XP Home edition or Pro? (1 Viewer)

[amelia1730]

I have another thread here asking for advice on a new desktop but felt I wanted to ask this question separately.

Having now decided on where to buy my new PC - thanks to Howard etc for their advice (settled on PC Specialist - please don't tell me if you've had loads of problems! I'd rather not know!) - I sorted out the spec required but just need this last snippet of advice before I order. For several reasons I am rejecting Vista and opting for XP.

I think the Home edition would be adequate for what I want - usual emailing, internet purposes, photographic, video, music TV/Freeview etc etc but also running a design business from home, including web page construction.

Would the Pro edition be better? I understand there is a bit of messing about if you change your system/hardware (product activation, licensing??) or have I got this wrong? Can someone tell me why I should go with Pro? Any advice welcome. Thanks.

 

[MrFlibble]

Home is fine for standard use, its only worth getting pro for certain types of network. The hardware change bit is if you use OEM rather than retail, OEM allows limited hardware changes, reatail allows chopping and changing.

 

[Ondara]

If the web design business requires you setting up a local server / database work then I'd go with Pro personally but from the rest of your uses there I'd agree that Home Edition is fine.

Cheers
Andy

 

[Chalky]

I am currently using Vista, but having used XP Home on my last pc and XP Pro at work on a network server I would think that Home edition would be adequate for your needs.

Regards Tom

 

[amelia1730]

Am I right in thinking that the support for both Home and Pro ends in 2014?

Thanks for your help

 

[Ondara]

I read that it was 2010, one year after the replacement for Vista is rumoured to be released - although the official cut off date is June 30th.

Found the article here http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2008/apr08/04-03xpeos.mspx

Cheers
Andy

 

[amelia1730]

Andy
I think I've just answered this one myself by finding this article :

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=printArticleBasic&articleId=9026940

 

[Peter_Perfect]

Barge pole

Well done amelia, my only exposure to Vista was setting up a new laptop for a relative. My thoughts were, I would only use Vista at the end of a long smelly barge pole.

 

[Mono]

If you are getting a new machine I would consider Vista. I know a lot of people are against it but it isn't going away!

Increasingly software and hardware will be Vista only. Adobe CS4 is rumoured to be Vista only.

 

[amelia1730]

One of the problems I have with installing Vista is that I will not be able to use a perfectly good scanner and printer, camcorder and camera because of the lack of drivers. With XP I can. If I have to, some time in the future (post 2014 hopefully!) when I'm forced to change I will. I am something of a dinosaur - having owned my current PC for 8 years, running 98SE, XP will be exciting enough for me!! I don't want bells and whistles, just a good reliable operating system. I get the impression from a lot of XP users that "if it aint broke, don't fix it" and who needs Vista!!