Well to be fair I've only used it once...
But it's fugly (I had to use the "classic" layout, since the XP one was so detestably inefficient, and must have been built for people with terminal myopia and the ability to remember anything).
It's about as stable as Win2K, which is what I use.
Security holes? As far as hackers are concerned, XP is great. You can read more about XP's so called security at the GRC
here here and
here if you don't mind wading through lots of tech stuff. But the basic bones of the article are all you need to know (and this is just in relation to DDoSing).
The XP firewall? That shall be my new definition for "oxymoron", like "Windows Encryption"
Product activation? Most invasive procedure of the home/workspace I've ever seen.
All in all even with my brief experience of using XP I loathe it with a passion. Hopefully it's one of those products I'll never have to buy; by the time I need my next OS Linux should be able to provide everything I need.
(Wonders if AOL will actuall succeed in buying Readhat, or if M$ will ever try to make a buggy, bloated version of Linux)
(shudders)