Text 13293, 277 rader
Skriven 2006-10-14 10:24:12 av /m (1:379/45)
Ärende: Sticking with Windows XP in a Windows Vista World
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From: /m <mike@barkto.com>


http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/winvista_xp_apps.asp

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Obviously, I spend a lot of time working with beta software. If you're envious
of that for some reason, consider this little slice of "grass is always
greener" logic: Sometimes I wish my PCs just worked. Sometimes I wish I just
used my computers as the tools that they are, and didn't have to spend so much
time installing, reinstalling, and fixing problems. From my side of the fence,
your lawn is looking pretty darned good too.

What I'm getting at is that the Next Big Thing isn't always a given. Sure,
Windows Vista is cool, sort of, and it's got some neat new functionality. But
what would you say if I told you that the vast majority of new end user
features in Windows Vista were already available to you--most of them for free,
no less--in Windows XP? And that by skipping Windows Vista, at least for the
time being, you'd be left with a PC that was faster, more compatible with the
software and hardware you own, and just about as capable as an otherwise
identical PC running Windows Vista?

Well, that's exactly what I'm telling you. No, you can't get the Windows Aero
user experience without Vista, though I suspect the wizards over at Stardock
will get pretty close. But do you really need Aero, along with its annoying
incompatibilities, many of which result in sudden and jarring jumps into the
Windows Basic interface? And no, most of Windows Vista's security features
aren't available to XP users either, but you know what? You might not need them
either, especially if your system is adequately defended with a hardware
firewall and a good security software suite.

I'm talking about pure end user goodness here. Applications that are supposed
to make people want Windows Vista. Things like the Windows Sidebar, Windows
Calendar, Windows Photo Gallery, and Windows Media Player 11. These and other
Vista-specific applications are really neat, but you can get identical or
nearly identical applications on Windows XP too. And by doing so, you can eek
some more time out of your XP investment, save up for a future Vista PC, or
just avoid all the headaches that go along with upgrading to a new Windows
version. Sure, you've waited 5 years for Windows Vista, but so what? Will
another 6 months or a year be a problem? Really?

If you'd like to stick with Windows XP for a while longer, here's some good
news. You don't need Windows Vista. And as I'll describe in the next section,
there are plenty of excellent solutions out there that will make you forget all
about Redmond's next operating system. At least for a little while.

XP replacements for popular Windows Vista applications and features Windows
Search: Windows Desktop Search

Back in 2003, Microsoft proudly showed off the WinFS-based Windows Search
features it then planned to include in Windows Vista. Since then, three years
of delays have allowed competitors like Google and Apple to take note of
Microsoft's strategy and release desktop search packages of their own. Today,
there are plenty of desktop search products available for Windows XP. You've
got your pick.

In my mind, the contest comes down to two choices. If you're looking for the XP
search tool that most closely resembles Windows Search on Vista--mostly because
it's based on the same technology--then Microsoft's Windows Desktop Search
(WDS) is the way to go. WDS replaces XP's Start Menu-based Search tool with a
far more functional version and provides you with a handy taskbar-based
Deskbar.

If you're looking for a bit more, consider Google Desktop as well. Like WDS,
Google Desktop provides a taskbar-based Deskbar for quick hard drive searching.
But Google Desktop also includes an interesting Sidebar feature that is very
similar--but more capable--than the Sidebar feature in Windows Vista (see
below). If you think you want to use both desktop search and a Sidebar-like
feature, look into Google Desktop.

Both WDS and Google Desktop are free. WDS offers better shell integration than
does Google Desktop, which runs its local searches in a Web browser just like
Google Web search. Windows Defender: Anti-spyware

When Microsoft purchased Giant Company Software in December 2004, I knew
Windows users were in for a treat: I was a dedicated and enthusiastic Giant
Antispyware user and knew it was the best anti-spyware solution on the market.
Now, Microsoft's version of Giant Antispyware, dubbed Windows Defender, is an
integrated part of Windows Vista. But here's good news for XP fans: Windows
Defender is available for free on XP as well. And unlike some Vista
applications that have been made available on XP in slightly-hobbled form, the
XP version of Windows Defender is just as good as the Vista version.

Unlike some other security features, such as firewalls and anti-virus
solutions, it's not only feasible but advisable to run two or more anti-spyware
solutions side-by-side on the same machine. For this reason, you should
consider a second anti-spyware product. There's been a lot of confusion in this
space, and many people seem to have particular favorites, often for nonsensical
reasons. My choice is ZoneAlarm Anti-Spyware, which is only $19.99 (you can
also get it as part of the excellent ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite).
Internet Explorer 7: Web browser

Say what you will about Internet Explorer--I certainly have--but version 7 is
not just the best IE version yet, it's also a credible challenger to the
current Web browser champion, Mozilla Firefox. Best of all, Internet Explorer 7
is available for XP as well, though it loses two key Vista features, IE
Protected Mode and parental controls integration. It's still worth it: IE 7 is
more capable and more secure than its predecessor. Even if you're not going to
use IE regularly, upgrade IE 6 to IE 7 as soon as possible.

It's a tough call, but I'm going to remain with Mozilla Firefox. While I
recognize that most mainstream Windows users will continue to use IE, I feel
that Firefox is still safer, and it's definitely got some unique features that
are missing in IE 7, though the gap is closing. However, both IE 7 and Firefox
are superior to IE 6. Windows Sidebar and Gadgets: Mini-Applications

Windows Sidebar is an onscreen real estate-stealing panel designed to hold
HTML- and script-based mini-applications that Microsoft calls Gadgets. The
Sidebar is clearly a reaction to Apple's Dashboard feature, which hosts HTML-
and script-based mini-applications that Apple calls Widgets. Dashboard, in
turn, was clearly ripped off from Konfabulator (since purchased by Yahoo) and
other desktop customization utilities like Stardock Object Desktop.

If you're into this kind of thing, there are a number of XP-based solutions.
Microsoft is reportedly working on an XP version of Sidebar, but I haven't seen
any code since January and Microsoft has been curiously silent on the issue.
But you could always go with the original, Konfabulator, which is now called
Yahoo Widget Engine. This solution is more similar to Apple Dashboard--go
figure--than Windows Sidebar, however, and doesn't include a screen
edge-mounted panel of any kind. So if you're looking for something that more
closely mimics Sidebar, you'll need to look elsewhere.

I mentioned Google Desktop previously as a replacement for Windows Search.
Google Desktop also includes a Sidebar-like mini application environment called
the Dashboard, and it's a decent Sidebar replacement, though it offers the
standard Spartan Google interface. The Google Desktop Dashboards hosts HTML-,
XML-, and COM-based mini-applications called Google Gadgets, and as you'd
expect from a Google service, there are all kinds of useful Gadgets out there.
Windows Backup: File Backup and Restore

The new backup functionality in Windows is Windows Vista is as full-featured as
it is attractive. In fact, it's so full-featured that it offers both file
backup and restoration features and image-based full-PC backup, the latter of
which uses the VHD virtual machine format first developed for Virtual PC.

System imaging is pretty much a power user feature, but everyone should be
regularly backing up their data. The problem is that virtually no one does.
Vista's Backup and Restore Center, with its automated backup feature, should
help fix that problem in the future. But if you're using Windows XP today,
you're going to have to look elsewhere.

There are plenty of decent backup applications out there, but my favorite also
happens to be part of a complete PC protection and maintenance suite called
Windows Live OneCare. It's not free, but it's not expensive either, and I've
seen it available for as little as $15 after rebates (it's typically about
$20). Windows Live OneCare is a must have for a variety of reasons--it's got
tremendous anti-virus and firewall features, integrates with Windows Defender,
and keeps your PC running at full speed by regularly defragging the hard drive.
But the best feature, perhaps, is its Backup and Restore functionality, which
lets you backup data automatically to external hard drives or optical media.
Windows Mail: Email

Windows Mail--aka Outlook Express 7.0--is one of the few Windows Vista
applications that has almost no redeeming value. Therefore, even those who do
upgrade to Windows Vista should look elsewhere for an email application. The
commercial alternative--Microsoft Outlook--is your best bet. But if you don't
have Outlook and don't feel like paying for it, fear not. There are plenty of
excellent alternatives.>

If you're looking for a standalone email client, look at both Mozilla
Thunderbird and Microsoft Windows Live Mail Desktop Beta. Both are free, though
WLM Desktop is ad-supported, unless you pay for a Hotmail Plus or MSN account.
WLM Desktop is the most similar to Windows Mail; indeed, it's based on the same
Outlook Express underpinnings. But unlike Windows Mail, WLM Desktop supports
Web mail accounts like Hotmail.

Don't be afraid to consider a Web-based email client. Most of the new
generation Web mail clients are quite nice, but the winner, by far, is Yahoo
Mail (currently in beta). Gmail (from Google) and Windows Live Mail (which
works with Hotmail accounts) are functionally similar, but neither is as
attractive in a Web browser. Windows Calendar: Standards-Based Scheduling

Windows Calendar is a tough one: It's nicely designed and has all the sharing
features you'd expect from an iCal-based application. Frankly, there isn't a
standalone calendar application that comes close on Windows. The only exception
is the Calendar component of Microsoft Outlook: If you have that, just use
Outlook. If you don't, your options are a bit more limited.

The Mozilla Corporation, responsible for some of the finest Web browser
(Firefox) and email (Thunderbird) applications on the planet, is also working
on a standalone calendar application codenamed Sunbird. Mozilla Sunbird isn't
as fine-tuned as Firefox or Thunderbird, and it certainly isn't as fully
developed. But even the current pre-release Sunbird versions are decent enough
for regular use. My guess is it will get more attractive over time.

If you're already using Web-based email, the major vendors of those
services--Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo--all offer Web-based calendars as well.
Curiously, Yahoo's entry isn't particularly nice looking (unlike its new Web
mail), but then neither Google Calendar nor Hotmail Calendar are particularly
Web 2.0 either. If I had to pick one above the others, it would be Google
Calendar. Why? Like most Google services, Google Calendar is supported by a
wide range of third party add-ons and has a nice community of users. It's also
updated fairly frequently. Windows Photo Gallery: Photo Management and Sharing

With Windows XP, Microsoft was pushing a task-based photo management scheme
that was based in the files and folders of the Windows shell, and not in a
standalone application. The success of Apple's iPhoto on the Mac OS X platform
proved, however, that users prefer to use a nicely-designed, attractive, and
functional application for photo management. So Vista, as is so often the case,
follows in OS X's footsteps with an application, Windows Photo Gallery, that
handles photo management, importing, and sharing.

To be fair, Windows Photo Gallery isn't actually an iPhoto clone. No, as it
turns out, Microsoft already had an excellent photo management solution, which
it had been selling as Digital Image Suite. Photo Gallery is simply a pared
down version of Digital Image Suite 2006, so if you want something that works
like Photo Gallery but is even more capable, that's the way to go.

Of course, Digital Image Suite isn't free. What's amazing is that you can get
an application that offers much of the functionality of both Windows Photo
Gallery and Digital Image Suite 2006, but is absolutely free. It's called
Google Picasa 2, and it's a fantastic application. Since it's a Google
application, Picasa utilizes Google's search engine to automatically find all
the photos on your PC, regardless of where they're hidden. But its editing and
sharing features are excellent too, and a recent update adds Picasa Web Albums
compatibility, so you can upload your photos easily to Google's version of
Flickr. Windows Media Player 11: Digital Media Jukebox

Microsoft's next-generation version of Windows Media Player had its thunder
stolen recently when Apple finally shipped a version of iTunes, iTunes 7, that
includes beautiful album art views. But the real irony here is that the best
looking version of Windows Media Player 11 is available for Windows XP, not
Windows Vista. Weird, eh?

Anyway, if Windows Media Player isn't your thing, fear not. There are better
digital media jukeboxes out there. My favorite is, go figure, Apple iTunes 7.
It was recently updated to fix the stability issues that dogged the initial
iTunes 7 release, and it's got a much cleaner and professional-looking
interface than does Windows Media Player. Windows Movie Maker 6: Digital Movie
Editingp

The version of Windows Movie Maker (WMM) included with Windows Vista is the
best yet, with support for Microsoft's recorded TV (dvr-ms) format and
outputting in various HD formats. But XP users already have a very capable
digital movie editor in Windows Movie Maker 2, and if you can live without
those two aforementioned new features, you pretty much already have everything
you need.
Windows Media Center: Digital Media in the Living Room

The Windows Vista version of Windows Media Center (WMC) is an evolutionary
upgrade over the version offered in Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005,
though it should be more widely distributed thanks to its inclusion in two
Windows Vista product editions, Vista Home Premium and Vista Ultimate. It also
includes unique new features like DVD jukebox integration and
digital/high-definition television support. Unfortunately, there isn't really
any true analog to Vista's WMC. If you have Windows XP Media Center Edition
2005, however, you get most of the best WMC features.

But what if you don't have XP Media Center 2005? Snapstream Beyond TV 4.x
offers the same digital video recording (DVR) functionality as Media Center,
but without any of the Digital Rights Management (DRM) silliness that bogs down
Media Center (with protected content anyway; Media Center won't let you share
certain content, such as that recorded on HBO or Cinemax). Note that Beyond TV
is not free, however: The download version is $69.99, and of course you'll need
a TV tuner card and possibly other hardware. Check the Snapstream Web site for
some reasonable bundles. Final thoughts

In the interests of complete disclosure, there are definitely important new
features in Windows Vista that you just can't get anywhere else. But for many
XP users--and let's face it, we're talking about several hundred million people
here--there's no need to upgrade to Windows Vista right away. To stave off the
sense of loss that might accompany any decision to hold off on that upgrade, I
hope this list of applications and services helps. But if you absolutely have
to get Windows Vista right away, logic be damned, fear not: I'm working on a
similar list of gotta-have-it Vista features as well. I'll be looking into
these reasons why you simply won't want avoid Windows Vista in a future
showcase.

--Paul Thurrott
October 3, 2006
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  /m

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