vista had better be good because i find that xp is one of the most annoying operationg systems around. trouble is that most games dont work on anything else. if anyone else feels the same way please back me up here.

After starting out on DOS, then going through Window$ 3.11/95/98/2000, I'd have to say that XP is the most stable version Micro$haft ever produced.

From what I've read so far, Vista is going to be a huge memory hawg, and personally, I wouldn't touch it until the first service pack is released.

We all know there will be service packs, heh.

What games? New / old?

I agree with Relic, XP is pretty stable.
Though there can be bad days...

I am going to have to join the chorus of voices that affirm the XP is a pretty decent operating system, madvic. But, like most operating systems, it does have to be maintained if you hope to keep it chugging along. You do have to get rid of all those temp files (and they all don't have the .tmp suffix), all the broken lnks, and the registry has to be cleaned up for false pointers (and occasionally a hive "realignment") and there is always the necessity of defragging the hard drive.

We have seen fewer and fewer questions on this board concerning the operating system as XP has been refurbished and honed. The real problem with games are drivers and inadequate hardware for the most part - or trying to play older games under XP when some of their coding makes calls which presume an older Microsoft API.

As Relic indicates, Vista will probably require a service pack since its security has already been brought into question. The thing is, to run it, will probably require a whole new machine since what on an "old" machine may pass muster today, after updates and service packs, will bump its dated hardware (BIOS upgrades included) out of stable usage.

xp has been the most fire and forget ms system i have had. my laptop goes everywhere and logs onto any domain without a problem. my workstation doesnt get rebooted for weeks at a time. i do follow certain rules to keep it running correctly. most notably i never install a service pack or program updates on top of the running system. i always slipstream install.

I dont agree, XP pro is the best OS microsoft has produced to date.

There are many cusomizing features in XP to make the OS do what you want it to do and be less annoying.

Wilhelmus: what i meant was that most games do not work on other types of operating systems such as linux or mac otherwise i would have switched a while ago.

Not True....unless your talking about Dx6+ Windows games.

Almost every game (DOS/NES/SNES/Genesis/Arcade, etc) except DX6+ Windows games work fine on Linux. Every other game works just as well on Linux as they do on Windows XP.

and there are some post DX6 games that run very well on linux. i play call of duty on mine. i believe linux is getting very close to being a viable alternative to MS for the average user.

Yeah, I believe once virtualization really takes off and we are finally able to use our 3D cards in emulators\virtualizers that we can finally play all of our Windows games in Linux. Won't be any time soon. Probably not for another year or two but less than 5 years.

Isn't a little late to complain about XP? I thought this was a 2003 topic, lol. I would have to also agree that XP is THE best overall OS out there period. I have had very little issues over the years, never been infected with viri or malware, and have seen only one BSOD since 2002. And if you think Vista is going to solve your woes, LOL, that's a HUGE laugh. When has MS ever released a GUI OS that was complete and perfect out of the gate? Um, never. SP1, SP2, SP3, SP4, Security Roll ups, critial patches, sound familiar? Keep dreaming about Vista being better...

that brings up a ton of questions DF... what is the holdup? lack of paid resources working the problem or inability of the kernels?