|
XP, an eXcePtional eXPerience
Website: www.microsoft.com
Price: Full Version: $199, Upgrade: $99*
Reviewed by Clint Crocker on 10/25/2001
This review was originally posted on clintgeek.com in 2001 and is provided here for nostalgic reference.
|
Well, I got my copy of Windows XP Professional. Microsoft was actually kind enough to provide it for me. Well, not at first they weren't, they wanted to give us 180-day evaluation copies. Enough of us threw a fit due to the fact we had to sit through a 4-hour brainwashing session about how beautiful it was just to get that, and they finally got sick of the complaints and gave in. So now I'm gonna tell you what I think about it. You can disagree with me all you want but when it really comes down to it, I'm the webmaster of this page and you aren't, so there. Ok, ok, if you want to agree/disagree then you can send your thoughts to -email me-. I may even post a few of the comments here on the page. It's got some ups and its got some downs. On the whole, I think that the goods outweigh the bads, so lets get right down to it.
|
Hey Clint, what did you notice first? The slick user interface. This one has got the looks. I had a hard time dealing with it at first. I even made a few very inappropriate comments about the sexual orientation of its designers. It takes a bit of getting used to, but geez, we haven't seen a bit of change out of Redmond since 1995. I though the word creative just didn't apply to Microsoft. To see the desktop click here. That's right, that was a two column start menu, and the start button was in fact green and rounded off.
|
|
|
|
OK, anything else I'm gonna notice right off? Well, the start button is just the start. Microsoft finally relaxed a bit. They finally realized that just because we have to wear a tie to work doesn't mean our computer has to. I don't think XP has a single corner built into it. Windows, programs, and buttons are now rounded off on the edges, at first it kinda strikes you as something from Mattel or Little Tyke, but it grows on you. See, computers can be fun and fashionable. In today's world where even cell phones are fashion accessories, it's about time that computers follow suit. You never know, it may even inspire some creative thinking in some end users, it could even improve work output due to more comfortable users. Ok, so I'm going a bit overboard.
|
|
But Clint, that's it? You are that excited over rounded edges? Ok, so I'm a geek, did you happen to notice my name? Clintgeek, I proudly admit to my geekyness, I'll be a millionaire before you will. No, that isn't all of it, just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. XP is the cleanest user interface I have seen yet. I dare say it begins to rival commercial Linux distributions. Ok, I knew that would get comments from a few of you, send your comments to recycle_bin@clintgeek.com. Seriously though, they have included alot of good ideas here. You know those annoying icons down by the clock? Guess what, they automatically hide themselves after a few minutes. Look at the screen shot again, no system tray icons cluttering up the taskbar. They have been replaced with a small arrow button, clicking on it reveals the icons for a few seconds then they disappear again. Black magic some of you will say, but then again some of you are just flat crazy too.
|
|
|
|
So Clint, its clean and round, what else? Ok, well it is designed for higher power computers so it can make better use of the power available nowadays. Icons are now full 16-bit color, as are the menus, and everything else for that matter. It adds to the overall smoothness of the operating system. The icons are a bit larger and full color, they are more detailed so you can kinda see what they do better. And remember the little side panel in My Computer that was introduced in Win98? You know, the one that previewed the picture/MP3/video/whatever right inside of My Computer? Well, it has a valid point now, real features that you can actually use. But Clint, what does it look like? I had a feeling you'd ask that, so I included this screen shot. Pretty icons, huh? And the menu? Was I right? Of course I was. The new windows manager (you linux guys will know what I'm talking about) that XP uses has an impact over alot of the programs you run too. You will notice the XP style scroll bars show up in pretty much any window/program that makes use of a scroll bar. It also has quite an impact on Internet Explorer as well, check out the menu bar across the top.
|
|
What about multimedia, does it do that? Yes, as a matter of fact it does. It has a real neat way of dealing with all types of multimedia files. It now includes a handy picture browser built right into My Computer. It views pictures in a display called a Filmstrip, and even lets you do a full screen slideshow of all the pictures in the current directory. It is also very digital camera friendly. They implemented a system that automatically detects when you plug in a camera and brings up a menu that gives you lots of handy options such as an easy way to copy them off the camera onto the hard drive, a link to open a program to edit them, a link to have them professionally printed, and a way to slideshow them directly from the camera.
|
|
|
|
Ok, so its got some nice features, but I hear it is built different or something like that. I thought you'd never ask about this part. This is where XP is going blow home users minds. Ok, this will surprise you a bit, did you know that the operating system you are using right now is still based on DOS? It's true, no lie, under all those pretty pictures is a very old system base. Someone help me out here, DOS was first released like what, 20 years ago? Wow, that was a shock, huh? In this high tech world we still rely on technology that old. Clint, I already knew that. I used to be a programmer and I am very familiar with DOS Well, aren't you smart? Seems like everyone "used" to be a programmer. Ok, well I will shock you with this piece of information, Windows starting with XP is no longer based on a DOS core. Clint do you mean DOS is dead? You are crazy! Now hang on a second, stay with me here. Windows XP is based on the Windows 2000 kernel, the daughter of the old Windows NT 4.0 kernel. It is very stable, which is a term that Win9x users have trouble understanding. Very simply, it is hard to crash. It changes the way Windows handles memory allocation and protection. In other words, if one program goes down (remember the familiar "Blue Screen of Death"?), it doesn't take the whole system down with it. This is a real neat feature if say, you type a 20 page word document and forgot that silly little "save" button and your MP3 player suddenly goes south, what happens? You have to reboot and retype 20 pages. Well XP helps out by letting the MP3 player go down by itself, leaving the Windows environment stable and word still running. But all you DOS lovers need not panic, DOS is still very much alive. The difference is that DOS now runs inside of the Windows environment instead of Windows running in the DOS environment. You can still open a dos box and make it full screen and you will never know the difference. Trust me, the trade off is worth it.
|
|
Wow, Clint you sure love Windows XP, but surely it has its downsides. Yes, sadly nothing can be perfect. The main downside is that it is a resource hog. Think about it, we have to pay for all those new features somehow. All the pretty icons and fancy backgrounds do take their toll on the system. It requires a new(er) computer to even run it. It will actually refuse to install or upgrade a system that has less than a 233MHz processor or less than 64MB of RAM. The windows directory also consumes a whopping gigabyte of your hard drive, and that doesn't even include the Program Files directory. Most XP users hopefully will obtain their copy of XP on a new computer in which case none of this will be a problem. Most computers nowadays come standard with Gigahertz and better processors, 128 or 256MB of RAM and 30GB or better hard drives. The other nasty feature in Windows XP is the new activation feature. This part will not bother the honest end users, but how many of those are left? What it does is require you to "activate" your copy of XP with Microsoft over the internet. It builds a type of serial number from your computer and registers that with your license number in a big database at Microsoft. What does that mean? Well, say you borrow a copy of XP from your neighbor and install it. It tries to register that same license number but with a different PC serial number, it then shuts you down, no go. No more piracy. They finally beat us. It'll never last, the hackers will defend us. Our previous software sharing rights will soon be restored to us, mark my words.
|
|
|
Trademarks or service marks on this site are the property of their respective owners. One Call is not sponsored by any source reviewed, and we accept no consideration or payment for including, excluding, or ranking any reviews, products or services in our reports.
* Pricing information is approximate as of the time this report was written and is based on observed market selling prices and/or list prices. Actual selling prices may differ.
|
|
