Is it worth switching from W2000 to XP?

[TokyoBayer]

@RandomLetters

The OP was thinking about buying a new computer, most of which come with XP.

The OP was questioning whether it was better to standardize on W2K or XP.

[commasense]

@TokyoPlayer

@RandomLetters

The OP was thinking about buying a new computer, most of which come with XP.

The OP was questioning whether it was better to standardize on W2K or XP.

Actually, you’re both right. If I get a new computer, it will come with XP. But I’d still have to buy copies for my other two machines, because I am more or less set on standardizing the setup on all of my computers.

[Skywatcher]

@sleeepy2

In talking to my computer buddies, I’ve heard XP Service Pack 2 can be a nightmare. I believe this is more with people installing SP2 as opposed to systems coming with SP2 already installed.

Yeah, a lot of that had to do with trying to install the SP2 upgrade on systems with adware/spyware/virus trouble.

[Quartz]

@minor7flat5

My favorite XP extra has always been ClearType.
Turn it on and you instantly give your flat panel monitor triple the horizontal resolution, making all fonts amazingly smooth.

I tried ClearType and it looked dreadful.

[Number]

Get XP on the new machine and keep 2000 on the old ones.

XP has a few nice features but it’s not worth upgrading.

[minor7flat5]

@Quartz

I tried ClearType and it looked dreadful.

There are several factors involved:[ol][li]You must be using an LCD monitor. It will never work with a CRT[/li][li]Your resolution must be set to the monitor’s native resolution. I used to take for granted that folks knew this, but after everybody got LCD monitors at work, I saw that 90% of the people kept the resolution at 1024x768 when the native resolution for those panels is 1200x1024 – everything looks blurry on their monitors.[/li][li]You must set up ClearType for the correct pixel order: RGB or BGR.[/li][li]There are some tuning issues with flat panels that can cause blurriness. These should be resolved first.[/ol][/li]I find it hard to describe properly configured ClearType as “dreadful” – the effective horizontal resolution is tripled, so italic fonts look so much nicer.

Here are some images illustrating ClearType in action:
Before
After
From Steve Gibson’s page on How Sub-Pixel Font Rendering Works.

[Quartz]

I’ve just tried Cleartype again - got it on now, in fact - and the image looks slightly blurry. I don’t get the option to set the pixel order - perhaps I need a LCD with a DVI connector?