Sometimes the most interesting discussions in the blogosphere occur in comments. Case in point: There’s a vigorous, spirited, occasionally acrimonious conversation going on in the comments at Mini-Microsoft’s blog. One commenter ticked off a list of what Microsoft has done in the Windows space since 2001 and was greeted with this reply from another commenter:
Service packs now count as great products?
To which Mini responds:
For XP SP2, yes. To call this a “service pack” is to belittle what it truly is. We should have called it something far more dramatic and important to represent the stop everything! moment that happened to recreate XP and put in security measures that match the modern world’s risks.
The ball was dropped not only in the promotion of this product but also in the distribution. All that effort, and then XP SP2 was basically told to slip out through the bit-dribbler back door and not make any noise vs. being heavily promoted and distributed.
We really should have heralded this accomplishment at the time. Shipping XP SP2 is what I see as a proud turning point for XP and Windows.
(crickets.)
Yes, really.
Apple has released – what? – five new versions of OS X since 2001, each with a catchy animal name. In essence, they’re service packs that deliver both bug fixes and new features. Customers have to pay for them. But they get credit for keeping their OS up to date.
Meanwhile, since 2001 Microsoft has produced:
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SP2, which as Mini correctly points out should have been given a fancy name (no, not Windows XP Reloaded) and distributed as a free upgrade
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Three releases of Windows Media Center, the latest of which is arguably the best Windows ever and is the default choice on most premium home PCs these days
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Windows Server 2003 (with a service pack and an R2 refresh), which basically shut up the “Microsoft can’t produce a secure, reliable server” crowd and which will serve as the code base for Windows Vista
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Two releases of Windows Mobile for handheld devices, the latest of which absolutely rocks
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A couple versions of Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, which basically put to rest the old stereotypes of handwriting recognition, ironically created by Apple’s Newton.
When people ask me why I still care about Windows, this is what I tell them.
Ed Bott 
Ed, I have some dumb questions about Windows Media Center. Can you use it not to run a media center, but as a stand-alone operating system? If so, does it make sense for users to use it instead of XP Professional (other things being equal and without regard to either expense/installation time or Vista coming soon)? And if so, can you get it separately either online or at any good computer store. Personally, I do not recall seing it sold separately in stores. Thanks.
Ken
Ken,
Yes, you can use Media Center Edition as a plain version of Windows. If you ignore the Media Center features, it’s essentially the same as XP Professional without the ability to log on to a domain.
You can’t buy it as an upgrade; you can get it with a new PC or as an OEM copy to replace your current Windows version. It’s not available in retail stores, only from resellers.
Thanks. Not that I have any complaints with XP Professional.
Ed, I have a Tablet PC. I definitely see the promise in the technology and look forward to Vista (job and dogs don’t leave time to try the beta) to implement with more success; the lack of trainability and some quirks in my handwriting that I would prefer to keep really hamper my ability to use the pen in many cases. Have you found the new engine much superior? TIA for any info you can share.