Win XP Home vs XP Pro

[TurboRT]

Is XP Pro really necessary to use or should I just install XP Home?

I'm a sole proprietor working out of my home office providing graphic/web design.

I would highly recommend not using Windows XP Home. The extra $100 (maybe less in the US) is well worth it when and if you decide you need to expand. You will find that XP Pro is a lot more stable then Home. Also ensure that you use Service Pack 2(SP2)stright away even though there is some problems with incompatible programs, practically all the problems can be fixed. And by using SP2, you can avoid a lot of problems such as spyware, and built in pop up blocker.

[TurboRT]

Thanks Joel, I probably will go ahead and get the Pro version.

[mike212]

You're only blocking spyware if you are using Firefox heh..

[shugotenshi]

For those that want the "real difference" between XP Home and XP Professional here goes... XP Pro can join a domain! XP Home is meant to work in a peer-to-peer network mode (not Kazaa or eDonkey, but share based non-domain structure).

Is it worth the extra money..??? Only if you plan to use it in a domain. If you are not joining a domain, save your money.

If anyone wants to bust my chops about ALL the differences... Yes, there are a few other minor esthetic differences, but nothing worth noting IMHO. XP Home runs about $80 US and XP Pro runs about $130 US. Many retail stores charge about 2 to 3 times that price... I know where to get the good prices.

[TurboRT]

Wait a minute, what does join a domain mean? As I stated, I'm a sole prop and won't be expanding - I won't be hiring emplyees or networking my PC with others in an office.

I would consider an increase in performance and stability over the Home Edition reason enough to buy XP Pro.

So - if I'm not networking my PC, is XP Pro worth it?

[shugotenshi]

Jammer,
If you own stock in Microsoft and what their stock price to go up... buy XP Pro.
If you are a sole prop and won't be expanding any time soon... buy XP Home.

Educational Lesson for the Day:
What is a Domain??? A Domain is a logical stucture that Microsoft uses to centralize administration for local area networks (LANs). Large business almost always use Domains. In a domain, you have one user name and one password. You can use that account to logon to multiple computers in your domain (depending on access).

The opposite of a domain is a peer-to-peer network (not Kazaa or EDonkey). In a P2P network, each computer has it's own set of user accounts and passwords. Access is controlled on the individual computer. When you have multiple computers, this type of network QUICKLY becomes a pain in the @ss.

For those of you who want to know all of the differences - Click Here!!! *** Note - Centralized administration (towards the bottom), that is the important one.

[jenkins_atl]

Jammer,

Just stay w/ Home. You will do fine.