Microsoft Windows XP Professional [Old Version]

Windows Product Activation (wpa)

Windows Product Activation is a new feature Microsoft is adding to it's new line of Operation System XP. The idea in theory is that it will help cut down on software piracy. Windows XP will be like Shareware in that you have a certain amount of time to use it before you have to activate your copy with the company. The difference is, Microsoft has made the activation extremely difficult to bypass and will cut down on piracy. When you install XP you will be asked to activate, by clicking yes, it will send the Product key you used to install the software and check it in the database to see if its been used before and by another computer. If you buy a new computer you will have to get a new Product ID number from Microsoft. This part of Activation is a mistake because if your like me, I build my own computers and replace them every few months to a year or so which means I have to contact Microsoft everytime to get a new ID.

LUNA

Luna is the new interface in XP. The greenish Start Button and blue Taskbar have given XP a nicer and smoother look. If you don't like the colors then you are free to change them or use another theme. XP has better theme support and will allow you to fully customize your computer to the look you want. Another great feature about XP new interface is ability to customize folders in such a way you could of never done with the previous versions of Windows. For an example. If you have a folder full of pictures and your not sure which picture is which and you don't want to open them all up to find the one your looking for. All you have to do is: On your Tool bar is a view opinion. Select Thumnails. This will show all of your pictures in Thumnails preview. You can also group your pictures by name or by letters.

Networking / Internet Security

When it comes to Home or Work Networking, XP delivers a knockout. XP comes with some amazing tools to help you configure your network without using expensive programs on the internet. Just follow the step by step wizard and your done. When talking about a network theres nothing more important then security. Lets face it, since I got my high speed connection, I have been scanned at least 3 times a day by someone looking for an open port on my computer to connect to. Microsoft XP protects you from this by featuring a built in Firewall. The firewall for the most part works great.

CLOSING THOUGHT

I have also learned of a new feature that will be built in to XP. Its a video tutorial to help beginners and even the novice Windows user to maximize his or her computer. Theres no need to buy a book on XP. The books is included in the tour and why read boring pages when you can see a video showing you every step of the way. Microsoft is really out doing themeselves and I am looking forward to the final version of XP which is due to hit stores on Oct. 25.


A new era or Microsoft combined with Reliability   July 8, 2001
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I have been evaluatin this item in Beta form for 3 months. It is rock solid and hasn't burped once. I have used it with: Tyan S1830 Motherboard, CPUs from PII 350 to PIII700, 192mb ram, 3 of the 4gb Seagate SCSI Hard Drives, LS120, Plextor 8/4/20 SCSI CDRW, Plextor 40 SCSI CDROM, ATI Rage Pro 32mb AGP and 3D VooDoo 2000 16mb AGP, multiple IDE drives, Rockwell Chipset Modem, USR Modem, Creative Labs ISA (OLD) SB16, Adapted 2940 PCI SCSI, a Multitude pf Printers and on a Network. It detected every hardware product so well it's how we identified hardware that we needed drivers for for other operating systems. I'm a Microsoft reseller and I wish I could buy stock in this product line...Best from Microsoft yet! I have seen a few other operating systems, microsoft and otherwise, that I would not rank nearly so well!