WHEN IM CLEANING WINDOWS (Microsoft Windows XP - Professional Edition)

Member Name: webcore

Product:	Microsoft Windows XP - Professional Edition
Date:	16/07/02 (1617 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: user-friendly, stable, reliable

Disadvantages: price

They say ?if it aint broke don?t try to fix it?, It is this comment which replays over and over in my head whenever I install a new operating system sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for a dreaded error message.

Surprisingly I wasn?t greeted with any error messages during or after installation and the setup process was very user friendly. The process took approximately 75 minutes running at 666 MHZ. Before actually installing Windows XP on your computer you are given the choice to scan your hard disk drive for any programs which may be incompatible with your new operating system. Thankfully most of my programs were functional with the exception of Norton Anti Virus and Nero Burning Rom. I downloaded alternative CD burning software from the net within minutes but I was left with a gaping wound on my computer liable to virus infection due to the incompatibility of Norton Anti Virus. Nevertheless I found a suitable anti virus program for Windows XP within a couple of days and my computer was safe.

The moment of truth came when I restarted my machine to run Windows XP for the first time. Microsoft claim that this operating system runs 30% quicker than previous version of Windows. Although I would disagree to this, it most certainly loaded somewhat faster than my old operating system
Upon start up atmospheric music filled my speakers and I was prompted with an attractive log-in screen with minimum hard disk ?churning?. After setting up my password I was presented with a colourful scenic desktop with attractive looking icons, a snazzy taskbar and new chunky windows. As this style won?t suit all tastes, you have the option to switch back to the ?Windows Classic? theme where your desktop can be made to look like previous versions of Windows. Some say the Windows XP theme makes the operating system look like a child?s toy but if you venture deeper you will find that Windows XP is anything but. To make things even more customizable, users are able t
o skin ANYTHING - Start Menu, Windows - You name it - you can change it! This comes in very handy when you?re tired of seeing the same old things when you turn on your computer each day.

One thing which really ticked me off about Windows 98 was the need to reset my machine whenever a program crashed. Thankfully Windows XP allows each program to run independently to avoid system crashes. If an application fails to work correctly, the three finger salute (ctrl - alt -del) allows the user to shut down the program without disturbing any other programs.

One main feature of Windows XP is the automatic download of system updates. Whenever the system finds out of date files, they are updated automatically in the background whilst you are doing other tasks. This process takes up valuable bandwidth on computers with slow internet connections but the update usually only lasts for a couple of minutes. The new files may be installed at anytime, and you are reminded by a flashing icon on the taskbar.

Upon experimentation I discovered that Windows Media had been re-vamped into an attractive customizable interface. Instead of the boring grey box users can choose from various skins to spice up their desktop. To make your computer more personal you may add your own picture to be shown alongside your name on the log-in screen and start menu.

More media file types are now supported and codecs (compression - decompression) are downloaded automatically! Viewing pictures has never been easier. Users are now able to view thumb nailed image files in a window before opening them saving valuable time and effort. Pictures can be compiled in ?Windows Movie Maker? to produce slide shows of your images.

Unzipping files has been a tedious task for users who download files frequently. Gone are the days of dos based unzipping programs as Windows Xp allows you to view zipped files directly on your desktop.

As before Windows XP includes a nice sele
ction of desktop wallpaper from picturesque landscapes to detailed ?mood? scenes. Previous versions of Windows would slow down in speed whenever wallpaper was present, but Windows XP manages to run smoothly without any slowdown even with the most detailed of pictures.

In-experienced users will be pleased to hear of the ?remote assistance? feature. In the unlikely event you encounter a problem with Win XP and you can?t fix it yourself, you are able to allow other experienced users access to your desktop and files via the internet to solve the problem. Now that?s a feature!

Windows XP features 11 games to pass your time away including a pinball game and classics such as Solitaire and Reversi which can both be played online via Microsoft Gaming Zone.

Many have said that this operating system is very un-reliable, but I beg to disagree. I?ve been running Windows XP for about 3 weeks now and so far I?ve only had problems with 2 programs (mentioned earlier) and 1 game (Grand Theft Auto 2). Older software may be patched to work correctly with Windows XP and these files are widely available on the Internet.

Users of Windows 98 and previous versions will find Windows XP a change for the better, but it isn?t really much of an improvement over Windows 2000 or ME. System requirements are 300mhz processor with a minimum of 128mb ram (recommended) although 256mb will make your system run more smoothly. 1.5Gb of Hard Disk space.

Windows XP Professional retailes at around £230 for the full version and £160 for an upgrade. Windows XP Home Edition costs £160 for the full version and £80 for an upgrade. The difference between the two is very small. The professional version is more network orientated and offers more features for business use. Owners of Windows 98 and higher may upgrade, but previous versions of Windows must be replaced with the full version.

Overall Windows XP Professional is a bright, colourful operating system with
some great added features. It is very stable and reliable and it incorporate excellent user support. I would highly recommend upgrading if you own Windows 98 or any other previous version. I?m still exploring the potential of Windows XP and I seem to find new features every day!

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