will taking some programs off of the computer help?
Nope, not unless they are running programs.
since i dont use internet explorer for the internet is it ok to uninstall it or not?
Nope, I believe IE is needed to access windows update, I'm not sure if this is true but leave it until you find out for sure.
Having IE on your computer will not slow it down.
When the mumbo jumbo is finished you should look at your problem of speeding up & getting the best out of your computer again.
