With Microsoft's unveiling of it's new Windows XP operating system, you might be wondering which version is right for you: the Home Edition or the Professional Edition. Hopefully after reading this article, you will have better understanding of the two systems and be able to make a good choice on the version that is best for you.

Windows XP Home Edition ("Home") is the replacement for all of Microsoft's Windows 9x and Windows Me products. This version is targeted at consumers or home users. It brings the home user up to a new level providing more stability than ever before. In addition, Home has more sufficient Internet Security options (Internet Connection Firewall), and more robust multi-user support, which will be handy for homes with more than one user. Even though Home is optimized for the consumer market, some smaller businesses will probably choose Home. If a small business does not have a need for a managed operating system and does not use any of the additional features in Pro, Home is a good choice.

Windows XP Professional Edition ("Pro") is the replacement for Windows NT Workstation and Windows 2000 Professional. It is aimed more towards the corporate market and workstation market. Pro will probably also be the choice for computer gurus who want more control and features than Home can offer. Pro adds a number of "power user" and "corporate friendly" features to the XP package.

The basic requirements for the two versions of Windows XP are the same:

• PC with 300 MHz or higher processor clock speed recommended; 233 MHz minimum required; Intel Pentium/Celeron family, AMD K6/Athlon/Duron family, or compatible processor recommended.
  
  
• 128 MB of RAM or higher recommended (64MB minimum supported; may limit performance and some features).
  
  
• 1.5 GB of available hard disk space.
  
  
• Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher resolution video adapter and monitor.
  
  
• CD-ROM or DVD drive.
  
  
• Keyboard and Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device.
  
  

These "requirements" are minimums and needed for boot-up. For better performance, both versions will run better on a box with at least 256MB of RAM and a Pentium III/Athlon or higher generation processor.

Since all options available in the Home Edition are available in the Pro Edition, when discussing the differences between the two editions it is best to describe the additional features available only in Pro. The following are some key features that are available only in Windows XP Professional Edition and not available in Windows XP Home Edition:

Remote Desktop - Both versions of Windows XP, including the Home Edition, support Remote Assistance (allows a help desk, system administrator or friend to remotely connect to your desktop for troubleshooting purposes). Only Pro supports the new Remote Desktop feature, which allows you to access your computer desktop from another location. Imagine being on the road with your laptop, being at someone else's office or at a friend's house. With Pro, you will be able to connect to your computer, see your desktop in a window, and do things as if you were sitting right at your own desk. Keep in mind, that the computer you are using to access your computer must use an operating system that supports a Terminal Services Client (such as Windows 98 and XP Home).

Multi-Processor Support - Pro supports up to two microprocessors, while Home supports only one.

Encrypting File System - Pro supports the Encrypting File System (EFS), which allows you to encrypt individual files or folders for local security. EFS-protected files and folders allow users to protect sensitive documents from other users. The absence of this feature in Home prevents Home users from truly securing their profile folders (which can contain private bookmarks, documents, and images) from other local users.

Security - Home does not provide the complex array of access and security options that Pro offers. Most of the ability to be administered from a centralized network location is gone. Home also loses the ability to use Offline Files and Folders (which can be used to copy networked files and folders to the local system and then sync them back with the network environment once reattached to the network.). This means that Home users with a desktop and a laptop, wanting to synchronize their documents for off-line viewing, will be unable to do so. Also, no "computer account" in an Active Directory environment means no group policies, and no roaming users. Home users also are unable to remotely install the OS and other software. However from a home user perspective, most of these issues really would not matter, as the likelihood of home users being in a domain environment are rather small.

Multi-Language Interface - Pro has the ability to switch languages on the fly (as long as they are installed). With Pro, the entire user interface changes to the new language, from menus, dialogue files, right down to dictionaries and other such tools. With Home, each version is localized, you would need to separately buy the German Home Edition, the English Home Edition, the Spanish Home Edition, etc. Although, with Home and Pro, you can run any Win32 application in any language on any XP language platform. This is to say that you can run Chinese Word on Home, but you can't switch the OS itself to Chinese mode (unless you have Pro).

Automated System Recovery (ASR) - Microsoft removed the Backup utility from Home (though it is available as an optional installation in the /valueadd folder on the CD-ROM). ASR helps recover a system from a catastrophic error, such as one that leaves the system unbootable. ASR-enabled backups are triggerable from XP Setup, allowing you to return your system to its previous state, even if the hard drive has to be replaced.

Fax - Home has no integrated fax functionality out of the box, though it is an option you can install from the XP Home CD.

Cost and Upgrading - Home retails for about $199, and about $99 for the upgrade version. Pro retails for about $299 with upgrades going for about $199. Be forewarned, however. If you are running Windows 2000, it can only be upgraded to Pro. Either Home or Pro can upgrade Win98, Win ME, and WinNT 4.0.

There are some notable features offered in both Home and Pro. These features include the new "Luna" interface (the new, blue, roundish graphics and icons) and enhanced support for digital media (movies, pictures and music).

Multi-user support is available in both versions. Multi-user support allows more than one user to have their own identity and preferences on one computer. Now each individual user can create his or her own unique account and have their desktop and preferences set up specifically for them. With fast user switching, you can switch back and forth between user accounts at any time without having to close each other's applications or restart the computer. This allows you and your family or friends the ability to share a single computer without having to close each other's applications each time you need to access your own account.

Multiple monitor support is also a feature of both Home and Pro. It allows two monitors to be connected to your PC. In the case of laptop computers this could be the internal LCD display as well as an external monitor. For desktops there are a variety of high-end display adapters that will support this functionality.

The Internet Connection Firewall is available in both versions as well. The firewall helps guard your computer from intrusion when you are connected to the Internet. It protects you from unwanted attacks over the Internet.

Remote Assistance is also available in both Home and Pro. Remote Assistance is triggered by a user at the machine, either by sending an e-mail or a special message via Windows Messenger. The recipient of your call for help then opens an included "MsRCincident" attachment, and then supplies a password that you set (hopefully communicated verbally, and not in e-mail). The person is then able to access your desktop and can make changes to your system remotely. You can set the invitation to stay open for a long as 30 days.

Here's a table listing some of the "Special" features present in Home and Pro.

Home vs. Pro Feature Comparison Chart
	Home	Pro
New "Luna" Interface	x	x
Internet Connection Firewall	x	x
Multi-User Support (and Fast User Switching)	x	x
SMP Support (Up to 2 Processors)		x
Multi-Monitor Support	x	x
Dynamic Disk Support		x
Remote Assistance	x	x
Remote Desktop		x
Full Participation in NT Domain / Active Directory		x
Offline Files and Folders		x
Encrypting File System		x
Multi-Language Interface		x
Full Version Cost (Upgrade)*	$199 ($99)	$299 ($199)
*Cost Estimate - Actual costs may vary.

While Pro offers more features, Home is pretty much everything any previous version of the consumer 9x-line has been, and then some. Upgrading to Pro will give you a lot more features than Home, but for the additional $100, if you don't need these extra features you should probably go with Home. There are several major issues you must consider before choosing which is best for you. As we've seen, if you are considering corporate deployment, forget about Home Edition. It simply is not an OS that's capable of working all that well in a very structured, managed networking environment. If you are a home user simply replacing Windows 98 or Me, try Home. If you are used to Windows 2000 or even Windows NT, make the move to Pro, as Home will probably lack some of the tools you are used to.

For more information visit the Microsoft Windows XP Home Page.

More specifically, go straight to the Windows XP page that will help you determine which version is right for you.

Finally, check out Windows XP compatibility with your current software and hardware by checking the Windows Catalog or downloading and installing the Upgrade Advisor tool that checks if your system hardware and software are ready for upgrade to Windows XP.