Windows Vista represents and evolution over Windows XP in every sense of the word, and nowhere is this more evident then in the features that Microsoft has amputated from XP in comparison with Vista. Now that the Redmond Company is putting the final touches on Vista, with the operating system scheduled for RTM on October 25, here is a selection of XP features that didn't make the jump, so to speak.

NetMeeting has been replaced by Windows Meeting Space. Windows Messenger is no longer embedded in the operating system, instead a link on the Welcome Center points to Windows Live Messenger.

Also, Microsoft has finally "surgically" separated the two Siamese twins Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer. The Gopher and the MS-CHAP v1 protocols are no longer supported, but the latter has been replaced with MS-CHAP v2 for VPN authentication.

Startup Hardware Profiles has been removed. Windows Explorer's Web Publishing Wizard no longer exists. The same for HyperTerminal: no replacements were delivered for either of them. Support for IP over 1394 (FireWire) has been terminated. SLIP connections have been upgraded to use PPP as Bandwidth Allocation Protocol and X.25 support for SLIP has been cut.

Well there are others, but I did say a selection, didn't I? And by the looks of the bunch herein none of them will be missed at all.