Preserved Topic: Best win flavor?

I haven't used windows on a daily basis since 1995, but I think I need a wintel machine. So what's the best flavor for home use (site testing, book keeping, and games [for the kids of course ])
Win2k, WinXP, 98 seems to still have a strong following?

Me Again?

The poster has demanded we remove all his contributions, less he takes legal action.
We have done so.
Now Tyberius Prime expects him to start complaining that we removed his 'free speech' since this message will replace all of his posts, past and future.
Don't follow his example - seek real life help first.

Yes WinME sucks big time!!! My computer came with it when I bought it last year. It's the most unstable of all the Win systems. I used to get a lot of crashes, errors, "weird" system behaviour. And at one point it depleted my memory so badly (even tho' I'm on a P4 1.5 GHz with 128 MB RAM) that it took 30 sec before the "browse directory" window would come up whenever I tried to save a file in MS Frontpage!

In short, just avoid it.

I'm using Win2000 Pro now too. Previously I tried WinXP but as InI says there's a major security glitch (check the M$ site) in it. M$ claims to have a solution to this but I didn't stick around to wait for it.

((( species X )))

[This message has been edited by speciesX (edited 10-15-2002).]

Get win XP.. its by far the best OS to date from Microsoft...IT's fast, reliable and it has some cool features. Plus if you don't like the new interface you can always change it to classic or windows 2K theme..

MAX

And what about the security issues? No, I don't think I'll be getting XP...I don't like M$ having that much control over my OS...

and what kind of control do they have?

MAX

The poster has demanded we remove all his contributions, less he takes legal action.
We have done so.
Now Tyberius Prime expects him to start complaining that we removed his 'free speech' since this message will replace all of his posts, past and future.
Don't follow his example - seek real life help first.

I highly recommend Windows XP. Windows XP is nothing more than Windows 2000 with better support for multimedia, hardware and software. Don't let anyone fool you by telling you XP is any more insecure than 2000 is, in my experience it's just not true, and if you use a little common sense and spend a few minutes configuring your system correctly XP will be almost impenetrable. Don't cheat yourself out of the stability, speed, and outstanding hardware and software support XP offers over 2000 just because a paranoid few would lead you to believe any four year old could break in and snoop around. Once you have XP installed visit these sites:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/tools/Tools/mbsahome.asp
http://www.tweakxp.com/tweakxp/security_tweaks.asp

They will explain any security flaws/holes that may exist on your machine and how to fix them. If you keep any financial information on your machine or you are just really worried about someone hacking your personal computer then spend $50 and buy a Linksys router w/ built in firewall. That will keep out 100% of the script kiddies out there as well as 99% of the other hackers.

The poster has demanded we remove all his contributions, less he takes legal action.
We have done so.
Now Tyberius Prime expects him to start complaining that we removed his 'free speech' since this message will replace all of his posts, past and future.
Don't follow his example - seek real life help first.

Ini.. that online monitoring thing is crap...

they were saying that MS will know if you have pirated version of XP.. well its BS.. lots of my friends have XP Corp edition from Kazaa... it works without any problems...



MAX

The poster has demanded we remove all his contributions, less he takes legal action.
We have done so.
Now Tyberius Prime expects him to start complaining that we removed his 'free speech' since this message will replace all of his posts, past and future.
Don't follow his example - seek real life help first.

I have a legal copy and I didn't even register it yet lol.. its been almost a year now...

MAX

I was rather trepidicious of the security issues that I had heard about. Not to mention the fact that it sounded as if MS was going to monitor my software usage. So I made the choice. I got Win XP anyhow and 'legalized' myself in all of my software programs. Costly? YES! But now I'm not doing anything worth hiding. I don't keep any personal information on my PC and I have an external storage device to store my files. I figure that I'm not going to get lost on the downside of progressing OS's because of my fear of getting 'caught' or having my private/personal files taken or perused. It'll cost you more to fall behind on an OS. You'll lose upgrade compatiblity and software support as the OS progresses to newer versions.

My opinion: Get XP. Stay up to date and protect your files as you feel you need to. If nothing is vital/unrecoverable or you don't care who has it, don't worry about it. If you're really that worried about XP I wouldn't go any further back then Win2K Pro.

GrythusDraconis
"Be careful not to anger the Great Dragon for you are crunchy and taste good with Ketchup" T-Shirt Somewhere

The poster has demanded we remove all his contributions, less he takes legal action.
We have done so.
Now Tyberius Prime expects him to start complaining that we removed his 'free speech' since this message will replace all of his posts, past and future.
Don't follow his example - seek real life help first.

Sorry if you took that the wrong way InI I was not calling you a script kiddie by any means and I am far far from being a hacker. All I am saying is if you are trying to decide which version of Windows to use then it might as well be XP. Why? Because as I said before, its faster, it offers better hardware and software support etc. No OS is perfect when it comes to secruity, that includes OS X, *nix and any version of Windows. One thing you gain security wise when you choose to use XP is 1st class support. MS is almost always quick to respond to security problems with a solution or a patch. If you are worried about MS busting you for using a pirated OS the solution is simple, don't use a pirated copy. I am surprised to hear people have been contacted by MS for using pirated copies, how could they ( MS ) have known? It is illegal for them to "scan" your computer to check and see if the copy you are using is legal, if I were one of the folks that had been contacted by MS then I would be calling a lawyer. Anyway sorry if my earlier post bothered you I just wanted to share my personal experiance with the person who started the thread.

Hey, bud, sorry to burst your bubble but:

1) a little linksys router with built in firewall will NOT keep out a determined cracker
2) Windows 2000 is far superior to XP, and is well supported since XP runs on the Win2k kernel
3) It is not illegal for Microsoft to scan your computer becuase of a little thing called a EULA. You know, that long page of words you just scrolled on and clicked "I agree" without even thinking.
4) XP and 2k rank about the same in terms of speed. In fact, 2k is slightly slower becuase it doesn't have all that eyecandy crap running in the background (even with classic interface turned on)
5) XP is not as stable as 2K becuase they opened up the hardware layer a little bit so that XP would appeal to PC gamers

Anyway, it all boils down to personal choice between 2k and XP. Pick what you like, but don't try to kid yourself about you're getting.

As for my personal choice, Windows 2000 advanced server, hands down. As long as we're just talking windows

I didn't read all of the posts here because I'm in a bit of a hurry, so I'm sorry if somebody already posted this, but does anybody else find it hilarious that winxp comes with a built in trojan horse? I think it's called remote desktop or something, but anyways I don't really trust an os that was hacked before it was released and comes with a built in trojan horse.

Out of curiousity does win2k have this same remote desktop (trojan horse) thing in it?

behmer - Google Bomb, for my dad's site.
kewlster

Bah, like I'm really imporntant enough for MS to waste their overheads on.

I run winXP. Hoesntly couldn't care how secure it is. I don't have much to hide and I definatly don't have anything worth stealing. My computer is off when I'm not sitting in front of it (or off making coffee). If someone ever takes over my PC I'll unplug it. If they corrupt my data I'll just restore if from a recent backup.

But, I've been using XP for quite a while now and the only differences from Win2K have been better stability and games that actually start!

I'm not saying XP is more stable than 2K but it has been for me.

Well I stand corrected. I still like XP over 2k though