WinXP, Win2K & ME

[AMedz]

can anyone help me differentiate on what to buy for OS desktop whether WinXP, Win2K & ME....
im looking for a most effective way of migrating from Win98SE. The ff are some considerations that im looking into....
-Application compatibility with OS. (i.e. Notes,Smartsuite,etc)
- Hardware support.
- Networking features accessing win2k servers.

can anybody share some good insights regarding this?
many thanks in advance..

-AMedz-

 

[donnie4564]

Opinion of course, is all you can get from a question like this.
Windows ME is worthless for networking.
Windows 98 good for networking but unstable.
Windows 2000 Professional very stable for networking.
Windows XP very stable for networking.

We had to make a decision between Windows XP and 2000 for 300+ users and 41 servers. We went with windows 2000 because we had several users in remote offices using 2000 which proved to be very reliable. There’s no such thing as 100% dependable OS, you just have to decide which will be more stable.

 

[nyte]

I agree with the above post... I would feel comfortable suggesting XP or 2k. They are both super stable, they both have pretty good security features, and they are both very stable, and they are great for networking though XP takes a little getting used to, but overall its pretty easy. As far as Win ME, its not even worth considering... it by far is the worst OS on the market

 

[AMedz]

How about some Application compatibility? is there any issues regarding this so far? by the way im also running SQL7....

 

[eter4]

We pushed an test install of ME and a test install of 2k and I have to say that the 2k Install was flawless... The ME seems to be sluggish and does not like being told what to do from the RIS server. I would go with 2k. We are also running Outlook XP Office 2k Lotus NotesR5 all with no problems.

 

[donnie4564]

We have half a dozen of custom apps. It has taken a great deal of effort to force these apps to run with w2k. Some problems took weeks to work through. But in the end w2k has and does handle everyone of them. I have not seen any problems using apps that support w2k. I have seen some hardware that does not like 2000. Microsoft has made a big effort to make w2k compatible with everything possible. I think 2000 is the best OS to date.

 

[tp205]

I have to agree on the first two posts win2k is great in networking, but if you want compatible then get XP. It has a nifty little property that allows for legacy programs. It also work great with RIS and GPO. Software issues I have yet to fine it works great with most hardware.
Software used so far
office95.97,2000,xp
Some Dos apps and AS400 apps
later
B-)

 

[ErroR]

We've had great success with Windows 2000, and I have to say that XP has gone near-flawlessly so far. We have had ONE piece of software that had an issue with the installer program the vendor used...

Windows 2000 has software compatibility properties that XP has, you can run them in the context of Win95, WinNT SP5, etc. This might be something that is added with SP2, but I know for sure you can add it with the Windows update with no issues.

We currently have over 1000 machines and laptops operating on Windows 2000. There are greater than 50 different software titles that are operating successfully on Windows 2000 including Office 2000/XP, Lotus Notes, AS400 and mainframe tools and client software, programming software for every language you could think of, modeling software... the list goes on and on. Another 20 applications which this company produces also operate in 2000 without issues. Software compatibility really is dependant on the vendor, if the software is certified with 2000, then it's going to work.

We still have another 3000 Windows NT4 machines as well, so co-existance of the two in an environment is not an issue.

Windows XP is looking GREAT so far. It DOES require a faster machine, as with any new operating system. You will have issues where your vendors arent quite ready for XP support, but that shouldnt be such a big issue with real companies who mean business. If the company hasnt yet realized they have to keep on top of things, and they havent yet come to understand Microsoft's OS release plan, then I would seriously re-consider my business arrangement with them.

Windows ME and 98SE are home software. Networking and stability are not the selling attributes of these products (ME is just an updated version of 98SE anyway) and should not be considered for business purposes.

These are just my opinions and observations, nothing less and nothing more.

 

[CSUKNic]

Windows ME is totally inadequate for the networking to win2k server, which only leaves you Win2k and XP. Both are equally capable and should not leve you with too many compatibility issues unless you are using some bespoke software.

However, windows 2k was designed to be 100% compatible with win2k server. XP is to all intents and purposes a hybrid on win2k and win98.

XP is also on its original release version, and as is common with all microsoft applications the first release is never the best. I run a win2k server with 50 win2k pro clients and although xp interfaces quite happily with it, I still feel that there is no good reason to go to XP at this point.

Therefore, and it is only an opinion, I feel that you would be best to go with 2k.