[Vigilante]

So I'm getting my i760 next week and it will be my very first experience with a PDA and Windows Mobile.
I saw VZGuy's little guide but had a couple additional questions.

Most places I read say you should hard reset the phone pretty much right away and "start clean". VZGuy shows how to hard reset but doesn't say how to deny loading any additional OEM software "crapware" ect... Another forum has them restarting the device at a certain point in the reload process to prevent extras from loading. Another person found a way to prevent them from loading, but still be "able" to load them via OEM cabs. And loading via CABS puts the software in the add/remove list whereas if they are autoloaded they do not go in the add/remove list.

So how do I reload this thing with the cleanest load possible?

Second, I know there are programs spread all over the forums, but could somebody give links to like the top most important 3rd party apps to load on PPC? Just those few that you can't live without? Maybe it's a theme or browser or registry editor, file browser. I dunno, but what are the must-have apps to load on there? Favorite games?

After a clean install and some basic apps, is there a list anywhere for must-have reg tweaks and hacks to speed it up and save battery?
I want it to be as clean and fast as possible.

As I try these hacks and reloads and stuff, is there a proggy that can benchmark PPC so I can have before/after benchmarks? Just wondering. Or how should I benchmark it?

Lastly, since I am in my 30 day period and also my warranty period, is there a standard "check list" of stuff I should go over to make sure every aspect of the phone is working? I remember somebody saying they couldn't receive SMS for example and had to hard reset to fix it. So has anybody put together an actual list of stuff to check out of the box to make sure everything is a-OK?


Thanks alot!