Microsoft Windows XP Professional is the latest version of the Windows operating system (after Windows ME), and is designed for businesses of all sizes, as well as for individuals who demand the most from their PC computing experience.

Windows XP
I installed Windows XP Professional on my Dell PC (after years of using Windows ME). Once I was up and running on Windows XP, I immediately could see a difference in the style of windows and dialogs (new GUI called LUNA). Windows XP has adapted a more 3D-ish look and feel to the user interface, and the taskbar was now blue (and buttons were also in the 3D style). XP is also more customizable than earlier versions of Windows, and includes visual themes that let you change the whole appearance of Windows in an instant.

Besides the smoother look to the interface, I also noticed that the system booted up a lot faster than I remembered. In fact, it boots up so fast, then when I time it with the bootup of my G4 Mac, Windows XP is completely booted up before the G4 even puts up the Mac OS startup screen (prior to the startup screen, the G4 screen is blank gray). After spending more time with Windows XP, I didn't really notice any other subtantial differences. The goods news with that is that every application that I had running on Windows ME was running fine on Windows XP. One of the reasons that XP boots up so much faster is that it is no longer built on the old foundation that Windows 95, 98 and ME were built on; rather, it is built on the more robust and stable NT/2000 code base. So besides a faster boot speed, it also brings a much more matured and stable OS backbone.

Some of the new features of Windows XP besides the smoother look is new internet features and digital media utilities. With the digital media features, you can no more easily handle digital pictures, music, video, and DVDs. The new Windows Media Player is tightly integrated into the OS, and lets you copy music from your CD to your hard disk, create your own playlists, and burn your own CDs. It's better than previous versions, but still not as cool as Apple's iTunes.

Internet improvements come in the form of security (built-in firewall support), Internet Explorer 6.0, and easy to use network configuration tools. XP Pro includes an additional feature called Remote Desktop. This uses technology from Microsoft Terminal Server to enable users to access their computer over any connection (e.g., dialing into the office from home). Remote Desktop lets you run applications remotely as if you were sitting at your desk at work (e.g., you can print from a remote word processor to a local printer). A variation on the theme is Remote Assistance, where the user can allow a remote helper to view their desktop, or optionally gain control of the keyboard and mouse, in order to troubleshoot a problem. These sound cool, but I didn't have the opportunity to try them out.

Features included in XP Pro that are not in the Home Edition are support for dual processors, encryptable file systems, offline folders, and extra administration features that come into play when connected to a Windows server domain.

A couple of things I didn't particularly care for in XP is the new Product Activation scheme (think "Anti-piracy"), a strange "MessageApp" bug, and continuous updates that didn't provide much details on exactly what was being updated. The new activation scheme involves a handshake with Microsoft sharing information about your computer. That's not so bad unless you end up getting a new computer, then you have to do it all over again. I also noticed a "MessageApp" program that kept cropping up on my taskbar during most sessions. It never did anything when I left clicked on it, and a right-click refused to display a pop-up menu. I was only able to remove it from the taskbar using the Task Manager (but that is a pain to do every session, so eventually I just got used to it).

XP performs checks on updates when you are connected to the internet, and although I like the automated update checking, I would have really liked to have seen what exactly was being updated during the update process. I must have gone through a couple of dozen updates over the past two months, and I don't know what any of them did.

Missed Opportunity
Although the new LUNA look is more attractive and customizable then XP's predecessors, I was disappointed in the amount of real GUI enhancements. XP comes out at a time when Apple is migrating it's large OS 9 user base over to OS X, and the biggest complaints of OS 9 users is the OS 9 programs that don't have OS X counterparts (and most likely never will) and the loss of some favorite OS 9 features (such as Appearance sounds, application menu, desktop trash, etc.). Now would have been an excellent opportunity for Windows to adapt a more user-friendly GUI, incorporating serious customizations tools to do more than change buttons and window colors. Allow users to toggle the taskbar into a menu bar, add a windowshade option, greatly improve the file I/O dialog prompts. Where Mac OS 9 had a tremendous ability to customize the Mac, allowing one Mac to look and behave diffferently than another and giving the owner a true pride of ownership, Mac OS X trades off on the customization features in favor of control. While Windows XP is much nicer than previous Windows editions, it still doesn't match the Mac OS 9 experience.

Summary
In summary, Windows XP is an absolute must upgrade from Windows ME just for the more solid foundation alone. While not as savvy as the Mac OS 9 GUI, the new LUNA GUI of Windows XP is a nice visual improvement over earlier Windows systems. The MessageApp bug is annoying, but apparently is not a bug that everyone is bitten by. The product activation scheme, however, is a peril that all Windows XP users will go through, so for those who trade in their hardware frequently, this may be more painful for you than the rest of us. The rest of the new features are nice, but nothing to write home about. My favorite aspects about XP is the incredibly fast boot speed and the more solid and stable code foundation. Microsoft has an opportunity here to greatly improve the GUI interface, and although XP falls short of what the possibliities are, it still proves to be a decent OS, and I highly recommend it to users of Windows 95, 98 and ME. I see no compelling reason for users of Windows NT or 2000 to switch to XP.

Pros

• Incredibly faster boot up speeds
• Solid and stable foundation
• Smooth new look and feel
• More digital friendly

Cons

• Cumbersome activation scheme
• No compelling improvements in GUI behavior
• "MessageApp" appears in Taskbar and doesn't go away
• Lack of details during automated system updates\

Overall Rating

3 1/2 out of 5 Mice