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I'll use the same name for both products here because they are very similar.

First some terms:

Computers are, well, you know what computers are.  And you know that you can type to them but you can't talk to them, they can say things but they can't check to see if you understood, etc.  They have their own behaviors.

Windows is your operating system.  It coordinates the computer with programs (like word processors and Internet browsers).  It is not really a program itself; it doesn't really do much from the user's perspective.  Windows has its own behaviors, on top of the computer's behaviors.

Programs (or applications) that run in Windows include Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer, and the America Online software that connects your computer to AOL.  Programs are what you use to do what you want to do.  And programs have their own behaviors, on top of Windows behaviors, on top of computer behaviors.

So when you're using a program, you're really doing computer stuff, Windows stuff, and the program's stuff - 3 things at the same time.  And that's before you've opened a single file!

Trouble spots

Window controls. Here's one way to understand the main window controls in the upper right of every Windows 95/98 program: The first two buttons- minimize and maximize - toggle between two states.

Minimize

State 1 (default) - Your program window is open and visible - the normal state.  Clicking the minimize button creates State 2.

State 2 - Your program window is not visible.  The program is not closed, however - an icon for it appears in the task bar at the bottom of the screen.  Clicking that icon creates State 1.

If your program seems to disappear, look at the taskbar at the bottom of the screen. Click on any program icons to view them.

Maximize

State 1 (default) - For most programs (although this varies), the default state is full-screen - the program window fills the screen from corner to corner. Click the maximize button creates State 2.

State 2 - The program window shrinks to something less than full-screen.

Check the size of your program window - new users often leave it small by accident.  If the window does not fill the screen, click the Maximize button.

Close

New users seem to understand Close well - click it and your program ends.