Microsoft Windows XP: Finally a "Rock Solid" Operating System from MicrosoftSep 20 '01 (Updated Oct 30 '01) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line This operating system is literally "Rock Solid" and for once I am actually impressed with an operating system from Microsoft.
Microsoft Windows XP is scheduled to launch in retail stores across the nation on October 25, 2001. I recently had the honor of attending one of Microsoft’s retail road shows and obtained a final release version of Microsoft Windows XP Professional. I have had experience with Windows XP Home RC2 (final beta version) and now feel I have enough information to write a review on what is quickly becoming my favorite operating system. THE Question I know if I don't include this I will get multiple emails asking this question, "Do you really have to register it on the Internet?” The answer is no, you don't have to register it but you do have to activate it online. "What's the difference?" The difference is, when activating it you do not have to give Microsoft any information about yourself or your computers software. All that is done is information on the hardware configuration of your computer is sent to Microsoft and associated with your CD key for Windows XP. Once you install the operating system you have thirty days to activate it over the Internet. If you do not you will not be able to log-on to Windows until you do activate it. This is done for several reasons but the most obvious is because of piracy and the use of CD-R/CDRW drives. Once it is activated you do not have to do it ever again unless you remove it and install it on another computer or completely upgrade your computer. You can add and remove hardware without having to re-activate Windows XP but if you change a lot of hardware at the same time (like the motherboard, processor and video card), Windows XP may see it as being moved to a new computer and require you to re-activate it. A new face Microsoft has redesigned the graphical user interface (GUI) to one more colorful and easier to use for people who are not computer savvy. Both versions of Windows XP are designed with the same graphical interface and same basic features. You will find new icons for the desktop and new background pictures and themes available as well as all the previous themes in Windows 98, 2000 and ME. The "Start" menu has been redesigned as well to make it easier to locate and run programs you use most frequently. The program menu is still available of course but you can set up to thirty frequently used programs to display icons on the start menu for easy access. You can change the look of Windows XP to the classic Windows 95/98/ME look with the familiar start menu and interface if you so prefer. This is done in the "Display Properties" window. Media Player The new media player in Windows XP incorporates CD-R/CDRW functionality for quickly burning music CDs from your play list or library. There are several new groups of visualizations as well as all the previous ones. Digital music is quickly identified via the web and all pertinent information on the song, artist and album are displayed on the marquee. Media player also sports an improved graphic equalizer, 3D effects and presets in a more compact player. There are also new skins with more available on the web. While playing a music file or CD you can click on a link to search for more music by the artist being played and/or purchase music right from the media player. Quick log-on/log-off Windows XP lets users switch without shutting down Windows. For example, if you need to send an email but your son is on your computer researching on the web, he can let you log-on so you can send your email without having to log-off. You simply select "Log-off" from the start menu and choose "Switch User". When your son logs back into his account (He is still logged on but must enter his password to gain access to his account again) he will still be connected to the Internet and his web page he was viewing will still be active and on the desktop right where he left it. This applies to all programs and users. You can set up user accounts from any account with administrator privileges and assign either administrator or limited use of the computer to the user. Windows XP Professional has more advanced settings for this than the Home version but the quick log-on/off applies to both versions. Internet Explorer 6 Windows XP comes with Internet Explorer 6.0 and Outlook Express 6.0 both of which are downloadable from the Windows Update web site for those who wish to upgrade in Windows 95, 98, 98SE, ME and 2000. Internet Explorer 6 provides better security and some new features like providing an "Image Toolbar" when you hover the mouse over pictures for save, print, email and open "My Pictures" folder. Compatibility Currently there is no antivirus software compatible with Windows XP. However, Symantec is working on launching Norton Antivirus 2002 shortly after the launch of Windows XP and will be compatible with the XP Home and Professional operating systems. There are several software titles that are not supported in Windows XP including Norton System Works 2001 and previous versions as well as most partition utility software. I have used Power Quest Partition Magic 6 successfully although Windows XP warns against it. Update: 10/30/01 Symantec actually launched Norton Antivirus and Norton System Works 2002 about three weeks before the launch of Windows XP. Both work well with Windows XP as well as older operating systems. Norton Antivirus 2002 includes Antivirus 2001 for Windows ME and previous versions. Roxio Easy CD Creator does not work with Windows XP but they are working on releasing an update to version 5 to make it compatible with the operating system. More information can be found at http://www.roxio.com/ as well as current updates for this software. Nero Burning Rom 5 and previous versions will not work with Windows XP. You can download version 5.5 from http://www.ahead.com/ which does work fine with Windows XP but does not work with all CD-R/CDRW drives. Check for compatibility with your drive before installing. Logitech QuickCam VC (USB and Parallel), QuickCam color, QuickClip and previous Connexant models will not work with Windows XP. You can upgrade to a currently supported camera from Logitech at a discounted price by visiting http://www.logitech.com/ and clicking on support. Search for Windows XP compatibility and you will come to the page where you can get the information on this. End Update Some older hardware is not supported and you must have a monitor capable of 16-Bit color at 800x600 resolution to use Windows XP. Here are the full system requirements to run Windows XP Home or Professional. * Pentium II 300MHz (or equivalent) or faster processor * 64MB RAM (128 strongly recommended) * At least 1.5GB hard drive with 650MB free space (4.3GB or bigger recommended) * SVGA graphics card capable of 16-Bit color at 800x600 * 28.8k modem or faster (or other means of connecting to the Internet) * CDROM, DVD or CD-R/CDRW Windows XP = Stability Ah yes... stability. This is where Windows XP shines. The stability of this operating system is absolutely incredible. I have crashed the system only by adding hardware that was incompatible with other hardware. I have not yet been able to crash Windows XP Professional with any software, compatible or incompatible. Incompatible software may freeze but Windows does not. If a program crashes you can close it either by the famous three fingered salute (Ctrl+Alt+Del then "End Task") or by simply click on the X at the top right of the window (if the program runs in a window). When a program that runs in a window crashes, the window itself is still accessible so you can close it unlike Windows previous versions where the window would freeze with the program. This feature is present in both the Professional and Home versions of the operating system. I can't state enough how stable this operating system is. I have run defrag while playing an MP3, logged on as a different user and ran another MP3 session while browsing the Internet, logged on as yet another user and burned a music CD from the hard drive (while it was being defragged by another account) and Windows just kept on. It did slow down a bit but the CD finished burning without a buffer under run error. This was done on an Athlon 800MHz computer with 256MB PC133 memory. I have had as many as 9 accounts logged on with programs running on each without any problems. XP Home and XP Professional There are actually three versions of XP scheduled to launch simultaneously on October 25, the question is which one should you consider if you are planning to upgrade. The Home version is intended for users of Windows 95, 98, 98SE and ME while the Professional version is intended for users of Windows NT Workstation and 2000 Professional operating systems. The third version is Windows XP 64-Bit Edition. I have had no experience with this operating system and it will not be compatible with most computers being sold now. To use the 64-Bit version you must have a 64-Bit processor such as the much-awaited Intel Itanium processor. The main differences between the Professional and the Home versions are as follows. 1) XP Professional provides dual boot support while Home does not. 2) XP Professional adds advanced administration tools. 3) XP Professional adds higher levels security and performance. Both operating systems support the use of multiprocessors and are based on the Windows NT5/2000 kernel. Some other new features My Pictures Have you ever had so many photographs in a folder that you couldn't remember what they all were? Windows ME and 2000 added thumbnail view in the "My Pictures" folder but if you have hundreds of photos, you still have to scroll through them all to find the one you want. Windows XP takes care of that by adding a single thumbnail view at the top center of the window that has four buttons for quickly browsing through all the pictures and rotating the pictures. You can click the back and forward buttons to scroll through your photos in the thumbnail view without having to scroll the page. Safe Mode Have you ever had to boot into safe mode to make emergency changes to the system configuration only to have to reboot several times because the CDROM does not work in safe mode and you need one to accomplish the task? Well, Windows XP adds CDROM support in safe mode as well as giving you 32-Bit color at 640x480 resolution. No more funky looking desktop images in safe mode. You can also choose several other options from the F8 boot menu for debugging, safe mode with network support (this has not changed), and boot with last known good hardware support (this option was originally only available in Windows NT and 2000 operating systems). SSE2 support Windows XP operating systems are designed to take advantage of the Intel Pentium 4's SSE2 instruction set making this processor finally able to perform to its expectations. The addition of the SSE2 support makes the Pentium 4 processor the best choice for new computer buyers when Windows XP launches. As with other releases of Windows, most computers will come with XP installed and it will become harder to find new computers with Windows 98SE and ME operating systems on them unless you specifically order them. Windows XP works great with Athlon, Athlon MP, Duron and Celeron processors as well but is specifically designed to make the most out of the Pentium 4 processors. As I write this I am using an Athlon 800MHz processor and all of the accounts that I have shared here were performed on this computer. Final Thoughts If you are planning to upgrade from Windows 95, 98, 98SE, ME or if you are planning to buy a new computer you may want to wait until October 25 and get Windows XP. This operating system is literally "Rock Solid" and for once I am actually impressed with an operating system from Microsoft. I hope this review helps you decide if Microsoft Windows XP will serve your needs in an operating system. Thanks for reading. Update: 10/30/01 You can not upgrade from Windows 95 to Windows XP. You must install a fresh version of Windows XP. So don't buy the upgrade version if you are currently running Windows 95 or you won't be able to install it. To be able to use the upgrade you must have installed (or have a CD of) Windows 98, 98SE, ME or 2000. You can also upgrade from Windows XP Home to Windows XP Professional. End Update Gr8ful :-)  |
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