Windows XP: Pros and cons
PROS
VERY RELIABLE. XP appears to be vastly more dependable than its
predecessors, though the true test comes over the long haul. Its inner workings
are based on the solid Windows NT/2000 engine (used by businesses), and not
outmoded MS-DOS (Dirty Operating System - Joke-) architecture. When a
program freezes or crashes, the whole system isn't brought screaming to its
knees. Reboots are rare, very rare, but they still do happen.
SIMPLE. If you do encounter a snag, Microsoft serves up apologetic "We are sorry for the inconvenience" notices, instead of fatal errors and "blue screens of death." Alas, some XP messages remain incomprehensible.
HANDSOME. The desktop is easier on the eye. Task-bar buttons are
organized into groups; the rarely used notification icons that used to clutter
your system tray are hidden. The Start button is now green with a rounded edge.
Click on it and a window appears. On the left are the Internet Explorer and e-mail icons, plus icons dedicated to the programs you use most often. You'll have to dig deeper to find other programs on your system. On the right are shortcuts to My Documents, My Pictures and My Music folders, plus help buttons and the control panel.
USER ACCOUNTS. You can set up a separate password-protected account for
each member of your household with different access levels: "computer
administrator" (able to make system wide changes, install or remove files and hardware) or "limited" (can alter only a few settings). Each person gets a unique My Documents folder and can arrange the screen layout any way that he or she wants. And you can switch users without closing your programs.
NETWORK. XP includes simple wizards for setting up a home network, and it automatically recognized my ADSL modem Internet service. But the Linksys network access point I hoped to use to set up a wireless home network isn't yet XP-compatible.
BETTER FOLDERS. In My Pictures, you can view thumbnail snapshots of your
photo files. On the left side of the file pane are tasks such as creating slide
shows or ordering prints online, from Microsoft partners such as Fujifilm and
Shutterfly. In My Music, a mouse click lets you shop for tunes on the Net (not
surprisingly, through Microsoft's Windows Media.com). The new Windows Media for
Windows XP comes alive when you click on a tune residing there.
REMOTE ADMINISTRATION. A new feature called Remote Assistance lets you
invite a friend or commercial technician to connect to your PC to help solve
problems.
CONS
POWER. XP is power hungry, gone are the days when 128Mb of RAM was seen as a lot, or when a Pentium 111 600 was a powerhouse. If you don't have close to a 1Ghz CPU and at least 256mb of RAM XP will drag to a halt, if it installs and if it runs at all.
PRODUCT ACTIVATION. You have 30 days to activate XP via the Net or over
the phone before the OS stops working. Activation doesn't take long and is
Microsoft's way of thwarting piracy. But it means consumers can't share XP with
more than one machine in the house. And since Microsoft uses a complicated
calculation to tag XP to a specific machine, you'll possibly have to reactivate
it should you undertake a serious upgrade of your PC's internal components.
While annoying, it has resulted in a massive reduction in consumer costs; for instance Win98 wholesaled at the time of writing for $199 Australian, Windows XP in the same OEM package wholesales for $145 Australian.
OLD STUFF DOES NOT ALWAYS WORK. Some software and hardware won't operate
under XP, at least without updated patches or drivers. To assess your system,
download the free "Upgrade Advisor." But the file, at 50 MB, should be downloaded only through fast connections. You may find you'll have to spend
extra for XP-ready software and add-ons.
SELF SERVING. Microsoft's favouritism comes through loud and clear when
you want to use the Windows Messenger. It's part of Microsoft's .Net
(pronounced Dot-Net) strategy, which eventually
will serve up a gaggle of "hosted" pay services. Meanwhile, XP's Media Player lets you record tracks from CDs only in Microsoft's WMA file format, not in the popular MP3, unless you buy an optional decoder.
Chris J. Bartle
Computer Technician.
PH: 0412 922 447 (Australia).