I must commend Microsoft. They have finally released an operating system that is worthy of its name. Windows XP (or Windows 2002), the latest consumer and business operating system from Microsoft, is the best software product yet to hit the PC sector. If anyone tries to tell you otherwise, they honestly have little working knowledge of computers.

While I am also a fan of Microsoft's Windows 2000 operating system, Windows XP goes the extra mile by combining Windows 2000's stable technology and Windows 98/ME's consumer ease of use. I have worked as a support technician for more than two organizations throughout my young life, and my personal day-to-day experience provides all the evidence that Windows XP is a revolution in the Microsoft operating system market.

What makes XP better than all of its consumer-marketed predecessors is that its core is based on Windows 2000, which is in turn based on Windows NT. Windows NT was Microsoft's first business and corporate operating environment. Windows 2000 improved on that solid core by adding hardware compatibility and functionality, and Windows XP finally combines the stability of the NT/2000 "kernel" with the ease of use consumers want. You can kiss those headaches of crashes and blue screens goodbye, I have yet to experience one program crashing my Windows XP operating system. I have not had any "blue screens of death" at all. These problems occur on a daily basis for people running Windows 9x/ME.

Besides a much more stable interface, users will find all kinds of great improvements in Windows XP Professional edition. Notably the first thing we all notice is the curvy blue or silver facade -- silver being one of my personal favorites. Although it doesn't add anything in terms of functionality, it is now a snap to change to custom Window themes when you get tired of looking at the same gray and blue windows. The new revamped Start menu organizes your most frequently used programs, document menus, and other accessories all in one convenient starting point.

Previous versions of Windows made it difficult for multiple people to use one computer. It was a security hazard and wasteful of resources. XP, however, is a truly multi-user operating system and inherits Windows 2000's powerful security. If you're logged in and surfing the web or something, you can either log out when you're done or just switch users so that someone else can use the PC. Your programs will stay open without anyone else even knowing...they continue to hide and run smoothly in the background until you log yourself off. Another cool feature, Remote Desktop, allows XP Pro users to access their computers from anywhere. I'll go into that later.

Windows XP incorporates remarkably better media and communications functionality than previous versions of Windows. For example, Media Player includes support, though it may be limited, for burning CD's, extracting audio CD's, and more. XP also plays well with digital cameras, picture organizing, and wireless communications abilities, among many others. It also includes Windows Messenger, which is Microsoft's own Instant Messaging program. Unfortunately it does not interact with AIM users, but it is getting better. I had a compatibility issue with one piece of software, Roxio Easy CD Creator 5, but patches from their website enabled the application to work just fine under XP.

In terms of hardware requirements, Windows XP eats up as much as it can get, although it does not waste resources as Windows 9x/ME does. You should have at LEAST 128 MB of RAM, 6 GB of HD space, and at least a Pentium III or Athlon for best performance, although XP will still run on older platforms, just slower. XP runs like a charm on my AMD Athlon 1700+ with 256MB of RAM. Windows XP boots up and runs much faster than older versions. It's a heck of a lot more solid than any Windows 9x-based operating system (WinME included--it's basically Windows 95 fifth edition, or Windows 98 third edition). 'Solid' just doesn't do XP justice when comparing it to Windows 9x.

If users are in the market for a new PC, chances are it will come with some form of Windows XP. While it is mostly Home Edition on PC's in the big-box electronic stores, users of Home Edition can miss out on key functionality such as Remote Desktop, which is one of Pro's big features that allow you to remotely access your Internet-connected computer from anywhere in the world. That is one of my personal favorite features about XP. If you know your IP address, you can use your computer from any other computer just as if you were sitting right at the machine itself.

One downside to XP is its "product activation" requirement. Every time you install XP on a computer it must be activated uniquely on that set of hardware, so that it cannot be installed on more than one computer at a time, per the license agreement. I think this is a bit too strict, but here at Purdue where an XP disc costs $5 that's not too big of a deal, especially when Microsoft is on campus every other week giving out free copies at meetings.

For those people still running Windows 9x or ME, they probably choose not to upgrade for one or two reasons. One, their computers are too old or don't have enough RAM to install Windows XP. Two, Windows XP is not cheap. The Home Edition upgrade can alone cost $100, Pro Edition $200 for the upgrade.

I would never recommend doing an actual UPGRADE from an older version of Windows to XP. This involves copying a new operating system on top of an existing old operating system, and does not remove all the old excess files and settings junk. Instead, users will experience a much better, smoother ride with XP if they first format their hard drive before installing. This gets rid of all programs and files on the hard drive, so one should take care to back up their important data as they should always do with any big computer modification. In the end this makes for a faster, even more stable copy of XP running. Of course, one should seek the help of a PC guru like myself if they decide to take the XP plunge.

Some people say I should be a salesman for Microsoft. Not only do I know a lot about their XP products, but I was also a WinXP beta tester since early 2001. I have witnessed all of the changes that took place to make XP better for consumers and businesses, and no one can convince me otherwise that Microsoft has made Windows better than anything before...and no matter what people try to do to break up or otherwise halt their successful line of innovations, they will still keep getting better and better. XP is indeed the new Windows eXPerience.

Recommended: Yes