Windows XP Home Edition

The best thing about Windows XP is that, as it belongs to the Windows NT/2000 product family, it's designed from the ground up for reliability, security, and networking. XP home users will soon see the benefits of this. The dreaded Windows crash and reboot cycle really is much less common with XP, and provided the hardware is up to scratch, XP performance is better too. The downside is that using a different codebase can make compatibility with old applications less good. Business applications normally run fine, but older games, Midi software and system utilities may well cause problems.

XP is more customisable than previous versions, including visual themes that let you change the whole appearance of Windows in an instant. Fast User Switching is a neat feature for computers used by more than one person--it lets another user log on without killing the other user's session, and when you switch back, running applications and open documents are as you left them. This is impressive, but what really counts is that XP properly understands how to deal with multiple users. Each user has their own special folders, like My Documents, which cannot be seen by other users. And for those with more than one computer, the Network Setup wizard simplifies setting up a network.

Windows XP has many strong multimedia features. The new Media Player lets you copy music from CD to hard disk, create your own playlist and write your own music CDs if you have a CD Writer. You can also playback DVD video (but only if a hardware or software DVD decoder is already installed) and play MP3 audio files and MPEG videos (but sadly not the popular Real Media formats). Admittedly, Media Player does nothing that you cannot also do with free alternatives, but it is slick and nicely integrated. There is also Windows Movie Maker, a basic tool for capturing and editing videos, which is fun to use although too limited for serious work.

For Web browsing, XP comes with Internet Explorer 6.0 and MSN Explorer. The most significant new feature for Internet users is the built-in firewall. A firewall protects against one of the most disturbing security risks, where other users unknown to you might connect to your computer while it is online, reading private files or causing other damage. XP's built-in firewall is a simple affair, but does prevent most types of unauthorised connection.

The XP user interface is not a radical departure from earlier versions of Windows, but there are a number of small changes that together add up to a significant improvement. For example, you can add and remove shortcuts from the Start menu by right-clicking the icon and selecting Pin or Unpin from the pop-up menu. Windows online help is integrated into a Help and Support Centre that works like an internal Web site, with searchable help, tutorials and walkthroughs. Laptop or other flat-screen users can set Windows to use ClearType for screen fonts, for a more readable display. There are, of course, some pitfalls. Windows XP is demanding on hardware, and it would be a mistake to install it on less than Microsoft's recommended minimum. Also, if you have devices such as modems, scanners, cameras, printers or multimedia cards, we strongly advise that you check with the manufacturer for XP compatibility. You should also check software such as system utilities, games and multimedia.Business users note: unlike Windows 98 or ME, XP Home Edition cannot join a Windows server domain, so the networking is peer-to-peer only-see Windows XP Professional Edition for this functionality. There is also no multi-processor support, and a mildly annoying anti-piracy measure requires you to obtain a code from Microsoft for full installation and any future system changes. But don't let that put you off: this is Microsoft's best Windows yet. --Tim Anderson

Having done this I have concluded that upgrading from Windows 98 to Windows XP was the best investment I have made in years. My computer "goes down" much less than it did with Windows 98 and I find the automatic software update features of the new XP package to bring a smile to my face. Because they are great! It took a while to get used to the fact that Windows 98 features such as Scan Disk don't exist,in the same form, on Windows XP but this isn't a problem! My old computer runs ten times better, has less problems, crashes less and is easier to restore when problems arise, than at any time I have known. A fanfare for the humble Windows XP Compact disc programme!!!

Superb Software ( Provided you have the technical knowledge to get the thing to work in the first instant! Otherwise it is a pain in the backside! - Room for improvement in the future in software update download technology!)


Windows XP is OK   May 8, 2005
 2 out of 3 found this review helpful

ive been working with pc's for about 5 years now (including building them) XP is NOT the most stable windows OS (2k is much better in that aspect) however for novice users xp will be more "friendly"... it is true that xp has some issues with older software and games however with a little knowhow you can get most of them working. like any other software you have to know how to use it or it WILL crash eventually (to the people that commented on the linux servers that run for 3 years yes it can happen but those were set up by people that are experts on linux) my xp (pro) machine was running for 3 months and i was still able to play doom 3 with no problems. xp home is great for someone that just wants to get online and check email and do homework.

and lastly to the guy that said "XP users be warned hackers can hack into your computer" i so just want to laugh at you... ANY OS CAN be hacked if someone wants in bad enough and its not properly secured.


Windows XP is the best OS I've used   August 3, 2004
 11 out of 14 found this review helpful

I've had various PCs since the days of Windows 3.11 and none of them have been as easy to install and use as XP.

My installation went without a hitch. XP found all of my devices, my LAN and Internet connection; the only thing I had to do was put in some driver disks.

As for stability, I've found XP to be miles ahead than any ohter version of Windows. My PC is always on, and I only reboot it about once a month just to let it cool down for a while.

In eighteen months of using XP on my current machine, I've had precisely two BSODs and a couple of game related CTDs (which were fixed by subsequent game patches).

The lack of support for some of the older games can be a bit of a pain, but who wants to play the old games when there are all these new ones about?

I'd recommend anyone with a fairly modern PC to go for XP. I know I'll never revert to any of the other versions. I like the easy life that XP has given me.


Very poor, bug ridden and OTT GUI   July 26, 2004
 17 out of 36 found this review helpful

For any gamer this OS is a dissapointment, it is ridiculously resource hungry and a very poor show from Bill Gates and his cronies.

I have never had so many virus's sinces I got XP, never had so many crashes and the lovely 'fluffy' graphical user interface is a waste of your computers resources.

Its such a shame there are so few alternatives for the PC gamer.