The release of the new Windows XP frightened many people away from the Microsoft Operating System. Fears of bugs and especially it's built in copyright protection made many shy away. Aesthetically the OS is quite similar to the recently released Windows 2000, but has some graphical upgrades. It boasts outstanding, never before seen security features, or at least that is what Microsoft claimed. These include a built in fire wall and other encryption features. Although it has all of these amenities, it still was able to be hacked into within 3 weeks of it's initial release. News of this not only frightened users but the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center as well. Other built in features include automated system recovery and supposed higher stability. It is 14 times as large as the late Windows NT, which means people are going to look anywhere besides Microsoft for defragmentation software and other system utilities. Not to worry, the bugs can be fixed and it is undoubted that Microsoft will attempt to send patches and updates to fix the known bugs as soon as possible. The worst problem that I have seen encountered is peripheral compatibility. Drivers are not all available for the new XP systems, but it is important to keep in mind that is not Microsoft's responsibility, but rather the responsibility of the respective hardware manufacturer. And finally, the worst amenity to Windows XP is by far the copyright protection. All new software is verified to be authentic by Microsoft. It isn't a big deal for the novice user, but if you have a copied version of Microsoft product, I wouldn't recommend installing it on your machine. Not to say that anyone pirates software of course. On the legal level, Windows XP makes external device connection a nightmare. It only allows devices to be removed and installed a certain amount of times. When it occurrs over the predetermined amound within a certain time, it will not accept the hardware. Microsoft was trying to prevent copyright infringement, but instead made a pain in the rear end. In order to unlock your machine, a call to Microsoft is necessary. All in all, it's not as bad as it sounds, all you can do is try it.