If you are still using this 2001 version of Windows, be aware that support will stop next year. You will have to move forward.
I prefer Windows 7 to Windows 8. I find it easier to use.
You can safely skip Vista.
Windows XP Support Will End in One Year
Written by Gary North on April 12, 2013
I'm switching to Linux when that happens. The one box I run Win7 on is nonstop headaches and compatibility problems. Win8, ugh.
Gary, you're suffering unnecessarily. Install Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (long term support) and be happy. If you feel you must have winduhs available for some particular specialized software, install VirtualBox (free) on your linux box and then install winduhs as a virtual. Once you take a snapshot of the fully patched up winduhs version, if it ever craps out on you later, you can just reboot it in Virtualbox from that last known good version.
What hasn't been noticed yet by the general public is that winduhs is a dead product with no future. Since XP, that same public (including the corporate world) have shunned or (chafed at using) every new version shoved at them by M$. Dead man walking. All that keeps winduhs alive from here on is habit.
You can also switch to Apple. Of course their OS X is also Ubuntu, under the hood, running on the Darwin kernel instead of the Linux kernel. With a (free) program called "brew" installed, you can automatically download and locally compile a huge range of open source programs to run just like they do on Ubuntu. The advantage of OS X is that some commercial programs (like ScreenFlow) only run on that kernel. Mountain Lion also comes with built in dictation capability, but if you are a heavyweight user, you can always install Dragon (but not the "light" version offered by the Apple Store).
The world is moving on. Winduhs is yesterdays answer. And not a very good one, at that.
I use Linux Mint 13, which is based on Ubuntu 12.04 and supported till 2017. Windows is a nothing but a headache.
Top selling Google Chromebooks and Android smartphones are all based on Linux.
Here is a screenshot:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12600821/Scre…
Personally, Windos XP is easier to use, far more reliable. All in all the best operating system the idiots at Microsoft have produced. They have been going down in quality with each new operating system ever since.
Thanks Linux user, I have never tried Ubuntu, but I think I am going to have to. I refuse to use the OS garbage Microsoft is now putting out. Plus starting to rent you operating software is way beyond the pale. Out of curiosity, Can I use excel spread sheets with Ubuntu, or do I have to change to another spread sheet?
Help would be appreciated on this point – KLUXTON@MSN.COM
You can use Libre Office, which has a spreadsheet program compatible with Excel. And BTW it's free.
Gary also hasn't realized that if you are using an older PC with XP, it probably doesn't have enough under the hood to run W7.
I will keep on using XP… Just because Microsoft ends support doesn't mean it will stop working.
Speaking of Windows Support, when has anyone ever gotten support from MS except when you buy a new version and then only for a short time. After the initial install, the only Windows support costs $.