Introduction
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New Features in Windows XP At first blush, Windows XP looks very different from its predecessors--the new Luna interface can be a startling change, with its simplified desktop and Start menu. Windows is still under there, though--and, as we'll show in Chapter 11, you can switch the Windows desktop back to a more familiar style. But the Luna interface isn't the most important new feature. Here is a list of other new features:
- The CD Copy Wizard built into Windows Explorer makes it easy to copy your files (including music and graphics files) onto CDs.
- Backup is back! Microsoft used to provide a backup program with earlier versions of Windows, but recent versions have left it out. We're glad to see that it's back, as running backups regularly is vital to keeping your files safe. If you use Windows XP Home Edition, you'll need to install it from the Windows XP CD-ROM.
- Internet Explorer (IE) version 6.0 is an upgrade to Microsoft's powerful Web browser, and Outlook Express 6.0 is the newest version of Microsoft's e-mail and newsgroup program.
- Fast User Switching and password-protected user accounts make it convenient to create and use a separate user account for each person who uses a single computer (see Figure 1). If you assign passwords to the accounts, users can have a private, password-protected folder for their files. Fast User Switching lets several people stay logged on at the same time, with a new keystroke--WINDOWS-L--to switch from one user to another. If you use the NTFS disk format, you can password-protect files and folders, too.
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Figure IN-1: User accounts are easy to set up, and provide password-protect folders for each user's files.
- Windows Messenger challenges AOL Instant Messenger and other instant-messaging programs.
- Windows Media Player 8 is a step up from the previous version, with DVD support, audio CD creation, and even automatic downloading of audio CD cover art from the Internet.
- Photo printing and Web publishing are built in: when Windows encounters a folder that contains graphics files, it offers wizards that can upload your pictures to a Web site or send them off to a photo-printing service. You can see your photos as a filmstrip or slideshow, too.
- The Files And Settings Transfer Wizard helps you move your stuff from one computer to another, including your documents and settings.
- The Internet Connection Firewall protects your computer (or your whole LAN) from intruders on the Internet.
- Web Folders enable you to work with files and folders on FTP and Web servers using Windows Explorer.
- The Last Known Good Configuration option lets you recover from Windows crashes by returning to a Windows configuration that worked.
- Remote Assistance enables you to ask a friend, coworker, or a support professional to take over your computer via the Internet and fix a software problem.
- Product activation requires you to "activate" Windows over the Internet or phone within a grace period, or the program stops functioning. Activation doesn't require personal information from you (it's not the same as registration) and is designed to stop software piracy.
Windows XP also removed a few programs that came with some earlier Windows versions. Windows XP doesn't come with FrontPage Express (an HTML editor for creating Web pages), Microsoft Chat (an Internet Relay Chat program for chatting over the Internet), or Active Movie (which has been replaced by Movie Maker and Windows Media Player 8).