Flat out, I call BS on the article. XP Pro contains all the base drivers you need to get running.
My HDD died on my laptop - a 2004 Dell Latitude D505. I took out the BONE STOCK XP Pro install from my MSDN pack, put the new HDD in and fired it up. Complete install, no problems. Video, keyboard, mouse, wireless and wired ethernet adapters, audio, even my optional Bluetooth adapter all self-installed and functional from the STOCK XP Pro install.
Bounced over to Dell, downloaded the nice-to-haves (I like some of the advanced power management drivers they offer), ran my NT restore of my data from my network and I was off to the races.
Considering the stock XP Pro install had no problem with a 4 year old laptop, and I have yet to find an install where the stock drivers would NOT at least make the system functional (maybe not all the bells and whistles, but displays and ethernet adapters works), I think the author is simply a highly partisan Linux hack.
For the record, I do run a Linux (Mandriva) server at home, and at the office it’s all Red Hat on the back end. But Windows up front because of the availability of software, ease of integration, familiarity for my employees and it simply works better when adding networked printers, or other shared resources.
Well, this seems to be a common problem with XP.
So unless you plan to rebut every posting in every forum on the 'net with people complaining that a bone stock XP install won't install the nearly ubiquitous Intel EtherPro network card driver, I think your BS call is BS itself.
Funny. That's why I ditched Windows years ago.
Because a Linux desktop installs easier, works better with networks (including Windows networks), printers, scanners, cameras, UPSes, Firewire, power management, and remote storage, plus has tens of thousands of software programs ready to use with a few clicks.