
This launchpad is easy to use, with links that take you to Plus games, themes, screensavers, and digital audio add-ons.

You can get to all of its accessories from a one-screen interface that you launch from the Start menu. Save yourself $35 to $40 and spend it on something XP really needs: an antivirus program. You can find a lot of the same or similar tools on the Web for free. Where it used to populate Plus with engrossing entertainment (think Pinball in Plus 95) or useful utilities (such as VirusScan in Plus 98), Microsoft Plus for XP gives you only lightweight add-ons: desktop themes, screensavers, borderline games, and audio enhancements that should have been part of the OS from the start. But this time, Microsoft has gone too far. Whenever it launches a new version of Windows, Microsoft offers Plus as an after-market collection of add-ons for home users. Save yourself $35 to $40 and spend it on something XP needs: an antivirus program.

