Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition is the next version of the Windows operating system, which is designed exclusively for home computing. Windows XP Home Edition puts the exciting experiences of the digital age at your fingertips. From digital photos, music, and video to building a home network, Windows XP Home Edition brings you into the digital age with ease. Built on the solid foundation of Windows 2000, Windows XP Home Edition also sets the new standard in efficient and dependable computing. A new visual...

better then vista, 11 Nov 2007
i hate to admit it being a geek, but in my time using computers, xp is a much better piece of kit. xp may be slower (only slightly) but isnt as demanding on your hardware. xp may not be as flashy or pretty, but at least it gets the job done, (my vista experience had one of my webpages crashing and then as a safety precaution shut down my computer, xp takes a while to fix it and then just gets on with it)

sure vista will have some bugs, so thats another reason to get xp well at least untill they release a service pack for it.

for gaming the direct x 10 feature of vista is a good thing, but on avergae you'll need twice the specs to run a game then if you did it on xp. and seen as though only a few games to my knowledge only support direct x 10 (a version of brothers in arms, halo 2 and bioshock... there may be more but i cant think of them atm) but most of the new games come with a backwards dx 9 compatibility.

so for the moment wait to get vista, at least a year till the bugs get removed and its as workable as xp, but in the meantime, stick with xp.

Good product, am impressed, 28 Jul 2007
Have recently upgraded from windows 98 to XP and am impressed with my new, faster system that no longer crashes. I would say that if you are not that 'computer minded' it might be an idea to get somebody in the know to install this for you and check your system for compatibility. I didn't check my system and had a few problems with my modem but thats my own fault for not reading the instructions!!! Other than that a good product, if you haven't upgraded from windows 98 yet what are you waiting for?

A Good Windows Operating System, 11 Apr 2007
Windows Xp is is a good operating system based on Windows 2000 and Windows ME. But it is better than Windows ME. It has features Windows 98 and 95 don't have including system restore, Windows Media Player 11 and Internet Explorer 7.

Great for multimedia, 13 Sep 2006
If you haven't already upgraded from windows 98, then XP home is a good next step. It's multimedia capabilities allows the army of digital camera's, videos and other devices to be connected via usb2 ports. The world is changing fast so get XP!


Great service, simple installation, 04 Sep 2006
Ordered from Amazon Friday lunchtime, arrived Saturday morning. Started upgrade 15:00 and was complete at 17:00. No problems or major issues. Very pleased with level of service delivered by Amazon. No complaints about the product. Enough said.

Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition is a comprehensive set of tools that accelerates the process of turning the developer's vision into reality. Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition was engineered to support development projects that target the Web (including ASP.NET AJAX), Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, The 2007 Microsoft Office system, SQL Server 2008, and Windows Mobile devices. The number of platforms that developers must target to meet business needs is increasing rapidly. Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition provides the integrated toolset for addressing all of these needs by providing a superset of the functionality available in Visual Studio 2008 Standard Edition. Today's developers face the challenge of targeting a broad range of platforms and crafting applications that quickly deliver value to the business. Integrated designers and language features in Visual Studio allow developers to build the connected applications demanded by today's businesses while taking advantage of the .NET Framework 3.5 to reduce development time.

better then vista, 11 Nov 2007
i hate to admit it being a geek, but in my time using computers, xp is a much better piece of kit. xp may be slower (only slightly) but isnt as demanding on your hardware. xp may not be as flashy or pretty, but at least it gets the job done, (my vista experience had one of my webpages crashing and then as a safety precaution shut down my computer, xp takes a while to fix it and then just gets on with it)

sure vista will have some bugs, so thats another reason to get xp well at least untill they release a service pack for it.

for gaming the direct x 10 feature of vista is a good thing, but on avergae you'll need twice the specs to run a game then if you did it on xp. and seen as though only a few games to my knowledge only support direct x 10 (a version of brothers in arms, halo 2 and bioshock... there may be more but i cant think of them atm) but most of the new games come with a backwards dx 9 compatibility.

so for the moment wait to get vista, at least a year till the bugs get removed and its as workable as xp, but in the meantime, stick with xp.

Good product, am impressed, 28 Jul 2007
Have recently upgraded from windows 98 to XP and am impressed with my new, faster system that no longer crashes. I would say that if you are not that 'computer minded' it might be an idea to get somebody in the know to install this for you and check your system for compatibility. I didn't check my system and had a few problems with my modem but thats my own fault for not reading the instructions!!! Other than that a good product, if you haven't upgraded from windows 98 yet what are you waiting for?

A Good Windows Operating System, 11 Apr 2007
Windows Xp is is a good operating system based on Windows 2000 and Windows ME. But it is better than Windows ME. It has features Windows 98 and 95 don't have including system restore, Windows Media Player 11 and Internet Explorer 7.

Great for multimedia, 13 Sep 2006
If you haven't already upgraded from windows 98, then XP home is a good next step. It's multimedia capabilities allows the army of digital camera's, videos and other devices to be connected via usb2 ports. The world is changing fast so get XP!


Great service, simple installation, 04 Sep 2006
Ordered from Amazon Friday lunchtime, arrived Saturday morning. Started upgrade 15:00 and was complete at 17:00. No problems or major issues. Very pleased with level of service delivered by Amazon. No complaints about the product. Enough said.

The best professional development tool out there, 04 Feb 2008
Normally a new release of a development environment is just a small number of enhancements and a few minor changes to the language features. With this release of Visual Studio Microsoft have almost created an entirely new experience for the developer. Core language enhancements such as LINQ and extension methods combined with major changes to the tools such as IntelliSense for JavaScript make this a must have version of this already great development environment.

The ability to target multiple versions of the framework from within one development environment is a great advantage, now you don't need to have multiple versions of Visual Studio installed this one version can target version 2.0, 3.0 and 3.5 of the dot net framework. The unit test features previously only available in the Team Suite editions of the product are now available in the professional edition.

If you develop software using Microsoft technologies then you should use this new version of Visual Studio.

The best professional development tool out there, 03 Feb 2008
Normally a new release of a development environment is just a small number of enhancements and a few minor changes to the language features. With this release of Visual Studio Microsoft have almost created an entirely new experience for the developer. Core language enhancements such as LINQ and extension methods combined with major changes to the tools such as IntelliSense for JavaScript make this a must have version of this already great development environment.

Ten reasons to upgrade to this version:
1. Work with data in a unified and integrated way (LINQ)
- Be more productive by using a single approach to querying and manipulating data that's integrated with the way you write code -- in the programming language.
- Use a single model to query and transform XML, SQL Server and object data with Language-Integrated Query, helping you focus on what you need the data to do rather than how you are going to access the data.

2. Work with user interface designers (Common Project Format with Expression products)
- Share user interface assets, such as design elements and controls, with graphic designers that use Microsoft Expression: both Microsoft Expression Web (ASP.NET) and Microsoft Expression Blend (WPF) are supported.

3. Employ the latest web user interface techniques
- New support for web server communication techniques for AJAX/JSON-enabled websites.
b. New ASP.NET controls that allow for better page management and templates.
- Native support for RSS and REST by the Windows Communication Foundation.

4. Build stunning applications for windows vista (improved WPF and Smart Client tools)
- Build powerful Windows-based applications that take advantage of Windows Forms and Windows Presentation Foundation to make your applications really stand out.
- Benefit from Smart Client application enhancements that improve deployment and disconnected scenarios.

5. Build higher quality applications with integrated unit testing (Previously only available in team suite editions)
- Powerful unit-testing tools are now integrated directly into Visual Studio Professional.

6. ENJOY great support for designing web applications (Visual Studio Web Authoring Component)
- Cascading style sheet and HTML editors have been greatly enhanced for productivity gains.
- Breakthrough JavaScript support has been integrated within Visual Studio 2008, including IntelliSense and debugging.

7. Build applications that run on multiple versions of THE .net Framework (Multi-Targeted Complier)
- With previous versions of Visual Studio, you could only build applications that ran on one version of the .NET Framework; now you can use one tool - Visual Studio 2008 -- to build applications that work with .NET Framework versions 2.0, 3.0 and 3.5.

8. Build office-based applications (Enhanced Office development tools)
- Visual Studio 2008 Professional now includes tools for Office development.
- Built-in tools help make Office look-and-feel interfaces, like the "fluent ribbon", quickly and easily.
- Click-Once deployment for applications built for Office using Visual Studio 2008.

9. Use workflow and communication tools (integrated WF & WCF tools)
- Built-in tools for developing business logic using Windows Workflow Foundation enables modelling of real-world business processes in software. This includes a workflow designer, project templates and a workflow debugger.
- Built-in tools for implementing communications software with Windows Communication Foundation, providing support for a wide array of transports and protocols.

10. Benefit from performance and stability across the board
- The highest quality Visual Studio release ever ensures that you are more productive during development.

If you develop software using Microsoft technologies then you should use this new version of Visual Studio.

Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 is an operating system that enables you to enjoy the best in home entertainment, personal productivity and creativity on your home PC. With Media Center Edition 2005, you can store, share and enjoy all of your photos, all of your music, all of your home video and even recorded TV1. It's all contained in one control system - the Media Center Edition PC - that's as easy to use as a normal television set, combining all-in-one access from a single remote control with a great...

better then vista, 11 Nov 2007
i hate to admit it being a geek, but in my time using computers, xp is a much better piece of kit. xp may be slower (only slightly) but isnt as demanding on your hardware. xp may not be as flashy or pretty, but at least it gets the job done, (my vista experience had one of my webpages crashing and then as a safety precaution shut down my computer, xp takes a while to fix it and then just gets on with it)

sure vista will have some bugs, so thats another reason to get xp well at least untill they release a service pack for it.

for gaming the direct x 10 feature of vista is a good thing, but on avergae you'll need twice the specs to run a game then if you did it on xp. and seen as though only a few games to my knowledge only support direct x 10 (a version of brothers in arms, halo 2 and bioshock... there may be more but i cant think of them atm) but most of the new games come with a backwards dx 9 compatibility.

so for the moment wait to get vista, at least a year till the bugs get removed and its as workable as xp, but in the meantime, stick with xp.

Good product, am impressed, 28 Jul 2007
Have recently upgraded from windows 98 to XP and am impressed with my new, faster system that no longer crashes. I would say that if you are not that 'computer minded' it might be an idea to get somebody in the know to install this for you and check your system for compatibility. I didn't check my system and had a few problems with my modem but thats my own fault for not reading the instructions!!! Other than that a good product, if you haven't upgraded from windows 98 yet what are you waiting for?

A Good Windows Operating System, 11 Apr 2007
Windows Xp is is a good operating system based on Windows 2000 and Windows ME. But it is better than Windows ME. It has features Windows 98 and 95 don't have including system restore, Windows Media Player 11 and Internet Explorer 7.

Great for multimedia, 13 Sep 2006
If you haven't already upgraded from windows 98, then XP home is a good next step. It's multimedia capabilities allows the army of digital camera's, videos and other devices to be connected via usb2 ports. The world is changing fast so get XP!


Great service, simple installation, 04 Sep 2006
Ordered from Amazon Friday lunchtime, arrived Saturday morning. Started upgrade 15:00 and was complete at 17:00. No problems or major issues. Very pleased with level of service delivered by Amazon. No complaints about the product. Enough said.

The best professional development tool out there, 04 Feb 2008
Normally a new release of a development environment is just a small number of enhancements and a few minor changes to the language features. With this release of Visual Studio Microsoft have almost created an entirely new experience for the developer. Core language enhancements such as LINQ and extension methods combined with major changes to the tools such as IntelliSense for JavaScript make this a must have version of this already great development environment.

The ability to target multiple versions of the framework from within one development environment is a great advantage, now you don't need to have multiple versions of Visual Studio installed this one version can target version 2.0, 3.0 and 3.5 of the dot net framework. The unit test features previously only available in the Team Suite editions of the product are now available in the professional edition.

If you develop software using Microsoft technologies then you should use this new version of Visual Studio.

The best professional development tool out there, 03 Feb 2008
Normally a new release of a development environment is just a small number of enhancements and a few minor changes to the language features. With this release of Visual Studio Microsoft have almost created an entirely new experience for the developer. Core language enhancements such as LINQ and extension methods combined with major changes to the tools such as IntelliSense for JavaScript make this a must have version of this already great development environment.

Ten reasons to upgrade to this version:
1. Work with data in a unified and integrated way (LINQ)
- Be more productive by using a single approach to querying and manipulating data that's integrated with the way you write code -- in the programming language.
- Use a single model to query and transform XML, SQL Server and object data with Language-Integrated Query, helping you focus on what you need the data to do rather than how you are going to access the data.

2. Work with user interface designers (Common Project Format with Expression products)
- Share user interface assets, such as design elements and controls, with graphic designers that use Microsoft Expression: both Microsoft Expression Web (ASP.NET) and Microsoft Expression Blend (WPF) are supported.

3. Employ the latest web user interface techniques
- New support for web server communication techniques for AJAX/JSON-enabled websites.
b. New ASP.NET controls that allow for better page management and templates.
- Native support for RSS and REST by the Windows Communication Foundation.

4. Build stunning applications for windows vista (improved WPF and Smart Client tools)
- Build powerful Windows-based applications that take advantage of Windows Forms and Windows Presentation Foundation to make your applications really stand out.
- Benefit from Smart Client application enhancements that improve deployment and disconnected scenarios.

5. Build higher quality applications with integrated unit testing (Previously only available in team suite editions)
- Powerful unit-testing tools are now integrated directly into Visual Studio Professional.

6. ENJOY great support for designing web applications (Visual Studio Web Authoring Component)
- Cascading style sheet and HTML editors have been greatly enhanced for productivity gains.
- Breakthrough JavaScript support has been integrated within Visual Studio 2008, including IntelliSense and debugging.

7. Build applications that run on multiple versions of THE .net Framework (Multi-Targeted Complier)
- With previous versions of Visual Studio, you could only build applications that ran on one version of the .NET Framework; now you can use one tool - Visual Studio 2008 -- to build applications that work with .NET Framework versions 2.0, 3.0 and 3.5.

8. Build office-based applications (Enhanced Office development tools)
- Visual Studio 2008 Professional now includes tools for Office development.
- Built-in tools help make Office look-and-feel interfaces, like the "fluent ribbon", quickly and easily.
- Click-Once deployment for applications built for Office using Visual Studio 2008.

9. Use workflow and communication tools (integrated WF & WCF tools)
- Built-in tools for developing business logic using Windows Workflow Foundation enables modelling of real-world business processes in software. This includes a workflow designer, project templates and a workflow debugger.
- Built-in tools for implementing communications software with Windows Communication Foundation, providing support for a wide array of transports and protocols.

10. Benefit from performance and stability across the board
- The highest quality Visual Studio release ever ensures that you are more productive during development.

If you develop software using Microsoft technologies then you should use this new version of Visual Studio.


XP MCE 2005 Review, 04 Nov 2008
Well I got it with my last PC and it was brilliant. Great for those who want the multimedia benefits of Vista but with out the stupid system requirements to run it smoothly.

The theme used for MCE is brilliant. A much sleeker looking theme that's easy on the eye. Normal XP users can download it. Just type in Royale Theme on google ;)

The media centre part of it is really cool aswell. It's similar to the one's found in Vista. Slick, quick and stable.

MCE is also built upon XP Professional not Home. So it's got all the advanced networking features.

Basically, if you're not a gamer and don't need DX10 graphics, 64bit CPU and more than 3gb ram then this is perfect.

Consider the OSD Media Centre instead of WMC, 16 Jul 2007
Paying near 70 quid for an old Windows version that in turns needs half a gigabyte of ram and excels with a one Ghz or faster CPU just to create a media centre is a bit too much for my budget.

I selected the OSD Media Centre from Neuros Technology. It's got a built-in DSP optimized for MPEG4 video recording, supports both PAL and NTSC, acts as a networked media player, personal video recorder, and is based on Linux so it's totally expandable. In fact, a new Youtube video browser has been released for it, and new software is being developed all the time.

After my experiences with WinXP, I'd hate to see more people cornered into the closed-source, proprietary world of Windows, when a truly open solution like the OSD can run circles around it, and be more affordable, to boot.


The perfect Windows OS - Avoid Vista!, 08 Mar 2007
After using Windows 2000 for a long period of time (which I have to say, is the best Windows OS prior to this) I decided it was time for an upgrade, since increasing new software requires XP. So, I opted for a good new HP package with Window's Xp Media Centre included, and after much talk about Vista from the people at PC World (who I can honestly say, make no representation of the cheesy adverts..)I didn't choose to upgrade, simply because after the demonstration, it looked as if it was trying too hard to be perfect, but the simple matter is that theirs features on it you simply don't need, or slow performance.

But enough of Vista, back to 'proper' Windows. I didn't think this would have too many changes from Windows 2000, as XP and 2k are built on the the exact same architecture, but quite simply put, this operating system has put my faith back into computer, without the need for exspensive Mac's.
Windows Xp Media Centre operates on 2 levels - although it is Windows XP, the Media Centre can almost act as a seperate OS, as options allow you to boot up the computer via this, which would be handy for users having their PC when connected to a TV. But simply put, Media Centre is essentially just a program - it can be minimized, closed, etc etc, but the layout makes it look like it is in affect, the OS. Media Centre allows you to simply and easily listen to music, watch slideshows of photos, watch DVDs, and other options that enhances the way you look at media. Its bold, looks fantastic, and is a joy to use. I should point out though that to get the full benefits of this part of the package, you really want to have your PC set up near a TV, so that DVD's can be watched, your photos can be seen on TV (with background music!) and you can even record live TV. This really does change the way I look at media because its so user friendly, and simple.

The actual Windows XP part of this package has actually improved since the previous stand-alone versions of XP (home, proffessional etc) in many ways. Firstly, this version has already had the influence of the current Vista 'aero' look, as the taskbar, title bars, and other XP tabs fade away a lovely clean modern look, going from blue to pale/sky blue, making it look indeed aero like, whereas the previous XP versions I felt looked too bright, as they had just bold blue bars over the windows. But this Media Influenced XP looks alot more modern, and user friendly than ever before. Features have remained similar to previous Xp's, but naturally with some Media influece.. Party Mode, Karoke Mode, Having a little dancer bop around on your desktop, a brand new version of Media Player, Label Makers, but what I like best, more options in My Documents/My Computer when you right click a drive or file, that enables you to compile and burn a CD simply through dragging files to a blank through Windows Explorer! Their are so many new feature - many fantastic fun options to enhance your expierience, not to mention having a laugh watching the dancer move to the beats, so cleverly in your music.

Aside from the Media influence, its still just as productive. I can set up my Wi-Fi connection no problems for my Nintendo Wii (Simply plug in the dongle, choose to share your broadband connection with the Wireless Connection, bob's your uncle!) and everything is just so easy. I've used XP's in the past, but I didn't realise just how modern it looked compared to 2000. And remember, this is essentially the Windows XP 'Proffessional' edition with the Media Centre software, so you still have all those important options and programs you get with Windows Proffessional.

So, who's this package for? Simple answer - anyone! I don't see the need in getting the first versions of XP if you can buy this fantastic package. The fact is, even if you don't want to use Media Centre, the version of XP is so much more modern looking, you won't want to stop using it! And thats a first, after almost giving up on PC's with the gob-smackingly awful Windows ME (Me=More Errors). And just when I though Win 2000 was the most stable OS yet, I just didn't realise how enjoyable computing could be. No more boring grey task bars, or blue screens, go and spice up your spare time with this fantastic music, video, DVD, Media Centre!

Just a few "techy" notes for those geared in to how PC's operate... as with previous versions of XP, this is heavy on the 'System Idle Process' once your PC is inactive for long periods. Be prepared for alot of CPU use if you leave your PC on all day. Also, their are a handful of XP product downloads that oddly don't operate under this... but these where minor system updates that kept looping themselves because they wouldn't install. Anyway, enough of all that!


(With regards to specs, I'm running on 512mb RAM with Norton SS 2007, and I'm wishing I got more memory! Media Centre uses about an extra 25/50mb or RAM than previous versions of XP....)

Poor quality disk, 04 Feb 2007
I don't know where Amazon sourced this package but it must be from a batch of rejected items sent back to Microsoft. The disks provided produced numerous copy errors and corrupt installation attempts. After 2 days of checking my hardware I finally established that the disks were faulty and in fact disk one had a visible damaged error near the edge.

Mine may have been an exception but I wouldn't recommend risking a purchase given the availability of the other packages on sale especially with prices falling with the arrival of Vista.

better then vista, 11 Nov 2007
i hate to admit it being a geek, but in my time using computers, xp is a much better piece of kit. xp may be slower (only slightly) but isnt as demanding on your hardware. xp may not be as flashy or pretty, but at least it gets the job done, (my vista experience had one of my webpages crashing and then as a safety precaution shut down my computer, xp takes a while to fix it and then just gets on with it)

sure vista will have some bugs, so thats another reason to get xp well at least untill they release a service pack for it.

for gaming the direct x 10 feature of vista is a good thing, but on avergae you'll need twice the specs to run a game then if you did it on xp. and seen as though only a few games to my knowledge only support direct x 10 (a version of brothers in arms, halo 2 and bioshock... there may be more but i cant think of them atm) but most of the new games come with a backwards dx 9 compatibility.

so for the moment wait to get vista, at least a year till the bugs get removed and its as workable as xp, but in the meantime, stick with xp.

Good product, am impressed, 28 Jul 2007
Have recently upgraded from windows 98 to XP and am impressed with my new, faster system that no longer crashes. I would say that if you are not that 'computer minded' it might be an idea to get somebody in the know to install this for you and check your system for compatibility. I didn't check my system and had a few problems with my modem but thats my own fault for not reading the instructions!!! Other than that a good product, if you haven't upgraded from windows 98 yet what are you waiting for?

A Good Windows Operating System, 11 Apr 2007
Windows Xp is is a good operating system based on Windows 2000 and Windows ME. But it is better than Windows ME. It has features Windows 98 and 95 don't have including system restore, Windows Media Player 11 and Internet Explorer 7.

Great for multimedia, 13 Sep 2006
If you haven't already upgraded from windows 98, then XP home is a good next step. It's multimedia capabilities allows the army of digital camera's, videos and other devices to be connected via usb2 ports. The world is changing fast so get XP!


Great service, simple installation, 04 Sep 2006
Ordered from Amazon Friday lunchtime, arrived Saturday morning. Started upgrade 15:00 and was complete at 17:00. No problems or major issues. Very pleased with level of service delivered by Amazon. No complaints about the product. Enough said.

The best professional development tool out there, 04 Feb 2008
Normally a new release of a development environment is just a small number of enhancements and a few minor changes to the language features. With this release of Visual Studio Microsoft have almost created an entirely new experience for the developer. Core language enhancements such as LINQ and extension methods combined with major changes to the tools such as IntelliSense for JavaScript make this a must have version of this already great development environment.

The ability to target multiple versions of the framework from within one development environment is a great advantage, now you don't need to have multiple versions of Visual Studio installed this one version can target version 2.0, 3.0 and 3.5 of the dot net framework. The unit test features previously only available in the Team Suite editions of the product are now available in the professional edition.

If you develop software using Microsoft technologies then you should use this new version of Visual Studio.

The best professional development tool out there, 03 Feb 2008
Normally a new release of a development environment is just a small number of enhancements and a few minor changes to the language features. With this release of Visual Studio Microsoft have almost created an entirely new experience for the developer. Core language enhancements such as LINQ and extension methods combined with major changes to the tools such as IntelliSense for JavaScript make this a must have version of this already great development environment.

Ten reasons to upgrade to this version:
1. Work with data in a unified and integrated way (LINQ)
- Be more productive by using a single approach to querying and manipulating data that's integrated with the way you write code -- in the programming language.
- Use a single model to query and transform XML, SQL Server and object data with Language-Integrated Query, helping you focus on what you need the data to do rather than how you are going to access the data.

2. Work with user interface designers (Common Project Format with Expression products)
- Share user interface assets, such as design elements and controls, with graphic designers that use Microsoft Expression: both Microsoft Expression Web (ASP.NET) and Microsoft Expression Blend (WPF) are supported.

3. Employ the latest web user interface techniques
- New support for web server communication techniques for AJAX/JSON-enabled websites.
b. New ASP.NET controls that allow for better page management and templates.
- Native support for RSS and REST by the Windows Communication Foundation.

4. Build stunning applications for windows vista (improved WPF and Smart Client tools)
- Build powerful Windows-based applications that take advantage of Windows Forms and Windows Presentation Foundation to make your applications really stand out.
- Benefit from Smart Client application enhancements that improve deployment and disconnected scenarios.

5. Build higher quality applications with integrated unit testing (Previously only available in team suite editions)
- Powerful unit-testing tools are now integrated directly into Visual Studio Professional.

6. ENJOY great support for designing web applications (Visual Studio Web Authoring Component)
- Cascading style sheet and HTML editors have been greatly enhanced for productivity gains.
- Breakthrough JavaScript support has been integrated within Visual Studio 2008, including IntelliSense and debugging.

7. Build applications that run on multiple versions of THE .net Framework (Multi-Targeted Complier)
- With previous versions of Visual Studio, you could only build applications that ran on one version of the .NET Framework; now you can use one tool - Visual Studio 2008 -- to build applications that work with .NET Framework versions 2.0, 3.0 and 3.5.

8. Build office-based applications (Enhanced Office development tools)
- Visual Studio 2008 Professional now includes tools for Office development.
- Built-in tools help make Office look-and-feel interfaces, like the "fluent ribbon", quickly and easily.
- Click-Once deployment for applications built for Office using Visual Studio 2008.

9. Use workflow and communication tools (integrated WF & WCF tools)
- Built-in tools for developing business logic using Windows Workflow Foundation enables modelling of real-world business processes in software. This includes a workflow designer, project templates and a workflow debugger.
- Built-in tools for implementing communications software with Windows Communication Foundation, providing support for a wide array of transports and protocols.

10. Benefit from performance and stability across the board
- The highest quality Visual Studio release ever ensures that you are more productive during development.

If you develop software using Microsoft technologies then you should use this new version of Visual Studio.


XP MCE 2005 Review, 04 Nov 2008
Well I got it with my last PC and it was brilliant. Great for those who want the multimedia benefits of Vista but with out the stupid system requirements to run it smoothly.

The theme used for MCE is brilliant. A much sleeker looking theme that's easy on the eye. Normal XP users can download it. Just type in Royale Theme on google ;)

The media centre part of it is really cool aswell. It's similar to the one's found in Vista. Slick, quick and stable.

MCE is also built upon XP Professional not Home. So it's got all the advanced networking features.

Basically, if you're not a gamer and don't need DX10 graphics, 64bit CPU and more than 3gb ram then this is perfect.

Consider the OSD Media Centre instead of WMC, 16 Jul 2007
Paying near 70 quid for an old Windows version that in turns needs half a gigabyte of ram and excels with a one Ghz or faster CPU just to create a media centre is a bit too much for my budget.

I selected the OSD Media Centre from Neuros Technology. It's got a built-in DSP optimized for MPEG4 video recording, supports both PAL and NTSC, acts as a networked media player, personal video recorder, and is based on Linux so it's totally expandable. In fact, a new Youtube video browser has been released for it, and new software is being developed all the time.

After my experiences with WinXP, I'd hate to see more people cornered into the closed-source, proprietary world of Windows, when a truly open solution like the OSD can run circles around it, and be more affordable, to boot.


The perfect Windows OS - Avoid Vista!, 08 Mar 2007
After using Windows 2000 for a long period of time (which I have to say, is the best Windows OS prior to this) I decided it was time for an upgrade, since increasing new software requires XP. So, I opted for a good new HP package with Window's Xp Media Centre included, and after much talk about Vista from the people at PC World (who I can honestly say, make no representation of the cheesy adverts..)I didn't choose to upgrade, simply because after the demonstration, it looked as if it was trying too hard to be perfect, but the simple matter is that theirs features on it you simply don't need, or slow performance.

But enough of Vista, back to 'proper' Windows. I didn't think this would have too many changes from Windows 2000, as XP and 2k are built on the the exact same architecture, but quite simply put, this operating system has put my faith back into computer, without the need for exspensive Mac's.
Windows Xp Media Centre operates on 2 levels - although it is Windows XP, the Media Centre can almost act as a seperate OS, as options allow you to boot up the computer via this, which would be handy for users having their PC when connected to a TV. But simply put, Media Centre is essentially just a program - it can be minimized, closed, etc etc, but the layout makes it look like it is in affect, the OS. Media Centre allows you to simply and easily listen to music, watch slideshows of photos, watch DVDs, and other options that enhances the way you look at media. Its bold, looks fantastic, and is a joy to use. I should point out though that to get the full benefits of this part of the package, you really want to have your PC set up near a TV, so that DVD's can be watched, your photos can be seen on TV (with background music!) and you can even record live TV. This really does change the way I look at media because its so user friendly, and simple.

The actual Windows XP part of this package has actually improved since the previous stand-alone versions of XP (home, proffessional etc) in many ways. Firstly, this version has already had the influence of the current Vista 'aero' look, as the taskbar, title bars, and other XP tabs fade away a lovely clean modern look, going from blue to pale/sky blue, making it look indeed aero like, whereas the previous XP versions I felt looked too bright, as they had just bold blue bars over the windows. But this Media Influenced XP looks alot more modern, and user friendly than ever before. Features have remained similar to previous Xp's, but naturally with some Media influece.. Party Mode, Karoke Mode, Having a little dancer bop around on your desktop, a brand new version of Media Player, Label Makers, but what I like best, more options in My Documents/My Computer when you right click a drive or file, that enables you to compile and burn a CD simply through dragging files to a blank through Windows Explorer! Their are so many new feature - many fantastic fun options to enhance your expierience, not to mention having a laugh watching the dancer move to the beats, so cleverly in your music.

Aside from the Media influence, its still just as productive. I can set up my Wi-Fi connection no problems for my Nintendo Wii (Simply plug in the dongle, choose to share your broadband connection with the Wireless Connection, bob's your uncle!) and everything is just so easy. I've used XP's in the past, but I didn't realise just how modern it looked compared to 2000. And remember, this is essentially the Windows XP 'Proffessional' edition with the Media Centre software, so you still have all those important options and programs you get with Windows Proffessional.

So, who's this package for? Simple answer - anyone! I don't see the need in getting the first versions of XP if you can buy this fantastic package. The fact is, even if you don't want to use Media Centre, the version of XP is so much more modern looking, you won't want to stop using it! And thats a first, after almost giving up on PC's with the gob-smackingly awful Windows ME (Me=More Errors). And just when I though Win 2000 was the most stable OS yet, I just didn't realise how enjoyable computing could be. No more boring grey task bars, or blue screens, go and spice up your spare time with this fantastic music, video, DVD, Media Centre!

Just a few "techy" notes for those geared in to how PC's operate... as with previous versions of XP, this is heavy on the 'System Idle Process' once your PC is inactive for long periods. Be prepared for alot of CPU use if you leave your PC on all day. Also, their are a handful of XP product downloads that oddly don't operate under this... but these where minor system updates that kept looping themselves because they wouldn't install. Anyway, enough of all that!


(With regards to specs, I'm running on 512mb RAM with Norton SS 2007, and I'm wishing I got more memory! Media Centre uses about an extra 25/50mb or RAM than previous versions of XP....)

Poor quality disk, 04 Feb 2007
I don't know where Amazon sourced this package but it must be from a batch of rejected items sent back to Microsoft. The disks provided produced numerous copy errors and corrupt installation attempts. After 2 days of checking my hardware I finally established that the disks were faulty and in fact disk one had a visible damaged error near the edge.

Mine may have been an exception but I wouldn't recommend risking a purchase given the availability of the other packages on sale especially with prices falling with the arrival of Vista.

Gets better the longer you use it., 19 Jul 2008
I bought a dell inspiron 1520 laptop with vista premium pre-installed. At first it took an age to start up and I nearly thought about going back to XP!
But I started to notice something strange. Everytime I rebooted the PC it took less time than before. The cache system learns what you load and organises programs to start up quickly.
It now takes no longer to boot up than XP used to. Installing service pack 1 improved things further.

And after using it for 6 months I honestly think its very good. The interface is nice, performance is decent in games, applications load very quickly and NOT once in 6 months has the system rebooted, crashed, or frozen! Thats stability. With XP something crashed at least once a week. I've not even had the "this program has performed an ilegal operation and will be shut down message"!
I was even more impressed when I used my families XP based computers. Very new, quad core and dual core desktops but they were hanging/pausing, everything seemed to take that bit longer to do than in vista and I had to reboot one of them when all I could load was explorer!

All my drivers and products work flawlessly. I suspect that given this computer was designed for vista thats not suprising but my other peripherals all work well.

If you're not getting on with vista I suggest the following
1. Install vista service pack 1 (that does reduce hard disk access and make better use of memory)
2. Upgrade memory to 2GB. It may say you need 512MB but trust me, on a system with 1GB it is unbelievably slow! A friends laptop has this and its awful. Takes 3 minutes to load and about 20 seconds to load internet explorer! Mine has 2GB and takes about 1 minute to boot and 2 seconds to load internet explorer. Thats the difference memory makes!
3. Disable some of the services. I disable windows seach because I don't use it often and whilst it may result in super quick searches, the rest of the time the hard drives churning away indexing stuff. Slows things down.
4. Uprgrade all of your drivers to the latest version. Some of the drivers on your original discs will not work with vista but most manufactuers have drivers which support it now online.

Only upgrade if you have a decent PC (in particular 2GB memory).
I understand its not perfect for everyones uses/computer systems but I have to give it 5 stars because my experience has been flawless.

so slow: use xp, linux, dos, anything in preference, 25 May 2008
i have vista on my laptop. i wish i did not. it is so slow. click, wait 15-30 seconds, eventually something happens. this is on new top spec laptop.

i give 1 star, as zero is not an option

Thank you Vista..., 27 Apr 2008
Thank you Microsoft. No really... I installed Vista when it first came out on my HP Desktop. I can't quite put my finger on what irritates me most about Microsofts new OS, but here are a couple of candidates.

1. Speed. With all the eye candy turned on the OS just seems to take an age to respond to simple requests. This is despite my kit being relatively new and, while not top of the range, definitely well above the minimum spec. What's even more irritating is the start up time - I can wait 7 minutes from pressing the on button to being able to start an application. This is pretty unacceptable on a machine with 2GB RAM, a fast processor and decent graphics card.

2. User interface. I don't think that XP was by any means a style icon, but the new interface seems to be all style and no substance. Sure, some of the tricks in Aero look fantastic, but once the novelty wears off the irritations begin. Try, for example, to toggle between showing hidden and system files and not. On XP this is a doddle - it's in the view options. In Vista, for whatever reason, you need to drop out of the explorer into control panel to acheive the same effect. A pain, and not intuitive. Security may have been improved, but this is a real pain - why do I need to confirm twice that I want to change the location of a menu item. It's not even consistent - applications seem to be able to dial out while a simple local DOS application generates warnings every time it runs. Very irritating when it runs several times a day...

So, why the thank you. Well, such was the irritation that I found myself using my MacBook more and more. I'm now over the initial disorientation from OSX and appreciate the smooth, quick, elegant and well designed interface. So much so that not only have I ditched Vista, but I've ditched the PC and bought myself a lovely new Mac Pro. Sure, I need Windows occasionally (less than you'd think), but Boot Camp and XP sorts that out.

In short, Vista is a mess. Too many of the previewed features have been dropped and we're left with a compromised OS that underperforms it predecessor. The sooner MS get on with producing the operating system it should have done and consigns Vista to the electronic hell it surely deserves the better. Until then, Bill Gates has give Apple their best sales tool yet.

wow, really good., 28 Feb 2008
I've been using Windows Xp for a while now and was cautious about upgrading to this system as Windows Xp seemed to be working fine. However I find myself enjoying using the computer a whole lot more. After installing Vista, windows then detected and deleted lots of spyware (and a virus) that I didn't even know I had.

All of my old software seems to work fine on Vista except for one really old one which started working recently after Windows installed a Windows update automatically- it seems all the software problems are fixed now.

My bluetooth dongle got automatically installed on Vista where it failed to on Xp so i'm happy with hardware support.

It did however fail to automatically install a HP printer I had, however after it failed to install it a new program appeared called 'Windows Problems and Solution Center' with a message telling me why the printer wasn't working and even supplied a link to the HP downloads website for me to download the driver and install it myself- it works now!

Vista seems to be smooth in it's performance, i've had it for a few months now and if anything it's been getting faster though the many performance updates it's automatically installed over time.

I love the Windows Media Center, it plays all my xvid/divx/avi videos and works as a tv recorder. I use it to play music when I have mates round and at family events I hook it up to the TV (which is really easy with Vista) and play the days events with background music- Media Center does the soothing transitions automatically ;D.

I just really love this operating system.

Well Done Microsoft! Glad it took almost 6 years to make this version of windows - because they got it right!

A nightmare !, 22 Feb 2008
I've just bought a laptop with 2gb of memory and discovered that half the memory is used for Vista and the onboard video.
Some of my old programs won't install properly...if at all..and irritating message boxes keep cropping up asking mundane questions.
For me Microsoft have tried to incorporate too many programs which are second rate and are completely useless for people who have third party software.
I tried to connect my old printer and scanner and failed.
I have written to Dell about a week ago to see if I could downgrade to XP but I have had no reply. Perhaps Dell are now using Vista.

Today's small businesses are challenged to do things better, faster, and with fewer resources. Windows Small Business Server 2003 provides technologies and tools to help small businesses become more productive and efficient, including e-mail, shared documents and calendars, security-enhanced Internet access and data storage, reliable printing and faxing, and remote administration. Windows Small Business Server 2003 is available in two editions: standard and premium. Windows Small Business Server 2003 is a ...

better then vista, 11 Nov 2007
i hate to admit it being a geek, but in my time using computers, xp is a much better piece of kit. xp may be slower (only slightly) but isnt as demanding on your hardware. xp may not be as flashy or pretty, but at least it gets the job done, (my vista experience had one of my webpages crashing and then as a safety precaution shut down my computer, xp takes a while to fix it and then just gets on with it)

sure vista will have some bugs, so thats another reason to get xp well at least untill they release a service pack for it.

for gaming the direct x 10 feature of vista is a good thing, but on avergae you'll need twice the specs to run a game then if you did it on xp. and seen as though only a few games to my knowledge only support direct x 10 (a version of brothers in arms, halo 2 and bioshock... there may be more but i cant think of them atm) but most of the new games come with a backwards dx 9 compatibility.

so for the moment wait to get vista, at least a year till the bugs get removed and its as workable as xp, but in the meantime, stick with xp.

Good product, am impressed, 28 Jul 2007
Have recently upgraded from windows 98 to XP and am impressed with my new, faster system that no longer crashes. I would say that if you are not that 'computer minded' it might be an idea to get somebody in the know to install this for you and check your system for compatibility. I didn't check my system and had a few problems with my modem but thats my own fault for not reading the instructions!!! Other than that a good product, if you haven't upgraded from windows 98 yet what are you waiting for?

A Good Windows Operating System, 11 Apr 2007
Windows Xp is is a good operating system based on Windows 2000 and Windows ME. But it is better than Windows ME. It has features Windows 98 and 95 don't have including system restore, Windows Media Player 11 and Internet Explorer 7.

Great for multimedia, 13 Sep 2006
If you haven't already upgraded from windows 98, then XP home is a good next step. It's multimedia capabilities allows the army of digital camera's, videos and other devices to be connected via usb2 ports. The world is changing fast so get XP!


Great service, simple installation, 04 Sep 2006
Ordered from Amazon Friday lunchtime, arrived Saturday morning. Started upgrade 15:00 and was complete at 17:00. No problems or major issues. Very pleased with level of service delivered by Amazon. No complaints about the product. Enough said.

The best professional development tool out there, 04 Feb 2008
Normally a new release of a development environment is just a small number of enhancements and a few minor changes to the language features. With this release of Visual Studio Microsoft have almost created an entirely new experience for the developer. Core language enhancements such as LINQ and extension methods combined with major changes to the tools such as IntelliSense for JavaScript make this a must have version of this already great development environment.

The ability to target multiple versions of the framework from within one development environment is a great advantage, now you don't need to have multiple versions of Visual Studio installed this one version can target version 2.0, 3.0 and 3.5 of the dot net framework. The unit test features previously only available in the Team Suite editions of the product are now available in the professional edition.

If you develop software using Microsoft technologies then you should use this new version of Visual Studio.

The best professional development tool out there, 03 Feb 2008
Normally a new release of a development environment is just a small number of enhancements and a few minor changes to the language features. With this release of Visual Studio Microsoft have almost created an entirely new experience for the developer. Core language enhancements such as LINQ and extension methods combined with major changes to the tools such as IntelliSense for JavaScript make this a must have version of this already great development environment.

Ten reasons to upgrade to this version:
1. Work with data in a unified and integrated way (LINQ)
- Be more productive by using a single approach to querying and manipulating data that's integrated with the way you write code -- in the programming language.
- Use a single model to query and transform XML, SQL Server and object data with Language-Integrated Query, helping you focus on what you need the data to do rather than how you are going to access the data.

2. Work with user interface designers (Common Project Format with Expression products)
- Share user interface assets, such as design elements and controls, with graphic designers that use Microsoft Expression: both Microsoft Expression Web (ASP.NET) and Microsoft Expression Blend (WPF) are supported.

3. Employ the latest web user interface techniques
- New support for web server communication techniques for AJAX/JSON-enabled websites.
b. New ASP.NET controls that allow for better page management and templates.
- Native support for RSS and REST by the Windows Communication Foundation.

4. Build stunning applications for windows vista (improved WPF and Smart Client tools)
- Build powerful Windows-based applications that take advantage of Windows Forms and Windows Presentation Foundation to make your applications really stand out.
- Benefit from Smart Client application enhancements that improve deployment and disconnected scenarios.

5. Build higher quality applications with integrated unit testing (Previously only available in team suite editions)
- Powerful unit-testing tools are now integrated directly into Visual Studio Professional.

6. ENJOY great support for designing web applications (Visual Studio Web Authoring Component)
- Cascading style sheet and HTML editors have been greatly enhanced for productivity gains.
- Breakthrough JavaScript support has been integrated within Visual Studio 2008, including IntelliSense and debugging.

7. Build applications that run on multiple versions of THE .net Framework (Multi-Targeted Complier)
- With previous versions of Visual Studio, you could only build applications that ran on one version of the .NET Framework; now you can use one tool - Visual Studio 2008 -- to build applications that work with .NET Framework versions 2.0, 3.0 and 3.5.

8. Build office-based applications (Enhanced Office development tools)
- Visual Studio 2008 Professional now includes tools for Office development.
- Built-in tools help make Office look-and-feel interfaces, like the "fluent ribbon", quickly and easily.
- Click-Once deployment for applications built for Office using Visual Studio 2008.

9. Use workflow and communication tools (integrated WF & WCF tools)
- Built-in tools for developing business logic using Windows Workflow Foundation enables modelling of real-world business processes in software. This includes a workflow designer, project templates and a workflow debugger.
- Built-in tools for implementing communications software with Windows Communication Foundation, providing support for a wide array of transports and protocols.

10. Benefit from performance and stability across the board
- The highest quality Visual Studio release ever ensures that you are more productive during development.

If you develop software using Microsoft technologies then you should use this new version of Visual Studio.


XP MCE 2005 Review, 04 Nov 2008
Well I got it with my last PC and it was brilliant. Great for those who want the multimedia benefits of Vista but with out the stupid system requirements to run it smoothly.

The theme used for MCE is brilliant. A much sleeker looking theme that's easy on the eye. Normal XP users can download it. Just type in Royale Theme on google ;)

The media centre part of it is really cool aswell. It's similar to the one's found in Vista. Slick, quick and stable.

MCE is also built upon XP Professional not Home. So it's got all the advanced networking features.

Basically, if you're not a gamer and don't need DX10 graphics, 64bit CPU and more than 3gb ram then this is perfect.

Consider the OSD Media Centre instead of WMC, 16 Jul 2007
Paying near 70 quid for an old Windows version that in turns needs half a gigabyte of ram and excels with a one Ghz or faster CPU just to create a media centre is a bit too much for my budget.

I selected the OSD Media Centre from Neuros Technology. It's got a built-in DSP optimized for MPEG4 video recording, supports both PAL and NTSC, acts as a networked media player, personal video recorder, and is based on Linux so it's totally expandable. In fact, a new Youtube video browser has been released for it, and new software is being developed all the time.

After my experiences with WinXP, I'd hate to see more people cornered into the closed-source, proprietary world of Windows, when a truly open solution like the OSD can run circles around it, and be more affordable, to boot.


The perfect Windows OS - Avoid Vista!, 08 Mar 2007
After using Windows 2000 for a long period of time (which I have to say, is the best Windows OS prior to this) I decided it was time for an upgrade, since increasing new software requires XP. So, I opted for a good new HP package with Window's Xp Media Centre included, and after much talk about Vista from the people at PC World (who I can honestly say, make no representation of the cheesy adverts..)I didn't choose to upgrade, simply because after the demonstration, it looked as if it was trying too hard to be perfect, but the simple matter is that theirs features on it you simply don't need, or slow performance.

But enough of Vista, back to 'proper' Windows. I didn't think this would have too many changes from Windows 2000, as XP and 2k are built on the the exact same architecture, but quite simply put, this operating system has put my faith back into computer, without the need for exspensive Mac's.
Windows Xp Media Centre operates on 2 levels - although it is Windows XP, the Media Centre can almost act as a seperate OS, as options allow you to boot up the computer via this, which would be handy for users having their PC when connected to a TV. But simply put, Media Centre is essentially just a program - it can be minimized, closed, etc etc, but the layout makes it look like it is in affect, the OS. Media Centre allows you to simply and easily listen to music, watch slideshows of photos, watch DVDs, and other options that enhances the way you look at media. Its bold, looks fantastic, and is a joy to use. I should point out though that to get the full benefits of this part of the package, you really want to have your PC set up near a TV, so that DVD's can be watched, your photos can be seen on TV (with background music!) and you can even record live TV. This really does change the way I look at media because its so user friendly, and simple.

The actual Windows XP part of this package has actually improved since the previous stand-alone versions of XP (home, proffessional etc) in many ways. Firstly, this version has already had the influence of the current Vista 'aero' look, as the taskbar, title bars, and other XP tabs fade away a lovely clean modern look, going from blue to pale/sky blue, making it look indeed aero like, whereas the previous XP versions I felt looked too bright, as they had just bold blue bars over the windows. But this Media Influenced XP looks alot more modern, and user friendly than ever before. Features have remained similar to previous Xp's, but naturally with some Media influece.. Party Mode, Karoke Mode, Having a little dancer bop around on your desktop, a brand new version of Media Player, Label Makers, but what I like best, more options in My Documents/My Computer when you right click a drive or file, that enables you to compile and burn a CD simply through dragging files to a blank through Windows Explorer! Their are so many new feature - many fantastic fun options to enhance your expierience, not to mention having a laugh watching the dancer move to the beats, so cleverly in your music.

Aside from the Media influence, its still just as productive. I can set up my Wi-Fi connection no problems for my Nintendo Wii (Simply plug in the dongle, choose to share your broadband connection with the Wireless Connection, bob's your uncle!) and everything is just so easy. I've used XP's in the past, but I didn't realise just how modern it looked compared to 2000. And remember, this is essentially the Windows XP 'Proffessional' edition with the Media Centre software, so you still have all those important options and programs you get with Windows Proffessional.

So, who's this package for? Simple answer - anyone! I don't see the need in getting the first versions of XP if you can buy this fantastic package. The fact is, even if you don't want to use Media Centre, the version of XP is so much more modern looking, you won't want to stop using it! And thats a first, after almost giving up on PC's with the gob-smackingly awful Windows ME (Me=More Errors). And just when I though Win 2000 was the most stable OS yet, I just didn't realise how enjoyable computing could be. No more boring grey task bars, or blue screens, go and spice up your spare time with this fantastic music, video, DVD, Media Centre!

Just a few "techy" notes for those geared in to how PC's operate... as with previous versions of XP, this is heavy on the 'System Idle Process' once your PC is inactive for long periods. Be prepared for alot of CPU use if you leave your PC on all day. Also, their are a handful of XP product downloads that oddly don't operate under this... but these where minor system updates that kept looping themselves because they wouldn't install. Anyway, enough of all that!


(With regards to specs, I'm running on 512mb RAM with Norton SS 2007, and I'm wishing I got more memory! Media Centre uses about an extra 25/50mb or RAM than previous versions of XP....)

Poor quality disk, 04 Feb 2007
I don't know where Amazon sourced this package but it must be from a batch of rejected items sent back to Microsoft. The disks provided produced numerous copy errors and corrupt installation attempts. After 2 days of checking my hardware I finally established that the disks were faulty and in fact disk one had a visible damaged error near the edge.

Mine may have been an exception but I wouldn't recommend risking a purchase given the availability of the other packages on sale especially with prices falling with the arrival of Vista.

Gets better the longer you use it., 19 Jul 2008
I bought a dell inspiron 1520 laptop with vista premium pre-installed. At first it took an age to start up and I nearly thought about going back to XP!
But I started to notice something strange. Everytime I rebooted the PC it took less time than before. The cache system learns what you load and organises programs to start up quickly.
It now takes no longer to boot up than XP used to. Installing service pack 1 improved things further.

And after using it for 6 months I honestly think its very good. The interface is nice, performance is decent in games, applications load very quickly and NOT once in 6 months has the system rebooted, crashed, or frozen! Thats stability. With XP something crashed at least once a week. I've not even had the "this program has performed an ilegal operation and will be shut down message"!
I was even more impressed when I used my families XP based computers. Very new, quad core and dual core desktops but they were hanging/pausing, everything seemed to take that bit longer to do than in vista and I had to reboot one of them when all I could load was explorer!

All my drivers and products work flawlessly. I suspect that given this computer was designed for vista thats not suprising but my other peripherals all work well.

If you're not getting on with vista I suggest the following
1. Install vista service pack 1 (that does reduce hard disk access and make better use of memory)
2. Upgrade memory to 2GB. It may say you need 512MB but trust me, on a system with 1GB it is unbelievably slow! A friends laptop has this and its awful. Takes 3 minutes to load and about 20 seconds to load internet explorer! Mine has 2GB and takes about 1 minute to boot and 2 seconds to load internet explorer. Thats the difference memory makes!
3. Disable some of the services. I disable windows seach because I don't use it often and whilst it may result in super quick searches, the rest of the time the hard drives churning away indexing stuff. Slows things down.
4. Uprgrade all of your drivers to the latest version. Some of the drivers on your original discs will not work with vista but most manufactuers have drivers which support it now online.

Only upgrade if you have a decent PC (in particular 2GB memory).
I understand its not perfect for everyones uses/computer systems but I have to give it 5 stars because my experience has been flawless.

so slow: use xp, linux, dos, anything in preference, 25 May 2008
i have vista on my laptop. i wish i did not. it is so slow. click, wait 15-30 seconds, eventually something happens. this is on new top spec laptop.

i give 1 star, as zero is not an option

Thank you Vista..., 27 Apr 2008
Thank you Microsoft. No really... I installed Vista when it first came out on my HP Desktop. I can't quite put my finger on what irritates me most about Microsofts new OS, but here are a couple of candidates.

1. Speed. With all the eye candy turned on the OS just seems to take an age to respond to simple requests. This is despite my kit being relatively new and, while not top of the range, definitely well above the minimum spec. What's even more irritating is the start up time - I can wait 7 minutes from pressing the on button to being able to start an application. This is pretty unacceptable on a machine with 2GB RAM, a fast processor and decent graphics card.

2. User interface. I don't think that XP was by any means a style icon, but the new interface seems to be all style and no substance. Sure, some of the tricks in Aero look fantastic, but once the novelty wears off the irritations begin. Try, for example, to toggle between showing hidden and system files and not. On XP this is a doddle - it's in the view options. In Vista, for whatever reason, you need to drop out of the explorer into control panel to acheive the same effect. A pain, and not intuitive. Security may have been improved, but this is a real pain - why do I need to confirm twice that I want to change the location of a menu item. It's not even consistent - applications seem to be able to dial out while a simple local DOS application generates warnings every time it runs. Very irritating when it runs several times a day...

So, why the thank you. Well, such was the irritation that I found myself using my MacBook more and more. I'm now over the initial disorientation from OSX and appreciate the smooth, quick, elegant and well designed interface. So much so that not only have I ditched Vista, but I've ditched the PC and bought myself a lovely new Mac Pro. Sure, I need Windows occasionally (less than you'd think), but Boot Camp and XP sorts that out.

In short, Vista is a mess. Too many of the previewed features have been dropped and we're left with a compromised OS that underperforms it predecessor. The sooner MS get on with producing the operating system it should have done and consigns Vista to the electronic hell it surely deserves the better. Until then, Bill Gates has give Apple their best sales tool yet.

wow, really good., 28 Feb 2008
I've been using Windows Xp for a while now and was cautious about upgrading to this system as Windows Xp seemed to be working fine. However I find myself enjoying using the computer a whole lot more. After installing Vista, windows then detected and deleted lots of spyware (and a virus) that I didn't even know I had.

All of my old software seems to work fine on Vista except for one really old one which started working recently after Windows installed a Windows update automatically- it seems all the software problems are fixed now.

My bluetooth dongle got automatically installed on Vista where it failed to on Xp so i'm happy with hardware support.

It did however fail to automatically install a HP printer I had, however after it failed to install it a new program appeared called 'Windows Problems and Solution Center' with a message telling me why the printer wasn't working and even supplied a link to the HP downloads website for me to download the driver and install it myself- it works now!

Vista seems to be smooth in it's performance, i've had it for a few months now and if anything it's been getting faster though the many performance updates it's automatically installed over time.

I love the Windows Media Center, it plays all my xvid/divx/avi videos and works as a tv recorder. I use it to play music when I have mates round and at family events I hook it up to the TV (which is really easy with Vista) and play the days events with background music- Media Center does the soothing transitions automatically ;D.

I just really love this operating system.

Well Done Microsoft! Glad it took almost 6 years to make this version of windows - because they got it right!

A nightmare !, 22 Feb 2008
I've just bought a laptop with 2gb of memory and discovered that half the memory is used for Vista and the onboard video.
Some of my old programs won't install properly...if at all..and irritating message boxes keep cropping up asking mundane questions.
For me Microsoft have tried to incorporate too many programs which are second rate and are completely useless for people who have third party software.
I tried to connect my old printer and scanner and failed.
I have written to Dell about a week ago to see if I could downgrade to XP but I have had no reply. Perhaps Dell are now using Vista.

Absolute Rubbish and a waste of money, 22 Sep 2007
I had the opportunity to try out Vista Business and what a load of over featured rubbish, how can anyone do any work with all that going on? Even if you set the options to look like XP you might as well stick with XP and save your money. I am a home user but I hate gimmicks and soon despatched the sidebar stuff. The new Mail program is confusing and I do not like WMP 11, much prefer WMP 9 which I use with XP Professional.

I tried it on a Virtual Machine first and was disappointed and thought it might be the limitations of that so decided to run it properly and after creating an NTFS partition to dual boot with XP Pro Setup was very easy and you felt shut out and my first thoughts were "hey even an idiot could do this setup" and then I found that when you do a defrag you don't get to see what is going on and as someone who has done MCP courses I like to know exactly is going on with my computer. Wonder why the Windows Boot Manager just refers to "earlier version of Windows" instead of identifying the other OS on the boot screen options like XP has ceased to exist!

You cannot run decent screen savers, the ones which come with Vista are absolute rubbish with big footprints including Mystify which they have really made look horrible and if you import the earlier version it runs the same as the Vista version and many older Windows screensavers won't run.

I will stick with XP thank you. The whole thing is getting on my nerves including the much heralded Aero which certainly does not wow me. Like has been said already I do not like my computer being taken control of and I feel that by releasing Vista M$ are one more step toward ruling the world.



Waste of money, 29 Aug 2007
Doesn't do anything that XP Pro can't do faster. Too many problems with security and "Digital Rights Management". Painful to use for some simple operations - 6 clicks where one was needed before. New file manager is hopeless and the "User Account Controls" are so obstructive as to make people swear out loud in the office.

The new interface significantly slows the machine down and believe me, you will need a well specced machine to run this OS anyway!

For the business user, this "upgrade" does not offer anything not currently available in XP Pro.

Horses for Courses, 19 Jun 2007
I bought a new business laptop which had Vista Basic as the standard OS. I had been using XP Home on a previous laptop for most of my applications but needed to share files with the Office PC using XP Professional and this was said to be difficult with Vista Basic - hence the upgrade.

As this was the first thing I did - a clean upgrade - no problems and everything went OK. I had bought a magazine (The Ultimate Guide to Vista from PC Pro) which described how to set up the network with an XP machine so I don't know how difficult it would have been following the Windows instructions. I have even shared access to a printer which I hadn't been able to do before. A bit fiddly to customise all the power settings which is a new "feature" - initially turning off just sent it to sleep which is not a good idea for a laptop!

Only problem is that one of my applications (pdf creator) doesn't have a Vista version yet but not difficult to copy to the XP machine for creating pdf. I can see that people with lots of applications and hardware connected may have a lot more problems with this - or have to pay out for upgrades.

Not used it very much as it is only a secondary computer for use outside the office but seems to do what it says - I like the desktop appearance, being able to customise the side bar and being able to set it in "presentation" mode which disables the screensaver - but I definitely won't be rushing to upgrade my 2 XP PC's

Why All The Fuss?!, 24 Apr 2007
I've been running Vista Business in a Virtual Machine on my MacBook Pro for some weeks now and so far have found no reason why a user would want to upgrade to this from XP. The additional security is actually very intrusive. For example, I doubt anyone with admin rights would ever switch on the User Account Control. It just bugs you for passwords for every change you want to make and - guess what - if you switch it off it bugs you to switch it back on. Whether business users really want security built into their operating systems, I'm not sure. With their history, I'm not going to trust MicroSoft with my PC's security am I now?! So I have independent security packages installed which makes the additional security features something of an overhead.

GUIs are always a matter of taste and take some time to get used to. My first - and so far lasting - impression of Vista is that we have finally entered the realm of assuming users are complete and utter idiots and therefore we treat them as such. With each release of Windows I, as a user and - here's a thing Microsoft - the person who owns it and wants to tell it what to do rather than have it dictate to me, I find control more and more being taken away from me. I have little clue what it's up to now and no apparent way of finding out.

From a user viewpoint (there might be hidden values for IT to upgrade, I don't know) it's nothing special and, of course, appears to run slower than XP does on the same hardware. They have changed things which didn't need changing. If Windows Explorer is your main way of locating and opening files you will now find yourself faced with an unfamiliar and unfriendly mess. Why would you want to change that? It was one of the great things that the original Windows actually gave to users - easy access to their files without having to use the command prompt or a proprietary tool like XTree. Why can't I be trusted to organise my own data?

So far I have found quite a few changes from XP and I don't like them. I will persevere, but if this is the future of Windows computing then I'm increasingly pleased I decided to buy a Mac last time around!

I am trying to like this.... but can't!, 09 Feb 2007
I have 2 pc's at home. My main PC and a PC downstairs for multimedia stuff. So I thought I would upgrade my PC downstairs first.
Installation was relatively straight forward, however I must point out that if you buy an upgrade version you cannot perform a clean installation from scratch, you MUST have your previous version of XP installed first.

Once installed Vista looks stunning, and I like the new feel to folders and my computer etc. But then when you starting getting into it, it is not all it is cracked up to be. Drivers do not work correctly. EG. Roxio Media Center which is supposed to be Vista compatible, which it was until the latest patches for Vista, now every time I reboot I get an annoying message saying that the DLA drivers are not compatible.

One of the latest patches failed to install on my PC, and I have been getting a blue screen on boot up, which does sort itself out but increases the boot up time.

Then I tried the new Sync folders option, which I thought would be a great feature to synchronise my music folders with my main PC, well, this virtually brought my PC to a standstill. Every time I rebooted the search facility would eat up 75% of my CPU performance, rendering the rest of the PC virtually useless. Then I decided to remove the sync from the folders, this was a near impossible task, many of the folders would not remove the sync option, others failed. Then only way I could get it back to the way it was, was with a system restore. (which does work well!)

Then there are the annoying pop-ups. An added security feature, but VERY ANNOYING. Every time I tried to install anything a pop up would appear asking me if I wanted to do the install, this happens for every patch, every piece of software and every system change. So I decided to turn it off in the User account section, after I did that I got annoying pop ups saying that the UAC facility was turned off!! STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO Mr. Microsoft!!

On the plus side, networking is a lot easier in Vista. Wireless networks are straight forward to set up ( if you know how to configure you firewall) and once set up the connection speed is improved slightly.

So like I said I really have been trying to like Vista, but I just can't and will certainly not be putting it on my main PC for a while yet. The other thing I have realised is that I really do not need it, for the money you really are not getting much more (that works) than what XP can provided.

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