Microsoft Windows XP Professional Upgrade [OLD VERSION]
by Microsoft Software

List Price: $199.00
Our Price: $119.95
You Save: $79.05 (40%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used and New: from $30.49 (click here)
Category: Software
See more product details and other editions

Software Summary

• Microsoft Streets and Trips 2005 GPS [Old Version]
• eTrust EZ Armor 2005
• Adobe Acrobat 6.0 Professional Upgrade [Old Version]
• Microsoft Office Standard Edition 2003 Upgrade [OLD VERSION]
• Microsoft Office XP Standard Upgrade [Old Version]

Software Reviews of Microsoft Windows XP Professional Upgrade [OLD VERSION]

Customer Review: A great facelift for an incredibly stable platform (Win2000)
Summary: 5 Stars

Useful Features Exclusive to XP Professional:
- Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) - You network can set up it's systems with a single Internet connection. This is a cost saver.
- Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) - System administrators can monitor and control the system using scripting and/or third-party applications.
- Dual-CPU Utilization - If you have a dual-CPU system (which are becoming more common), XP Professional, like NT and 2000, are able to use it. This allows for more efficient multi-tasking, video rendering, audio encoding, and graphics editing.
- Domain Login - At login you are able to login to your networks domain, as it was with NT and 2000.
- Enhanced Security settings

I have been a user of DOS, Windows 3.11, Windows 95, 98, and ME. My favorite OS, however, has been Windows 2000 Professional. After severe crashes, and abysmal memory management in 98 and Me, Win2000 provided a staple platform, which ran my most used applications (Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Office 2000, Flash 5) without a problem. It could be said that XP is the culmination of the best of WinME and Win2000.

Now, I had never been a fan of the "appearance" of Windows, (Mac OS 9 - and 10- had the trophy for the most attractive GUI) but the look had grown a bit stale...until Windows XP.

On installation, you notice that the beginning has a look of WinME - with it's installation wizard - but the second part of the installation looks like Windows 2000 - with it's DOS look. That is the end of the physical similarities.

During the installation, it picked up all of my components with no problem, and had all of the drivers needed, including my Network card, and monitor. At first boot-up (which is about half the Windows 2000 wait on my Athlon 1.2Ghz), you notice an attractive boot splash screen, which then brings you to the first major feature:

After setting up and selecting your profile, you come to the main screen. Built with a cleaner, highly customizable GUI, Windows XP can be either exciting for someone who loves to tweak, or a bit intimidating to those who don't (Be aware of that before going in).

The start menu is different (though you can revert to the "Classic" style), in layout and function. It provides full access to the main parts you need. The requisite "Start" menu has been revised to include My Computer, Network Neighborhoods, and/or whatever else you may want. It's quite customizable.

XP Useful features:
Not built on the older DOS engine
- Compatibility mode - allows setting programs, which may no be native to XP, to run in 95/98/ME/NT/2000 "mode". Great feature, and it has worked on all programs I have tried.
- Enhanced battery life for laptops by:
a) Lid Power. Display is shut down when "lid" (screen) is closed.
b) LCD Dimming. When using battery power, the display is dimmed, and brightness is restored when plugged into AC.
- Device driver rollback - a wonderful feature which allows you to "roll-back" to the previous driver, in case you have a conflict with your newly installed one. Allows beta-testing drivers.
- Search Companion - much more advanced (and needed) search feature.
- ClearType - much more precise and clean look for LCD and laptop displays. Also looks great on typical monitors.
System Restore - carried over from WinME, this feature allows "points" to be created, in order to restore system setting in case you run into problems. Timesaving.
- Completely re-designed GUI
- Customized Desktops - allows multiple "profiles" to be set up (husband, wife, and kids for example) which retain settings for icon placement, wallpaper, icons shown, and more. This is great if one of you likes a cluttered (i.e. save everything to desktop J) desktop, and another likes a clean one. In my case, my wife doesn't want to see all of my icons for my programs, just the one little game she plays all the time. This feature gives XP some personality that has been missing.

XP Fairly Useful Features:
- CD Burning - Nice inclusion of basic CD burning capabilities, but it must be said, that "basic" means "basic." Not hybrid Mac/PC burns, no on-the-fly burning, VCD, etc. Get Nero 5.5.5.1 if you want great burning software.
- Windows Messenger - MS answer to AOL Instant Messenger, allows quick connection to friends, and allows file trading. But it's also annoying. It takes a toll on the system resources, so you may find yourself disabling it (like I did ;-).
- Self-contained Firewall - though not as robust as third-party ones (ZoneAlarm, Norton, etc.), it is adequate for most users.

XP Misleading/Irritating Features:
- DVD playback - this would be a nice feature...it existed. As it is, however, you need a third-party CODEC, in order to view DVDs.
Microsoft Media Player - MP3 ripping/playing is relegated to 96-bitrate, due to "protecting copyrights" of CDs. You must get the Plus! Pack in order to do higher bitrate ripping. It's ironic that the WMA (Microsoft's own format) can be ripped to and played at higher bitrates.

Stability:
Anyone familiar with Windows 2000/NT, will be impressed with XP's stability. I have had to reboot only a couple of times, through the Beta and final versions, and then only due to my motherboard settings.

Users of Win95/98/ME will be very happy to know that they will not have the conflicts/crashes which plagues those OSs.

From here you are on your own, but believe me, it is quite a bit of fun to get to know this OS. NOTE: Microsoft has release it's first bug fix/update...SP1. Contains numerous fixes, including the SB Live! 5.1...

Description of Microsoft Windows XP Professional Upgrade [OLD VERSION]

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

Enhancements in real-time voice, video, and data communications will allowthe PC to become a center of communications and creativity beyond juste-mail and instant messaging. Windows XP will also allow the user toconnect back to the desktop from any location, and support for new wirelessnetworks will be built in. Windows XP will unify the user's supportexperience by enabling the user to provide temporary and secure control oftheir PC over the Internet to whomever can best help them.

Windows XP takes an end-to-end approach to how people transfer videos andpictures onto their computer, how they use them on their PC and otherdevices, and how they share them, whether in person or through e-mail, over the Web, or through removable media like DVDs and CDs. It extends this experience through applications that help users buy music and videos, mobile devices, services for saving your music on the Internet, and more. Windows XP will make it easier for households to share a single PC and share pictures, music, files,printers, and other resources.

Microsoft Windows Software

• Software > Categories > Operating Systems > Microsoft Windows