Ballistics Report

Pros

Windows NT/2000 core and kernel
Those who have seen the horrors of Windows 9x know the pain first hand of having to troubleshoot a shot operating system. Thankfully, and hopefully, those troubles will be reduced to a minimum. Microsoft hopes that you won't ever have to experience a blue screen, but what would Windows be without them?

During tests, Windows XP performed very well and only crashed on us once because of a hardware problem we ran to with sound cards and dual processors. With a quick call and a swift driver update, Windows XP ran flawlessly and the test machine has been running for almost four weeks. This is quite a feat for the average Windows system. Stability has definitely improved.

Boot Speed
The first thing anyone will probably notice is how fast Windows XP boots. Thanks to clever programming, Windows loads enough drivers to start the GUI, and continues to load other drivers after releasing control to the user. This gets you in and working much faster than previously possible.

Gamers will definitely appreciate Windows XP's improved driver model and support. Thanks to the tuned HAL and DirectX layer, Windows XP performs like a champ. You've already seen our preliminary Windows XP benchmarks before and things only improved since then. Microsoft is making an effort to move everyone over to Windows XP and off the old Windows 9x core as soon as possible.

Multiprocessor Support
With support for more than one processor in Windows XP, more users may upgrade to machines that support it. For many casual users the gains are minimal, but those who work with productivity software will realize the full benefits of having dual processors. We hope that more game developers will see this trend and adopt these features for their future games. Only then will we see more home computers take advantage of Windows XP's power - although by then, there might be Windows VR XP 06!

Compatibility
We've tested many applications and games varying in age and virtually all of them worked fine. If one misbehaved, we simply used Windows XP's compatibility feature and the problem was fixed.

Driver support for WDM is also a high priority on Microsoft's list of to do's. We really don't see this as being anything else but beneficial for everyone in the industry. It'll reduce problems for people looking for drivers and for those who don't even know what drivers are. Companies will appreciate the decline in tech support calls as well as streamlining everything in their R&D department. WDM is the way to go for drivers.

Resource Management and protection
Being able to take advantage of all available memory in a system, Windows XP manages memory better than previous versions as well as making sure memory stays healthy and intact. Improved memory, kernel and driver protection at a low level reduces the chances of a hard crash. With memory prices at an all time low, Windows XP may make perfect sense for many.

User support
With features like Driver Rollback, Remote Assistance and System Restore, we're pretty positive that even novices will feel safe mucking around with their system. With a few simple clicks, anyone can go from a headache inducing monster to a trouble free and productive system - for us gamers though, it's quite the opposite.

Built in firewall will help those with high-speed Internet connections safe from prying eyes. But if there is a concern that a hacker or a virus will destroy files, one can always pop in a blank CD and be on their way. Also, should the system need a critical update, Windows will display a message and ask the user if they'd like to perform an update.

Cons

High requirements
A 300MHz computer with 128MB of RAM is minimum to run Windows XP but don't expect a wonderful "XP"erience with minimum specs. With all of its fancy features and eye-popping graphics, expect to upgrade your system if you're using a computer that's over two years old.

Most of the slowness in Windows XP is caused by the new interface enhancements. The skin layering takes a toll on Windows' responsiveness and should be turned off if not really needed. We'd also like to see more skins than just the default XP style.

Bugs
Bugs are probably a given with Windows. After all, no OS will ever be bug free. Thankfully Microsoft is up on its heels about providing updates either by Auto Update or by service packs. Already approaching release is the first service pack for Windows XP. While we haven't encountered many flaws, there's a few that stick out, like the typical Explorer refresh problem.

Raw sockets
With concerns rising all over the world about Microsoft's Raw socket feature in Windows XP, we feel a need to spread the word that this feature is bad and in all cases, not needed. Many people have already exploited Outlook's e-mail scripting feature to make viruses like Melissa. If Microsoft continues to leave Raw sockets as an enabled feature in Windows XP, they might as well give hackers free tools.

Bloatware
There are some features that we can seriously live without, like built-in CD recording, or Movie Maker on Windows XP Professional. Officer Managers are not likely to sit around and make home videos of their kids during work hours and neither will we.

Install options
Unlike previous versions of Windows, XP doesn't give you the option of selecting which components you'd like to install. Instead, all components are installed first and only some of them can be removed after. If you want to remove more features you'll have to edit an INF file and even then, it took a while to figure it out.

Cost
Windows XP isn't cheap. Microsoft has a history of overpricing its OSes and Windows XP is no exception. If you don't have to, don't buy Windows XP Professional, and don't buy XP at all if you're completely content and happy with what you're using. We'd like to see stuff being removed instead of continually forcing the consumer to install stuff he or she doesn't want and charging for them.