Should I take the plunge to empty my bank account and upgrade to Windows XP?
There are six questions you should ask yourself before any upgrade:
- What do I use my PC for?First make a list of all the things you do on your PC. You might like to play games,write letters, manage your finances, or use the Internet. I am sure there are as manyways to use a PC as there are readers of this column.
- Will the new software help me do this any better?When you have the list you can check this against the features of the software and see if it will improve the way you work on your PC. If it does – the software is foryou. If it doesn’t – why bother?
- Are there new features in the software I need?Those new features always sound so inviting, but you should check the list of featuresincluded with the new release. Ican’t tell you what features you will need, you have to make up your own mind,perhaps based on the list of what you use your PC for. Ensure that you really needthem and they are not just “wouldn’t it be nice?” wants.
- Is my current PC able to run the new software?Peruse the requirements Keep in mind that these are only the MINIMUM requirements, it may be that your PCwill meet these requirements but XP will run like a three-legged, blind greyhound onMogadon. It is usual for software to require more than the minimum stated to runefficiently. You can test your PC for these requirements atwww.pcpitstop.com/xpready/xptests.asp
- Is the new software stable?Stability of the software is a big question. No one can answer this until it has beenrunning on PCs around the world for a while. My experience is that you should neveruse the first release of any software. This is based on years of professional softwareinstalling and maintaining. You may of course override a decision to wait for theinevitable service pack because of an overwhelming desire for a function onlyavailable in the new release. In that case be prepared for some problems. HoweverXP is promised to be more stable than previous versions of Windows.
- Can I afford it?This depends on how much disposable income you have and what package of XP youpurchase. The Home Edition, the one most readers will be interested in, comes in twoflavours. An upgrade pack, remember you can only upgrade from Windows 98, 98SEand ME, or the full version. The cost for the upgrade pack is $309, while the fullversion is $599. If you own more than one PC Product Activation will force you to purchaseone copy for each PC. The third way to buy XP is to purchase a new PC with theoperating system pre-loaded. These have been available for about a month.
More information to help you make your final decision ZDNET have an article detailing key considerations.
The BBC have two pages, they detail their experience of an XP install. They also ask the question ‘To upgrade or not upgrade?’ and explain some alternatives to using Microsoft Windows as your operating system.
