Definitely Worth the Upgrade (Microsoft Windows XP - Professional Edition)

Member Name: omaziz

Product:	Microsoft Windows XP - Professional Edition
Date:	02/07/02 (1124 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Ease of Use, Inbuilt Support For Devices, Powerful OS

Disadvantages: Hardware Requirements

Based on NT technology, the Windows XP Operating System is one of, if not the best Windows OS ever released. Microsoft has been trying to get users to leave the Windows 98 family of Operating Systems for years now. They release Windows 2000, hoping that users would upgrade to it. Unfortunately, it did not have a very big effect on the consumers.

Microsoft has trying to hype the market with events on the release of their latest OS. To their relief, it has been well worth it.

One of the most important points of the XP OS is its stability. Based on the NT Technology, its stability surpasses that of any other Operating System Microsoft has released. Remember, though, I do not say that XP does not crash at all, it's crashes less than Windows 98 or other Windows OS's.

A limiting factor of Windows OS's has been its user-unfriendliness. Many people use Macintosh OS because of this. With its slick new interface which includes visual styles, computing has never been easier.

Windows XP has a vast range of features, including, but definitely not limited to, inbuilt cd-burning that enables users to burn to their cds by drag-and-drop, as well as inbuilt support for other devices such as MP3 Players, and digital cameras.

Because it is based on NT and not MS-DOS like its predecessors, many programs would not usually work on this Operating System. But WinXP comes with Compatibility Mode, which enabling users to run Windows 95 and 98 programs.

Another feature is Remote Assistance, which gives users the power to assist their friends without physical access to their computers.

Windows XP contains many other new features, too many, in fact, to be listed here. However these major advantages stated above would help the average user to decide whether to upgrade or not.

As for the Professional Edition, it does have certain features over the Home Edition, such as Remote Desktop, Encrypting File System (EFS)
and many others. For further information on selecting which one is right for you got to this article by Microsoft, titled "Which Edition Is Right for You?" at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/whichxp.asp

The main disadvantage of Windows XP is its heavy requirements, being:

- PC with 300 megahertz or higher processor clock speed recommended; 233 MHz minimum required (single or dual processor system); Intel Pentium/Celeron family, or AMD K6/Athlon/Duron family, or compatible processor recommended

- 128 megabytes (MB) of RAM or higher recommended (64 MB minimum supported; may limit performance and some features)

- 1.5 gigabytes (GB) of available hard disk space

- Super VGA (800 × 600) or higher-resolution video adapter and monitor

I, personally, have been using Windows XP for about a year now and I have to admit that my usage of most of the features mentioned above has been limited. My CD-RW drive does not support the software that's used for the inbuilt burning support in Windows XP. And I don't have a MP3 player or a digital camera either.

I am the kind of person who likes to keep up to date, and that's probably the biggest reason I upgraded. Besides, a lot of other people have it, why not me? Also, I, like many others out there, were taken by the looks of Windows XP. The Aqua sort of look is really cool.

If you've just bought a new computer, I do recommend installing XP. If you want to install it on an older one, you should really check if your hardware is compatible with Windows XP. I have to leave my modem behind when I upgraded. I wasn't using it anyway so it didn't make a big difference to me.

Bottom line, if you have the money and meet the hardware requirements, go for Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition.

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