i decided on pretty much everything until Dell decided to add the windows XP option.

whats the deal with it? is the the latest version of windows or is it windows ME with a couple of updates?

XP home is $50 more than ME. XP Pro is $150 more than XP Home. Win 2000 pro if $150 more than XP Pro

this is going to be a basic home computer. i have a laptop that id like to hook up to it, so i can transfer files/network games

money wise, id like XP Home/ME.

any ideas?

 

Not exactly sure what the difference between xp and xp pro is.

But I upgraded today....about 10 minutes ago from Me to XP Pro and it's much 'cooler'

Does the same thing i guess It hasn't crashed yet either.

Go with xp/xp pro.

Me will become obsolete

Sanjay

 

XP Pro has multiple processor support. Thats the difference! You should get that!

 

XP is a completely revised OS with a new user interface. It isn't just a halfarse upgrade from ME or 98 for that matter.

I use Win2000 Premium but you don't need it if its for simple home computing...it's more for servers and server control.

I heard its a must have for newer applications as these apps may no longer work on the older operating systems...but i'm not sure.

 

i say go with me since it is no extra and then just d/l windows xp off the internet for free...

 

Win 2k Pro for me. The standard version supports up to 2 processors.

WinXP has an unbearable licensing agreement. I simply can't bring myself to support that nonsense.

 

I'd vote for the Win2000 also. If you do anything with MP3's you might get an unpleasant surprise with XP. Seems Microsoft is helping out the RIA (and themselves) by screwing up the recording format of CDROM.

 

I just got a new dell two weeks ago and they sent a free upgrade coupon with the system for XP home version.

 

Why doesnt anyone like Windows ME? I love it.. i have had it for about a year now. 2000 pro is great, but it does me no good, im not on a network or anything, i used my computer for mulimedia. I think Windows ME, is the best for that. Also how many home users are running dual processors?


And windows XP? ur kidden right? HAHA. Im going to stay away from that as long as i can!!!!

 

XP pro has 2 processor support and it also allows for more policy based security and encryption. Windows 2000 is rock solid, I've switched from 98 SE and I'm never going back. Windows ME is a mixed story. This OS has gotten 50/50 reviews since it came out. For half the people it works perfect, for the other haf...it plain sucks. If you have ME working great I'd say don't touch a damn thing. Otherwise 2000 is far more stable than ME. (plus 2000 gives you policy based security, NTFS journaling file system, encryption on your files, multi-processor support, and more.)

XP has been said to be faster than the current line-up of OS's, but I haven't tried it yet. Their licensing scheme is rediculous, but they need to crack down on piracy. I think windows 2000 is actually worth paying for...unfortunatly I can't say that for any of their other OS's...maybe XP but I haven't used it yet.

 

How can I switch from 98SE to Windows 2K for free? Is it possible to download from somewhere or can you use someone elses software?

 

you guys know such things are always crackable.

go with xp , the way i see it , it's a win 2000 and ME's features combined( gaming & some enhanced multi media support for example)

 

I agree. I was very uninterested in XP until recently. Now, I am planning on buying it the day it comes out (only 8 more days until retail release - it's already available on new computers).

Currently, I have to dual boot between Win ME and Win 2000. I use Win2k for video editing, because FAT32 is limited to 4GB files, which only gets you 18 minutes of video. If I want to capture an entire 1 hour digital video tape, the file is 13 GB, so I need NTFS to do that. We use Win ME for games, mostly.

With XP, I can use 1 OS to do everything. It is the long-awaited merger of the NT and consumer(Win95-98) versions of Windows. If it is as good as everyone has been saying, it really will be a dream come true - the compatibility of Win98 with the stability of Win2k. I have already checked and everything we run is supposed to be compatible with XP - including several apps that were never supported by Win2000.

And yes, the licensing sucks, but can you really blame Microsoft for wanting us to pay for every copy of Windows that we use? Besides, I'm sure it's just a matter of time before it's cracked.

 

ME sucks! Too many fuqueing bugs! I can't wait for XP! Fuqueing too many bugs..........

 

Go with XP but wait about 6 months for them to work out the bugs and release a version b like they did with win95/98, ME and 2000. XP has features from ME and 2000. ME just plain sucks though.

 

1. XP is NOT a completelr revised OS. Think of is as an upgrade from Win2000. Most tech. articles will tell you that. MS just changed a lot of UI to give people the false sense of major upgrade. W2K was a major upgrade from NT, but definitely not XP.

2. Do you mean W2K Professional? There is no sure thing as Win2000 Premium.

 

Win ME is actually slower than 98. However it depends on how you use it. I have been dual-booting 98 and W2K. So far so good.

 

i think XP Home sounds right for my needs

quick q: whats all this strict licensing stuff? how does it affect me?

 

Basically, Microsoft has made it so that each copy of Windows XP can only be used on a single computer, to prevent copying. It remains to be seen if this will be effective, and in my experience people have been able to break copy protection schemes as fast as they come out.

You can read about it at http://www.microsoft.com/WINDOWSXP/h...activation.asp

Warning - this page may induce vomitting when you read the part about how this stuff is really there to protect you.

 

how the hell is that possible? what if i format my computer? what if i install it on my old computer?

how does IT know its a different computer?

 

I totally agree with MS in the fact they need something to crack down on piracy -- But in reality, with this registration nonsense the only person they make life difficult for iis the actual user who paid for it, or got it with their new pc.

The version of XP pro that was given to me (copied) didn't require any registration at all and works 100% so it's already been cracked

sanjay

 

sainani, would you give me a copy of xp?

 

Exactly.

And another thing about XP: I hope Microsoft gets its ass sued by the DOJ once more for including the Microsoft Passport authentication API into their OS API. You think bundling Explorer is bad; how about bundling an entire authentication scheme right into the OS's API to crowbar their way into Verisign's domain?

Antitrust!

 

I agree completly. I would never get the XP.. too much crap with that activation process thing and you cant install this and you cant upgrade that... forget about XP. I have ME.. its ok.. does crash about once a week.. at most.. but nothing major.. IF you want stability go with W2K.. if u want more compability go with ME..

 

three days after teh XP came out there were already programs that would bypass the activation completly. HEHE.

 

Or you can simply download the corporate version of XP and not have to worrying about cracking it.

 

it has already been broken, my friend back home has got a copy of the OEM version since a month ago. He's been using it for a month now and everything ran flawlessly.

 

how do u use PM's?

bigjoejack -- email me.

fon233@icqmail.com

you don't work for MS, do you?

 

Well if you guys read some more on monopoly and economics, you will know that all those MS stuff are just BIG BS!!!

Seriously... Of course there are piracy, becase the demand and supply are not at the equlibrium. MS jacked up the price on the software to make more profit (now this can only be done with monopoly due to the lack of competition)

Not everyone actually pay for win XP even if it's $10 a copy. But I am sure that A LOT more people are willing to buy one.

 

<soapbox>
Microsoft has not produced any real, innovative, fundamental improvements to their OS since Windows NT, and many home users are experiencing the "good enough" plateau with the advent of 800+ MHz PC's. There is no clear reason why any corporation would upgrade from NT 4 to Win2k, or why any home user would want XP over Win98.

Microsoft's solution? Pay-as-you-go. Their .NET initiative is a poor excuse to charge people per use of MS software, and XP is a way for them to shoehorn their .NET authentication platform (Passport) into the home.

Truth is, the "improvement" in WinXP consists of 80% eye candy and 20% Passport. Don't waste your dollars. Buy a real nice game or an innovative product like a good hard drive or an LCD monitor instead. Force Microsoft to actually improve their crap before you give them another dime.
</soapbox>