Windows XP Home Edition

Windows XP Home Edition is the next release of Windows destined for the consumer market. Although XP Home Edition and Professional are very similar, XP Home Edition contains only a subset of the functionality of XP Professional.

Microsoft is expecting Home Edition to appeal to customers in a home environment, as well as to business customers who lack a formal IT staff.The key difference is that Home Edition is not meant to operate in a managed environment.

The best way to describe the features included in Home Edition is to compare the product to its predecessor.Windows XP Home Edition offers the following improvements over Windows 2000 Professional :

• Improved multimedia capabilities
• An improved user interface
• A simplified security model
• The ability to quickly switch between user sessions
• Better hardware and software compatibility

Multimedia Capabilities
Microsoft added a number of new multimedia and Internet features to Windows XP Home Edition, including the following :

• Internet Explorer 6 (IE6)
• Windows Media Player 8 (WMP8)
• MSN Explorer browser

IE6 is the next version of the popular browser from Microsoft. In its newest release, it contains a couple of interesting features, which are contained in the Personal Bar.The Personal Bar contains a Search applet, an MSNBC News/Stock/Weather applet, and a Media Player applet in a resizable window. However, for the most part, IE6 acts like IE5. From the outside, it has been refreshed to match the new interface, with redesigned icons and rounded edges.

Another addition to the Windows XP platform is Windows Media Player 8. WMP8 builds upon the successful Windows Media Player 7 by adding new interface changes, improvements in copying from audio CD to hard disk (otherwise known as ripping), and more skins for customizing the look of the player. WMP8 now supports burning of audio CDs from within the WMP itself.The following files types can be burned to audio CD : .wma, .mp3 and .wav.

Improved User Interface

The user interface in Windows XP Home Edition has been completely remodeled. For starters, the Start menu button has changed, as well as the taskbar. A neat feature of the new taskbar is the option to group similar programs together on a single taskbar button.When you click on the button to restore the program, you see a small menu listing the instances of the program, and you can choose which to restore.

The Start menu has also been transformed into a panel of links to the various features within the OS.

Security Enhancements

Introducing the Windows XP Family

As mentioned earlier,Windows XP represents the combination of the best aspects of several versions of Windows.Windows 9x and Me were known for their Plug and Play (PnP) capabilities, their multimedia capabilities, and their home user “friendliness.”Windows 2000 is known for its security features, its robustness, and its business-class performance.Windows XP takes the best from both of these operating systems.

You can choose from two different flavors of Windows XP:Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional.The two versions have a large number of similarities. All versions of Windows XP (including the .NET servers) are built on the Windows 2000 code base. However, each has a place in the market—Windows XP Home Edition is designed to replace Windows 98 and Me in the home environment, and Windows XP Professional is meant to succeed Windows 2000 in the office. Let’s take a closer look at what each of these versions brings to the table.

Configuring and Troubleshooting Windows XP Professional

The formula used here is pretty standard, and generally effective. The writer will open his discussion of a subject--virtual private networks (VPNs), say, or performance logging--with some background information, then proceed to relate one or more procedures (stepped, but not too lavishly illustrated). Concluding prose explains variations upon the procedure, or how the subject at hand interacts with some other Windows feature. One particularly nice feature of this book (and of others in this series): The question-and-answer pages at the end of each chapter. These aren't put in as afterthoughts and are a good way to gain valuable nuggets of knowledge about Windows XP. --David Wall

Topics covered: Microsoft Windows XP for power users and administrators. Particularly nice coverage goes to installation of the operating system, configuration of networks--including virtual private networks (VPNs) and dial-up network connections--and disaster-preparedness utilities like IntelliMirror and restore points. This book ships with a quiz CD for those readers with exams in their future.

Book Description

In October of 2001, Microsoft will begin its most expensive market launch ever for Windows XPWith the promise of a market launch twice the size of the one for Windows 95, Microsoft will undoubtedly drive enormous demand for its Windows XP desktop operating system. Many corporate and small business users have waited to upgrade from Windows 9x, and they now see WinXP as the stable, second generation of Windows 2000 Professional. Syngress's Windows 2000 books were the first out on the market when W2K was released and quickly became bestsellers. Configuring and Troubleshooting Windows XP Professional aims to be the the first book available on this new product. Designed to compete directly with books such as Mastering Windows 2000 Professional, by Mark Minasi, Configuring and Troubleshooting Windows XP Professional is comprehensive guide for system administrators and network engineers responsible for deploying Windows XP Professional across the network.

The first Windows XP Professional book on the marketNot 'for Dummies' - this is an essential reference guide for certified Windows 2000 administrators and engineersEdited by Tom Shinder, the best-selling author of Configuring ISA Server 2000Unrivalled web support at www.solutions@syngress.com

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