Should You Upgrade to Windows XP?

• Author: CIESLAK, DAVID M.
• Position: Software Review - Evaluation

Wondering whether to upgrade to the latest Microsoft operating system, Windows XP? Want to know if Windows XP Professional is a good investment of your time and money, or if XP merely stands for "extra profit" for Microsoft?

THE SHORT ANSWER

Yes, you probably ought to upgrade to Windows XP Professional if You're still running Windows 95 or Windows 98 (Windows 9X) technology, regardless of your office size. Microsoft will not support Windows 95, 98 and NT 4.0 forever (see the October issue of California CPA for more details).

If you're using Windows 2000 already, the reasons to upgrade are not quite as compelling. In the simplest terms, Windows XP is based on the Windows 2000 core, but offers a better-looking interface.

If you've got Windows 2000 and it's stable, there's probably not a whole lot of reason to move to XP. The new features in Windows XP aren't going to be enough to rock your world. You're already on what amounts to the NT core, and NT is the underlying technology for Windows 2000, which is a 32-bit, stable operating system.

MYTHS FROM MARVELS

After using Windows XP for a few weeks now, I've discovered some very good reasons to upgrade. With 40 to 50 programs installed, I've encountered only a few minor incompatibilities. There are also new music and multimedia features, the task bar is better organized and zip compression and fax services are built-in so you no longer need to purchase and install separate zip compression or fax utilities.

Not all of the new features of Windows XP are all they're cracked up to be, however. Microsoft offers several reasons to upgrade to Windows XP Professional on its Web site, www.Microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/evaluation/whyupgrade/top10.asp. Let's take a look at a few of them and separate the myths from the marvels of Windows XP.

* It's 46 Percent Faster than Windows 98 Second Edition. Yes, Windows XP is much faster than the Windows 98 second edition, perhaps even the entire 46 percent faster touted by Microsoft. It is notably faster to boot up as well as shut down.

* Fast Resume from Hibernation or Standby. It's truly mind-blowing how fast a laptop can come back to life from hibernate mode with Windows XP. I often don't reboot for days at a time and it just comes right back up.

* Remote Desktop. One of the selling features of Windows XP is the Remote Desktop. In theory, you can create a virtual desktop and have a friend or IT professional who is also running XP remotely control your computer to...