Average Rating: 
Rating:  - The Latest, But DEFINATELY The Greatest
Windows XP does the deed that Microsoft has been aiming to achieve since the milestone release of Windows 95. I have been using Windows XP since pre-beta 2 when the OS was still under the codename Whistler. I have seen the ups and downs, the improvements, the additions and subtractions and have been very please with what as been done with Windows XP.It makes installing hardware a breeze with enhanced plus and play technology. Simply plug in your camera, usb device, hard drive, external storage, etc and Windows XP will automatically install and set it up for use. Integrated CD Burning will save you time and money from having to purchase 3rd party applications. Remote Desktop is a wonderful feature for administering your Windows XP computer away from the home or office on a separate computer. All you need to do is install the Remote Desktop client on any computer that does not run Windows XP and you are set. You can also use Remote Assistance to send an invite to a friend, co-worker, relative, anyone you know using Windows XP to control your computer and fix any issue you may be having with it. Windows Media Player 8 is wonderful, allowing you to encode high quality songs from CD's and also including options to display the Album Cover artwork for identifying your music on the folder. My favorite thing is the ability to change the appearance with the new XML skinning engine to completely have a custom and unique style from anyone in the world. There are many wonderful feature to list, and despite the talk that it is just a small step from Windows 2000 is ludicrous. Windows 2000 is similar and on the same codebase, but does outperform and include more useful tools. I would recommend purchasing the full version and not the upgrade, that way if you ever need to install a clean version of Windows XP you will not have to install an OS to upgrade from.
Rating:  - GOOD, IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT
The Upgrade version of Windows XP Professional is fast, feature-rich, and has a fine interface. It is crash-resistant; does not hang during shut-down, and supports dual processors. It boasts of good networking options, as well as built-in Firewall internet security; yet, its value-for-money is suspect.
Installation is time-consuming: budget one hundred minutes for it. Like the Office XP before it, there are activation woes: the money you paid notwithstanding, Microsoft dictates how and where you will use it. Again, bear in mind that Windows XP may compel you to spend more on updating other applications that would not run on it. There is also, this voracious demand on hardware: your PC must conform to at least 128MB of RAM, 1.5GB of free hard-disk space, and 300MHz of clock speed in order to do a decent job. Gambling on anything with lower statistics may backfire.
In a nutshell, upgrading to XP may not worth the financial hassles, unless you're running Windows 98 or earlier model; and wouldn't mind replacing older software that this new Operating System may shun.
Rating: - Still prefer Windows 2000 Professional
I upgraded from Windows 2000 Pro to XP Pro. While this is probably one of Microsoft's best efforts to date, it just hasn't lived up to the [amount]hat I paid to get the upgrade. To start things off, my Creative SBLive! card failed miserably on both upgrade and scratch install and neither the Creative nor the Windows driver solved the issue. I finally had to use a different sound card, which just irritates me -- but that's really a problem with Creative not Microsoft.Secondly, the autoplay on the CDs/DVDs is annoying. Best to go get the TweakUI power tool and disable it. I found that my CD-ROM would get so tied up every time I loaded a CD, that I just disabled the autoplay feature. Also, a Java VM is no longer built in due to the MS/Sun legal battles -- so after I did the scratch install to attempt to fix my sound problems, I then found out that I had no VM for web viewing. Had to settle for the Sun Java VM which is much slower. They aren't going to provide the VM from the SP when they release it. If you have Windows 2000 or Windows 98 -- then keep it -- unless you have to have it for some hardware or software that you have. Wait until service pack 2 comes out (or later). Let XP get through the wringer thoroughly. If you're running Windows ME, then XP is more stable (since it is based on NT) and might be worth the upgrade cost if you have stability issues -- but as for me, since I can't ship it back because I've opened the software, I'll keep it. But, if I could get my full retail price back, I'd go back to Windows 2000.
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