ABOUT LATEST OS WINDOWS XP

                                                       
Windows XP, Microsoft's next operating system, took fuller shape this week with the release of Beta version 2. And judging from PC World's examination of a late pre-beta-2 build, it should be one of the most exciting--and controversial--products ever put out by the technology behemoth.

The controversy over the OS formerly code-named Whistler stems from Windows Product Activation, a new and stringent copy-protection scheme that requires upgrade customers to contact Microsoft for an ID number (a procedure separate from the usual registration process).

That feature, which could hinder some installations, isn't the only potential upgrade hurdle. Microsoft already anticipates that XP may conflict with some system BIOSs, hardware, and applications. As a result, installing the new OS could be a real hassle for people who don't have state-of-the-art PCs. You'll also need a gigabyte of free disk space.

However, Windows XP inherits Windows 2000's stability and security, and it will be even more appealing than Windows Millennium Edition to digital photo, video, and audio enthusiasts. XP also includes Windows Me's highly popular software for returning a system to the way it was before installation of a buggy driver or application.
Expanding the Family

Windows XP will appear later this year in two versions: the business-oriented Professional and the consumer-focused Home Edition. The near-Beta 2 build we tested was of Windows XP Professional, and we found it to be essentially the next version of Windows 2000 Professional, Microsoft's current OS for businesses. Windows XP Home Edition replaces Windows Me and its Windows 9x antecedents, marking the end of the line for that MS-DOS-based family.

Home Edition is essentially a subset of Professional, omitting several nifty tools that Microsoft has deemed appropriate only for business users. But even the lowliest Windows XP Home Edition system will benefit from the Windows NT/2000 family's software stability and user and file security.

Nevertheless, Windows XP is almost sure to be less compatible with legacy hardware and applications than Windows Me and its predecessors. While Microsoft has labored to improve XP's compatibility with games, many DOS and Windows applications will be nonstarters; Microsoft says users with computers and peripherals released before 2000 may run into problems as well. A Microsoft product manager predicts that 90 percent of upgraders will experience 100 percent success. The remaining 10 percent will encounter difficulties ranging from minor to catastrophic.

Older PCs are also likely to run afoul of XP's system requirements: In addition to the minimum 1GB of free hard disk space (needed partly for XP's non-optional uninstall backups), your machine must have at least a Pentium III-233 CPU and 64MB of memory--more for better performance--to run either version of Windows XP.

Microsoft's stepped-up copy protection may prompt even more howls from users, however. During installation, Windows Product Activation will scan your system's hardware and create a "fingerprint" that you'll be required to transmit to Microsoft, along with the unique product key, within 30 days of installation.
                                                                                  
If you alter enough of the system's characteristics recorded in this fingerprint--by upgrading video, storage, and other components, for example--you may have to call Microsoft and convince a representative that you're not a software pirate before you can use the system again. The feature's main purpose, of course, is to prevent people from installing a single copy of XP on multiple computers, something determined crackers will surely view as a challenge.

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