Windows XP Offers Nothing Really New

[Ninotchka]

THE END USER Purely Optional
Lee Dembart International Herald Tribune
Monday, September 3, 2001

Putting aside the legal, philosophical and theological issues surrounding Microsoft Corp., as the world's foremost software company prepares to introduce its new operating system, Windows XP, the question on many computer users' minds is: Do I need it? The answer is that you probably don't.
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If you are satisfied with the way your current computer does things, there's no need to rush to upgrade to Windows XP. It won't do your tasks any better.
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Windows XP, which Microsoft shipped to computer manufacturers recently and which is scheduled to be released to the public next month, is the first complete makeover of Windows since Windows 95. You may recall the hoopla that surrounded the rollout of that program.
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But Windows 95 offered big improvements over Windows 3.1, which was at least one of the reasons for Microsoft's overwhelming success in making Windows the world standard in operating systems. It now runs more than 90 percent of all personal computers.
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The single major improvement that Windows XP offers is increased stability. It is based on Windows NT - Microsoft's industrial-strength operating system for big commercial users - so it doesn't crash as often as the Windows 95 and 98, both of which remain unacceptably crash-prone.
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Aside from improved stability, though - and that's undoubtedly a big aside for some people - it's hard to see major advances that Windows XP offers over the Windows operating system you are now running. It doesn't bring any new application to your desktop that you can't do already. If there's a task that you'd like a computer to do that your present PC can't accomplish - reliable machine translation, for example - it still won't be possible after you install Windows XP.
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To be sure, the ability to do some things - such as manipulating music files and graphics files - is built into Windows XP. To some people, this looks just like the "bundling" that got Microsoft into antitrust trouble in the first place. To others, most of them at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, the company is giving its customers what they want and making things easier all the time.
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Either way, the bundled software doesn't give you any new capability that you don't already have with current operating systems. At the moment, at least, there is no killer application out there that will send people flocking to upgrade their software - or hardware, for that matter.
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There is no compelling new task for computers to dazzle us with, and that has the entire industry stalled. The machine you are using now continues to do what you want it to do, so you don't need to upgrade as often. People who used to buy the hottest new computer, say, every couple of years, now find that they can wait three or four years before shelling out for new hardware.
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As a result, last year, for the first time since the mid-1980s, fewer computers were sold than had been sold the year before. The five largest computer manufacturers are laying off thousands of workers.
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New, more powerful operating systems require ever more powerful hardware to run them. If your computer is more than two years old, it probably doesn't have enough oomph to handle Windows XP. So you're looking at buying a new computer in order to run the new operating system.
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If you were planning to buy a new PC anyway, wait till Oct. 25, and you will be able to get it with Windows XP installed. But there's no need to rush out and buy a new machine just to get Windows XP.
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In fact, that's how most people will get Windows XP: When it's time to buy a new computer, it will be there. Upgrading to Windows XP from Windows 98 and above - you can't upgrade from Windows 95 and below - is expected to cost about $200. It's not worth it.
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All of this is on the merits of the operating system itself, separate from the other issues that continue to swirl around Microsoft, whose antitrust case with the U.S. government is not over yet and which faces a wider investigation, and potential legal action, in Europe.
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Barring some extraordinary legal or political development, sooner or later, Windows XP will become the computer standard. It will greet you in the morning when you fire up your PC. Microsoft plans to stop supporting Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 by the end of this year, and it will eventually stop supporting the Windows 98-ME line, which runs on most home computers now.
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Like it or not, this is what the world is coming to. But there needn't be any rush to get there.
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A couple of weeks ago I explained how to change the file associations on your computer in a multistep process that requires your full attention. Wilson Tham in Malaysia writes to say that there is a much easier way to do it.
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1. Go to the file that you want to open.
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2. Select the file.
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3. Hold down "Shift" and click on the right-side mouse button.
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4. Select "Open With." From there you can select the program that you want to open the file with - and you can tick the option below that reads "Always use this program to open this type of file."
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6. If you can't find the program you wanted, browse for it using the browse function. Thanks to Mr. Tham. Extra credit for this elegant improvement. Despite the Fuss, Windows XP Offers Nothing Really New

[Chudo]

Something funny: click on Start and go from there (you will find some humorous programs, check out help by entering a search word for example or solitair, it all hilarious) http://www.mrichter.com/cdr/winrg.swf

[mastodon]

i found a contradictory article[/quote]
XP: Big Steps for Windows, Small Steps for Office

May 8, 2001
Windows XP
By JP Vellotti

This fall Microsoft will release Windows XP, its first major operating-system upgrade since Windows 95. The beta version of the OS we tested in our labs is built on the Windows 2000 kernel for increased stability (Windows 2000 is less prone to crashes while running multiple complex tasks). Like its predecessor Windows Me, Windows XP has improved device driver recognition over Windows 2000.

We found that Windows XP's myriad task wizards will make for a simpler overall setup experience for novice users. We believe, however, that business users may find these annoying. The OS will be available in Home and Professional versions.

At this time, Microsoft plans for the Professional version—of which the Home version is a subset—to include features designed for the small-business or corporate user. These include additional networking capabilities, corporate security through domain authorization, group policy support, increased mobile computing support and file management, and support for dual monitors and dual processors. Pricing has not yet been announced.

Minimum system recommendations are as follows: a 300-MHz Intel Pentium II or compatible processor (or better), 128MB or more RAM (4GB maximum), 2GB of free hard drive space, an SVGA Plug and Play monitor, a keyboard, a mouse, a 12X or faster CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, a network adapter (to take advantage of networking capabilities), and Internet access. We found the best performance in machines with 500-Mhz processors or faster. Users of Windows 2000 and NT 4.0, however, must upgrade to Windows XP Professional, because Windows XP shares their common core operating structure.

Windows XP's user interface features a softer color palette; larger, more modern-looking icons; and a new, customizable Start menu. At first the new Start menu may seem radically different from the traditional one, but for us, the change became more welcome the more we used the OS. Testers within PC Magazine Labs commented that Windows XP bears a resemblance to Apple's Mac OS X. Longtime Windows users will find the change about as extreme as the change from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95, which introduced the Start button and a new file folder view. But Windows XP's appearance is only one part of the new OS.

[Mariboulg]

The 15-minute ad uses the lyrics of Madonna’s 1998 hit Ray of Light (taken from the Grammy-winning album of the same year and title) “Quicker than a ray of light she is flying.” The word “she” will mean e-mail, video conference and other multimedia things, which like the developers of Wondows XP stated, became more powerful, simple, available.

The slogan for the advertising campaign is: “You soar. Yes, you can.” It was originally supposed to sound like “Prepare to fly”, but this variant had to be rejected after September 11.

Madonna herself will not appear in the ad. Probably she will perform her hit live at the presentation of the new computer system on October 25 in New York. The entire Microsoft personnel is expected to be present at the presentation.

The amount of the transaction has not been exposed. Of course Madonna will get a lot, since Microsoft assigned $200 million for the commercial campaign to promote the new system. Moreover, the stars like Madonna are never cheap.

Pravda.RU