Need Help with Issues on Dell 8600 w/ XP

My new Dell Inspiron 8600 SXGA+ came pre-loaded with Windows XP, but there
are a few annoyances that I'm hoping you may have experienced and can help
me with:

1. Every time I hover over something with the mouse, it automatically starts
the program after a few seconds. It has caused screens to resize and moved
folders and such and I do not want this to happen.

2. Suddenly, a blue sidebar appears with a dialog box and explains my
options for the window that is open. It states that I can switch to
"category view". Other dialog boxes within this blue sidebar appear as well.
I do not need this feature and want to get rid of it.

3. My web browser shows very jagged fonts for large title heading areas of
the page and also suddenly is displaying font sizes in the body of the page
that are way too large. I'd like the body of the pages to be proportionate
with the rest of the pages and would like to resize this without affecting
the font style or sizes that apear in XP's windows.

4. The screen dims when I go to battery power. I don't care about conserving
power and want the screen to be as bright and clear as when I have a plug
in. Can this be done?

I admit, there must have been a setting in #2 & #3 that I may have changed,
but I'm new to the 8600 and XP, and can't determine what it was. Can you
help me?