XP, both Windows and Office

[nilknarf]

I'm sure we've had this topic before...

All of our vendors are starting to drop the older Office and Windows and switch to XP. I haven't had a chance to fully reserach XP yet, and my boss is telling me we may not have a choice but to go to XP (if we decide to stay with MS, which I'm also researching).

What are your thoughts on XP? Please respond only with info relating to XP and please refrain from complaining about MS. I know there are other OS's/office suites available, but we are not yet in a position to make major changes.

Thanks in advance,
Tim

[jansson_markus]

I think XP is good product. Integrated firewall, EFS and updating. And they claim it has security as "default", not as "option". If thats true, then even average moron using it wont be able to do much harm to him/herself and others... http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif
Its good, but it costs too much.

[Mntsnow]

There will not be a "compatablity" issue between your existing 2K OS and Office apps as XP's OS and Office apps are truthfully just "tweaked" 2K versions for the most part. Documents that are created in office XP are opened without any problem in office 2000.

[dragonB]

Office XP looks pretty good. It looks to be more user friendly for the illiterate out there.(Hallelujah, less calls maybe)
I'm impressed with how they've improved powerpoint, and the smart tabs are a decent idea.
And yes, Office 2k opens XP files no problem. They are the exact same file format, so they go back and forth.
And, Office XP doesn't have much to do with Windows XP. Office XP runs great on 98 or windows 2000. This seems to confuse a lot of people.

My only complaint of the two, is that Microsoft puts out some serious bloatware. Everything new that put out needs serious hardware, and hogs a lot of memory.(open to debate. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif )
laters,
dragonB

[RalphArch]

well my info has it that they are not the "exact" same format - as someone using WordPerfect2000 reported can import and open Word2000 doc without a problem but the software chokes on xp version. I have bought; but not installed xp so this is only anecdotal at this time.

No longer anecdotal - Office xp word files can not be opened in WordPerfect 2000; although such a document opened in Word 2000 and saved with a minimal change such as adding and deleting a space will open in WP2k. So the files are not the same - but if the only applications you care about this being an issue for are Micro$oft Office products it probably won't be an issue.

[This message has been edited by RalphArch (edited 06-10-2001).]

[captpete]

I am in the same position as yourself, nilknarf, trying to ascertain the consequences of migrating to the XP series, or not. I've tested all the beta's as they were made available for testing, and the XP Office products are a very good improvement, well worth the switch. However, the subscription issue is the area that is giving me trouble. There are a lot of rumors surrounding this issue, and it is hard to seperate fiction from fact. And I'm not here to do that, but rather to advise that you fully investigate this aspect. As I understan it, you will not fully own the product, but rather will be renting a fully functional version with support services. Not paying your rent will result in the product having "reduced funtionality" and no support. Free support for other legacy versions will cease.

Thus as a business person, you should garner a full understanding of the factors of this leasing arrangement: cost, terms, length, renewability, etc. Basically the same approach one would take with the rental of any other piece of office equipment.

[nilknarf]

charmler, I would if I could, unfortunately, someone else makes that decision. Depending on what info I find out about XP, we may look at switching software, just to save on money and administrative headaches.

I knew there was something new about the registration that was really stupid. So, they want to charge me a small fortune for the software, then charge me for support services which I rarely use! If this is the case, I think we'll have a hard time selling this to the higher ups! Although, since we're looking at buying a site license, this may be less of an issue. I think I'll investigate that one with M$.

So far, it sounds like, with the exception of the registration process and the usual bloatware issues, XP would be alright.

Tim

[MadMatt]

I think it depends on where you are currently. If your company is running NT4/Office97, then XP is the way to go - The improvements are numerous and signifficant. If your currently on Windows/Office 2000, then the picture is much muddier. Personally, I wouldn't spend the $ to upgrade from 2000. I'd wait til the second half of 2002, then consider it.

[nilknarf]

If what I've managed to find out about MS's plans for XP is correct, I don't think the 'anti-trust' case against them will have much to go on, as MS is screwing themselves with this one.

Tim