What operating system do I get tomorrow??

me

[Sungirl]

I would appreciate any advice.....

Tomorow at noon is a big day.....
Do I get Windows 98....Windows 2000.....Windows ME?? Windows XP is OUT!

I just want it for home use...no networks....no administrators. Simple, efficient and stable.

PLEASE ADVISE.

[MississippiMan]

First, why is XP out? It's a great OS. If you've been hoodwinked into believing that it's a terrible thing that's gonna take over your computer and your life, then go with Windows 2000 for sure.

MM

[US_MilitaryRules]

Do not get "ME".

[MotleyGirl70]

BTTT

Great post for me in the near future. I will need advice also. BOOKMARKED!

[pointsal]

Hey--- XP is great either Home or Pro....

[Still Thinking]

However, you do pay a price if you're a gamester: namely, many games will not run under Windows 2000. If I had my druthers, I'd go with Linux, but not all of the major software packages have been ported to Linux yet, so I'm kinda stuck.

It's very possible there's a workaround for that. I use DOS Procomm (terminal program) and found a virtual device driver that lets it have direct hardware access to the serial port (normally not available under NT). Maybe there's something analogous for games.

[Bush2000]

Easy. If you don't want XP, get Windows 2000. It's solid.

[Mr. K]

My experience: I have a computer I was just about to toss in the wastebasket, because it ran so poor and crashed all the time. It was running win95, then upgraded to win98. It is a VERY INCOMPATIBLE off brand P.O.S.

Then last week I installed win2000 (professional) and it is like a new machine. Much faster, MUCH more stable. Anyone out there know if XP is better than this?

[redhead]

AAAAAAAAAAAAA-MEN!! I just got my new computer today, loaded with W2K-Pro. Awesome. Businesslike. Stable. Fast. I'm very, very happy with it.

[Cicero]

I'm planning on getting XP on my next computer. But if you are really against it, then Windows 2000 is second best. The only problem I've found is that it won't play one or two of the old DOS games. But it's very stable. Third best is Windows 98, 2nd edition. Windows Millennium is an abomination.

[MotleyGirl70]

Dos 3.2, get rid of that pesky mouse.

And the wonderful feature of a colored monitor. That blue and white screen is very simplified. Why bother with anything else. Be one of a kind.

DOS rocks! :)

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Don't you know how much of the environment is destroyed to provide for Internetworking cabling being run along the ground?

And less environment means less habitat for animals.

less habitat for animals means fewer homes for animals.

I think you should boycott computers and give a beaver a place to sleep.

[satchmodog9]

Go with Linux, my stock is dropping. Need help.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

2000 is the ay to go until they increase the HCL for XP.

[tje]

XP is by far the best Microsoft OS yet, but I can understand some peoples trepidation. Second choice is Win2k. By no means get Win98 or WinME..

[BibChr]

That's a drag!

I'm coming at it from a professional PC troubleshooter's perspective. That's what I do; I'm a "PC Specialist." If someone has a performance/conflict-type problem, I sometimes even say, "Tell me it's Windows 2K or NT" (since XP isn't spread much in our corporation yet). If it's 98, I groan, and set phasers for "Best Effort."

That's a slight exaggeration, but only slight. I came to the job liking 98, but mostly from knowing little else very well. Either NT or 2K (do 2K, if you're inclined that way) is more stable, and has more trouble-shooting tools built in. What I've read about XP has keenly interested me, and my brief so-far encounters have been fun. Had I the money right now, I'd get a better system for myself -- with XP on it.

More detail behind the outburst. (c8

Dan

[Sungirl]

ALL:

I heard WIndows 2000 is for office use?? Is this true? ANd windows ME is for home use?

I have been using XP and I SEVERLY HATE it. Maybe it was installed wrong..but compared to Win 95 this XP is three or four times the clicks to do and find anything! It's a nightmare...and asks TOO MANY questions. I fee like it owns me. It asks me if it can send what I am doing to its office ..and then asks me to explain what I am doing and why....HUH?? BIG BROTHER.

DOes anyone know which ones are for home and which ones are for office??

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Log off as administrator and log on as guest when you connect to the net. Use admin for administrative purposes (installing software, etc)

[Bosco]

From what I can gather, your best bet would be Win98. If you're looking for the basics and it's done reasonably well without the overhead, look no further. Make sure you get the Win98 Second Edition so that you don't have to download all of the patches via the internet.

I've used all of the aforementioned OS's at home and at work (I write software on Windows and Unix platforms), and the other developers agree - Win98 has pretty much all you need without an excess of system overhead. Win98 also does well with the graphics and runs the games pretty darn well, too.

I also advocate Linux for folks to use, too. Mandrake, Red Hat, SuSE are all good distributions. If you learned how to use WinXX, then you can learn to use Linux, too. Probably even easier to learn because the basic computing foundations are there with the WinXX platform.

Have a nice day.

[balrog666]

Avoid WinME like the plague, even if you don't run networks. It is the worst of Win NT with the most unstable parts of Win95 - it overwrites itself at the drop of a hat. We now wipe it on site everywhere we see it in our offices.

Win98, Win2000, or Win XP are all acceptable. If you must avoid XP, then for gaming, choose Win98; for home office use, choose Win2000.

[det dweller too]

The virtue of a full 32 bit OS over the hybred that is in the Win 9X is a valid reason to get it, but the real question, which only you can answer, is can you live with police state like monitoring of everything you have on your computer. Basically, you must inform, and thereby get permission from Gates & Co. to have a program on your machine. If you have multiple machines you must buy extra copies or XP will shut the program down.

Frankly, Getting Win 2000 may make the most sense. You get the 32 bit OS without big brother.