help help

hi this is my first post . i am a complete novice to computing, i would like some help --- as i have bought two acer- aoa 150 - ab models ,for my twin grandaughers , do you have to install any operating systems or does it come pre installed and if pre installed what is installed in this model-- they are xmas presents and need to be fully set up and running on xmas morning thanks.

 

They come with Windows Xp home edition.
BEFORE you give them to your twins..
1. Finish the installation -> choose usernames, localization stuff etc (easy job)
2. Activate the firewall and virus protection
3. Configure the needed information for internet connection, in case your wlan/lan has some password etc
4. Update the Windows AND firewall & virus protection

Ofc you might want to replace that 60day security suite version with some free alternative...(remember to uninstall it in case you replace it)
ZoneAlarm as firewall (open the internet browser, messenger etc and give them permission to use the internet connection)
AVG as virus protection
Firefox or Chrome for web browsing, way safer than Internet Explorer

 

thank you for this help, this has solved my problem and i now know what is needed, to get them up and running-- thanks again

 

I may be wrong, but I thought the 'ab' models were all Linux based?

 

Not to bash the linux version by any means but if they are gifts for two young grand daughters, you may want to make sure they are the Windows XP versions as I am sure they have more familiarity with Windows based OS.

Linux is great but not necessarily for the beginner. How old are your grand daughters?

 

Actually, Linux is absolutely fine for the beginner - if they are not beginners but have used Windows a lot, though, they would need to re-learn some stuff.

My kids (aged 10 to 18) are system-agnostic: they use Linux as standard but can do Windows on school machines. They just have to remember to export stuff from the Linux end into something Microsoft applications can cope with if they are doing school work at home, since the school hasn't yet installed OpenOffice.

 

Actually, Linux is absolutely fine for the beginner - if they are not beginners but have used Windows a lot, though, they would need to re-learn some stuff.

My kids (aged 10 to 24) are system-agnostic - they use Linux or Windows as necessary, though all but one prefer Linux. The two youngest started with Linux, and use Linux as standard at home but can do Windows on school machines; the 15 year old is now on about trying to install OSX on his laptop alongside Debian, having played with a Mac and liked it!

They just have to remember to export stuff from the Linux end into something Microsoft applications can cope with if they are doing school work at home, since the school hasn't yet installed OpenOffice.

 

And I'd suggest the exact opposite! Why would you want to give young people an "operating system" that is so open to trojans, spyware, viruses, etc.? Young people can familiarize themselves with new things pretty quickly. Putting an insecure system like XP and an OLD o/s to boot on any computer and then piling on anti-virus software to try and protect it, when that is simply impossible, isn't what I'd recommend for anyone.

Cheers.