Operating Systems
Windows XP
Introduction
Introduction of Microsoft's Windows "XP" operating system is based on the Windows 2000 engine, which was the successor to Windows NT 4.0. According to Microsoft, XP features a new graphical user interface (GUI) that is the most significant update to the Windows interface since Windows 95." Originally code-named "Whistler," Windows XP ships in consumer and business-oriented versions. According to one source, the name XP came about because Bill Gates had grown weary of software named for the year of its introduction, a practice that the company first adopted in 1995. Gates allegedly chose the name "XP" to stand for "experience." (Wagner, 2001)

With the introduction of XP, Microsoft finally merges two separate operating systems that have co-existed and, to a certain extent, competed with each other for eight years. The new OS combines elements of Windows 98 architecture with that of Windows NT. XP have numerous enhancements, including improved "Help" and support and better integration with digital media. Among the new features claimed for XP is the ability to accommodate digital cameras and scanners to copy pictures to the computer, view and print them. Windows XP also simplify viewing video on the Web, editing and sharing films and video and playing back digital video disks. And at approximately the same time that Microsoft releases the new OS, it introduced a new version of Microsoft Office (also called XP) -- a suite of word-processing, spreadsheet, database and presentation applications. (Brooks, 2001)

XP Professional vs. Home
The real differences between XP Professional and XP Home Edition are deliberate and artificial; that is, XP Home will not support multiple processors. The first beta copies wouldn't support multiple screens, but there was an outcry from testers and the release copy does; but if one wants multiple processor support one will have to pay extra and "upgrade" to Professional.
This is a bit like IBM's experiment with PCs as "entry level" systems, and its disastrous experiment with the deliberately crippled PC Jr. My guess is that the code for multiple processors is already in Home Edition but turned off; we'll see just how long it takes the PC user community to deal with that. (Wagner, 2001)

Salient Features of Windows XP
Efficiency
The Microsoft .NET vision meets this need by creating a framework built around XML-Web based services that interoperate via existing open Internet protocols such as TCP/IP and HTTP. This open architecture means that users will be able to gather, manage and use information from any source and in any context.

The XP Help system works better than in Windows 2000 or Windows 9x, in that the messages stay around longer and are easier to act on, and the instructions are clearer. The indexing system is better, although it may require you to pay close attention to what it says. All in all that's fairly nifty, perhaps not up to what it ought to be, but a very definite improvement. (Miller, 2003)
The XP Help system works better than in Windows 2000 or Windows 9x, in that the messages stay around longer and are easier to act on, and the instructions are clearer. The indexing system is better, although it may require you to pay close attention to what it says. All in all that's fairly nifty, perhaps not up to what it ought to be, but a very definite improvement. (Brooks, 2001)

Reliability
While Windows 2000 is perceived as tried, tested and reliable, there are some reasons to implement Windows XP despite the fact that it has an unknown pedigree.
Both operating systems deliver unmatched reliability, performance, manageability and security. Windows XP is, in essence, a further development of Windows 2000 Professional and the underlying core technology can be considered to be identical This means that Windows XP benefits from the same reliability and performance that Windows 2000 delivers, and this has recently been verified through independent testing. (Miller, 2001)

Security
There is one technical problem: Windows is vulnerable to security attacks. XP is said to be less vulnerable than previous versions of Windows but anything this complicated is going to have backdoors and holes in it. It's just bound to, and given the popularity of Windows; it will attract a lot of attention from people who want to discover those holes. (Rapoza, 2004)

Of those looking for security holes, some of the most competent will be investigators looking for holes to fix, and one won't hear about the vulnerability until one hears about the fix as well. Some developers have apparently been threatened with loss of various privileges if they reveal XP vulnerabilities: Microsoft wants to announce the hole and the patch in its own way and time. Alas, in recent times every single hole in Microsoft OS and major applications that has come to light has been discovered -- and in several cases exploited -- before Microsoft released fixes. (Sliwa, 2004)

And of course, plugging the holes in the operating system doesn't fix the other holes in Outlook and other Microsoft applications. Again, having said that, most of the more spectacular worm and virus attacks wouldn't have been worth noting if systems administrators had installed the critical updates that were already released. In defense of the systems administrators who hadn't done that, there have been many patches and upgrades, and installation has not always been simple: It's hard to blame people for hoping to get a lot of that done all at once. It's easier to forgive small offices that don't have a full-time system administrator; if there is a professional SA there's little excuse for not keeping the system up to date.

Another security hole may not be obvious: When one gets one’s Windows XP machine from the vendor, the Administrator account is activated and installed by default, but it is not listed in the active accounts. One would not know it is there by going to Control Panel User Accounts and Passwords. It's there, though, with a blank password by default: Meaning that anyone who knows this can log onto one’s system and do any darned thing that comes to mind. This is carefully explained in the manual, but many who get their systems with the OS preinstalled won't read that manual. (Rapoza, 2004)
Usability

One of Microsoft's goals, however, is to make its operating system prettier and more usable. Stability is also a goal because Microsoft has realized that instability detracts from the operating system's usability. In other words, Microsoft has caught on. According to Microsoft documents, XP has three main goals. The first is a new engine, based on Windows 2000, offering increased application compatibility and stability compared with Windows 2000. The second includes providing new, more visceral experiences, such as photo and video applications, and important things such as a built-in firewall. XP's third goal is a simplified visual design. (Webb, 2002)

It has a pretty interface and is easier for inexperienced users to operate than older operating systems. The commands for various functions are organized into logical groups of tasks, with attractive icons clearly pointing the path. It will be easier for the home user to run multiple applications, such as a quick check of one’s e-mail while one’s kids play computer games.

Bringing digital photos to a PC and then editing or e-mailing them will be easier. Windows Media Player looks more handsome than in previous iterations and, as eye candy, is far more attractive than the cluttered user interface of arch-rival RealPlayer. The new Windows Media Player's user-friendliness may well make some inroads into RealPlayer's market domination, making it necessary for one to encode one’s Web site's streaming video in the Windows Media Player format, as well as RealPlayer. Aside from that, the new XP should have little other direct effect on one’s station or program Web site. With an interface that is easier to use than the current crop of Windows 98 and Windows Millennium Edition PCs, the new OS (operating system) will be directed at consumers. (Taschek, 2001)

However, one should not be fooled into believing that momentum toward a new operating system comes from the ground up. That hasn't happened since the leap forward from the primordial Windows 3.1 to Windows 95 way back when. Upgrade packages are commonly available to install the new system on an existing PC, but the upgrade procedure itself can be balky and buggy, beyond the perceived competencies of non-experts. Unless the upgrade is truly revolutionary--and this Windows ME to Windows XP is evolutionary--few consumers will buy a new PC simply because it comes with the new operating environment. That is where Microsoft excels. By persuasion--and, arguably, by stronger measures--the company convinces most PC manufacturers that they must include the latest system in new computers.
Flexibility
Microsoft Windows XP is quite flexible. It is based upon the improved performance of Windows 2000. It provides quite flexibility by keeping balance among two features. One is that impose performance hits, for example, System Restore and another is speed enhancements, for example, disk access optimizations. It can be said the Windows XP does not require the hardware upgrades that had been required by Windows 2000. It is also found that Windows XP can be run by the same resources that had been used for running Windows 2000. (Thibodeau, 2001)

Manageability
Windows XP is quite manageable because of its some particular benefits reserved for mobile computer users. It supports Microsoft’s Clear Type text display technology that makes it manageable. The horizontal resolution of text is tripled by Clear Type that is rendered on LCD monitors; this causes a noticeable boost in readability. Windows XP has the facility to enable its users for running applications that had been designed for Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000 or NT 4.0. (Brooks, 2001)

The Real XP Problems
The real problem with Windows XP isn't technical, at least not in the sense of stability of the OS. Whatever locked up my game will get fixed soon enough. Historically, Release 1.0 of any Microsoft product has been something to avoid until publication of the first, and probably the second, Service Pack. That's not likely for Windows XP given the enormous numbers of people involved in testing several beta editions and two release candidates. The shipping version of Windows XP is up to at least Version 1.5 and probably up to 2.0. Most reviewers have concluded that this is "the best Windows yet". It's stable, and quite solid.