Before launching into the newsletter itself, I'd like to say "Thanks!" to all the new subscribers -- we're almost to 300 now! -- and another "Thanks!" to all of those who have waited since mid-September for a new issue. I've been settling into a new marriage, a new job, and a new season of college basketball. I'm ecstatic over the new marriage, happy with the job, and pretty irritated with the basketball season (my Tarheels are 1-4 as I write this), but haven't taken the time from everything else to put together an issue of the newsletter in a while. We'll try to get back on a monthly schedule as of this issue. I haven't moved to a listserv provider yet, either, but that's also on the front burner.

Now, to this month's topic: Windows XP.

Win XP is out, to great fanfare among the computerati and less excitement from the rest of us. I grew up at the tail end of that period of American history where, when one family on the block got a new car, everyone else in the neighborhood would run over to admire the brand new flivver, Dad would beam and wipe invisible smudges from the finish while modestly bragging on the thing's abilities and accouterments, the family's kids would strut around school for a week, and the rest of the neighborhood would redouble their efforts to get a new car in their driveways by year's end. For a while, the same effect was evident among computer owners: "Wow, you bought Windows 95? Coooool. Can I play with it?" Now, with Win 98, Millennium, 2000, and XP crowding the marketplace, fewer computer owners feel compelled to rush out and buy the new system. Nor do they feel the need to buy a new PC with the latest system installed. I've decided that, as far as this site goes, I'm not working the whole site over to incorporate XP information in the pages. I do have a Windows XP page which will attempt to keep up with the main XP news and information; keep tabs on that for the latest.

As this newsletter is targeted more for the home user and not the cutting edge, high-end PC user, I'm making a pre-Christmas recommendation: if you're thinking about getting Dad or Sis a brand-new PC for the holidays, don't get a Windows XP-based system. Don't.

Gee, Uncle Toejumper, why not? Well, I imagine that a good number of subscribers are already going "harrumph" over this recommendation. If you're contemplating the switchover, or have already made the switch, chances are you know what you're doing and why. In the case of these readers, more power to you! You've made what I trust is an informed decision and my advice isn't necessary. Let me know what your experiences are -- I'd like to incorporate your successes and glitches into an upcoming newsletter. And don't think I'm knocking XP. It is a powerful and relatively efficient (well, for Microsoft) system that exhibits tremendous stability and lots of tempting new features for both casual and power users. It is a very worthy effort, and will probably supplant many 9x systems in the near future. I'm guessing that within a year's time, most PC manufacturers will routinely offer XP-driven systems as the standard for their computers, and either not offering Win 98, 98SE, or ME at all or at best as an alternative OS. The price ain't right, either: $199 for a shelf copy of XP Home ($99 for an upgrade version, usable by Win 98/98SE/ME owners only) and $299 for a shelf copy of XP Pro ($199 for an upgrade version for owners of Win 98/98SE/ME/NT 4/2000).

I'm addressing the needs of the mass market computer user -- the average Internet surfer, games player, office- or home worker, chat maven, etc., who doesn't play with computers as a hobby or work in a field that requires the most up-to-date computing technology. For these folks, the upgrade to Windows XP could be a tremendous hassle. Lots of incompatibilities and install glitches are being reported. A new machine with a factory-installed XP won't present those problems, of course, but 9x users are going to find that many of their favorite software programs, from office suites to antivirus utilities to games, won't work on XP or will demand updated or rewritten versions to run under the new system. Even a program that runs under Win NT/2K isn't guaranteed to function under XP, and you can kiss all your old DOS-based programs goodbye. Thinking of installing XP on a machine built before 2000? Think twice. Microsoft doesn't recommend it, even though independent testing shows that XP runs well on machines as slow as 300MHz. Upgrading from an older Win 95 or Win 3.1 machine? You can't; you'll need to blow out the old system and install a new, expensive copy of XP from scratch.

Have you actually seen the XP interface? Yeeesh. AOL meets Nickelodeon. Lots of splash and color at the expense of usability. Most serious users go right back to the "Classic" interface, but all of that supposedly cool stuff lurks around in the system, unused and sucking up hard drive space. Microsoft and third-party vendors will probably release "skins" to change the look and feel of the XP interface even more; this may or may not appeal to you. And believe me, very few of us are going to be amused by the doggy Search Assistant that pops up, tongue lolling, every time you want to hunt down a file or folder.

The issue of product activation is a sticky one as well. Microsoft insists that you run the Product Activation protocol within 30 days of installation/first usage of XP; this lists your machine in Microsoft's databases, and limits the amount of times you can reinstall the system (i.e. onto a new computer or even as part of a crash-prompted reinstallation). Worse, repeated system upgrades can invalidate the system: if you give Uncle Moe a new XP-based computer for Christmas, then he spends the next year installing a new scanner, DVD drive, memory card, video card, or what have you, he may run into a situation where XP decides that his system has been upgraded too many times and won't allow it to continue. Your Uncle Moe will then have to call Microsoft's Tech Support system and ask that they allow -- allow -- him to continue the upgrade. The idea is to prevent unscrupulous users from installing the same copy of XP onto different machines (a copyright violation), but it could also prevent honest XP users from making too many changes to the same machine. That prospect could send Uncle Moe's ulcer into meltdown. For even more fun, Microsoft wants you to sign up for its Passport service. Although the system tells you that Passport is necessary for XP to run properly, it isn't. Stay away from Passport -- it asks for entirely too much personal information and is riddled with security flaws. You don't even need it to run Outlook Express, but the system will tell you differently.

Thinking of using an XP-based machine on a home or office network? Well, it will run great, but the Home version might not work well with other machines in the network, particularly those based on Win 2K. This means that you're stuck with using the $200 Professional version, and lemme tell ya, little buddy, XP Pro ain't for the faint-hearted. (It is, however, the best operating system currently in the Microsoft stable. If you're familiar with Win NT/2K usage, you might give XP Pro a shot, though it's probably unnecessary for the average home user -- sort of like using a Ferrari for taking the kids to the pediatrician.)

And notebook and laptop users might want to remember that generic, off-the-shelf OSes tend to misbehave on these machines. If you want XP on your little ittlie, the best advice is to buy a new one with XP installed at the factory.

So to sum up: unless you know what you're doing, Win XP may prove more of a hassle than a benefit to you. Certainly the average user won't want to futz around with an XP upgrade, and the XP system, while clearly superior to any of the 9x family of systems, doesn't make the purchase of a new PC worthwhile in and of itself. If you're already in the market for a new machine, definitely consider an XP-based machine, but don't toss your perfectly functional Win 9x/ME computer overboard just because there's a new kid on the auction block.

See you in 2002, and have a great holiday season.