Windows Messenger, earlier named MSN Messenger, is in XP automatically installed. This is an similar messenger service to AOL Messenger.

Windows XP also have an "File and Setting Transfer Wizard" that helps you transfer all your personal data from an other computer. The intended use of this wizard is when you buy a new computer and want to transfer your current system onto that. A system administrator can do this for several accounts at the same time with the User State Migration Tool.

Movie Maker is a program that let you just transfer video from your analog or digital video camera, and edit and arrange the clips to create movies.

Improved Features

Microsoft claims that XP will boot quicker than earlier versions of Windows. In our case this turned out to be true. We also noticed that the time it takes to shut down is reduced, and the stability of the system has so far been good.

The driver support for digital cameras and similar devises is greatly improved. This makes even XP Professional more suited for home use if compared to Windows 2000. The Driver Rollback feature lets you return to the last working driver if installation of a new one fails.

The security is also improved. The most noticeable difference is that you are alerted when a cookie tries to share your personal settings.

Some security issues have also become worse. Since Windows XP has full Raw Socket support, it can be used to "Spoof" the computer's actual IP address. This is explained in greater detail at www.grc.com , but it makes it easier for hackers to use Windows computers in attacks of different types.