PETE'S SOMETIME NEWSLETTER
September 5, 2001

No matter where you go, there you are

Hi Ya'll,

Well, the end of Windows, as we know it, officially arrives October 25, 2001. Actually, Windows 98 SE is the end of the Win 9x series, and Win Me turned out to be Win 98 SE modified to test some of the features planned for Win XP. Windows XP is the start of a new Windows series of Operating Systems written for "newer" computers, but your Win 95 and 98 programs will probably run fine on it.

If your present computer fits the recommended specifications, you can make sure Win XP will run on it by executing a Check It Out program. It will be available for download from Microsoft (no link available yet) and will be on a CD-ROM included in major computer magazines, possibly their October editions, and from computer and "electronics" stores.

By the way, though I haven't seen anything "official", I thinks it's safe to say that Win 95 is dead. Win XP won't update a Win 95 machine. The recently released Internet Explorer 6.0 won't run on Win 95, and Internet Explorer security fixes are now limited to IE 5.01 and 5.5 (which do run under Win 95.) Should you upgrade from Win 95 to Win 98? That's up to you, but I definitely recommend downloading IE 5.01 SP2 or 5.5 SP2 if you still have IE 5.0 or earlier installed. You can get IE 5.01 SP2 here and IE 5.5 SP2 here. Caution: Although these SP2 upgrades are needed for security reasons, and some code fixes, when I went from IE 5.5 SP1 to SP2, all, and I do mean all, my Windows-stored passwords disappeared, Outlook Express couldn't get my email until I reentered my mail server passwords (Tools, Accounts), Web page auto-logins didn't work any more, etc. A pain, but if you're the least bit concerned with bad stuff being slipped onto your machine while reading a Web page or an email, then going to the SP2 level is a must.

Enough digression. To get back on track and without further ado, I present Windows XP Home Edition, a.k.a. Windows XP Personal.

Windows XP logo Windows XP Home Edition

Here's What You Need to Use It, According to Microsoft [my comments in brackets]

Upgrading and Prices

The Full and Upgrade versions are actually identical, except that the Update version makes you insert your existing Win98/Me CD-ROM for the Setup program to verify that the serial number of the disk matches the serial number of the currently installed Operating System.

Win 98, 98 SE, and Me can be upgraded to Win XP Home Edition. Win 95 users can not do an upgrade; they must do a "clean" install, i.e., make backups of all your data files, reformat your C: drive hard disk, install Win XP, reinstall all your programs and reset your "preferences" and "options", restore your data files from the backup copies. But if you're still running Win 95, I doubt you have the CPU horsepower and/or hard disk space to install Win XP and still have room for the virtual swap file, your programs, data, temporary working storage, and "growth", right?

Microsoft List Price: Win XP Home Edition will cost $99 for the Upgrade version, and $199 for the Full version. No word yet whether there will be a limited time special Upgrade price, as there was for Win Me, when Win XP goes on sale October 25, 2001.

Amazon.com: Also $99 and $199.

Costco: $95 and $190.

Microsoft has set up some pages to help you "evaluate" Win XP Home. If you click enough links, you'll discover a few features which could convince you it's time to shell out for a new computer. One item some of you will find enticing is Setup Accounts for a Multi-User Computer.

Setting Up Accounts on a Multi-User Machine

The "boss" of the computer sets himself (that's the genderless "him", as is he/her/she, in case any of you insist on being p.c.) up as System Administrator - he has the Admin account. The Admin can do anything with the system, such as install, update, delete programs, and set up other "accounts", such as his own every day account, one for his S.O. (significant other), accounts for each child, and a Guest account. Each account can be password protected, and each can be given specific permissions - or exclusions!

When your friend comes over to use your computer, he could use an account you've set up just for him, or he could use the Guest account. His own, or the Guest, account can be set up so that it does not have access to Display Properties or any other Control Panel functions, can not install/update/delete programs, can only have access to files (data) created by that account, can have its own Desktop and only have access to programs having shortcuts on that Desktop.

Flipping from one user's account to another is painless. If S.O. is working with Quicken or Money, and Boss comes in and says he needs to check his email for an important message from his boss at work, S.O. doesn't have to close her program. She just logs off and gives the chair to Boss and he logs on to his account. S.O.s program sits there in the background, unseen by other accounts, waiting for her to log back on and pick up where she left off. If Boss gets a case of sloppy mouse pointing and clicks on "Shutdown" instead of "Close Progs and Logoff", all open files will be saved and programs closed, not just those "belonging" to the account issuing the Shutdown command.

Each account can be set up so the account owner will see only their Outlook Express email. That feature will be really nice. Might keep Sister from whining about needing her own computer because Brother keeps looking at her email, and/or vice versa.

Links to Other Sources of Windows XP Information

Note: The terms RTM (Release To Manufacturing) and Gold refer to the "final code" which will be preinstalled on new computers or on the CD-ROM in stores.

What will happen during an upgrade? Well, it looks painless. You answer some questions up front, then you can go away for an hour or two. If something goes wrong during the install, you'll automatically be returned to your old windows version.

What does Win XP look like? A whole bunch different! Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Using the new Desktop. It's going to take time to get used to the "stacking" of buttons on the Task Bar, but I like being able to temporarily remove icons from the Desktop and SysTray. However, you can push some buttons somewhere and have the Desktop, folder, etc. assume the "Classic Windows" appearance we're used to now.

ZDNet Win XP home page has links to some interesting articles. Shift-click on the first one, "XP: More than Windows dressing", and peruse what strikes your fancy. The Guided Tours link will be of interest to those wishing to set up multiple User accounts. When you start a tour, be sure to click the Full Screen box (upper left corner}. The tours use actual screen shots to show how to accomplish a task, screen by screen. Quite handy; you may want to Bookmark (add to Favorites) that page.

Back on the XT home page, scroll to the bottom of the page for some other links under the heading Help & How To.

Win XP Section of PC Magazine (Sometimes this link works, sometimes it dumps you on the PC Mag home page where you'll have to find a link to the "Windows XP home page"; currently the link is in the abstract about the first article.) The most interesting link, toward the middle of the page, is called "First Look - A Wake Up Call for Windows." This is a long article which points up many interesting features. There are also two Visual Tours which will give you more of an idea of what parts of Win XP will look like. These screen shots do not overlap the "tours" cited earlier. The links to the tours are located at the bottom of the violet colored area at top left of each story page. Do not Shift-Click on those links; they open new windows on their own when you click them.

When you buy a new computer, one of the biggest headaches is transfering data and other files from the old to the new machine. Win XP tries to make the process easier. There is a program on the CD which will collect all your Outlook Express settings and email, Internet Explorer settings, Favorites folder, files you desinate, and some other stuff; copy it to floppies or some other external storage device which you can insert/plug-into the new machine and have everything read into Win XP. Or you can connect the two machines with a special "direct connect" cable and the "gathering" program will do a direct transfer. But you will still have to reinstall all your application programs on the new machine.

There are some third-party programs I've seen mentioned which claim to be able to transfer your programs along with the other stuff, but I haven't looked into them.

Okay, you say "Windows XP looks interesting, and I have the horsepower to handle it, but I just don't know." Here's some sage advice from a ZDNet article:

Who shouldn't upgrade? Basically any users satisfied with their current system performance (including boot-up time, power management, etc.), and who don't add a lot of peripherals to their systems. If you're using a system to surf the Web, send out a couple of e-mails, and do some word processing, you really don't need to bother with the hassle--or expense--of an upgrade.

But if you fall too far behind, you'll find yourselt in the same boat as Win 95 users are in now: Win 95 is dead meat, and soon you won't be able to get updated versions of Win 95 (and 98/ME?) programs because the vendors will be concentrating on programs and updates for Win XP.

Am I going to take the XP plunge? I thought Win Me sounded interesting, but I stayed with the original Win 98. I'm totally undecided about XP right now. I think it might be worth it, but on the other hand ....

As always, your mileage may vary.

'Til next time,
Pete

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