Windows Is A XPerience Above The Rest (Microsoft Windows XP - Home Edition)

Member Name: kornkid2001

Product:	Microsoft Windows XP - Home Edition
Date:	28/02/02 (2096 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: internet explorer 6, more compatible, looks and feels great

Disadvantages: may be disconnected a lot, costs a bit

When i first bought my computer it had windows 98 Installed, this was okay for its time but i need to be with things nowadays. So after that i got Windows ME which i loved to pieces as it had everything such as Internet Explorer 5.5 and it just looked great. Then my friends told me all about how good windows 2000 was, I saw it at a friends house and i decided to get it. Little did i know about the compatability problems. When I installed 2000 everything went pear shape and it would hardly detect anything. Then windows Xp came along, this looked good and was also compatible with most things. I liked the look of Windows 2000 and the features of Windows ME so i decided to give Windows XP a go, and i was pleasantly suprised.

Cost
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The cost of windows Xp is a bit pricey, i think its around £120 from a major company but if you go to a place like micro direct and planet micro you can get the OEM version which will set you back around £70. All operating systems are this price so you shouldnt really complain.

Appearance
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Windows XP looks and feels great to use (i need somthing to look great before i feel comftable with it). Everything is fully customizable including the Screen saver, desktop, colours, sounds and even the start menu is changable. You can even make menus fade in and out which looks brilliant. Changing sounds is easy, and when you perform a task you can have a sound of your choice playing, but that can become very annoying. All this customizing is done in the control panel.

Features
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Reliabilty is a main reason why i bought XP as ME and 98 regulary crashed and nothing was compatible, so i had to upgrade a lot. For instance, running windows 2000 my modem wouldnt detect and it said i needed the new drivers,but i couldnt find any drivers at all for my conexant modem so i could not use the internet. With windows XP there is a new file protection facility that
stops you from deleting system core files and then the computer cannot be damaged. There will be no more application crashes from conflicts with other programs.

Performance is another reason i bought Windows XP as i want a stable and fully working operating system. System monitor watches over your computer and makes sure nothing goes wrong. Task manager shows your processes in your computer and lets you terminate inactive programs with have stopped responding. If you have a laptop Xp helps you save the battery life of your computer by saving on LCD energy by dimming the lights then they will fully recharge when your computer is next turned on. A built in internet firewell is in XP so it stops them hackers from hacking into your computer and looking at your private files, this is a feature exclusive to windows xp.This is very helpful :P. Also a password manager is installed so that you only have to type in your password once and the computer will remember them every time you return to the place.

Windows Xp is the easiest operating system i have used ( and i have used many). Easy setup wizard makes installing programs, Hardware and drivers easier than ever as a tutorial will guide you through the setup process. Dynamic update checks your computer for out of date files and then upgrades them automatically so you will never have outdated drivers for sound cards and video cards etc. User switching allows you to have multiple users on your computer and then you can switch users while you are using the operating system without restarting the computer. Taskbar grouping is a great function of XP as it groups all the files opened eg if you have lots of Internet explorer screens open then they will all group as one. This stops clogging of screens and is very usefull. An indexed file system helps you find the files you want more easier as they are grouped to your specification. System restore was featured within windows ME and lets you restore a system to t
he state that you last saved it at incase of a emergency crash or problem. The uninstall program lets you downgrade to a previous operating system (only available on windows 98 and millenium operating systems).

Help and support is better and more easier to use than ever. You can search pages such as microsoft pages and other help pages. I have not used the help much as i have not had use to :).


Networking, Internet And Messenger
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Windows Messenger is like a clone of Msn Messenger (check my msn op to find out more). It lets you contact online friends and has quick access to microsoft hotmail email (also check my hotmail op). You can send files, voice chat and video conference which is new to windows messenger.
Home networking lets you set up a network at home so you can have multiple computers connected. This will let you share an internet connection with multiple users.Whether its broadband or dial up connection. It lets you share resources from computers.
Internet explorer 6 is new to windows xp. This is a vast improvement to the 5.5 version which most people are used to. Its reliable and flexible and is also very fast when loading up web pages. You can access favourites, history, chat and also media with the internet explorer toolbar. Privacy is also a big feature and also this is improved greatly. A problem you might experience, is that you may find if you dont have the correct modem drivers for your modem, you will be disconnected all the time, or you will recieve a rubbish connection. Make sure you have windows xp modem drivers.

Music And Video
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Windows Media Player 8 is another exclusive feature to XP. It includes DVD playback, cd burning and you can export video to other devices connected to computer. New improved controls and a new layout and interface makes this easier to use and the best media player to d
ate.
Auto recognition is a usefull function. When you insert a music cd, a dvd or a zip,jaz file windows will open the application which runs. For example, if you insert a music cd then windows media player will automatically start and play the cd.
Burning to a cd is as easy as burning to a floppy drive, you only have to copy the files you want to the cdr icon and it will copy it, or you can even drag and drop and thats much easier.

Conclusion
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If you want a fast and reliable operating system and dont want to use linux because of the complicaty, well then i recommend windows Xp. It will set you back around 70 pounds to buy but its worth it as its the best operating system that microsoft have produced to date.

Trial CD
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You can get your free 30 day trial cd by going to microsoft.com and then ordering the cd. It will take around 10 days to come through but you will also get Office XP free so its worth the wait, always worth trying before you buy.

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