Microsoft WINDOWS XP PROFESSIONAL ( E85-02666 )

Rating:
Summary: YUCK!
Review: Don't get it! very few games, programs, downloads and other installables will NOT work with XP. for what is already installed, it takes FOREVER to load even the simplest, lowest memory required programs. forget this dud and stay with 2000 or '98. having worked at microsoft in WA state several years ago, i discovered that new editions are LOADED with problems! their own people test it at work and find out the info i just wrote. the best updates ever made were win 98 and 2000.

if you have any doubts, go to the nearest computer sales company (e.g. circuit city, best buy, etc.) and try this clunker on THEIR computer before you ruin your own! ask if you can install a simple program to test this out! make sure it is a program that is over one year old.

Rating:
Summary: XP good - SP 2 bad
Review: I have always thought that XP was a genuine improvement over the older OS's. Based on Win2K architecture, it's pretty stable and tolerant of pretty much whatever you can do to it. However I have spent several months figuring out how to disable as much of Service Pack 2 as I can. The Google popup blocker is far better and more friendly than the MS one. SP2 hasn't broken any of my apps but I have seen it do so on others' machines. The anti spam and firewall features are a real intrusion and very difficult to turn off. They will interfere with e-mail and all sorts of things. I can do a better job of protection that MS. Other than those problems it's a good OS.

Rating:
Summary: You can get SP2 elsewhere too!
Review: I have been running Windows XP since 2001 and to tell you the honest truth it has been stable ever since. With the introduction of SP2 in this minor update of Windows XP, Microsoft has decided to make the product "secure", than it was thought to be in the beginning. But the past few years have been rough on Microsoft, with consistency in attacks on the product with such vulnerabilities as Trojans, buffer overflows, viruses and the most memorable of the all Blaster (August 2003).


Ever since its debut, Windows XP has been causing a lot of headaches and wreaking havoc on corporate networks because of its susceptibility vulnerabilities that were not fixed in its initial release or Service Pack 1. So Microsoft decided to go back to the drawing board and decided to rethink what Windows XP should mean in terms of Security. At first Service Pack 2 was thought out to only be a minor Service Pack update with usual bug fixes, but because of the aforementioned problems Microsoft took new direction and after 1 year of testing we have finally reached a conclusion.

SP2 is really apparent, based on my experience of installing the update, users displayed a welcome screen recommending Automatic Updates be turned on (and I would recommend too), after which the user is presented with the Security Center where you can configure the new and improved Firewall settings, such as which programs can access your PC. You also have the option of configuring your Anti-Virus program, unfortunately I have not been able to do so because my Anti-virus is not supported, although it seems (Norton Anti-virus Corporate Edition 7.6). Security Center is really the big change here and should have been implemented from beginning, but better late than never.

Other great features which I and many users are undoubtedly thankful for include the Pop-Blocker which should have been included in IE 6 from the beginning (better late than never), its not 100 % percent effective but does a decent job so far of blocking most annoying Pop-Ups. I wish the Windows Team allowed users to train it, so if a Pop does succeed, you can tell the pop-up blocker engine that was a pop-up window and you shouldn't let that pass the next time, maybe Microsoft will let it improve over time. Other great improvements to IE in SP2 is the ability approve programs, so drive by downloads have become a thing of the past, anything you decide to download or accidentally clicked on a webpage has to be approved.

Another wish is, better integration of the ActiveX controls with Microsoft's own technologies, I notice that when I had to do a Office Update, the ActiveX API engine on Microsoft's Office website had to be approved before I run the utility that checked for updates for Office products I needed.

Microsoft has also streamlined Windows Update to be more user-friendly, you the user have the option for a Express or Custom install, Express only installs the most critical updates, while Custom allows to install the entire kitchen sink, including stuff some users can do without on Windows, (go with Express). Windows XP SP2 includes minor enhancements such as Windows Media Player 9, but why didn't Microsoft just wait a little longer and included Windows Media Player 10, which is already out? The blue tooth update is also a needed update, it wasn't intuitive right out of the box, but is more user friendly, all this, you can get for free if you are existing XP owner.

Overall, if you haven't upgraded to Windows XP yet from older versions of Windows, this is the time, but if you are an existing Windows XP user, I say skip this and just order the SP2 CD or download it from the Windows XP Website. I highly recommend users running prior versions of XP especially 95, 98, 98 SE, NT 4 and ME, maybe 2000 also move to XP, since Microsoft is planning on porting any of technologies in XP to those older versions of Windows, plus it has some great new features and you will love the Security technologies that provide a better experience for you the user. Most of all, I highly recommend Windows XP users get this update!



Rating:
Summary: Windows XP professional, do you need it?
Review: If you're reading this. You want to upgrade, your old computer to Windows XP Professional Edition here are a few things to keep in mind.

First thing is, you can download service pack two for Windows update. So no need to buy it integrated with XP.

These are what I consider the minimum system requirements:

256 MB of RAM. I have found is adequate more equals better.
500 MHz or higher will do.
7200 rpm hard drive will help a lot.

If you're running Windows millennium edition, or 98 upgrade now the stability is vastly improved. Gone are the blue screens of death.

Frequently asked question: is Windows XP Pro better than home edition?

Windows XP Pro has a more high-end networking features that most home users will never miss or would even know were missing. So for most users Windows home edition is fine. They both are based on the same code and are almost identical.

If you're thinking of upgrading from Windows 2000, I did, because I like the GUI interface better. But Windows XP is as stable as Windows 2000. So it's your call.

The plug-and-play ability of Windows XP is totally great! Windows XP will by default find most drivers for video card sound cards, network cards, etc. that is such a bonus gone in the days of having to search for CDs with drivers.

I recommend upgrading to Windows XP be a professional or home edition. It is a great operating system

Have some fun and get it done

Rating:
Summary: XP Pro ... Not perfect, but better.
Review: Microsoft is now shipping XP Professional with the all-important Service Pack 2. Each time, the operating system gets just a bit better.

You'll still find some problems. Service Pack 2 introduced all sorts of bugs in Internet Explorer 6, causing the browser to have a wide variety of problems with websites that weren't there before SP2. But, many of the problems were actually security fixes that should have been taken care of a long time ago.

Overall, XP Pro is Microsoft's best operating system so far. Service Pack 2 is a step in the right direction for stability and security issues. Too bad Microsoft couldn't have found these fixes before releasing XP to begin with!!

Rating:
Summary: SP 2 works fine for me
Review: No idea why people are trashing SP2, since it introduces a lot of stability and security enhancements. In the latter dept. it's still not robust yet; you need a firewall (e.g., a router or ZoneAlarm software) and a free anti-virus program (AVG, from grisoft.com) to beef up your security. But in many other aspects SP2 fixes stability and security holes and it installed seamlessly on my PCs and has made things soemwhat better.

This XP Pro upgrade is for people who have XP Home installed. The added advantages of XP Pro include 1) the ability to encrypt files and folders at the OS level; 2) the ability to control read/write/access rights of individual files and folders; 3) enhanced networking support; 4) dual-processor support; 5) and more. I chose XP Pro over Home for the first two reasons, as I'm paranoid about people snooping on my PC when I take a shower or dump.

Rating:
Summary: If you value your PC--DON'T GET SP2!
Review: Windows XP SP2 is a headache especially if you are upgrading. Windows XP started out as pretty good and then the Microsoft Committees ruined it. People who have upgraded have had trouples with devices not working, Anti-Virus software not working correctly and guess what--IT STILL HAS SECURITY FLAWS! The IT world has had nothing nice to say about this crappy SP.