[PvK]

Many things suck about XP, but a few examples are more bloatware, the licensing scheme, the fact that it doesn't actually run faster than earlier OS's, the automatic upgrades and system changes from Microsoft, and the general dumbing down and removal of control from many parts of the operating system, and probably the worst part of all: the included .NET framework bloatware cr&p.

Not to mention annoyances like the Start menu not coming up immediately, the perverted wizard for the search engine, the incompatibilities with old stuff, etc.

I said the flavors of WinDOS I prefer in my post. Win 98 SE is I think my favourite (fast, with relatively low BS), though it's main weakness is the registry, which you have to limit how much crud you install or it will get jammed full of system-slowing nonsense.

PvK