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Summary: I love XP!
Review: My fiance and mom both aren't comfortable with Windows XP and I've heard tons of horror stories about bugs and incompatibility. But from the day I opened XP I was hooked! A much more attractive look and a very user-friedly interface.
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Summary: Microsoft's First Stable Home OS
Review: Most people who have used Microsoft operating systems at home (and that's most of us) are going to be familiar with their 9x line of OS's- Windows 95, 98, and Millenium Edition (ME). While each has boasted new features, none has really improved on stability. ME is nearly as crash-prone as 95.Windows XP solves this problem. Microsoft has long had a parallel line of operating systems for the office, the NT line, consisting of Windows NT and Windows 2000. For the office, Microsoft judged that stability was more important than bells and whistles- thus, the NT line didn't blue screen (as much), but didn't support a lot of the features that home users want. With XP, the two lines have been merged (mostly), and the best of both worlds appear in this OS. It is extremely stable, but still has all of the features that home users want, as well as introducing new ones. In fact, for a lot of new games and to take advantage of new hardware, it will be necessary to have XP. Installation is fairly easy, as most every driver you'll need comes preloaded. This really cuts down on the amount of setup you'll need to do. The biggest issue will probably be compatability, both in terms of hardware and software. You may have to upgrade older hardware. Luckily, XP will tell you this before installation. Microsoft has a compatibility checker on their website which will allow you to check if your software will run on XP. Using this is highly recommended- there's nothing worse than upgrading and finding out your favorite piece of software no longer works. All in all, XP is the operating system we've all been waiting for- fast and stable without cutting features.
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Summary: DON"T GET RIPPED OFF
Review: Windows XP PRO. Does everything it brags about, but it's what it didn't metion that really [ticked] me off. I bought this product, installed it, and it works great, so I decided to install it on my second machine. This is what makes this product [a rip off]. To install it on a second machine you have to purchase an additional license which costs you the same ammount of money as buying the product a second time. What is Microsoft trying to accomplish by ripping people off?! They believe that by making it restricted by activation they can force people to give them more money. Well screw them, all they did was make me and the average user really [ticked] off! O yeah, they also gave hackers a reason to pirate this software.
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Summary: Get this now! Never freezes! Best OS right now!!!
Review: I have used all versions of Windows except Windows 3.1 and this is the best OS ever. It can convert your hard drive's file system to NTFS which makes it never freezing again. Oh and for all Windows users who use older versions, you know the blue screen of death right and the illegal operation lecture mostly common in Windows 98, well that's history. Some programs are not compatible with Windows XP but that's ok because it includes a program compatibilaty wizard which lets you pick what OS the softwareb you are gonna install or use is for which insures SMOOTH operation. I should know because I also have Windows XP Media Center Edition which also never freezes. Convert to Windows XP now! Although you install Windows Xp, your accesories like printers will require you to download additional drivers but Windows XP has a lot of drivers already embedded in although the software is not embedded. Please trust me on this and get it. Don't get Linux, it's cheap but I tried it and it doesn't work well at all, I have no time to explain, just please trust me. Windows XP also has a built in firewall and networking is the easiest like for my network, I just plugged in an ethernet cable and it was done for connecting to my cable modem, no screen pops up,m it was just done. It never freezes but there will be temporary crashes up to 10 seconds which I heard which never happened to me and everything will be up and running again.
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Summary: too much time to train it to what you want
Review: I admit it... I was happy with Windows 98 but then someone stole our computer. The replacement came with Windows XP motto "we think you want things this way, so don't try to do what you want, we know best". If you're a newby you might be happy with this approach, but XP has sucked up hours of time trying to be whipped into line so that it does what I want, in the way that I want it. For example:
- it's incompatible with ZoneAlarm firewall. Every time Windows updates, Outlook Express permissions on ZoneAlarm have to be reconfigured or you don't get email. 98 didn't have this problem.
- useful programs that I use on my Start Menu disappear if I don't use them. So items used (say) monthly have to be hunted down, requiring more mouse clicks. This is an irritating functionality.
- the Help function is crippled by comparison to 98, unless you are willing to go onto the internet. With phone-line dial-in, this is irritating.
- there is little guidance on setting up Identities for a new user of identities, and some programs will register and operate under some identities but not under others (unless you buy two copies of the program). This means more mouse clicks, or duplicate configuration.
- it assumes you want all of microsoft's products to operate for you. In truth I want Word and Excel to never ever go on the internet, and I never want HTML or Word files to be my basic email mode.
- it assumes that only Windows Media Player is the soundware of choice.
- it takes a long time to close down, to the point where you assume it has failed to shut down. Advice: don't CTRL ALT DEL. Just wait even longer. Those are the negatives. In sum, XP behaves like a giant bundled amorphous mass, and trying to configure to prevent certain chunks from behaving in an aggressive fashion will take you much time and effort. However it is relatively stable compared with Windows 98, and most of the configuration can be achieved in time. On these grounds, and given that 98 is no longer supported, it can be recommended. Martin
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Summary: Frequent Errors...
Review: I am quite dissatisfied with this product. Initially the good looks of this product and faster startup that had recieved much accolade from other users seemed appealing to me, but many reveiwers had omitted the frequent incompatibility errors. I am giving this product three stars for its good looks, considerably faster startup/shutdown, and the usual smoothness when running programs. However, many programs that I had taken for granted are not compatible with XP. It took me three hours to find and install the special XP setup for my DSL internet connection. The Windows folder alone takes up 1.5 GB, and with all of my programs, I am left with just 4 GB of space on my 9 GB computer. I used to receive errors and popups by simply doing things like changing a filename or opening a folder, and opening a few programs can cause the computer to freeze. In conclusion, the time gained by starting this computer quickly is lost once again when I simply try to do something like start a program. Even good looks cannot mask the problems of this operating system. Patience is a must.
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Summary: Windows XP Upgrade
Review: I installed the Windows XP upgrade a week ago on my Win98SE machine. Other than having to get new drivers and software for my devices (not much of a problem though with a cable modem), the installation went flawlessly. In fact, it nearly installs itself (only a bare minimum of user intervention). I followed the instructions on the CD which included analyzing my system for compatibility issues and I deleted/uninstalled anything I didn't need or that wasn't compatible with WinXP. My machine is working perfectly. Much better than it was with Win98SE. The upgrade solved the memory leak problem that used to have my machine seizing up every time I used it (also any time it sat idle...well...actually ALL the time). It runs much faster and definitely more reliably. I recommend this upgrade wholeheartedly. For your info, my machine is an 800mhz Dell. 256 mb RAM that started with the memory leak problem about a year ago when I got cable access. WinXP fixed my problems.
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Summary: Very pleased with this version
Review: Windows XP is a great improvement over older versions. The activation feature is not the hassle I feared it to be. Highly recommend this product for any new PC.
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Summary: product activation annoyance
Review: there's the annoyance... apart from that a good OS...never crashes, rarely gets unstable. New media player doesn't like MP3's downloaded from the web (a piracy measure it seems)... Okay for home use...absolutely useless in a workplace. Suggestion: buy XP pro if you must have windows... Or download Mandrake LINUX...:) for free...
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Summary: I love this!!
Review: Very easy to use!! It also has great features, and has a very modern look.
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