Rating: 
Summary: Not 100% sold, yet!
Review: Let me begin by describing my computer set-up. Athlon 1.0 processor, 356 meg RAM, etc. I installed XP last evening on my computer, and have spent a lot of time since then downloading upgrades for my computer. Adaptec Easy CD Creator 4.0 does not run with XP. You can purchase AECC 5.0 for $(dollar amount), but even then you have to wait for the free download of 5.1 (not yet available) before you can use your burner. I use my burner daily and was not ready for such a delay. Other than that, this edition is fine. The visual package is pleasing, very user-friendly and more organized than ME or 98. Time will tell more for me, but I am not sure that the upgrade is worth it. Buy a machine designed especially designed for XP. Windows ME was fine for me, and you might find the same true for you.
Rating: 
Summary: WindowsXP(experience)
Review: I purchased WindowsXP. The UI is decent, the new changes are nice. But they seem more novice than for people already comfortable with a WindowsNT/Windows2000 based o/s. So I set them back to the default 'classic' styles. They just seem easier to navigate through, and easier to use, for myself. I had no problems installing hardware... infact, it knew what things like my Sony DCS85 Digital Camera were, etc. Therefore hardware compatibility is great. PPPoE included for broadband, which is great, with 2K one must find a copy of the protocol written by some... random person. The only issue I have with it, it opens software fast, which is good. But my Alias|wavefront Maya is clunky in XP. It's not just a little... but excessively. Therefore I suppose I'll be doing all my Maya work in Win2000. Which is kind of a drag, because that means I need to reboot everytime I want to use Maya. Every other application runs smoothly. I've no other issues with it. It's nice.
Rating:
Summary: Much better than 98 SE
Review: I upgraded to XP over 98 and there were definte pluses and minuses: Pluses - Fixed my printer issues, my reboot issues (it would NEVER reboot in 98, it would always hang at the standby screen). It has yet to crash on me. It will let you stay logged when switching users (i.e. you can run programs while another user uses the computer). Stable and much faster than 98 Second Edition Minuses - Had to reinstall a few programs (not many though, and the ones that I did were very easy to do). Did not recognize my 3com network card (I had to go find a new driver on the 3com website...the Win2k driver works on XP). My ATI multimedia center and DVD player won't work yet (ATI is working on XP-compatible drivers). Basically, if you have 95 (God forbid!), 98 or Windows ME, upgrade NOW. This is by far superior to any of those OS's (especially ME, the worst OS Microsoft has ever put out). If you have 2000, then it is a judgement call. If 2000 works fine for you, stay with that. If you have issues with gaming or graphics or anything like that, XP is the way to go. I am so far very happy with XP. Now if I can just get my webcam working again...
Rating: 
Summary: unfortunately, a very disappointing "upgrade."
Review: I've been a Windows user for nearly 6 years, and I have to say I'm very disappointed with WindowsXP. I had very high hopes, but after spending nearly two hours using the upgrade at a local Staples, I have to say all the rumors are true; this thing is a extremely cheap imitation of Mac OS X. It's so blatent, I'm surprised Apple hasn't sued yet. Let's start with the "Luna" interface: the window shadows, the anti-aliased text, the animations, the larger icons, the rounded window corners, almost every "new" aspect of the interface is a ripoff of Mac OS X's fancy interface. With their massive R&D budget, why can't Microsoft come up with their own ideas anymore?!?! Even the codename for the interface is a ripoff of "Aqua", Mac OS X's interface. Next, the personalized music, movies and pictures folders are all once again found in Mac OS X over a year earlier. Even cool features like movie making software, burning cd's from the desktop, and music players were integrated into Mac OS X long before Microsoft had any plans to do the same. I'm sorry say, but Microsoft is quite simply no longer an innovator.
Rating: 
Summary: Activation Scheme: Bad Move
Review: Like some of the other posters have said, I feel that this is a good OS ruined by a bad activation scheme. I live in a house with 5 computers. Myself and my sister (who each have a desktop and a laptop), and my folks who have a desktop. In order for us to upgrade to XP (legally), we'll have to buy 5 copies of Win XP. That's ridiculous. Cracks are already appearing to circumvent this activation scheme, and I think, ironically, that in its attempt to discourage piracy, Microsoft will usher in a new generation of pirates. I'm not talking about the hardcore guys who already do it....I'm talking about the casual user like my parents who will say "I'm not paying for each system's OS...how do I get around it." And *BOOM*....they find out how easy it is...and they never buy software again. Nice work, M$. Anyway, I will probably purchase a copy...but I will use it for all 5 of my systems...hence my rating...1 outta 5 ;)
Rating:
Summary: What a piece of junk!
Review: After installing it, I discovered that there are no compatible drivers for my printer and for my video card. So now I'm stuck with a computer running a brand new OS that only lets me view the screen in 640x480 and 16 colors. What a disaster!
Rating: 
Summary: The sinister cabal finally comes through.
Review: Imagine a Windows OS that looks good, is easier to use than all previous incarantions, isn't buggy, and doesn't crash every 10 minutes. So far, that's exactly what Windows XP is. I actually built my own computer for the first time a few months back. I bought some parts in Japan, and ordered some from the States. It's always worked "just enough" but with both Windows 98 and Windows ME, it had more than it's fair share of problems. Seeing as how it was a labor of love, I couldn't just shelf it, but the more apps I installed on the poor baby the worse it got. All that changed when I installed Windows XP. Let me get my one complaint out of the way. The whole issue of activating Windows from a server. Ok, so far this isn't to big a deal for me, but I do have another computer I plan on hooking up via LAN, so if the rumors of having to buy more than one copy is true, this could blossom into a real problem. I WILL not buy two copies of this. Shelling out a c-note is quite enough thank you. For purposes of installation however, it was quick and painless. Appearance: Stability is always the big issue for me, but all those purty colors don't hurt anything. The way everything is organized on the screen and the clean smooth interface make evrything less a chore. I particularly like the way the "start" menu looks and operates. Everything fades in and out instead of jumping all over the place. Stability: It's passing every test I throw at it without a problem. I was afraid to play certain older games, but so far, they're working fine. It completely cured a lot of stability issues I was having with Internet Explorer and Outlook. Stability is what they've been preaching, and it seems like they were justified (so far). Drivers: This was one of my big concerns. Since XP is more like 2000 than ME, I was afraid of having major hardware issues. So far I'm only having one problem: Creative Labs remote center, which comes with Platinum Live, doesn't seem to be working. Not a big deal to me since I rarely use it anyway. Everything else was up and running as soon as it booted. It had a large library of drivers on the disk and replaced a lot of my older ones on the install, including my old printer which no version of Windows has had since 95. My older drivers that weren't replaced seem fine. An added bonus: it healed all the issues I was having with my USB ports. Before installing XP, I could only have one USB device connected at a time. Now I have all three of them connected and they work just peachy. On-board Software: The on-board software and applications are a vast improvement. One small thing that my pass other people buy: it brought back the DOS prompt which can be important when you want to make boot disks for updating your BIOS and stuff. The little tools for optimizing performance are conveneient and easy, and I could tell a difference in speed after they ran (I had a lot of (...) displaced everywhere I guess). While the interface is slightly different from other versions of Windows, it takes virtually no time to learn, and the differenes are logical improvements over certain flawed designs that Microsoft seemed reluctant to get rid of. Third Party Software: Ok, a couple of my third party apps aren't working yet, but everyone I've checked assures me that patches on on their way. My PC-Cillin virus-scan isn't working. Neither is my Asus probe which monitors my motherboard, or my Creative Labs taskbar applet. I'm really not sweating any of these since I Usually turn them off to keep them from burning up my RAM while they run in the background. The virus-scan is the only one I'm really worried about but I haven't gone to great lenghts to investigate or install another virus scan. When I installed XP, it created a document showing all the known problems with software and how to fix them if possible. It's asimple thing, but it shows a level of support that Microsoft hasn't in the past. Overall Performance: A vast improvement over all previous incarnations of Windows, especially ME which was a big (...). The OS looks better, moves faster and operates smoother. As far as I'm concerned, most of the other issues belong to the third party hardware and software makers who weren't proactive with their drivers and patches. As for the activation thing: we'll wait and see. If I can't get Windows activated on my other Comp. I'll come back here, edit my review and curse Bill Gates name. I understand people's privacy issue's, but if you're willing to shop on-line with your credit-card number, you shouldn't find this too big a deal. Update Nov 4: I had an old Compaq before my current computer that I was never able to get working properly after I reformatted the hardrive. After months of working on it, I just gave up and built the computer that I own now. Compaq is notorious for this kind of thing. I installed XP and guess what? It works as good as new. Not a single problem. Amazing.
Rating:
Summary: Only Buy if you have 1 PC
Review: This is a great OS. It took me about 90 minutes to set up on my labtop but after that it was all smooth selling, it's so much better than my previous Window's ME version. Microsoft makes you buy a copy for every PC you have, so if your in a family that has 3 or 4 computer's for each member, mom and dad and kids and think you can just buy 1 copy and put it on all CPU's, think again my friend. It doesn't affect me personally but I sure wouldn't buy the same product 4 times for 4 different computers, that's just a ripoff. Aside from that I have no complaint's. It looks good too.
Rating:
Summary: Watch out! Buyer beware
Review: I had the "pleasure" of beta testing Windows XP this summer. Here is my advice. Try to look past the fancy packaging on this one people. Inside you will find microsoft's monopolizing techniques at there best as they try to grab for their last piece of the pie. Through Windows xp, microsoft makes an effort to make itself more of a middleman between everything you do, including financial processes on the internet via passport, and viewing of other peoples web pages via smart tags in internet explorer 6. Implemented .net technology is an attempt to take over Sun's Java and ruin yet another great company. If you are looking for an easy to use operating system with great compatability and good looks give Mac OS X a try(yes even you windows "gurus"). If AtheOS has come along, you may want to give that a try. If you want an operating system with some balls, try linux (slackware / debian). you will find great looking, easily configureable GUI's (which win xp is not) and guess whats more? ITS COMPLETELY FREE. If you must stay with windows (and cant use the wine emulator to run your progs) i suggest Windows 2000 pro. I was more pleased with this OS then anything microsoft has put out in a long time.
Rating:
Summary: looks like i'll be running 2000 for a lot longer
Review: after playing with XP, there are two things that really irk me.
1. the amount of ram this thing requires. are the extra bells and whistles really worth it? why does windows have to become an even bigger ram hog? 2. the code thing you have to get from MS. i fear this may be a big mess, especially for people who like to add and fiddle with their machines.
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