   |
 |
 |
|
|
DoIT Windows XP Testing & Recommendation Who should upgrade? We suggest that all users move
from their existing 9.x platform to Windows XP. These users should
plan on a complete reinstall and should not attempt an upgrade.
Users that may not benefit from upgrade are users running Windows
2000 or ME satisfied with their current system performance (including
boot-up time, power management, etc.), and who don't add a lot
of peripherals to their systems. Benefits of upgrading from Windows 2000*:
Benefits of upgrading from Windows 9.x: All
of the above plus XP delivers all the stability and manageability
benefits of Windows 2000 with fewer of the device and software
incompatibility issues that marked Windows 2000. An upgrade is
a must. Note: Windows 2000 users can only upgrade to
Windows XP Professional. 9.x users have a choice of either OS.
Given that we receive substantial discounts through WISC we recommend
departmental users upgrade to Windows XP Professional. Detailed Discussion Who should upgrade? POST suggests that customers using older, DOS-based
operating systems (Windows 95, 98, and ME) plan on eventually
migrating from their existing platform to Windows XP. Windows
ME was the last incarnation in the archaic DOS line; henceforth
all of Microsoft’s future operating systems will be based upon
the NT/2000/XP kernel. Accordingly, logic dictates that
those individuals who don’t want to find themselves marginalized
by and outdated and increasingly undersupported operating system
should begin to think about upgrading when time and finances
permit. More to the point, Windows XP represents a substantial
increase in stability, compatibility and security over operating
systems of DOS lineage. The vast majority of existing PC
hardware devices and software applications are well supported
under XP. XP has also incorporated a number of useful applications
like CD authority software and DVD playback, as well as Internet
Explorer 6 and Media Player 8. Further integrated features
like System Restore (also included in ME, admittedly), driver
signing and rollback make, Internet Connection Firewall, and
remote assistance and administration all greatly enhance Windows
XP’s functionality vis-à-vis the earlier DOS-based operating
systems in every regard. Finally, laptop users will benefit
from a number of enhanced management tools and options specific
to mobile platforms. Who shouldn’t bother....yet Customers who are using Windows 2000 and are happy
with their system’s stability and are presently experiencing
no real compatibility issues may not want to move to XP yet,
as the improvements from 2000 are less impressive. That
said, XP does include a few features 2000 users may find desirable,
including Remote Assistance, which allows users request assistance
from another XP user via e-mail or Windows Messenger and allows
that user to take control of a remote machine to make needed
changes or otherwise provide support; Remote Desktop, which provides
remote users with full access to their XP desktops via another
XP; the ever-useful System Restore; and greater multimedia functionality. Additionally, customers who use their computers primarily
for rudimentary word processing and email or web access are unlikely
to benefit greatly from XP. For the time being, they should
probably continue to use whatever setup they currently employ
until such time as modernity or a change in computing habits
forces an upgrade or new machine purchase. How to upgrade Customers with versions of Windows 98 and ME will be
able, theoretically at least, to upgrade directly to either the
Home or Professional versions of XP whilst leaving their system
installation relatively intact. Customers with Windows
2000 can upgrade directly only to XP Professional. POST does not recommend the practice of upgrading. Upgrading operating systems has always been a dubious proposition, and our experience with XP does little to change this. For the sake of long-term stability, we advocate that users copy their personal information (documents and spreadsheets, mailboxes, config files, and so forth) to a mass storage device such as a CD recorder or Zip drive, format their hard disk, and install Windows XP from scratch. Upgrade, but to which version Windows XP Professional has a superset of the features available
through Windows XP Home. The features that XP Home lacks are
the features most appreciated by network administrators, see
the chart below. Given that we receive substantial discounts
through WISC on our Microsoft software purchases, we recommend
departmental users upgrade to Windows XP Professional. (This chart is provided on the Microsoft website: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/choosing2.asp) Key:
* DoIT comment: we feel that, given the proliferation
of free firewall products such as Tiny personal firewall, this
feature alone is not worth upgrading for.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
= Feature
included 
= Feature
not included