Regarding the multi-language support.
Both Professional and Home Edition support multiple languages, but only
Professional support MUI - Multiple-language user interface, i.e, your
English Windows can change the GUI to another language, but underneath
it is still English Windows.
I run Japanese software that I bought on my English Home Edition without
any problem, but only Professional with MUI added can I change the
Windows GUI to Japanese.
| Side by side is here took me about 30 seconds using xp home vs. pro
for a
| search phrase
|
|
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/choosing2.mspx
|
| The following features are not present in Windows XP Home Edition.
| Power user
| a.. Remote Desktop - All versions of Windows XP--including Home
| Edition--support Remote Assistance, which is an assisted support
technology
| that allows a help desk or system administrator to remotely connect to
a
| client desktop for troubleshooting purposes. But Only Pro supports the
new
| Remote Desktop feature, which is a single-session version of Terminal
| Services with two obvious uses: Mobile professionals who need to
remotely
| access their corporate desktop, and remote administration of clients
on a
| network. You can access a Windows XP Remote Desktop from any OS that
| supports a Terminal Services client (such as Windows 98 and,
interestingly
| XP Home). XP Home can act as the client in a Remote Desktop session;
only
| Pro can be the server.
| b.. Multi-processor support - Windows XP Pro supports up to two
| microprocessors, while Home Edition supports only one.
| c.. Automated System Recovery (ASR) - In a somewhat controversial
move,
| Microsoft has removed the Backup utility from the default Windows XP
Home
| Edition, though it is available as an optional installation if you can
find
| it on the CD-ROM (hint: it's in the /valueadd folder). The reason for
this
| the integration of Microsoft's new Automated System Recovery (ASR)
tool into
| Backup. In Pro, ASR will help recover a system from a catastrophic
error,
| such as one that renders 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 dies and has to be replaced.
Unlike
| consumer-oriented features such as System Restore, ASR is not
automatic: It
| must manually be enabled from within the Backup utility in Windows XP
Pro.
| In any event, while there is a Backup utility available for Home
Edition,
| you cannot use ASR, even though mentions of this feature still exist
in the
| UI. Confusing? Yes. But it's better than no Backup at all, which was
the
| original plan.
| d.. Dynamic Disk Support - Windows XP Professional (like its Windows
2000
| equivalent) supports dynamic disks, but Home Edition does not
(instead, HE
| supports only the standard Simple Disk type). Dynamic disks are not
usable
| with any OS other than Windows 2000 or Windows XP Pro, and they cannot
be
| used on portable computers. Likewise, Home Edition does not include
the
| Logical Disk Manager.
| e.. Fax - Home Edition has no integrated fax functionality out of the
box,
| though it is an option you can install from the XP Home CD.
| f.. Internet Information Services/Personal Web Server - Home Edition
does
| not include the IIS Web server 5.1 software found in Pro.
| Security
| a.. Encrypting File System - Windows XP Professional supports the
| Encrypting File System (EFS), which allows you encrypt individual
files or
| folders for local security (EFS is not enabled over a network).
| EFS-protected files and folders allows users to protect sensitive
documents
| from other users.
| b.. File-level access control - Any user with Administrator
privileges can
| limit access to certain network resources, such as servers,
directories, and
| files, using access control lists. Only Windows XP Professional
supports
| file-level access control, mostly because this feature is typically
| implemented through Group Policy Objects, which are also not available
in
| Home Edition.
| c.. "C2" certification - Microsoft will attempt to have Windows XP
| Professional certified with the "C2" security designation, a largely
| irrelevant status, but one which will not be afforded to Home Edition.
| Management
| a.. Domain membership - Home Edition cannot be used to logon to an
Active
| Directory domain. For obvious reasons, the Domain Wizard is also
missing in
| Home Edition.
| b.. Group Policy - Since Home Edition cannot be used to logon to an
Active
| Directory domain, Group Policy--whereby applications, network
resources, and
| operating systems are administered for domain users--is not supported
| either.
| c.. IntelliMirror - Microsoft lumps a wide range of semi-related
change
| and configuration management technologies under the IntelliMirror
umbrella,
| and none of these features are supported in the consumer oriented Home
| Edition. IntelliMirror capabilities include user data management;
| centrally-managed software installation, repair, updating, and
removal; user
| settings management; and Remote Installation Services (RIS), which
allows
| administrators to remotely install the OS on client systems.
| d.. Roaming profiles - This feature allows users to logon to any
computer
| in an Active Directory network and automatically receive their
customized
| settings. It is not available in Home Edition, which cannot logon to
an
| Active Directory domain.
| Corporate deployment
| a.. Multi-language support - Only Windows XP Professional will ship
in a
| Multi-Language version or support multiple languages in a single
install.
| b.. Sysprep support - Windows XP Pro will support the System
Preparation
| (Sysprep) utility, while Home Edition will not.
| c.. RIS support - See the IntelliMirror heading in the previous
section;
| Home Edition does not support RIS deployments.
| 64-bit Edition
| a.. Microsoft is shipping a 64-bit version of Windows XP for Intel
Itanium
| systems that mirrors the Professional Edition feature-set.
| Networking features
| The following networking features are not included in Home Edition:
| a.. The user interface for IPSecurity (IPSec)
| b.. SNMP
| c.. Simple TCP/IP services
| d.. SAP Agent
| e.. Client Service for NetWare
| f.. Network Monitor
| g.. Multiple Roaming feature
| User interface features
| Windows XP Home Edition has some different default settings that
affect
| the user interface. For example, Guest logon is on by default in Home,
but
| off in Pro. The Address bar in Explorer windows is on in Pro by
default, but
| off in Home. During the beta period, Microsoft had intended to use a
| business-oriented shell theme ("Professional") by default in Pro and
the
| "Luna" consumer theme in Home Edition. But feedback from corporate
users
| suggested that everyone liked the consumer-oriented Luna theme better,
and
| development of the Professional theme was cancelled. Other user
interface
| features that are present in Pro but not Home include:
| a.. Client-side caching
| b.. Administrative Tools option on the Start menu (a subset of the
Admin
| tools are still present in Home, however).
| It's also worth mentioning that Home Edition will support upgrades
from
| Windows 98, 98 SE, and Millennium Edition (Me), but not from Windows
95, NT
| 4.0 Workstation, or Windows 2000 Professional. You can upgrade from
Windows
| 98, 98 SE, Millennium Edition (Me), Windows NT 4.0 Workstation, or
Windows
| 2000 Professional to Windows XP Professional
|
|
|
| | > Ok, this may seem like a simple question, but wtf is the technical
| > differences between XP Home and XP Pro?? I have searched the MS XP
website
| > but for the life of me I cant seem to find a side by side comparison
| > between
| > the two. Its almost like Microsoft doesnt want people to know the
| > differences, probably because the products are very similar. Anyway,
if
| > anyone can point me in the right direction, maybe a URL of a
document
| > explaining the differences, I would be extemely grateful.
|
|
