XP launched today. just a servey on who bought it.

[alucard2050]

who out there bought their copy of XP today? who already had their copy of XP. who out there likes it compaired to other OS?

[ember]

I know someone who bought it: they had Win ME before and quite old hardware associated with it (page scanner, old CD-RW) - stuff that worked ok on WinME cuz the inherited drivers were Win 9.x. But guess what? Some of his hardware isn't supported anymore - no Win2000 drivers, so he couldn't get them to work. Also, he tried a Win2000 driver for his Onstream Tape backup - it kept giving "blue" scren (albeit light blue color) on logging out of WinXP Professional. He also tried the WindowsXP driver database. No luck. My advice - if you are getting a new PC - get a pre-made one with XP on it. IF you are suckered into a major hardware upgrade - then that's what you should do.

[mem_user]

I bought it today. Went to Best Buy and got XP home edition for $85 plus got a free audio cd of my choice and a free 128 mg of pc133 ram. Got all of this for $92 even with tax. I thought that was a pretty good deal. Best Buy add said memory was 39.99 with an instant 20 rebate and a 19 mail in rebate but they only charged me 20 and gave me the instant rebate which made if free on the spot.

[tinycorkscrew]

I like it much more than any of the Win9x operating systems.

In my experience, it does a better job recognizing and finding drivers for hardware than the older OS's.

I feel for the guy who couldn't get XP to recognize some of his stuff, but I've got equipment that 95, 98 and WinME won't recognize (even after hunting down drivers) that XP finds right away at bootup.

So far the only progs that don't work correctly (or at all) are WinOnCD, an old version of Easy CD Creator, and Virtual Game Station (which didn't work in NT or 2000 anyway).

[maximus200]

i think xp has some cool features but yes, a lot of software does not work properly. A lot of games do not work and some dvd programs do not work. I guess it all comes down to what software u use. If u use xp compatible software, then xp is fanastic, if not then it sucks.

Some games that didnt work for me properly were worms3, madden2002-just loads slow, gp500 and a few dvd players.

[TIbrO]

I have the Devils0wn release installed right now, but I bought XP Professional from OfficeMax last night because they had a deal I just could not resist...
They give you McAfee Viruscan newest version, a new CDRW drive that is faster than the one I have now, 256MB of PC133 SDRAM that I don't need and will probably sell (my mobo maxes out at 1.5GB), and a new HP scanner... my old scanner broke back in the day when I upgraded to Windows 98. My favourite part of the deal is the digital Camera they include, though...

All of this for $50 more than Windows XP Professional costs.
I can't wait to have my first legal MS OS since Windows 95.

[d4n13l]

TIbrO, I dont know if you got my Email to you 2 days ago... I suspect that you didnt though as some of the things that you have said... I said in my email that I would buy the RAM off you if you wanted.

As for the topic... I am fortunate enough to have been sent XP Pro by one of the nicest people on this planet... for free... . But, I am afraid that before I even use it... Linux beats it. You just cant drop to a commmand line and rule the "world" with XP. But I am just a command line nerd: You 'GUI-ers' wouldnt understand my "perversion". However, I can tell that it is gonna rip the hell out of any flavour of Win9x.

[chucklz]

Typical 'Cry before you Try' comment from the Linux guy above!

Especially since I am a command line freak too, and find I can do most of what I need to from the Windows XP command prompt (some I can only do from the command prompt - ie. shutdown a remote computer!).

I have been using, and developiong for XP for a few months, through an MSDN subscription.

Most professional or power users will be pleased with XP, as it can do almost anything that previous versions of Windows could do (try using the compatibility settings, before giving up on a program - not easy to find or use, but a Godsend once you do).

XP will use 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000 or XP drivers, so there should not be a problem there either, although some architectures have become obsolete (a friend could not install their ISA scanner until they upgraded to a PCI connection).

There are some annoying 'features' particularly around software that does not respect copyright but I have got round all these problems so far.

Basically, if you know what you are doing then XP is not much different from any Microsoft software - you just need to know its limits, and how to get round them. Otherwise, for the average home user, I would wait until it has got a bit steadier, and there is more support information available.

However, I do not recommend paying for the product, as Bill has learnt nothing from his anti-trust appearances in court, and this version of Windows is a step closer to his monopolisation of the computer market. On this count I am sure I will be in total agreement with my Linux buddy above, and would recommend Linux (for all its inadequacies) for that simple reason!

[Operationz]

not gonna buy it nor will I ever use it!
I'll stick to NT and 2000 for now; Linux when I finally get used to it!

[d4n13l]

M$ > /dev/0

I try to have as many OSs as possible, each has their own set of pros and cons. I do keep to one strict rule though... to never pay for any of them.
One day though... open source will rule the world.