Windows in a Box: Improving on Windows XP for Free Love XP, Hate Vista? Windows in a Box Is for You Ronald Barrett
Love XP, hate Vista? Well this week's Software Spotlight is for all the "die-hard" XP users out there. Personally, I run both Windows Vista and Windows XP, and though I have a soft spot for each one, I lean toward XP. I understand and respect not wanting to let go of something that works and works well.
I can clearly remember telling my boss he would have to pry my copy of Office 2000 out of my cold dead hands. Sounds strange for a Technology guy, but not really. I was a networking and Infrastructure guy. I had no need for improvements in mail merge and formulas.
Alas, I left Office 2000 behind and I am almost ashamed to admit I am writing this article now in Word 2007. However, I am more prepared now to deal with the change than I was in the past. Funny when you consider that more people will be affected from a productivity standpoint by the changes in Office than from the changes in Windows.
But I digress. The point is that the line has been drawn in the sand. Unlike my own lonesome crusade, the support for XP to remain, well, supported (at least for a time) has born some success.
Dell, for example, recently announced that they will be allowing users to "downgrade "from Vista Business or Ultimate to Windows XP (preinstalled) after the June 30 deadline. The intriguingly named Windows in a Box (WiaB) application is another testament to the fact that XP remains strong in the hearts of many users.
At first, the name might throw you off, as visions of retail XP software probably come to mind. However, the name is real. Developed by Big Daddy Design, Windows in a Box is a downloadable utility that makes Windows XP even easier to navigate and use.
Certified adware-, virus-, and malware-free by Softpedia, Windows in a Box is free software that can be downloaded and used immediately with no installation necessary.
What Are the Benefits of WiaB?
Windows in a Box does not simply improve a minor function in XP. It actually makes it possible to handle the management, settings, and various Windows XP roles from a single central location. The purpose of the utility is to make usage easier. The idea of launching all our Windows XP-based apps, functions, and tasks from a central utility is genius.
I think the benefits speak for themselves, but think about how many times you had to find a seldom-used XP function like the ODBC data source admin or the shared folder manager. Searching for something you hardly ever use just wastes time. (And let's face it: Whether at work or home, time is a resource none of us have enough of.)
For those who support XP in their environment or have XP in their home, troubleshooting is easier since everything you need is at your fingertips. Moreover, if you're like me and you hate a messy desktop then you have no need of keeping all your frequently used icons on the desktop.
A quick click of the executable file and you see the familiar XP bliss desktop background. In a small pop-up box, you will find four menus with over 110 different XP functions.
