Rating: 
Summary: They're digging their own graves
Review: This is the highly anticipated Windows OS that everyone needed to get. It truly does appear revamped in a lot of places. The desktop is less cluttered, the start menu is more organized, and there are extra things one can do with the folders they create. For example, putting a custom made picture or graphic to the folder icon itself: If you have a folder with a lot of Jimmy Buffett songs, you can put up a picture of Jimmy Buffett as the folder icon. The folders are also designed to be more picture and graphics oriented, as instead of simply using a folder to house the picture files, one can turn a it into a photo album of sorts. One can use scanners and cameras through the control panel, bypassing having to use the software that came with them. Of course, while the operating system has a new look and new gadgets, it offers little else I'm afraid. It can't run correctly on a computer that has less than 128 megabytes of RAM. Anything less than that, and you have a computer that, very frequently, lags terribly or simply stops responding. So this OS has very little to offer to those of us who have older computers -- computers that are at least over a year and a half old. With that in mind, when the computer does cease functioning, normally one would go to ALT-CTRL-Delete to disable the program(s) causing the problem. Unfortunately, in Windows XP when this command is given, it brings a CPU usage monitor. This monitor has no special purpose, as it simply displays graphs depicting how much of the CPU is being used. Naturally, one would think that by hitting ALT-CTRL-Delete again, it would shut down the computer entirely, but instead, it pulls up another CPU usage monitor. Now you have two CPU usage monitors running simultaneously. Going through the start menu and selecting 'Turn Off Computer' doesn't help either. After that is selected, you get the usual display choices Standby, Turnoff, Reboot, or Cancel. Selecting any of those first three will simply close the selection box -- and the computer will still continue running. You can do this over and over and still get no response from the computer. It seems that Microsoft is making quality take a back seat to everything else. It seems that they're only interested in how many more new features could be added. The more new features they add, the more people they can attract to the OS, is what I'm assuming they're thinking. Sooner or later, that's going to deter buyers altogether. Another problem is the fact that Microsoft is all of a sudden shelling out a new operating system every 12 to 18 months. No one can keep up. Not even the third party companies who make the software and hardware for the OS. It's gotten to the point where nothing is compatible with anything else. As a matter of fact, it seems that these third party companies are taking advantage of the situation. Nowadays, when Microsoft shells out a new OS, instead making a patch available on their website, these third party companies will make you buy the entire product over again. As it stands, I've had to replace my printer and my CD burner. Another deterrent would eventually be the 'One copy to one computer' idea -- if you have three computers, you have to buy three copies of Windows XP. We're living in an age where the majority of computer owners (myself included) have more than one computer in there home. The idea of having to spend two and three hundred dollars just to upgrade the Operating Systems on my computers makes me shudder. Not to mention having to go out and buy the new versions of these third party programs. So that's two and three-hundred dollars PLUS an additional two and three hundred dollars just to get everything upgraded, third party software and hardware replaced, and get the system in working order. What average Joe, like myself, could go out and dump four to six hundred dollars every 12 to 18 months just to keep up with the game every time Microsoft gets the notion to make a new operating system? I remember a time when we got three years between upgrades, and that was fine with me. Listen, I've been a Microsoft supporter since Windows version 3.11 for Workgroups was a hot item, but if Microsoft continues on this route, I'm afraid I might find myself looking for other avenues like Apple or Linux.
Rating: 
Summary: very stable and informative OS
Review: I have had two computers with Windows 98SE and three with ME, and now have one with XP, so I know all the different quirks. XP is quite stable. No run time errors like 98SE, no crashes and reboots. I find it a very easy to use, very stable system. I also like many of the features, such as the error log. Instead of listing errors that mean nothing to you, when you right click on the event you get an explanation of what that error means, what caused it and a hyperlink to link to click for further informations and solutions. I highly recommend this to anyone tired of the constant errors and crashes if other windows versions.
Rating: 
Summary: A must for 98 or ME users...
Review: If you have 98 or ME and if your PC meets the minimum specs, buy it today. It is an absolute must. The stability is in a different league from the old versions. However, make sure and REMOVE ALL PROGRAMS THAT WINDOWS SAYS ARE INCOMPATABLE. I left several on because I figured I'd see if I could get anything out of them. Well, now I can't uninstall them. XP still works fine, but now I have the orphaned programs taking up valuable disk space. Also, if you don't like the "Fisher Price" looking interface, you can set it back to the classic look. Looks the same, works better.
Rating:
Summary: Where are all the problems I've heard about?
Review: GREAT OS!! The best improvement since Win98!! I had NO problems in the upgrade. I have had NO problems with performance!! Most important...I have had NO, I repeat NO system hangs or crashes since installing this OS. I installed XP about 2 months after building my first computer. Getting all the drivers installed with WinME was hella time-consuming. I expected the same problems when I upgraded to XP...even worse from all the negative comments I have heard. It was shockingly easy. I formatted the HD just to get a brand spanking new system, and XP automatically installed all the drivers for everything. With ME I had to install the sound card, video card, CDR/RW, LAN card, Printer, Smart/Flash Reader, Web-cam, and scanner with either floppys or CDs. With XP, the process was over in only a few minutes. I spent an hour in disbelief making sure that everything was OK, and it was. On top of that, XP has great support for those of us who need to type in Japanese, but still need an English OS. It is a little tricky, but is part of the standard system. I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 for 2 reasons. 1) Some compatability problems with some older games I have (Magic: the Gathering and Chessmaster 5000). Those games (and I'm sure lots of others) will not work on XP. 2) Although it has a great IME for typing Japanese, it is incompatable with most software written for a Japanese OS. Some things will install, but you can't read a lot of what is onl the screen. Final comments: I love it. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: a good product overall
Review: With the introduction of XP, it is going to be harder and harder to switch or complain. Yes, we all know of the blue screen of death, but that happens so infrequently with XP that for all practical purposes, this is an operating system to be proud of. Most likely though it will be the app that crashes, and if that happens, you still have to exit the program and restart it. The programs most likely to crash are the big ones, and big problems take a long time to load. So it's almost like waiting for the computer to restart, and that means the time wasted is still the same, but at least it's not the operating system that crashed. XP home is nice and stable and I recommend it to anyone on Windows 98 or ME or earlier. XP is not that much different from Windows 2000 but cosmetically it offers a few nice enhancements.
Rating:
Summary: Awsome
Review: When I got this I was upgrading from windows ME. So you could imagine how excited I was to have a OS that was actually really stable.
Rating:
Summary: XP Great Graphics
Review: Upgrading to XP was very easy, but ran into snags when it didn't reconize my modem and then I couldn't get on the internet to find the updated driver. I finally went out and bought a Robotics modem, problem solved. Within a few months I bought a router and signed up for cable. That was the best thing I did and with XP's built in Firewall keeps things safe. XP is also makes it very easy to set up a network- the wizard does all the work. I really appreciate all the automatic updates from Microsoft that XP auto downloads if desired. Seems to have a lot less problems than previous versions. I highly recommend XP PLUS! also. Check out the great screen savers. My system runs on 1GHZ, 256K RAM(recommended min). Originally ME was installed, but didn't like that much.
Rating: 
Summary: Still prefer Windows 2000 Professional
Review: I upgraded from Windows 2000 Pro to XP Pro. While this is probably one of Microsoft's best efforts to date, it just hasn't lived up to the [amount]hat I paid to get the upgrade. To start things off, my Creative SBLive! card failed miserably on both upgrade and scratch install and neither the Creative nor the Windows driver solved the issue. I finally had to use a different sound card, which just irritates me -- but that's really a problem with Creative not Microsoft. Secondly, the autoplay on the CDs/DVDs is annoying. Best to go get the TweakUI power tool and disable it. I found that my CD-ROM would get so tied up every time I loaded a CD, that I just disabled the autoplay feature. Also, a Java VM is no longer built in due to the MS/Sun legal battles -- so after I did the scratch install to attempt to fix my sound problems, I then found out that I had no VM for web viewing. Had to settle for the Sun Java VM which is much slower. They aren't going to provide the VM from the SP when they release it. If you have Windows 2000 or Windows 98 -- then keep it -- unless you have to have it for some hardware or software that you have. Wait until service pack 2 comes out (or later). Let XP get through the wringer thoroughly. If you're running Windows ME, then XP is more stable (since it is based on NT) and might be worth the upgrade cost if you have stability issues -- but as for me, since I can't ship it back because I've opened the software, I'll keep it. But, if I could get my full retail price back, I'd go back to Windows 2000.
Rating:
Summary: I Could Not be Writing this Review Without It
Review: I know it is probably redundant to write a review about a product 90% of you who are reading this review are using, but I could not resist the temptation. Windows XP offers a bevy of new features and options, easier file management, effortless navagation and fresh graphics. Flies circles around earlier Windows versions. Perhaps it is my computer (Dell Dimension 4300), but programs all too often suddenly and inexplicably lock up. There is nothing more frustrating than being in the middle of an important online business transaction and you get a "Windows has encountered a problem and will have to close" message! Maybe that is just the cost of using technology. Should not bite the hand that feeds me. It could be worse - that other system which will remain nameless!! Anyway, does there have to be a Windows update almost every year? Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows XP. Bill Gates, I apreciate your ambition to constantly improve the product, but could you wait a couple years longer to release a Windows update? I know I am speaking in vain. There will probably be another Windows by the time I finish writing this review.
Rating:
Summary: The Best
Review: I bought my computer two years ago with milleinium installed. I could not believe the problems I had with this OS. Being a UNIX user I expected better. The blue screen of death was my constant companion. The system would blue screen when the screen saver came on. I had read about XP, and thought it couldn't be any worse. I did my homework and checked my computer make for compatibility, they said, if you change you are on your own, we built your system for ME. If you are not a computer wizard, do not try this upgrade yourself. I spent over two days upgrading to do the step up to XP. Do I regret it, never. I still keep ME on my drive. I have never went back. I cannot believe the stability of this OS.
Be aware, new software that really does run on this OS is hard to come by. Do not expect any easy software installations without problems. Drivers are available, but they do not always solve campatibility problems. This will change in time. Do I reccemend the upgrade, YES. I would never go back, but be ready for installation problems with any software. Stability is the issue here, tired of the blue screen? You will love XP, you can crash it but you really have to work at it. I have never seen a more forgiving OS.
DAVE
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