Microsoft Windows XP Professional Upgrade [OLD VERSION]

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Features: Brand new Full Retail box


Editorial Reviews:

Windows XP is the operating system release that unifies the Microsoft range, with all the desktop versions now built on the NT/2000 code base rather than the shakier foundation of Windows 95, 98, and Me. That makes XP a great upgrade for users of the now obsolete 9x and Me line, but for those already on Windows 2000 Professional it is a closer call. Despite the similar name, there is no special synergy between Windows XP and Office XP, which works fine on Windows 2000.

XP certainly looks different, with rounded window corners, larger and more detailed icons, and a clean-look desktop that on first installation shows only the taskbar and recycle bin. XP is also more customizable than previous versions of Windows, and includes visual themes that let you change the whole appearance of Windows in an instant. That is the window-dressing, but underneath are some significant improvements. One of the most interesting is Remote Desktop. A standard XP feature, this uses technology from Microsoft Terminal Server to enable users to access their computer over any connection; for example, by dialing into the office from home. This is not just file access--this technology lets you run applications remotely as if you were sitting at your desk at work. This is mature technology, stable and carefully thought-out. So, for example, 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. The feature can also be disabled to ease security concerns.

Laptop users benefit from enhanced power management, with options to extend battery life by reducing CPU speed and display brightness. IrDA support has been fixed so that, unlike Windows 2000, XP can easily use modems in mobile telephones via infrared. A new screen font, ClearType, improves legibility for laptop or other flat screens, and there is built-in support for wireless networking using the popular 802.11 standard. A great feature of XP, also found in Windows 2000, is the ability to synchronize network files with offline copies. Previously these files could not be stored securely, but now they can be encrypted.

For Web browsing, XP comes with Internet Explorer 6.0. The enhancements in IE 6.0 are mainly of interest to Web developers, and in any case Microsoft makes IE freely available to all Windows users. Although Java is not installed by default, it is not difficult to download a Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Windows Messenger, originally a chat client, has evolved into a collaboration tool that allows for video conferencing and application sharing.

The most significant new feature for Internet users is the built-in firewall. A firewall protects against one of the most disturbing security risks, in which 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 unauthorized connection.

Windows XP has 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. Although there is loss of quality as a result of compression, the process is easy and convenient. Media Player 8.0 can play back DVD video, but only if a hardware or software DVD decoder is already installed. You can also play MP3 audio files and MPEG videos, but sadly not the popular RealMedia formats. In the end, Media Player does nothing that you cannot also do with free alternatives, but it is slick and nicely integrated.

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. The Start menu now automatically features the most frequently used programs at the top of the list, and you can add and remove shortcuts 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 Center that works like an internal Web site, with searchable help, tutorials, and walk-throughs.

Windows XP Professional includes all the features of Windows XP Home, and adds support for dual processors, encryptable file system, offline folders, the Remote Desktop as described above, and extra administration features that come into play when connected to a Windows server domain. XP is demanding on hardware, and it would be a mistake to install it on less than Microsoft's recommended minimum requirements. There is also activation to consider, a mildly annoying anti-piracy measure that requires you to obtain a code from Microsoft for full installation, and in the future if you reinstall or make major system changes.

Overall, it's a big step forward for those coming from Windows 9x or Me, and attractive rather than compelling as an upgrade from 2000. --Tim Anderson

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Spotlight customer reviews:

Customer Rating:
Summary: What I am using now.
Comment: As much as I like Vista, and I do have Vista-64 on my media computer, I still like using XP-Pro on my work computer. It is solid as a concrete highway without fast running water under it (in other-words, it does have its vulnerabilities), but far better than any other windows product out there.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Ripped off
Comment: The version of the software was an OEM version that was only valid when installed on a new computer direct from the manufacturer. It required a volume licensing agreement which a stand alone user would not have.

Apparently this company was trying to pull a fast one. Don't buy anything from these people.

Customer Rating:
Summary: What Can You Say, It's Microsoft
Comment: Review not necessary, outstanding product. If you are running Home Edition, I would recommend upgrading to XP Pro, if you can afford it.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Do not buy this -- Remote Desktop is buggy in this version
Comment: I bought this upgrade specifically to use remote desktop -- however it does not work. There are many reports on the web re. Remote desktop black/blank screen no login dialog box.
I have used remote desktop on other machines & connections without problem but there is clearly a problem with many connections using the version in WindowsXP sp2. Microsoft has not acknowledged the problem, produced a KB article or a fix for this yet. My suggestion is to avoid this until at least XP sp3 is issued. Concensus seems to think this is due to a poorly designed/implemented remote desktop protocol -- apparently it does not handle fragmented packets.
[Some have found changing the MTU size from 1500 to 1400 using a third party tool fixes it for them. However this did not work for me.]

Customer Rating:
Summary: I'll have to agree with 'A Kids Review'
Comment: Microsoft has been with the technology market for quite sometime, successfully locking technologies, while trying to also successfully create a good, easy to use, compatible, reliable, and secure operating system. Microsoft has gotten to such a point as the years planning, production, and programming of 3.0, 3.1, 3.11, 95, 98, 98SE, ME, 2000 Pro, 2000 Server, XP Home, XP Professional, 2003 Server have gone by.

Microsoft has failed. It's that simple. After a grueling week of working on a small business network of various versions of windows including 2000, 98, and XP, I'm tired of background viruses, I'm tired of hidden malware, I'm tired of worm/trojans and worm/malware... yes, I'm that tired of it. While Microsoft excels at easy compatibility with hardware and walk-in store software(atleast until Longhorn~'compatabilities problems commence!' ~but hey, it's Microsoft, we expect random odd things to go wrong with our computers now and then), Microsoft drops security out the window. Or, perhaps I should say out the Windows. It's not that it won't play the coolest games, and It's certainly not that you can't be productive on it, it's just that it does not make any sense to need a technician to increase you're security on the installation of an operating system! That's crazy... but that's microsoft. Technicians should be spending their time making things work, such as hardware with the operating system, or network issues. Instead, we're all fighting a malware war and finally giving up and making our own primary home operating systems BSD(Unix-NetBSD,FreeBSD,OpenBSD) or Linux(SuSE,Slackware,Red Hat,Knoppix) while not telling our customers. Our customers don't know what it's like to use a system that doesn't get viruses on a user level, and we all have receding hairlines because of it.

However, if you insist on using Windows, buy Windows XP 'Pocket Reference' from O'Reilly and get out you're install disks. Reformat that drive right away and re-install Windows all the while making sure your LAN cables and modem cables are fully unplugged from you're computer. Then, open you're book to pages 175 to 181, and read thoroughly. Do everything it tells you verbatim. Make sure you have less than 10 doors open(also known as ports). After doing all that, and checking your ports, and fixing the various issues, connect to the internet, and proceed to download the 17 billion gigs of 'security' updates over a course of a possible 4 or 5 reboots. Now, if you did all that, you finally have a tolerable operating system. Sure, it'll still get viruses, but at least everybody and their dog won't know all the information in your computer through on a few thousand doors on your computer because of the 23 trojans that Internet Explorer picked up in 5 hours of surfing the web.

Using Mozilla Firefox 1.04 and Mozilla Thunderbird 1.0 instead of Internet Explorer and a Microsoft Email client on a daily level will lessen your security risk by mountains. Avoiding using Yahoo Chat and MSN Chat will also. Try Gaim... it's still compromisable, sure, but since it's multi-protocol, if you drop it, you can kill all chat processes.

If you go Mac.. you're going Unix whether you realize it or not, and if you keep you're current hardware, you can go AllLinuxCD.com and pick a BSD for 4 bucks. Before you do that, feel free to buy Knoppix Hacks by O'Reilly, and use the bootable CD in the back of the book to work in Knoppix daily without altering you're current system. Then, when you're comfortable with it, know that Linux and UNIX have a lot of similarities, so whether you go BSD or Linux, you'll see much of the same things you'll see in you're Knoppix CD.

I do hope this review was helpful to some of you. It's not that I don't like compatability... it's the hassle that windows has caused me over the years... or that malware has, I suppose. Good Luck to you all.


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Technical Details

Binding: CD-ROM
Brand: Microsoft
EAN: 0659556714291
Feature: Brand new Full Retail box
Format: CD-ROM
Is Autographed: 0
Is Memorabilia: 0
Label: Microsoft Software
Manufacturer: Microsoft Software
Model: E8500087
Platform: Windows 98
Publisher: Microsoft Software
Release Date: 2001-10-25
Studio: Microsoft Software