Tracking Speed is real important. Almost no one needs it set to slow unless they have fine motor control problems or they are doing very detailed graphics work. In - For recording from the microphone vs. the CD for example. There are some fun choices and some you can actually understand. Talking Alerts - This is a very good setting to make for beginners.
Alert messages can be verbal.
They can read the entire message or just draw your attention. You can change how long the compute waits until it reads the alert. You can even edit the attention getting text.