Is Windows XP the best operating system?

I'm sorry, but Windows XP sucks. An Operating System should provide an interface to the hardware, schedule programs, provide abstraction, and do the basics like IP, GUI, etc. Anything else must be layered and optional.

Windows XP is big and bloated. It has non-OS things, like a "media player" and a web browser integrated into it. It cannot be stripped down, hardened, or built to run on a floppy or CD. It's also subject to lots of attacks and is buggy. And this is before getting in to DRM product registration, protocol "extensions," etc.

At least the MacOS (10+) and Linux is more like what an OS needs to be.