OEMs vs. CABs

[gbm85]

OEMs were big deals in the day of the Apache because storage memory was very limited. Having large programs in ROM, such as the .NET Compact Framework, was a great way to save space.

In the day of the Titan, they are more designed to let you have things the way you want right after a hard reset so you don't have to install anything yourself.

OEMs are not technically uninstallable, but there is no reason to reflash just to upgrade a program in ROM. When you install the newer version via CAB, the only thing left of the old version are the files and the shortcuts. The OEM's registry entries will be overwritten with the new ones. The files aren't taking up any of your storage memory, and the shortcuts can easily be deleted.

It's all a matter of preference whether you use an OEM or a CAB. There is no performance difference and the impact on storage memory is almost moot since we have so much of it.