How to get rid of elephantware on your computer

List of elephantware applications

• Windows Vista - we'll start with the biggest one. I'm not a fan of Windows Vista at all. There is a lot of fluff in this operating system that just wastes CPU cycles and makes your new computer crawl. Now, please note that I'm not bashing Microsoft here - I'm not going to say that you should run out and install Linux (though that's an option). Just stick with Windows XP for now.
  
  Microsoft is almost ready to release Service Pack 3 for Windows XP (sign that they're still actively supporting and developing code for it) and they're still allowing computer vendors to sell new computers with Windows XP installed. Why pay $$$ extra for hardware to allow Windows Vista to run ok when you can get a cheaper machine with the same performance using Windows XP?
• Sample applications installed with brand-new computers - if you recently purchased a new computer then odds are that it's filled with various applications that you probably have no use for ... they're just installed by default by the computer manufacturer. Ideally, you should just wipe out the whole thing, install only the operating system and then add applications that you actually know what they're for.
• Acrobat Reader - here's an application installed on probably every computer out there and it has one simple purpose: to allow you to read PDF files. I have no idea what else it's doing when it's loading but it seems to bring everything to a halt when it starts up ... oh, yes, now I know ... it's loaded with code to do DRM (digital rights management) to make sure you don't read some PDF you're not supposed to.
  
  Just do yourself a favor: toss this one out and install FoxIt Reader - it's small, it's fast and it reads PDF files just as well as its big, slow brother.
• iTunes - this is probably the application of choice if you have an iPod and need to synch it to your machine. I'm not too sure what its replacement would be for iPod users - I'm not one of them.
  
  But, if you don't have an iPod, then you probably can do better as far as finding an application to play your media with. Give SongBird a try - it's powered by Mozilla, the same engine behind the trusty Firefox.
• Internet Explorer - yet another application that's on virtually every single Windows machine out there. Sure, the latest version, IE 7, is better than the previous ones but it's still a sad excuse for a browser.
  
  If you've never experienced Firefox then go ahead, download it, and start using it. You'll be amazed on how much more productive you can be online with a good browser. And yes...once you install Firefox be sure to explore its vast library of add-ons (also known as extensions) - that's where the true power of Firefox comes through.
• Microsoft Office 2007 - here's another huge application loaded with who knows what number of 'features' that most humans will never need. Unless you really, really, really know that Office 2007 has something you need, don't go spending money on it - get OpenOffice instead. It's free and the documents it creates are compatible with Microsoft Office so you can share them with others who insist on using the Microsoft version.
• Windows Explorer - if you have Windows installed, then you're probably using Windows Explorer as the file manager for managing files on your drives. DON'T - there are better options there that give you more features and don't take down your whole PC when they lock up. Windows Explorer is so embedded into the operating system that it often locks up the whole machine when it's not happy about something.
  
  Here's one alternative that I use on a daily basis - FreeCommander - highly recommended.
• Norton AntiVirus - having an anti-virus application installed today is just a necessary thing ... can't get away without it really. But why pay money for Norton (aka Symantec) AntiVirus when you can get proper antivirus protection for free with a much leaner application?
  
  For example, try the free edition of AVG - I use it on many computers successfully and it never crashed or corrupted anything. I can't say the same about Symantec's product - it's one of the most hated applications out there. There are countless stories of users who had to completely reinstall everything to get out of the mess that Symantec created with its bad antivirus software.
• AOL Instant Messenger - many people still use this app, are stuck to only doing IM with other people on the AOL network and also subject themselves to tons of ads displayed by the app.
  
  If you're tired of this, then try Trillian. You can be on multiple IM networks at once, it's free and it's also ad-free.