Posted on 09/06/2001 11:43:14 AM PDT by The Other Harry
Thursday September 06 10:15 AM EDT
Why you should upgrade to Windows XP
By John Morris & Josh Taylor,
ZDNet Reviews
No matter how you feel about Microsoft, you'll probably like Windows XP (news - web sites).
You guys are Microsoft shills. Hey, how much is Gates paying you? Conflict of interest! Microsoft advertises on ZDNet!
OK, now that we've gotten that out of your systems for you, we can report that despite what you Microsoft haters would like to hear, Windows XP is simply the best OS that the company has come up with to date. Granted, with recent releases like Windows Me, the bar wasn't so high. But with the release of Windows XP, Microsoft has managed to build upon the stability of Windows 2000 (news - web sites), while adding a slew of features that home and business users will likely welcome with open arms.
We've recommended the upgrade to our friends and family who ask, assuming that their PCs and peripherals are supported. Of course you can make your own decision after reading ZDNet's review of the new OS. If you want to see how compatible your system is, check Microsoft's rather cumbersome Hardware Compatibility list (Web site), or get your hands on an upgrade advisor CD-ROM that the company will be making available online and in computer stores in the coming weeks.
Who shouldn't upgrade? Basically any users satisfied with their current system performance (including boot-up time, power management, etc.), and who don't add a lot of peripherals to their systems. If you're using a system to surf the Web, send out a couple of e-mails, and do some word processing, you really don't need to bother with the hassle--or expense--of an upgrade.
But you should seriously think about Windows XP if you're a power user or you get annoyed at how long it takes to start up your system or you've found that standby and hibernate have never worked quite right on your PC or you can't tolerate the all-too-frequent system crashes you endure (likely not the case if you're running Windows 2000).
And, if you're frequently adding new peripherals to your system, you should be pleasantly surprised at how simple Windows XP makes it. In fact, a couple of weeks ago we popped in a wireless LAN card without the drivers. Within 60 seconds, we accessed a wireless LAN that our systems had never seen before. Very impressive.
We're both fans of the new user interface, which is cleaner and easier--especially for newbies. Of course, you Windows traditionalists out there can revert to the "classic" look if you so desire. We think home and small business users will welcome new networking wizards that greatly simplify connecting multiple PCs. The built-in firewall is a nice addition, too, especially for cable and DSL users.
On the multimedia front, Windows Media Player (WMP) 8.0 has some nice improvements as well, including support for MP3 encoding (with an optional plug-in), better management of music files, and the automatic downloading of album art when you rip a CD--assuming the album's contained in the All Music Guide database. You can also use WMP 8 for DVD playback, as long as you already have a DVD decoder installed.
If you do decide to upgrade, don't get fixated on whether to buy the Home Edition ($99 upgrade, $199 full) or Professional Edition ($199 upgrade, $299 full). Professional contains everything that Home has, but throws in some additional bells and whistles for the IS crowd, including multiple processor support, and a variety of management features that you'll probably never use at home, and perhaps not even in a small office. But many of the differences between the two versions have less to do with features than with look-and-feel. Microsoft has customized each edition to suit its audience, however, all of the other options are still there so you can always change these default settings to suit your tastes.
Is Windows XP perfect? Of course not. As our loyal readers know by now, we don't have any philosophical problems with Product Activation, and Microsoft has taken some steps to make the process less painful. But we concede that for a relatively small group of users--those that swap system components continuously, such as VARs--the scheme could take a little getting used to. We also wish that Microsoft offered greater discounts to home and small business users seeking to upgrade more than one system. Currently you'll only save $8 to $12 a copy.
Still, Microsoft has turned out a vastly improved operating system. Even if you're not one of the company's biggest fans, don't hate Windows XP just because it's from Microsoft.
That's not saying a whole lot.
What? I would have to buy a second copy in order upgrade a different computer I have in the same room?
Yup. Before you can use the software that you have legally bought, you have to call up Microsoft and get an activation number that is tied to your hardware. This number will only work on your specific machine, and will stop working if you change your system (e.g. RAM, hard drive, graphics card upgrades) too much, as defined by Microsoft. Yet another reason to switch to Linux or Mac OS X, both of which recognize that your computer is yours.
Basically when you've made a certain amount of changes to your system hardware wise, WindowsXP requires you to reactivate it or else it will go into "Reduced Performance" mode. I've run the Beta and it is *much* faster than the other windows as far as I can tell. Then again I just upgraded to a 1 Ghz Athalon w/512 Megs of RAM. :-). The Multiprocessor kernel sounds interesting enough that I might consider getting a MP motherboard, for I am an avid gamer and power is the King :).
I had heard a while back that WindowsXP was going to do something to reduce the quality of mp3's to fight *ahem* piracy. Does anyone know anything about that? I'll probably not upgrade to the full version of XP until a crack comes out to circumvent the activation BS and the (possible) mp3 degradation.
You mean that XP "Home" won't even support multiple processors? That would be the only real reason to consider the "Home" upgrade, and it's not even in there? There also doesn't seem to be anything that would signify that an "upgrade" from Windows 2000 Professional or Server is warranted.
until someone comes out with the crack for it ;-). Actually the encoding in the activation process has been decoded (reversed engineered), so it's only a matter of time. :)
Hmmm, if they try that, they will fail. The mp3 format is now being driven by the public and open source community, where as most of the other formats were driven by one or more companies.Trying to force people to go with their propietary format will be like herding cats :).
A few years ago I opted for a dual processor 350 MHz box instead of a single processor 500 MHz box. Best decision I ever made! Not only was the performance better, the price was about $300 less. Plus, you could still do useful work one one processor while running a number cruncher on the other. [What happens under the hood is more complex than that, but you get the point. : ) ]
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