Windows rapidly approaching desktop usability?

All and all, this is a pretty fair comparison of how XP stacks up to various distros of Linux. While there is the obvious slant of the writer being a Linux user, they did give XP some credit in select areas.

Every year or so I like to see how Microsoft is doing in its attempt to make a desktop operating system as usable as Linux. Microsoft Windows XP, Home Edition, with Service Pack 2, is a tremendous improvement over previous Windows versions when it comes to stability and appearance, but it still has many glitches that keep it from being competitive with GNU/Linux for everyday users, including a tedious installation procedure, lack of productivity software included with the operating system, hardware compatibility problems, and a price so much higher than any of the Linux distributions I’ve tested lately that I don’t feel this product is a good value for most home or small office users

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My test machine was a two-year-old HP Compaq d220 microtower that originally shipped with Mandrake Linux version 9.2. I have tested and used this desktop with at least half a dozen different Linux distributions. All have loaded and run without any problems. In fact, for at least 12 out of the last 24 months, this little black box has been my primary desktop workhorse, and it has always functioned without a hiccup — until I tried to install the “Windows XP Home Edition” operating system on it.

Since I have heard that discount copies of Windows XP available from online vendors may be “pirated” or tainted in some way, I purchased my copy over the counter from well-known retailer Office Depot to make sure I was getting the genuine article instead of a cheap knock-off. Despite this precaution, no matter how hard I looked in the package I found no manual, just a 14 page “Let’s Get Started” guide and a single CD (plus some assorted marketing material) enclosed in a folder with a sticker containing some sort of strange code on it, plus these words: [Read the rest]