By and large, the motto is "Suck it and see".
The software on this CD is provided in the form of compressed archive files (see the data compression FAQ for more information about compression). Essentially, a set of files are put together into a single file which is then compressed to about half its original size. This is done by replacing common sequences of bytes by a coded value (for example, you could compress English text quite effectively by replacing common sequences like "the" or "ing" or "tion" by single characters).
The two compressed file formats used on this CD are ZIP and EXE files. A ZIP file requires an "unzipper" utility to expand the compressed contents of the ZIP file back into the original set of files; an EXE file is basically the same, except that the "unzipper" code has been included in the file so that you don't need a separate utility to uncompress it, you just execute it like any other program and it extracts the files it contains all by itself. Files like this are known as "self-extracting archives".
A selection of compression tools is included on this CD, so you can install software on your system to handle compressed files directly.
I've tried to make installing software from this CD as painless as possible, but it's still worth explaining how it works. The preinstalled version of Netscape Navigator on this CD has been set up so that whenever you click on a link to a ZIP or EXE file (the two formats used for the software packages on this CD), a helper application is launched to install the software for you. This provides you with three choices:
When you install a ZIP file, you will be asked to choose a directory to install the software in. The installer will suggest a directory in the root of your C: drive with the same name as the archive file (e.g. for a file called XYZ.ZIP, it will suggest C:\XYZ as the installation directory). If the directory doesn't exist, it will automatically be created. You can always pick a different drive or directory if you want; in most cases it's a good idea to use a separate directory for each package to make it easier to delete everything later if you need to, but sometimes you will need to use an existing directory (the description of the file on the CD will tell you about this when it's necessary).
ZIP files will normally require some extra manual installation. This typically means updating your C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT file (and sometimes your C:\CONFIG.SYS file as well). There will usually be a file called README.TXT or similar which contains instructions for completing the installation process.
To make your life easier, if the ZIP file contains a file called SETUP.EXE, you will be asked if you want to run it there and then. SETUP.EXE is the conventional name for an installation program, which in the case of a Windows program will do things like creating program groups, updating the registry or copying files to your Windows directory. Sometimes this will involve yet more uncompression, and you'll end up having to choose yet another installation directory. If this happens, you can delete the directory where SETUP.EXE and its related files were originally installed after the installation is complete.
EXE files will often perform a complete installation for you, allowing you to select the directory where you want the software to be installed, creating Windows program manager groups or updating the registry as necessary, but sometimes they are just ZIP files repackaged as self-extracting archives.
If you have an Internet connection and you click on a link to a ZIP or EXE file at a remote site, the same helper application will be launched to process it. It's a good idea to save a copy of the file if you do this so that you've got it to reinstall it later if you need to. You can install it at the same time if you want (see above for details). If you just want to save the file, another way to do it is to click the right mouse button on the link to the file and select "Save Link As..." from the pull-down menu that appears.