Windows XP is the most commonly used version of Microsofts popular Windows operating system or OS. It is feature packed and has low requirements so it will run on most PCs.
The Look Microsoft has really jazzed Windows XP up compared to the previous dull grey looks of Windows 2000. As soon as you boot into the Windows interface you will be greeted with a friendly blue Welcome screen with the colourful new Windows logo. To begin you simply click your username, which will be displayed along with a little picture of your choice, you can pick from a car, frog to a cute dog or add your own picture if you prefer. Once you have entered your password and clicked the green enter button you will be taken to the new Windows Desktop. Here the new look is also in full effect as we get a new blue Taskbar with a bright green Start button, along with a very nice wallpaper with green rolling hills and blue sky, which is appropriately called Bliss. Windows now animate a lot better popping up when you click on them and the start menu slickly slides open when pressed. These neat little effects can take their toll on slower hardware so you will be pleased to know you can switch them off, and for a classic professional (boring!) look you can switch to Windows Classic which is reminiscent of Windows 2000.
Using XP Using XP is a pleasure over previous versions of Windows; it is so much more helpful and intuitive. For a start the Start menu has been given a makeover when clicked you will see your default web browser and E mail client, your recently used applications and there is a handy button to click which
will show you all your programs. On the other side you have quick links to your documents, pictures, music and My computer. Power users will love the integration of the control panel and a handy button to set program defaults. If you are stuck you can use the included Help and Support button to search for problems and Search to find your missing documents, along with the Run button to run a program. At the bottom of the start menu you have the Log off button and a button to turn off your PC. They have introduced a new function here called switch user which is accessible when you press the log of button, this allows you to change user accounts but it saves your desktop as it is and keeps any programs you had open running. This can drain resources a little but it is very convenient especially if you share a PC.
Using devices with XP is so much easier than ever before as Windows has many basic drivers preloaded, so simply plug your device in and whether it be a USB memory stick or a Printer, Windows will probably detect it and you will be able to use it straight away! You may not get all functionality from the basic Windows drivers and have to download and install them but at least you can use your device!
Security is important to Windows XP and it has been given a brand new Security Centre in its update to Service Pack 2, here you can configure Windows Firewall, which will protect your PC from anyone trying to hack you. You usually have to pay to get a firewall so the fact that Windows provides one for free is very welcome. Windows Automatic updates are also accessible from here, no longer do you need to visit Microsoft.com to get your updates (you can if you want to) it is so easy to configure Windows to automatically update itself with all the latest features and security patches. You can pick a time you want Windows to update and it will do it, simple as that. Windows will also manage your Virus protection software, informing you if it ever gets out of date, this is useful but Windows cannot assist you in updating your antivirus and provides no basic antivirus of its own.
Windows XP has a lot of built in gizmos to keep you playing around, these include some great features such as a magnifier to help you read the fine print you sometimes get, a narrator to read your documents and web pages to you, though he is a bit of a drone and you may fall asleep while listening to him! An on screen keyboard, which is really helpful in situations such as if your keyboard isn't detected or is damaged, you can still use Windows properly. A sound recorder which is great fun to muck around with recording your own sounds and speeding them up or slowing them down! A basic word processor called WordPad but I recommend you get Microsoft Office or at least Open Office as it is rather basic. You also get your usual array of built in Windows games, FreeCell, Hearts, Backgammon, Reversi, Spades, Minesweeper and a new game called 3D Pinball which are all great for playing around on when we should be working!
For Internet access Windows is extremely easy to set up and after simply plugging in an Ethernet connector you will be online straight away, if you have a wireless card in your PC Windows XP has a built in Wireless Network configuration utility which will get you online in no time. Windows Internet Explorer is the default browser provided which one of the best and has all the functions you would expect, bookmarking, tabbed browsing, integration of Windows Media Player and a handy customizable built in search bar. I would use it but as most of the malware on the Internet is targeted at Internet Explorer as it is the most common browser I prefer to use Mozilla Firefox. To access your Emails Windows XP has a built in version of its very popular mail client Outlook, this is called Outlook Express which is a stripped down version. Here you can easily manage your emails and address book but there are no calendar and notifying facilities that you get with the full version of Outlook.
Multimedia is easily accessible on Windows XP through Windows Media Player, this will play all your music, videos, DVDs and so on. The interface is quite slick and has been modernised. It includes some really interesting visualizations you can watch while your music is playing and can become quite hypnotic! It also has cool skins available for it so you can completely change the look to suit you. Games are also available for Windows XP, XP has support for DirectX 9 which is out of date now with the launch of DirectX10 but that is exclusive to Microsoft's new OS Windows Vista. I wouldn't worry too much though as many games do not support Direct X10. The catalogue of games available for XP is immense and spans many genres, from Flight Simulator 2004 to Unreal Tournament 3, Windows XP will keep every gamer happy and until DirectX 10 is the standard I see no need leave XP and buy Vista.
Conclusion & System Requirements As you can see the system requirements are quite low and most PCs will have no trouble running XP, however I would recommend a 1GHz Processor, 512MB RAM, 80GB Hard Disk and a DVD drive to get all the benefits out of Windows XP. Of course the better the machine you have the faster XP will run so if you are buying a new machine, don't skimp out and get the cheapest available! A Windows XP OEM License will cost you around £65 and a retail copy will cost you around £170, I strongly recommend the OEM version as the only benefit you get with the retail version is tech support and no amount of tech support is worth £100 more! The price for the OEM version is fair price to pay; but the retail is a bit of a rip off and for a little more you could get Windows Vista. Overall Windows XP is a great and easy to use operating system; you've got to love the look and feel that the new version of Windows offers along with its wide range of built in features. With its wide range of supported devices and software and low system requirements I cannot find any fault with it! 5/5
System Requirements 300 MHz CPU 128 MB of RAM 1.5 GB of available hard disk space Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher-resolution video adapter with at least 8 MB of video RAM and monitor CD-ROM or DVD drive Network adapter Sound card and speakers Keyboard and Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device
Pictures
The XP desktop.
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