourage people to use Edge and stop using IE. Nowadays most school websites tell you to use IE because of… Inspect element, of course. They would not want you use it to cheat, and IE is the only known Microsoft browser that doesn’t have Inspect element. Therefore, if this was still the case now, in 2022, and everyone has upgraded to Windows 11… well, you can guess what’s gonna happen.
EDIT 08/26/2022: When writing this part I wasn’t aware that Microsoft Edge now has an Internet Explorer mode, so sorry about that. Now I wonder: what browser doesn’t have Inspect element, because in the past I used it to exploit a homework website.
Archive Manager
Windows Explorer can only open some compressed file formats. WinRAR can open probably all of them. I also use 7-Zip, which allows me to attempt to look inside anything at will. WinRAR can also do that now with self-extracting EXE files and JAR files. Also, of course, I don’t pay for WinRAR, since the 40-day trial obviously lasts forever.
Downloader
For the downloader, I use Internet Download Manager. But I don’t actually pay for IDM. You see, in Vietnam, piracy is basically inevitable. A lot of people in Vietnam install pirated software. Usually I download from Vietnamese sites which are the legit ones. Almost all the English sites (except for The Pirate Bay and IGGGAMES) are obviously fake and contain viruses.
Microsoft Office
If you’re using Windows, you might as well use Microsoft Office. I also use a pirated version because, again, piracy is everywhere in Vietnam.
Conclusion
Thanks to all the pirates around the world, I can install anything without spending any money. In fact, I play Minecraft and use TLauncher to play for free. Now, I’m not promoting TLauncher, so don’t tell me “that’s illegal” or something. In fact, Mojang knows but doesn’t give a crap about TLauncher.
I’m also planning on releasing a bundle that has these programs. When it’s released, I hope it will be useful. But remember: this bundle is for personal use and cannot be used and/or distributed for profit.