Tell me what is this Windows XP
Windows XP is a operating system for all types of users with new features, improved programs, and tools.
Windows XP is available in Home (for home users) and professional (for power users) editions, professional edition has additional features for security, performance and remote access compared to home edition.
Fellow writers on MS have very well covered features in XP in there reviews, I will primarily focus on benchmark issues relating to the product.
Positive aspects of Windows XP
It’s Stable
Its very common to see flashing blue screen error messages with Microsoft products but for the first time Microsoft has released a product which is more stable.
I tried hard to play mischief by altering vulnerable settings and it did not flashed any blue screens or crashed.
Windows XP is also not haunted by memory leaks and buffer overflow problems which are common in Windows NT 4 and windows 2000.
This new found stability can be attributed to the use of new networking technology called Unix Sockets.
Easy to Use
Microsoft as part of a deliberate marketing strategy to target home users had re-designed and simplified user operations in Windows XP.
Most visible re-design work done by them relates to start menu and taskbar to launch applications, finding documents and changing settings.
To please home users they have added new themes, color settings and background images that have rounded corners.
Microsoft has also added new tools and wizards to make configuring and operating easy, this include new updated drivers for supporting hardware where by enhancing Plug and Play approach, fire wall and Anti Virus to protect system from hackers and worms, new media manager for true multimedia affects.
Performance
The best aspect of Windows XP is its performance, Microsoft team has done really a great job on performance optimization issues.
Widows XP follow a new optimizing approach to load applications by maintaining a log and stores files used in starting applications in it, Next time when the application is started Windows XP immediately refers to the log and loads the concerned files relating to the application in one go, this new approach reduces number of disk seeks drastically and improves application loading and execution time this is totally in contract to earlier approach of reading from configuration files and registry resulting in hundreds of disk seeks.
Microsoft has also applied a similar type of optimization in system boot-up process resulting in faster boot time.
Negative aspects of Windows XP
Security
Microsoft media managers use heavy jargons in media campaigns to promise users a safe, secure and private computing experience using Windows XP but that is not entirely true.
After facing significant security related problems in Windows NT and Windows 2000, Microsoft decided to use Unix based networking technology ’Unix Sockets’ in Windows XP to get rid of memory leaks and buffer over flow problems, It has defiantly worked in containing Memory leaks and Buffer over flow problems but opened new areas of security lapses.
One fine day Maiffret and his men from eEye Digital Security Inc demonstrated to the whole world by hacking into a media reporter’s laptop running windows XP and successfully instructed the computer to connect multiple times to the Web site for the National Security Agency, the government’s super-secret spy agency.
Minor Itches
Error number 0xfffffdf0
While upgrading from Windows Me or 98 to Windows XP Professional Edition you may get error number 0xfffffdf0, this is because of stray files present in \windows\system32\Catroot2 folder from previous installations that were not properly removed, you have to manaully remove these files to correct the problem.
Error Message ’Invalid Line’
You may encounter this error with machines having BIOS limitations, you have to update your BIOS in this case.
This problem is mostly found ThinkPad 600, 600E laptop series.
Conclusion
Whistler (Microsoft code name for Windows XP) is the best operating system released till date, but is fogged by security related problems because of the use of Unix Sockets and lack of proper testing before releasing the product.
Microsoft has once again kept up its image by treating its Windows XP paid customers as guinea pigs and making the in house process of Alpha and Beta testing a mockery.
Guys keep off it till the security issues are resolved completely.