sponsored by: |
OSdata.com |
Combines Windows NT/2000 professional series with the Windows 98/ME consumer series into a single operating system. Uses a graphic look similar to Apple’s Mac OS X in order to confuse and mislead customers into thinking that Windows XP has similar reliability, security, ease of use, and performance. Windows XP includes a copy protection scheme that may prevent adding or replacing any hardware unless the user obtains a new activation code directly from Microsoft. News articles report demands for a Microsoft-provided activation code when a user has installed software from one of Microsoft’s competitors or even apparently just by “whim” when nothing has been changed.
“There may have been some confusion as to what Microsoft’s Activation does and does not do back when Windows XP was first released, but give me a break, that statement strays far off the path of a site supposedly giving factual information on operating systems. The activation program will only force a person to reactivate upon severe HARDWARE changes (thus, Windows can’t tell its on the same computer anymore). It has NOTHING to do with software or any kind of anti-competitive scheme. Reactivation will NOT be necessary for ANY software changes, period. I would correct that statement if you hope to maintain a site that people regard as unbiased. Thank you.” —Davison Long, via e-mail, 13 Sept 2002e131
Intended purpose
server/mainframe: Microsoft intends Windows XP for server use (but it is the least secure, most hacked, and least powerful of all server operating systems)
desktop/workstation: Microsoft intends Windows XP for workstation and desktop use
handheld: not appropriate
real time: not appropriate
Kind of OS: proprietary
Release Date: 2001
Current Version:
Hardware Supported: Intel/Cyrix/AMD Pentium
Maximum Number of Processors: varies
Windows XP will run on 64 bit processors, but it isn’t a 64-bit OS because it only has 32-bit addressing.
Kernel: proprietary (microkernel)
POSIX: partially supported
“Windows XP is better than earlier versions, but the Windows world is a cacophony of computer makes and models, making compatibility glitches inevitable. The frustration Windows users often experience is reflected in a clickable link I found in Windows XP’s online help: ‘I still can’t scan.’ ” —Jim Heid, “A Study in Contrasts”, Los Angeles Times, March 2002n4
Text Command Shell: DOS command line
Graphic Command Shell: Explorere80
“Microsoft has blundered by burdening Windows XP with frequent sales pitches for Microsoft products and services. Getting started with Windows XP is like watching network TV: The show isn’t bad, but the commercials are annoying.
“If Windows XP feels like ABC, Mac OS X feels like HBO.” —Jim Heid, “A Study in Contrasts”, Los Angeles Times, March 2002n4
Disabled support: none
Market share as of January 2002 | Defacements = about 30,000 between April 2000 and February 2002 |
Microsoft software runs about a quarter of Web servers, but is the target of the majority of successful Web defacement attacks. —Los Angeles Times, February 13, 2002n3 |
Other:
opinion
“The future of Windows is threatened less by the superiority of its competition than the inferiority of Windows, which results from Microsoft’s misplaced priorities. Microsoft’s design decisions are driven more by its attempt to protect its desktop monopoly than by technical excellence.” —Nicholas Petreley, “The new Unix alters NT’s orbit”w74
1.1 MB QuickTime movie of
Bill Gates explaining his criteria for selecting the best operating system.
“Microsoft enjoyed its great success not because it had great software but because people were stuck with it. Market domination, not innovation, drove the company’s success,” wrote James Wallace in the book “Overdrive: Bill Gates and the Race to Control Cyberspace”, John Wiley & Sons, September 1997.
“Windows machines have advantages, too, such as more configuration options, cheaper up front cost, availability of software, snappier response on window controls, cheaper components, more peripherals.” —Why Monopolies Are Bad, by Jeff Adkinsw77
Commentary: Quite simply, Windows guarantees more work for the M.I.S. departments — because it computers require far more technical support to do the same work. And when the M.I.S. departments make computer recommendations to management, they tend to look out for their own job security over the best interests of the business. The same reason that many retail stores also push Wintel machines — it guarantees more work for their highly profitable service departments.
“I use both Macs and Windows XP computers daily, and the Mac is less frustrating, less commercially intrusive, and more elegant. Quite simply, it’s a better computer.” —Jim Heid, “A Study in Contrasts”, Los Angeles Times, March 2002n4
In addition to Macintosh OS X (formerly Rhapsody) (which combines the ease of use and professional content creation capabilities of the Macintosh with the power, reliability, and speed of the NeXT version of UNIX), BeOS, NetWare, and OS/2 Warp Server, any of the many free and commercial versions of UNIX offer a better high end operating system than Windows 2000. See John Kirch’s article “Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versus UNIX” at http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/.
Serious commercial UNIXs include: AIX, Digital UNIX, HP-UX, IRIX, Macintosh OS X, Mac OS X Server(formerly Rhapsody), and Solaris.
Leading free UNIXs include: FreeBSD, GNU Hurd, LINUX, NetBSD, and OpenBSD.
And in the server arena, the leader is still NetWare.
“Randy Kessell, manager of technical analysis for a Southwestern Bell operation center, notes that because Linux allows his company to do more remote network administration and software loads than was possible with either Microsoft or NetWare products, it has driven down their network management costs.” —Ann Harrison, “In LINUX We…”, Software Magazine, Cover Story, September 1998w51
Study after study has shown that Macintoshes are less expensive to support and maintain than Wintel machines. Wintel computers typically cost four to 10 times as much in support costs. Even Intel’s own internal study showed that it was costing them four times as much to support Windows machines as it did to support their Macintoshes (yes, Intel used Macintoshes for mission critical work — and since that study they have been expanding their use of Macintoshes).
Independent studies over the years
continually show that worker productivity is substantially higher on Macintoshes than on Wintel
computers. And the difference is greatest in the creative fields
(pre-press, illustration, digital photography, 2-D and 3-D animation, 3-D
modelling and rendering, film special effects, broadcast video editting, CD-ROM
production, multi-media, music composition and performance, sound editting, and
web site production), where the Macintosh is the most prevalent
computer (even more than the high end graphics work stations — and Macintosh OS X (formerly Rhapsody) brings the Macintosh to the high end graphics
work stations). Macintosh OS
X is numerically the most used form of
See also: http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/, John Kirch’s article “Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versus UNIX”
(for your convenience, look for this symbol marking passages about Windows XP)
Please send recommendations on additional URLs to Milo.
(Frequently Asked Questions)
If you want your book reviewed, please send a copy to: Milo, POB 1361, Tustin, CA 92781, USA.
Price listings are for courtesy purposes only and may be changed by the referenced businesses at any time without notice.
1 Microsoft Way: A Cookbook To Breaking Bill Gates Windows Monopoly Without Breaking Windows (with Linux CD Operating System); by Reginald P Burgess; American Group Publishing; April 27, 1998; ISBN 1891950088; paperback; 208 pages; $17.95
Universal Command Guide; by Guy Lotgering (UCG Team); Hungry Minds, Inc; April 2002; ISBN 0764548336; hardcover with CD-ROM; 1,600 pages; $69.99; cross references all of the commands from: AIX; Solaris; RedHat Linux; Berkeley BSD; NetWare 3.2, 4.11, 5, and 6; DOS 6.22; Windows 95, 98, ME, XP, NT 4 Workstation, NT 4 Server, NT 4 Terminal Server, 2000 Professional, 2000 Server, 2000 Advanced Server; Citrix Mainframe 1.8; and Mac 9
If you want your book reviewed, please send a copy to: Milo, POB 1361, Tustin, CA 92781, USA.
For more details, click here.
Note: Please mail donations to: Milo, PO Box 1361, Tustin, Calif, 92781, USA. The person who was taking the credit card donations kept all of the money that was donated via credit cards.
A web site on dozens of operating systems simply can’t be maintained by one person. This is a cooperative effort. If you spot an error in fact, grammar, syntax, or spelling, or a broken link, or have additional information, commentary, or constructive criticism, please e-mail Milo. If you have any extra copies of docs, manuals, or other materials that can assist in accuracy and completeness, please send them to Milo, PO Box 1361, Tustin, CA, USA, 92781.
If you have an extra or unwanted copy of any official manuals or documentation on this operating system, please send them to: Milo, POB 1361, Tustin, CA 92781, USA. I have the following items: NONE.
Note: I am looking for a fan of Windows XP who has the time to check this web site for completeness and accuracy regarding Windows XP. Just check through the site about once a week or so and report back with any information (including the URL of the web page you are reporting).
Click here for our privacy policy.
Click here to skip over the summaries of individual operating systems.
previous page | next page |
Digital UNIX (or DUNIX) |
||
OpenVMS (or OVMS) | ||
This web site handcrafted on Macintosh computers using Tom Bender’s Tex-Edit Plus and served using FreeBSD .
†UNIX used as a generic term unless specifically used as a trademark (such as in the phrase “UNIX certified”). UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Ltd.
Names and logos of various OSs are trademarks of their respective owners.
Copyright © 2002, 2003 Milo
Last Updated: January 29, 2003
Created: January 14, 2002
Click here to skip over the summaries of individual operating systems.
previous page | next page |