The new Windows version.....necessary or just more bloatware

[PsychoSword 0]

I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I am EXTREMELY happy with Windows 2000 SP2 and IE 6, plus the new Outlook version that comes with IE 6. I see no reason to upgrade to XP now or even in the distant future. I think this upgrade may be Microsoft's toughest sell ever. From what I've heard it sounds like XP is more of a downgrade than an upgrade in some areas ha! Anyways, reading your responses will give me something to do at work tommorrow

[rgodart 0]

I'm happy with 2k sp2 too. It took me long to configure it right (waiting for drivers, throwing the sblive out, etc,...) Now that it's starting to work right i'm not just gonna give it up and use xp. I'm more than satisfied with compatibility and game performance, as well as stability of win2k. Xp is not for me, maybe in a year or so.

[PsychoSword 0]

I still have my SBLive. Either I'm a glutton for punishment or I just have a high tolerance for pain.

[AndyFair 0]

Judging from the look at the interface, it appears that MS are aiming XP at the home market, despite releasing the Pro & Server versions too; from what I've read there's little to distinguish Win2kPro from XP Pro.

 

However, despite targetting the home markets, I think that MS are leaving themselves wide open to attack from angry users, because XP is such a different beast to Win9x/ME - it's not going to be an easy upgrade for the "average Joe".

 

It will require more memory, a better processor and more disk space than Win9x, and I'm sure the upgrade process from Win9x won't be any better than the upgrade to Win2k.

 

Add to that the Activation as well, and Microsoft are in for a rather large headache come October...

 

 

So what will I be doing? Well, I have the preview on order (I live in the UK, so no idea when it will turn up... )and I'll see how that goes; it may be the all the effort in getting Win2k stable and working might be worth something with XP, but on the other hand I don't know whether I have the energy to do it again so soon...

 

 

AndyF

[JP- 0]

Im very happy with 2k as well, it used to give me a few problems but now its all setup as i want it its the best OS ive ever used, never crashes, and runs 95% of all my games perfectly. However i am actually looking forward to XP because it will finally bring 9x/NT together and get rid of the seperate 'home' and 'office' operating systems. But i agree with you, it wont be easy for the 'average joe' to make the change as im sure some things wont work on XP that did work on 9x, and then they might end up just not wanting it at all

 

P.S i want TRANSPORT TYCOON DELUXE to work on XP! come on m$ make it work please

[clutch 1]

I will not be upgrading when it comes out. I will just wait and see what happens when SP1 (or however the service packs workout) comes out before I start using it myself. The only thing that would make me want to use it sooner would be if it supported my Spacetec Space Orb game controller. If I find out it does, then I will install it.

[Ge0ph 0]

I wonder if MS will stop releasing sevice packs for there OS's and instead release new OS's and try to get us to pay for the fix's.

NT4 went to sp6a

W2k will probably only go to sp2, maybe sp3

XP will probably not even have sp1 because it will be time for a new OS.

 

I will not upgrade. W2k works great for me so why bother with an upgrade. I also find myself using Linux more and more, even as my desktop. In Linux I use Word Perfect Office 2000 and in Windows I have started using Word Perect Office 2002. Microsoft just doesn't seem to be in my future.

[BladeRunner 0]

Trust me on this.

We will definately see Win2k SP3.

We will also see SP's, bug fixes and hot fixes for Win2k until approx. 2004/5 - The life MS give on their professional OS's.

[DosFreak 2]

Longhorn will not be out until 2003. Blackcomb will be out after that. Plenty of time for SP's for XP. At least one or 2 before the next MS OS.

 

Also if 2K runs perfectly on your system then it's exttremely likely that so will XP. (I'm not talking about any gripes you may have with XP..just that XP is 2K and as such will run the same/better because it's more updated).

[Brian Frank 0]

I'm confident that XP will run just fine. However, XP is really just 2k with eye candy, IMHO. Besides Product Activation, I dislike the removal of NetBUEI, which here at home with 5 pc's running 2k and NetBUEI, that presents a problem. The trick to add NetBEUI to XP didn't work, so I don't see a reason to upgrade to XP for a networking hassle. It also doesn't seem geared toward advanced users anymore, which is okay, but also frustrating when the OS is assuming you are computer illiterate. I also don't like having to relearn where functions have been moved to every time a new version of Windows comes out.

I still have a perfectly good Voodoo 3 on my second rig, which I would like to keep around for a while since it still works, and it appears that the Voodoo's won't be running in XP.

 

While this may be a nice gesture on Microsoft's part, I wouldn't trust them with a firewall honestly. I see why they are doing it, but I'm just a little wary of the fact that people have been attacking MS OS's through various means, so I feel that their could be some problems with this.

[Ant -|- One 0]

In my opinion, XP's aim is to gather office and home users to use the very same OS. It should end up with 2 things: a Win9x more stable, powerful, secured; and a Winnt more tolerant to newbies, nicer, more open to games and multimedia apps...

Maybe the first OS approaching the next Perfect OS, what do you think ?

[bobbinbrisco 0]

try the new linux: next generation OS

[SHS 0]

Let get real here bobbinbrisco Linux is joke from hell it can't ever support my USB Keyboard even BeOS is better then Linux is.

Linux is Geek Toy & alway will be Geek Toy.

The one to look at is QNX in fact I get ready to download ver 6.1 which has USB support look out Linux

QNX Hardware List

[Brian Frank 0]

Yeah, I like Linux, but I don't see it as a viable option at this present time. I also don't see BeOS coming out and slugging down Windows. I tried BeOS out, and I really didn't like it. I will stick to Win2k, thank you very much.

[PsychoSword 0]

Ya, that's one of the main things that really torques me about Windows. Every new release they always have to move all the **** around so you never know where the hell anything is anymore. I think half of their "improvements" are just moving **** around.

[Brian Frank 0]

Heh. Even if you do know it all, you have to learn wherever MS put it so you can use it. Man, I hate that.

 

Plus, with people going after MS (again! ;( )there's talk of XP getting released early or late, both of which will impact XP.

I think the quest for the perfect OS is in vain--not to say their shouldn't be improvements to an OS--but c'mon, we're human (most of us anyway;)) and humans make mistakes. No doubt, MS doesn't hire any joe off the street, at least I'd hope not, but still nobody's perfect so that right there is a problem. 2nd, you can't please everyone. XP seems targeted too much at newbies, and less at PC vets like quite a few of us here. Granted there will still be new things to learn, but XP, at least IMO, seems to alienate the vets in favor of newbies.

I really don't like XP all that well, and am still reeling from my unfriendly encounter with ME. Win2k does everything I need it to, and has some life left in it. Also, I feel XP just seems rushed. I know ME was a piece of crap, but still it's only been a year since the last MS OS release...

Plus, XP will still have problems unaddressed in the final product. I can't say what they'll be, but there is the assurance that something will be wrong. Not everyone will know about it or experience it, but there will be problems. There may be less, but with ME, that was a mixed bag: some people had no problems with it, but others had hell from it.

Show me the perfect OS, and I'll show you the biggest liar.

[CUViper 0]

Quote:

I think the quest for the perfect OS is in vain--not to say their shouldn't be improvements to an OS--but c'mon, we're human (most of us anyway;)) and humans make mistakes.

Oh come on.... of course we will never have a perfect OS, but it's certainly not in vain! In this and in all things, the quest for perfection is what allows us to improve. Imagine if the makers of the first computer had felt that way - 'wow, this is cool... but since we'll never be able to get it perfect, we might as well just stop working on making it better....' kinda ridiculous, don't you think?

[ThC 129 0]

I like XP a lot. Most people say that its just 2k with eye candy. Your wrong, XP is faster, more stable, and easier to use than 2k. Not to mention the new features XP has such as better driver support, better compatability, and better game support. I like 2k but when i use it the speed is just not there, its an extra 1 minute or so until the OS is fully usable, the OS is IMO a better refined version of 2k.

[PsychoSword 0]

Hey Frank I was one of the users that had complete hell from Windows ME. It was so incredibly unstable, sometimes I would get illegal ops just deleting files. After about 5 formats and reinstalls I just completely gave up. Windows 2000 has been like a savior. It is night and day different from Windows ME. I haven't got a crash from WIndows 2000 in 9 months or so and the last crash I got was because of a poorly written driver that I updated. Haha my dad bought a HP 733 Celeron computer last week with Windows ME on it and it's already crashed on him a couple times with Exception OE B.S.O.D. I was wondering how that guy could say that Windows XP is faster than 2000. I mean, after all doesn't XP have slightly higher system requirements than 2000? Wouldn't that make it slower? And how can you say that XP is more stable than 2000, because if all your 2000 drivers were WHQL certified, wouldn't 2000 be just as stable as XP?

[CUViper 0]

Quote:

And how can you say that XP is more stable than 2000, because if all your 2000 drivers were WHQL certified, wouldn't 2000 be just as stable as XP?

Because drivers aren't the only factor determining system stability... there's a lot of behind-the-scenes OS stuff that appears to work better in XP.

[Brian Frank 0]

Of course, certain manufactures *cough* *ATI* *cough**cough* 'scuse me, that produce poor drivers will screw your system regardless of how good the OS is.

I suppose I'm reluctant to upgrade because 1.) it feels like MS is launching a new OS right on the heels of ME--despite the fact that ME was a flop. 2.) Speaking of ME, as mentioned previously, my experience with that was less than impressive.

3.) I still have a perfectly good Voodoo 3 3000 AGP that I'd like to keep around a bit longer (that and I've got other things I need to spend money on).

Plus, the fact that at home we use NetBEUI, and the unoffical way to install it onto XP was a flop. I'd do it differently, but I am not the master of the network, and I can't change things without putting my neck out on the chopping block.

I'm not as hostile toward XP as I was a few months ago, but I personally don't have a real need to ditch Win2k yet. I said the same thing about 98 before I tried ME. I still have the beta's and RC 1 and 2 to install on my test system.

[PsychoSword 0]

Are you saying they didn't even bother to put driver support into Windows XP for Voodoo cards?

[Brian Frank 0]

Apparently the later versions of XP haven't gotten 3dfx card drivers from nVidia--which does make sense, but I don't like it.

However, I decided to go a head with RC1 and picked up a GF2MX200 which really rocks under XP!

Much better since Beta 2.

Wierd thing is, XP RC1--not fully released--is running smoothly on my duallie, but I'm having hell with Win2k for some reason. At least that eliminates some probable causes...

Ah well, I got on frickin' OS running right now...

I can feel my arguments against XP going away. Not totally sure I'll pick up XP, but I'll at least consider it in a dual boot.

System's hefty enough...

[Brian Frank 0]

Well the MSI crapped out under XP too. I'll see how it runs on a VP6.