So easy today; hard for old-timers

I began with machine code 50 years ago - that I understood but as things have been made simple they've become hard for old-timers. I know hat I want to do and coukd provide code if I had to, but can't get hold of the tools and circumstances to get them done.

1)
Going from Windows 98 to Windows XP and I can't get going. How do I bring ZIP files from a previous computer, or download by internet, and then open and install (and run) them? I no longer seem to have direct access to the tools with which I need to work. How do I download IPlay files and install as I did in Win98 environment?

2)
I have gotten some documents to transfer but they will not open, I understand they may not be Word files but .doc, .wri and other Window98 extentions are no longer recognized.

Thanks.

 

1 - XP should be able to extract from a ZIP file natively. It calls them 'compressed folders' or something. You should be able to download files exactly the same as under 98 (either with Internet Explorer or your browser of choice). If you're missing tools, you may be used to programs installed on your previous machine that are not on the new one. Transferring any kind of files is simplest if you have a home network, but can be acomplished in a more roundabout manner either by emailing them to yourself as attachments, or by using a free web host as an intermediary.

2 - .doc and .wri are probably registered by software on your 98 machine that is not installed on your XP machine. .doc is generally a Word document (though there are other word processing packages with completely different formats that use the same extensions). Just make sure that all of the software you're used to on the 98 machine is installed on the new one (hopefully you still have all of your installation media).