Windows XP was launched to an excited press on 25th October 2001 and has been one of the longest standing Windows operating systems. It has undergone three major upgrades and is still present on many corporate networks and Home PC’s today.
Windows XP popularity
With every version of Windows since Windows 3.0 there have been problems and Windows XP was no exception to this. To be fair, it is an immensely complicated piece of software that must work with thousands of computers, printers, scanners and other devices. What was key to its success was the critical stability of the operating system within a couple of years and this was attractive to large companies looking to support many computers. In addition it became a standard loved by most Home Users looking to replicate what they had used within the work environment.
Windows Vista – The not so perfect product
January 2007 was the Windows Vista launch and it was greeted with a lot of negative press and in particular from the business world. It had significant incompatibility problems, was painfully slow and offered nothing to tempt a happy Windows XP user . With the recent launch of Windows 7, it appears that some larger users are finally prepared to drop XP – time will tell.
To keep or not to keep
Due to the lack of continued support, XP is not really a viable option for the long term (particularly for larger businesses). In addition, all new PC’s purchased in the near future will only be sold with a Windows 7 license.
Saying that, a lot of people still have Windows XP and are reluctant to purchase a shiny new box when their needs don’t warrant it. Unfortunately Microsoft has continued to add more and more baggage to the core system and the specification of yesteryear will no longer provide an optimum experience. The key requirement is therefore memory; and for reasonable performance, it is recommended that your PC has a minimum of 1GB of RAM and for optimum performance, 2GB.
Along with some system optimisation, this should provide your humble PC with a few more years of life yet.
