Hi all ... happily running XP Pro SP2/Office Pro and considering Vista/Office
upgrade.
Two points here:
1. First, these are two separate upgrades. The operating system and
Windows are two completely different things, and you shouldn't think
of them together this way. You can upgrade either or both, and you
should evaluate whether you want to do this independently for each.
2. If you are happily running what you have, *why* are you thinking of
upgrading?
A change of operating system should be driven by need, not just
because there is a new version available. Are you having a problem
with Windows XP (or whatever you're running) that you expect Vista to
solve? Do you have or expect to get new hardware or software that is
supported in Vista, but not in XP? Is there some new feature in Vista
that you need or yearn for? Does your job require you have skills in
Vista? Are you a computer hobbyist who enjoys playing with whatever is
newest?
If the answer to one or more of those questions is yes (and your
hardware is adequate for Vista--a *big* "if," by the way), then you
should get Vista. Otherwise most people should stick with what they
have. There is *always* a learning curve and a potential for problems
when you take a step as big as this one, regardless of how wonderful
whatever you're contemplating moving to is. Sooner or later you'll
have to upgrade (to Vista or its successor) because you'll want
support for hardware or software that you can't get in Vista, but
don't rush it.
I'm personally happy with Vista. If you were buying a new computer, I
would unhesitatingly recommend that you get Vista on it. But upgrading
is a different story.
Much the same is true of Office.
Not a techie but understand that XP Home was x9 based and XP Pro is NT (e.g.
XP Pro SP2 is NT 5.5?).
No, not correct. Both are versions of NT. They are both NT 5.1. In
fact, XP Professional and XP Home are exactly the same in all
respects, except that Professional has a few features (mostly related
to networking and security) missing from Home. For most (but not all)
home users, even those with a home network, these features aren't
needed, would never be used, and buying Professional instead of Home
is a waste of money.
For details go to
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_home_pro.asp
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/whichxp.asp
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/choosing2.asp
Also note one other point not mentioned on any of those sites:
Professional allows ten concurrent network connections, and Home only
five.
My question is: Do Vista(Windows 6?) Home and Business (Ultimate?) share the
same differences as XP? Heard Vista OS based on Win Server 2003?
Yes, Vista in Windows NT 6.0.
Just as with XP, Vista's various editions are all based on the same
core of code. The differences between them are in the set of features
each edition has.
