Rating: 
Summary: Windows XP Professional Edition is Unbeatable
Review: The new operating system released on October 25, 2001 is a total change for Microsoft. This operating system handles most of the Windows 95, 98, ME compatibility and the superior stability of Windows NT, 2000. (AND THERE IS NO DOS!) Finally, Microsoft has a stable product that still increases performance and gets the job done without crashing. If you did not like Windows Millenium Edition or even if you do like Windows ME, get Windows XP! It is worth the upgrade! I promise!
Rating:
Summary: Easy to upgrade, easy to use, compatible, stable and robust
Review: DOS is finally dead. How many years did it take??! But, the wait was worth it for us Win 3.1, Win 95/98/Me users. The upgrade process was easy. You can either do a direct upgrade, or you can install XP fresh from the beginning. I chose the latter. I told XP to convert the FAT32 drive to NTFS and XP did everything else. I actually like the drivers that came with XP better than my own drivers for various devices. Basically, they took the best of compatibility from 98/Me, the best interface features from Mac OS, and the stability of NT/Win2000 and packed them into one package. The result is a very capable, usable and stable OS. After using Mac OS, Solaris, Win3.1/95/98/Me and NT extensively, XP is easily one of the best (if not THE best) OS's I've had the pleasure of using. I think Microsoft nailed this one on the head! If you have an XP capable machine, go buy this upgrade now! :)My rig: Pentium 3/450, 387MB RAM, GeForce2 GTS 32MB .. runs great!
Rating:
Summary: Great Upgrade!
Review: I read before I purchased the upgrade that it would make my computer run up to 40% faster....well, I think it is running 45% faster! This is great software! Overall I am very happy with my purchase! Improved graphics, easier for my wife and I to switch user setting, all around greatness! I would recommend this to everyone! Good job Microsoft!
Rating: 
Summary: The lines have merged; yet chaos prevails.
Review: I upgraded from Windows 2000 Professional because I have a stack of Win95/98 software worth over $200 (mostly for the kids) and had heard that XP was the actual realization of the promise to blend the 95/98/Me line with NT. I give XP 4 stars for coming through on this promise. All but one CD I had that was labelled Win95, 98, or Me was installable / runnable on XP (and most of the stack would definitely not run on Win2K). The one exception was a Jeopardy CD labelled Win95/98 which, for all I know, is a piece of junk anyway. What I don't like about the install process, though, and the reason I only give XP three stars overall, is that you never know ahead of time if you need to be Admin. Try to install something as a non-Admin...XP seems to install it...it doesn't run quite right...reinstall as Admin...the software runs. Bottom line: always install as Admin. But Microsoft's XP documentation says "most software" can be installed as non-Admin. Which software are they talking about? There was zero feedback during an install of Win95/98/Me stuff to give non-Admins any kind of warm fuzzy. Other details: 1. Upgrade process was fairly clean...I backed up all my data but didn't need to. XP blew away some drivers for my CD-RW so I'll have to do some research there (at least XP warned me it would blow them away). The whole process took less than an hour. 2. I'm running from a dual boot Red Hat Linux 7.0 (using LILO); there were no conflicts there (using FAT32). 3. I had heard people say how much faster XP is to boot and switch users. Simply not so. I'd say XP is comparable to Win2K, if not a little slower. 4. I was able to hook up a digital camera fairly easily, but XP does some weird things when I switch USB cables around (not unlike Win2K). Whenever I connect the camera by removing the USB cable for the scanner (without touching the printer's USB cable), XP "discovers" my printer and tries to reinstall drivers for it. Go figure. Yet the printer still works fine if I ignore the message, so I guess I shouldn't complain. Plug and play it never was, and still isn't. (I think the digital camera software is supposed to start automatically on connection of USB cable to camera...this succeeds on occasion, but mostly I have to launch camera software myself.) 5. There's alot of talk about how the UI's been totally redesigned. Not so. It's been dressed up with alot of stuff. The colors have been changed so that people who have never used windows (are there any?) will have an easier time learning it. If they had wanted to solve a real problem...how about this one: I can have my own custom settings for nearly everything now, in detail so annoyingly painful that I'd never be able to set up two XP boxes the same way. But all I really want to do is have the blasted system remember that my login ID is associated to a 1600x1200 pixel screen in true color, and my kids get VGA. But NO! Just like in previous revs of Windows, Display settings are global, global, global. Doesn't anyone at Microsoft get upset with this? Doesn't it annoy anyone else to have the order of their desktop icons trashed every time some other user switches to low res? 6. On a happier note...when you fork over your $200 for an upgrade...there's a $25 rebate inside the box if you upgrade from Windows 2000 Professional. Just purchase your XP upgrade before Feb 28, 2002 (mail in before March 31).
Rating: 
Summary: Unmitigated Disaster
Review: This operating system refuses to install on my newly built system, with all brand-new components (1.8 GHz Pentium 4, Intel D850MV motherboard, 512 MB RAM, Western Digital HDD, Asus GEForce3 video card). If I don't press the keys fast enough during the setup program, it will freeze. However, even if I do get it to start the install, it invariably freezes during the transfer of files from the CD to the hard-drive. Windows 98 installs without a hitch, so I know my hardware is OK. Stay away from this one until they come out with a "Second Edition".
Rating:
Summary: Worth the Price
Review: This is the best version of the Windows operating system I have ever used. The upgrade process was painless, and it instantly recognized all the hardware on my computer. I like the new interface. Once I got used to new menus and icons, I had no trouble at all. I read that Windows XP was faster than 98 or ME, but I didn't believe it. Now I know better. My computer actually runs FASTER with this operating system, and I feel like I have a new one. It's stable, too, and it has been running without a hitch. If your computer meets the hardware requirements for XP, I definitely recommend it. I know we've all been jaded by the undelivered promises of Win 95 and 98, but THIS one is the real deal.
Rating:
Summary: 30 days and counting
Review: OK. XP would get four stars from me, if it weren't for the Activation Code issue. I didn't think Product Activation was bad until I read the fine print. I get 30 days. That's for the life of the product. If you use 20 days at the start, and in six months you add some hardware, you now only have ten days left (The clock does not restart). Once the 30 days is used XP is disabled every time three things are changed on the computer. Extra RAM and a new processor (counts as two) and I need a new code. I don't think this is going to help the piracy issue, but it looks like it will be a big pain for the rest of us. Stick with Win98 or ME.
Rating:
Summary: The First MUST Upgrade since Windows 95
Review: I may be going out on a limb here, but Windows XP is the most important upgrade to the Windows operating system since Windows 95. In addition to a new look, it offers stability, ease of use and more Internet integration than ever before. Installation was easy. You can either upgrade your existing Windows or do a clean install. I recommend a clean install so be sure to back up your important data (e-mail, accounting programs, etc.) You can boot from the CD and it will pretty much to the rest. Installation takes about 30-60 minutes but it was VERY easy. XP really knows what plug and play means. ALL, and I mean ALL of my peripherals were found and configured automatically. Once installed, you will be prompted to activate. This was an easy and fast process. The next thing it will do is set up your Internet access. Once this is done, you are now ready to go. You will notice right away that the interface is different and very colorful. It may take a little while to get used to but once you do, you will like it. You also have an option of a "classic" Windows 9x view. Windows XP makes a lot of functions very easy. First of all, depending on your BIOS and motherboard, you can tell Windows just what to do when you press your power button. It also has built in CD burning capability, however, to delete a file from a CD-RW, you must erase the CD and then put back the files you want. A little inconvenient but a lot more stable than DirectCD. It is VERY easy to set up individual users. You can set up a personalized account for each member of the family. Also, when installing many programs, it will detect XP and ask if you want certain people to access the program. This is very nice and secure. And with Internet Explorer 6.0, you can now choose the level of cookie protection. You will be amazed on how many third party "usage tracking" cookies that are placed on your PC. Backward compatibly is very good to excellent with XP. XP ran all of my older windows based programs and MOST of my DOS games. A newer Windows game didn't work correctly but all it took was to make it run in Windows98/ME compatibility mode and it fixed it. A few DOS games worked about 80% and some not at all. I am sure that "DOS EMULATORS" will be available for purchase in the near future. Windows XP seemed designed for Internet integration. Just about every major function in XP has a tie to the Internet. And because of this, Microsoft has included a built in Firewall. It is good, but I would recommend Norton Internet Security 2002. For those of you who are worried about compatibility, Windows XP makes it pretty easy to set up a dual boot. All you need is a partition created before installing. After that, Windows does the rest. For those who want security, go with Windows XP Professional. Everyone else can get by with Windows XP Home. If you have a previous copy of Windows, get the UPGRADE version. It will search for a previous install or ask you for the original Windows 9.x/2000 disk to verify. There is a lot more I can say about Windows XP but you just need to see it for yourself. If you want stability, awesome Internet integration and overall easy of use, you must get this upgrade.
Rating:
Summary: Too Much hassle
Review: Microsoft Windows XP doesn't offer a significant increase in value over it's predecessors. It is somewhat more stable, yes, but the trouble you will have to go to to "upgrade" is not worth it. The need for above-average computing power means that only people with relatively new machines (no more an about a year and a half old) will be able to really use it. As well, the fact that you need to re-register with microsoft every time you make a little change in your hardware configuration is a rediculous problem. All in all, unless you have a new machine, have the time to waste going through Microsoft's upgrade procedure, and enjoy having to jump through hoops to let Microsoft know when you change your computer's hardware configuration, avoid this "new" operating system.
Rating:
Summary: Forced to purchase
Review: Our company purchased a new HP laptop that came with XP Home edition. We really wanted Win 98 but it only came with XP Home edition. We now find out that you can only connect to a domain with XP Pro. We are now forced to buy XP Pro. This is a rip-off win95, win98 and me all had this feature Microsoft took it out of XP Home to force business users to purchase Pro. Microsoft is hurting our business!
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