XP’s top 10 list falls short

Everybody loves to complain about marketing, and considering Microsoft's billion-dollar marketing budget, we can expect a lot of complaining about Windows XP. I like a good complaint as much as the next guy, but I prefer to analyze. Let's take a look at some Windows XP marketing.

The big question is: Why should you buy Windows XP Pro? Microsoft responds with their Top 10 Reasons for Moving to Windows XP Professional.

1. Business-Level Reliability: Microsoft says Windows XP brings a "new level of stability." There's a "kernel" of truth here (forgive the operating system humor). Actually, it's completely true. I've been running XP, including betas, for many months and the only system instability I've seen was due to a single Windows 2000 device driver I forced it to install.

On the other hand, it's no more stable than Windows 2000, from what I can see. So if you're already running Windows 2000, you know you have no stability problem that Windows XP can solve. If you're running Windows NT4, Windows XP (or Windows 2000) will be far more reliable. And if your company's still running Windows 9x, for heaven's sake, start planning an upgrade immediately. (Win9x? Yuck! What's your problem?)

2. Advanced Performance: Microsoft says that Windows XP offersbetter performance than previous versions. In terms of raw application performance, even to the extent that it's true, I doubt it's all that important. I think most computers are fast enough, but we can all argue about that later. Windows XP does improve performance on some other minor points though: Booting a system or resuming from hibernate is definitely faster than it's been in any recent Windows version, and Microsoft claims that applications also start faster, but I don't want to overstate the importance of these points. Performance improvements are a good thing, but I wouldn't upgrade because of them.

3. Remote Desktop: Remote Desktop allows a user to log on to the desktop remotely over a network; it's essentially a one-user version of Terminal Server. If you already have a good remote control product like Symantec's pcAnywhere or the free product VNC, then Remote Desktop doesn't add anything, but it can be very valuable for others. I personally use it for remote access both within my office and from the outside, and it works beautifully. It's also very useful as part of a helpdesk setup, allowing support technicians to work on a desktop without having to visit it--though third-party remote control products are often better.

Remote Desktop doesn't add any more multi-user capabilities to your system; if you connect remotely, the console session is locked out. This is a deliberate thing, because Microsoft views XP Pro as a single-user system. Should you upgrade because of Remote Desktop? If you don't have a remote control product already, it's a definite plus.

4. New Task-based Visual Design: The new Luna interface definitely offers some nice new features, such as the way it groups multiple taskbar buttons for the same app in a single button. But it's different enough from the classic Windows interface that most businesses will choose to use the easily accessible "Classic" interface. I've mostly been using the new interface. It's nice, but it's really no big deal.

5. Wireless 802.1x Networking Support: Setting up wireless networking hardware is easier in Windows XP. In fact, with top-line hardware from providers like Cisco, you just pop the card in and you're off and running. I tend to think this is more of an issue for smaller business and home users; most of you know how to install a network driver, although some of the wireless configuration software out there is pretty awful stuff, so the built-in Windows software is a standard step up. If you've got wireless networks, you have bigger concerns than the ones solved by Windows XP.

6. Windows Messenger: According to Microsoft, "Windows Messenger is the easy way to communicate and collaborate in real time on your computer." There are things I like about it, but the fact is that you can download it, or something very close to it, for any other version of Windows. There's just no reason to prefer Windows XP for this.

7. Encrypting File System: Windows XP Pro lets you encrypt the contents of the hard disk, just like Windows 2000. Like many other features, this is a great thing for a notebook if you're not already running Windows 2000. If that's you and you're concerned about theft of your notebook and exposure of the data on it, EFS is a valuable safeguard.

8. Fast Resume from Hibernation or Standby: If you live on your notebook and suspend/resume all the time, I suppose this would seem like a big deal. I've heard this from friends of mine who travel all the time. It's one of many reasons for notebook users to upgrade.

9. Help and Support Center with Remote Assistance: The help in Windows XP is definitely an improvement over previous versions. I'm not sure how important this could possibly be. Remote Assistance, on the other hand, fills in some of the support desk functions missing from Remote Desktop. A helpdesk person can work on an application with the user, either to demonstrate a feature or to fix the system. Once again, if you don't already have remote control software that does this, Remote Assistance is a reason to upgrade. Even beyond that, Remote Assistance will be prevalent enough that you can expect ISVs and consultants to use it for support.

10. System Restore: Windows XP has a "system undo" function that lets you roll back to before you installed that dirty device driver or made that unfortunate change in the registry. As with many other features, there are third party products that do this, like Roxio's GoBack, but this one comes with the OS. It's better to have it than not to have it.

I might have come up with a different Top 10 list. Of course, such lists usually suffer from having too many or too few items because--alliteration being what it is--10 is a tough target. But most of the arguments back up the conventional wisdom: If you have Windows 2000 Pro, the arguments for Windows XP are there, but not overwhelming. I think it's a better Windows than Windows 2000, but I wouldn't necessarily go through the trauma of upgrading my enterprise. If you're running something earlier than Windows 2000, it's time to move into the 21st century, and Windows XP is a good way to do it.

Author's note: When I said that users running anything earlier than Windows 2000 should upgrade, I meant to include Windows Me. Thanks to reader Elden Fenison for pointing out that Windows Me was released after Windows 2000. Also, thanks to Jan Pinda for pointing out that Windows Messenger in XP integrates videoconferencing features that had previously been separate as part of NetMeeting.