This week my mailbox contained questions about transferring software between computers, switching from Netscape to Internet Explorer, and follow-ups to a question from last week.

I would like to add some of my old software to my new Windows 98 computer but don't know how. The programs are Lotus Smart Suite 97, and WordPerfect 6.1. These were on my old Windows 95 computer. Is there any way I caninstall these two programs on the new machine?

It's difficult to transfer complex applications like those by just copying files. Your first option is to dig up your old CDs and perform a fresh installation on the new PC (you DO have those original CDs, don't you?). Of course, this will deprive you of all your hard-won preferences and settings, the customized options that make these programs work for you. A better option might be to buy a $50 program called AlohaBob's PC Relocator, which will transfer programs like these, along with preferences and settings and all your files, whole hog, over a cable. This program, which can be found at www.alohabob.com, is pretty effective, but has one big limitation: You can't customize the transfers it performs. It moves everything - lock, stock and barrel.

I'm ready to change to Internet Explorer after many years of using Netscape. Are there any big problems in doing so? Can I import my address book, current e-mails in folders and favorite bookmarks? And I don't quite understand MS Outlook. Is this a necessary install with IE? Can I still use my Palm software for my addresses?

Nothing in computing can be considered problem-free, but this type of switchover usually works quite smoothly, in my experience. The installation program has a built-in feature that will import your Netscape bookmarks, address book and e-mails. The latter will actually be imported into Internet Explorer's companion e-mail program, Outlook Express, an excellent piece of software that shouldn't be confused with Outlook. Outlook Express is lean, quick and free. Outlook, which is huge and complex and costly, isn't a part of Internet Explorer, but is a part of Microsoft Office. You don't need Outlook, you only need the free Internet Explorer/Outlook Express package. And, yes, you can continue to use your Palm.

Follow-up: Last week, I printed a question from a reader wondering how to remove the obnoxious plugs for EarthLink and other Internet services that appear in the title bar of the versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer that these services supply to members. I asked readers for suggestions, and received dozens. However, most of these proposed tinkering with the Windows Registry, a complex and sensitive area of Windows that I don't advise non-techies to touch, lest they inadvertently wreck some other aspect of Windows in the process.

Two other suggestions make more sense. One is to replace the special versions of Internet Explorer supplied by the Internet services with a "pure" version from Microsoft. You can download this from the Internet. Another is to use a free utility program called "Internet Explorer Personalizer." It's available at http://accesscodes.hypermart.net. I tested it and it works, unlike some others I'd tried before. You can't totally eliminate the title bar message, but you can change it from some wordy phrase touting your service to something short and sweet, like your initials. That same Website offers a free companion utility that does the same thing for the Outlook Express e-mail program. It's called "Outlook Express 5.0 Tweak'r."