Together at last (Microsoft Windows XP - Professional Edition)

Member Name: Asylum

Product:	Microsoft Windows XP - Professional Edition
Date:	05/01/04 (148 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: stable, versatile

Disadvantages: compatibility with older hardware and software

Microsoft has issued 2 diverse versions of Windows for many years aimed at totally different users. Windows NT was the operating system supplied for commercial use to run a network or operate a business while 9x was provided for home computers.
There was a vast difference between the 2 systems, with NT being a very stable environment while 9x was designed with multimedia applications in mind. For many years Microsoft has been promising to combine the 2 systems into a single Windows release. In late 1999 Windows 2000 was released as an upgrade of NT and early in 2000 Windows Millenium was introduced as the 9x equivalent, sparking many complaints that Microsoft were still not combining the systems.
However, Windows 2000 was a very multimedia rich application, which has allowed Microsoft to finally deliver what they had promised: Windows XP.
Windows XP, whether home or professional, is an upgrade from Windows 2000 and is based on the NT core offering a very stable operating system. It has also been adapted to offer excellent audio and video capabilities that most home users expect today.
As a result you will find none of the many system crashes that such versions as Windows 95 or 98 were prone to.
As for the different interface and appearance of XP, most of this is quite superficial and appears to be far from beneficial. The emphasis seems to have been simply to make it look different rather than to improve it, although you can easily change the settings to display the familiar program menu etcetera.
However, everything about XP is not a step forward. Compatibility is a very major issue and one well worth considering before upgrading. Many older forms of hardware and software were designed for use in 9x systems and will not operate under XP. For example, if you have a parallel scanner then it will not run under XP so you would need to buy a USB scanner. The same problem applies to earlier versions of Lotus Smartsuite that do not operate under XP

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If you are considering installing XP and are unaware of potential hardware or software issues, you can run the compatibility test from the XP CD before installing in order to assess the situation. Sadly this would purchasing a copy prior to deciding whether to use it, which seems a very expensive decision to make.
All in all, providing that you do not have too many older applications I would thoroughly recommend XP as an operating system. After all, your hardware and software will gradually be replaced anyway, so you may as well look to the future now.

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