Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 are succeeded by Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 released in January 2007 and February 2008, respectively. However, some industry reviewers were concerned by the new licensing model and product activation system. Upon its release, Windows XP received critical acclaim, with critics noting increased performance and stability (especially in comparison to Windows Me), a more intuitive user interface, improved hardware support, and expanded multimedia capabilities.
As such, Windows XP was the first consumer edition of Windows not to be based on the Windows 95 kernel and MS-DOS. An updated version of Windows 2000 was also originally planned for the business market however, in January 2000, both projects were scrapped in favor of a single OS codenamed 'Whistler', which would serve as a single OS platform for both consumer and business markets. It was the direct successor to both Windows 2000 for professional users and Windows Me for home users, and it was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, with retail sales beginning on October 25, 2001.ĭevelopment of Windows XP began in the late 1990s as ' Neptune', an operating system (OS) built on the Windows NT kernel which was intended specifically for mainstream consumer use. Windows XP is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft.
