Rating: 
Summary: 98 BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH. XP2 is stable but insecure.
Review: Running Windows 95 and that means Windows 98 is illegal in your country and you are in the land of needing a new computer fast, feeling that you might have a box that looks like it is running windows 3.1 and to be honest now is your chance to move to Windows 2000 for a more solid operating system. Even NT users found more stability in Windows 2000, 98 users mostly gamers or downloaders, seeing the blue screen of death often, while Win 2K users doing something a little more software intensive like multimedia, graphics and servers that 98 could not manage. So came the day of the duel-processor, having an NT Dual 500mhz, upgrading to Win2K and you still had a fast machine, 64mb and 128mb games cards never really impressing you that much to get a better machine, a games console maybe cheaper and better, XP a little slow for you and besides, 2K was compatible with nearly everything and you could duel boot linux for fun. The only reason to buy a computer between the release of XP and now was if you did not have one and even then plenty of second hand units going around.
Year: 2005
256mb graphics cards, LCD monitors on the cheap, DVD-R media, Broadband, now is the time to upgrade your machine. AMD have some nice chips but the hyperthreading Intel P4 3.0GHz is a killer chip. 1GB of RAM, no problem. A pimpin' fast graphics card and you have a machine that can play Half-Life 2 on full resolution. The best games of the 21st century were released before Christmas this year, with 2005 bringing lots more to come. Broadband on the increase, DVD-R media and life might get less expensive if you are into computers and certainly a whole pile better.
Why not Linux? Well XP2 has the games and Linux not, so we can stop there. For speed on an OS, well Linux is a much faster, but XP2 is not bad on a system with half the ram of the above and a 1 GHz processor. If you are programming or doing fundamental computer work then do check out Linux because it might be what you need and learning Linux is like DOS with a bit of windows with all the free fundamental software you could want. Why not Apple? Well the same as above, but you have a better selection of stuff and to be honest multimedia applications work well on an apple, and why shouldn't they since Apple is industry standard for that kind of design work, so what does XP2 have to offer?
Obviously stability (not to be confused with security). XP2 is a very stable operating system. It is more stable than Windows 2000. For that reason, I made the upgrade. I have not found XP2 doing much annoying or something that I could not fix with Google. Installing is a big deal because you need Internet for verification; however it is fast on a high end system. There are obvious things you must do after you install it like download Firefox and use it instead of IE and try to use realplayer instead of mediaplayer, use Microsoft's AntiSpyware, don't use the firewall, use zonelarm free instead, spend on a good anti-virus software package, turn off the preview pane in Internet Outlook mail or try to find a free mail browser, make sure you get all the latest windows updates, careful what you put into your machine or extract, careful what mail you open, change passwords every week, and you can achieve a secure on-line machine that can do anything most computers can do right now with a company that has admitted that it has a security problem that will be addressed with future updates, but overall one should be impressed with the OS for stability, not speed or security, but for not crashing, as long as there are no hardware configuration conflicts, that do happen, get someone else to build your machine and blame them when it doesn't come together (and it wont come together because things are now cutting edge so get it done elsewhere; if your task bar hangs this is because of routers or USB hubs that are not compatible). The machine like the above is a 5 star experience but God help those who don't address security issues the moment they go on-line with it which is a bit like just driving your car off a cliff. Expect to loose everything to a virus and have your address details stolen with all your VISA card info.
XP2 PRO is 5 stars if you visit a place on the web called Gibson research incorporated, a highly respected individual in the security community who developed a way that people can test the vulnerability of their PC on-line. He developed a series of a security fixes for XP1 and XP2 problems. Bookmark that page and use it to have a somewhat secure and stable XP2.
Also remember, forget the HOME EDITION, go PRO.
Rating: 
Summary: Ripped Off
Review: I ordered this and it was to be filled by American Computer. It is advertised as guaranteed to be new and would have the product key. I received an illegally copied cd. It was a generic cd that had been recorded. The label affixed to the cd and the label that was inserted into the case were both printed on an ink jet printer. There was no product key. This was a scam. Totally useless software. I immediately contacted Amazon.Com and they referred me to American Computer. Amazon.Com is now processing a credit for me.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for the feint of heart
Review: If you have an older or tempermental computer, beware of this program. If you have no computer skills, have a friend at your side during this process which could last several hours. My brave little Pentium I froze when the program tried to load for the first time. After trying to reboot about 10 times or so, I put in the back up disk and read the "readme.txt." It provided me with good suggestions on how to deal with the problem. I had to start for the first time in safe mode and then rebooted in normal mode. This worked for me, but it took more rebooting to get the entire program up and running. Also the instruction book suggests backing up all your filed prior to installation. I would recommend this if nothing else than for peace of mind should your computer react poorly to the program. It could take an hour to load the program or it could take all day with troubleshooting. Be prepared to be frustrated. Make sure you have the time and try not to hurt yourself or your computer in the process.
Rating:
Summary: Windows 98 with removed features
Review: MS took out number of device drivers from Windows 98 Second edition. After upgrading to windows 98, I had to connect to internet and download all device drivers from the net.
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