Rating: 
Summary: No Web Server included like in Windows 98
Review: I was very *very* disappointed to find out (after the purchase) that not only does it lack a web server (IIS or Personal Web Server) but you CAN'T install one. You are forced to pay EVEN MORE for the PRO upgrade. What a load of [dissapointment!] The 2 star rating would be a 4 or 5 if not for this fact alone....
Rating: 
Summary: Best Windows version yet...by a long run!!!
Review: I've used every version of Windows, but this one beats them all! Much more compatible with other peripherals than Windows 2000, and a nice look. Just about every software manufacturer is making their software compatible with XP, too. If you are looking to install this on more than one hard drive, you have to call Microsoft to get another Product ID number. That is the ONLY downfall. Otherwise, you will love this version. Once installed, just go to the Windows Update site and download all of the updates and fixes. You'll be glad you bought it after you start using it!
Rating:
Summary: A major improvement
Review: I've had very good results from XP so far. It's extremely stable, and the only times it's locked up were when I was really pushing the memory management hard (I only have 128 megs of RAM) and I was deliberately trying to crash it by overloading it. Even then, 9 times out of 10 it just slows down. At that point, I usually just start closing programs, and everything is fine again. The number of times it has crashed for seemingly no reason I can cound on the fingers of one hand, and I've been using it intensively for about 5 months now.My only complaint is that the Adaptec CD burner program (I think it's version 5 Platinum) that runs under XP hasn't been favorably reviewed here on Amazon. Most people reported lockups and other problems. That being the case, I set my system up as a dual-boot, maintaining my old Windows 98 install on another partition, with a brand-new install of XP, and I just imported all my other files and data to the new XP partition. That means I have to boot back into Windows 98 if I want to burn a CD. Since I don't do a lot of that, this is tolerable, but somebody who needed to burn lots of CD's might find it inconvenient. Importing my old files and settings was a little work but not too bad. There is an option which asks you if you want to do this and then it does it automatically (mostly) for you. Even then I had to do a little tweaking to get certain things working again, but it wasn't too bad. As I am a professional NT system administrator, I didn't find this too difficult, but the average person might more difficulty doing this. The average user is probably advised to do the upgrade rather than the new, full install. Another important gotcha is that, depending on how much special hardware (or older hardare) you have, you may find that your old drivers no longer work, and that you have to update some of your drivers, and some of those may or may not be available yet. I don't have any special hardware and my system is recent enough so XP recognized all of it, but one of my friends who is a system adminstrator ran into this problem. Oddly enough, he said it turns out some of the drivers did work anyway despite the warnings, but the installer program still gives you these dire warnings anyway, and so you probably won't know which stuff will work or not until you complete the upgrade. This makes it hard to decide whether to actually proceed or not, but you'll need to decide at that point whether it's worth actually doing the upgrade. On the positive side, one really important new feature I have to mention is that the file and directory management improvements are really great. I use these new features constantly. Now you don't have to pop up two different copies of File Explorer or spend a lot of time navigating around trying to copy and administer files and directories. I can't say enough good about this particular aspect of the program. I'm not much into multi-media, so I can't comment on that part, but I also find I like the menus, screen design, and overall GUI interface better than Windows 98 or Windows 2000. Overall, I've found XP to be a fast, reliable, stable OS with some very attractive new improvements, especially in the file and directory management area, and in the design of the overall GUI interface.
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed bag
Review: Upgraded from ME. Major problems encountered include clock setting at 15320 (instead of 2002)-outlook not letting you open certain hyperlinks(the kind for example in a newspaper which lets you link to an article-does let you connect with url's.) And the biggest problem is getting an HP 6300 Scanner to work. Nothing HP has lets the scanner connection survive past the first reboot. Tried all the tricks they sent, the XP software, and the patch put 5/30/2002 that is supposed to fix this problem. HP needs to get it together and fix this. Scanner still works on my other ME system. Finally, it does not seem to like to start other users and run DSL-only likes the first one put in. Other that that, I like-very smooth.
Rating: 
Summary: It actually works!....fairly well....doesn't crash.....much
Review: Unlike Windows "CRASH" Millenium, Windows XP PRO seems to work and contain the back end "stuff" you need to build sites, connect them to back end data sources, mess around with Perl and other web technologies. It is likely to render some of your hardware and software inoperable until you get new software and drivers. So far, the Canon Scanner doesn't work, Roxio's CD creator (as mentioned by another reviewer) requires an $80.00 upgrade to work, drivers for the Creative sound card had to be installed 3x, the latest version of WinAmp died for a while, and there may be more. After a couple days, it's only had one crash that the computer seemed to think was serious enough to contact Microsoft about. XP Home will work for the average surfer/graphics/HTML/Office user, but beyond that, Pro is necessary. So far, it does seem like a big leap in reliability and functionality from anything I've used in the past - 3.1, 95, 98, & ME. Though its too early to tell, the rating might need to go up a star or two if it doesn't start to implode after its been used for a while. The color scheme in the interface changed to what looks like some kind of kids playschool theme but the actual layout is very similar to previous versions and doens't take much getting used to. Just remember, THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "HOME" AND "PRO" in terms of functionality for those that work on the web and want to do anything that requires PWS or IIS.
Rating:
Summary: Watch Out!
Review: This is a GREAT version of windows, but make sure you read the EULA- you can only install this copy Windows on one copmputer unless you by an additional license, and Microsoft makes sure that you do with it's product activation program, which is mandatory.
Rating:
Summary: Better than Win ME
Review: For the average web surfer XP is a big step up from WinME. If you just wanna surf the net, use Office applications, and do basic things, XP is the only upgrade to consider from Win95 or Win98. XP Home (like Win ME) still lacks basic functionality if you want to do database to website connectivity that was present in 95 and 98. For that you have to go to XP Pro. You can work around it in XP Home, but shouldn't have to. Salespeople don't seem to know this, so tread carefully when buying an OS if you are looking for this functionality. An upgrade to XP may send you on a time consuming, frustrating, chase to upgrade your hardware drivers and software programs. You may find that you have to shell out $$$ just to keep the same programs working before and after the upgrade. I bought a system from Gateway, which came with an upgrade to XP. With the upgrade installed, the CD creator software that came with the machine doesn't work and an upgrade is almost $100.00. There are other things like a relatively new scanner that still does not work yet. The interface is different from previous versions, and makes you feel like you are in the middle of Super Mario Land. XP Home is more stable than previous versions, but it may require a bigger $$$ outlay for other things to keep it all working. Bottom line in this case was another $200.00 spent on XP PRO to get what I needed. Anyone want to play Monopoly?
Rating:
Summary: MicrosoftXP Home Edition
Review: This is a great OS!!! It does everything for you except cook dinner & walk the dog!!! On the down-side, there have been many serious security flaws(& other issues, such as cd-burning, comimg out of "hibernation", emergency power source problems, etc), which Microsoft has attempted to remedy by many "updates" & "patches". Also, for the digital photo fans, the fact that it cannot read compactflash cards above 16mg WITHOUT a card-reader(it will actually go to 29, but of course, they come in 8,16, 32,etc.),is in my opinion, a serious flaw. Microsoft should realize just how popular digital photography has become!!! I feel you shouldn't HAVE to purchase a card-reader, you should be able to directly dump photos from your camera..........other than these problems, XPHome Edition is a great OS, & really simplifies & speeds up your home-computing experience!!! Way better than anything I've previously used!!! It's nice to be able to fine-tune your system to your particular preferences, & the built-in drivers are a plus!!! All things considered, I'd give it a rating of "4"!!!
Rating:
Summary: Bad Performance
Review: When I first heard of Windows XP, I assumed it would be a memory hog, and I was right. Most of my software programs that I had installed before XP run unusually slow. I have to constantly restart my PC. XP has high graphic expectations also. About the only good things that come with XP are the new desktop themes, and some cool features. I would also not recommend this PC to all you gamers and big-time memory users out there.
Rating:
Summary: The best Windows yet. Really, really fast.
Review: A major improvement in Windows. System performance improved significantly, compared to WindowsNT4 and Windows2000 Professional. I installed this on my old Pentium II 233MHz machine(128M RAM 20G hard drive) -- even though it is below the recommended minimum configuration. Not only did it work fine but it is now practical (not just possible!) to run separate concurrent user accounts for various family members (who can also stay logged in at the same time that I am using it). This is the feature we use the most. There are *tons* of new improvements, and you just keep finding them. Some that spring to mind are:
- the optional automatic download of service packs to speed up updates
- much improved wizards for network connectivity, particularly for RAS connections.
- much improved recovery from installation of bad drivers and software (e.g. the flakey, uncertified Best Data WinModem driver!)
- prettier UI
- built in fire-wall (a must for all computer connected to the internet)
- built in defragmenter (this really needs a scheduler though and it does not defrag. very quickly or very well :^( -- probably the licensor is still marketing a full featured version!).
- IE 6 (great protection against snooping cookies, etc.) It is not perfect but it is darn good. The media player is a little over blown and obtrusive (not as bad as the horrible alternative from Real Player though -- which is very obtrusive, and unreliable). Be careful when upgrading -- use the website provided by Microsoft to evaluate your PC first and heed well any warnings.
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