Windows XP Pro is the ideal new solution for your business and advanced home computing needs. Service Packs round up the bug fixes and product updates you need for operating more smoothly. This Service Pack bridges the gaps between the original software and user requests more fully, responding to customer wishes -- and making XP even better. Security Center offers a central control system for your Windows XP security -- work with the firewalls, auto updates and antivirus tools Great news for people sick of pop-up ads - The built-in pop-up blocker controls them, with a new submenu and status bar icons New Add-Ons manager gives you instant access to all the Browser Helper Objects and extensions, enabling and disabling them easily Firewall now has its own control panel, for customizing firewall setting to suit any connection Enhancements to the Windows Update service make installing new updates easy -- you can even choose which ones to install Wireless Networking - Multiple wireless connections to choose from
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Warning this is not the retail but an OEM edition
Comment: There is an important difference when buying software over the counter: it is much more expensive then buying it with a computer. I bought for the company two Dell Vostro systems for roughly 300 USD each and that included normal production desktops for office use and those included Vista Business. So think before you buy because over the counter OS distributions from Windows are expensive.
There is also a support problem when buying this software because it is an OEM edition as you can see on the included product labels, which means if you need support then Microsoft will not help you and refer you back to where you bought it. Not so great.
Also the product lifecycle is ignored here. 2014 may sound far away but most home users have their computers much longer. You will find yourself with a system that is no longer supported by Microsoft with updates after 2014.
WindowsXP Pro is much better then XP Home. Many people have an opinion about this but there are significant differences and we will never deploy an XP Home on our network. Only XP Pro, which is propbably the best version Microsoft made until...
But I have to mention that Vista Business SP1 that we tested recently is stable and as good as the XP SP3 plus some extra's for the users. We are only buying Vista Business at this point. XP Pro may be good and stable but it is an old platform already and Microsoft is focussing on Vista at this point. You have to let go as you did with Windows 2000 Pro which was the best ever distribution a while back if you where running an office network.
I can give you one tip here: If you buy Microsoft OS software then always go for the Business/Pro editions because they are better and contail less software that you don't want anyway. There is so much great free software to give you that other functionality that you do not need to buy an Ultimate version or whatever they will call it in the future.
Just my two cents.
Customer Rating: Summary: Great Version of Windows!
Comment: I myself feel that this is the best version of Windows for the home. (Excluding all of the business/server oriented versions) This is about as rock solid as it gets, and it is the standard amongst computers today.
I had to run out and grab a copy before Microsoft stops selling it. They keep saying they are going to make it go away.
I really love the compatibility with drivers, and everything out there. I will be running it on some of my machines for a long time.
Customer Rating: Summary: rotten
Comment: I have not received my software. I have emailed the supplier twice and he has not responded at all. I sent Amazon an email detailing this and have not received a response from them either.
Customer Rating: Summary: Get XP Professional while you still can
Comment: Windows XP Professional is now a mature stable OS that I have become quite comfortable working with over the past 6 years. For a new PC recently built for my home office network I chose to stay with Windows XP Professional for compatibility with 2 other PCs running XP Pro, a network shared multi-function laser printer for which full function Vista drivers are not available, and potential issues with other older hardware and software.
Depending on the version, Vista offers some built in functionality not included in XP Pro, but Vista also requires higher end PC hardware than XP. Having some limited experience using Vista PCs, I have found no compelling reason to upgrade from XP, particularly considering potential Vista compatibility issues with older hardware and software used with my home office network and that all of my current hardware and software work perfectly fine with XP.
If you are upgrading to XP Pro from XP Home (or Win98, ME, 2000 or NT4) save some money and buy the XP Pro upgrade version. For those building a new PC wanting to stay with XP you can buy the OEM version for about half the cost of the full retail version. Buy the full retail version to have the flexibility to move it to a different PC in the future.
Microsoft stopped distributing XP for consumer purchase in July 2008 and currently plans to only offer XP Professional under limited conditions for OEM installation on new PCs until January 2009. I have read that Microsoft plans to support XP with critical updates until 2014. So I plan to skip Vista and wait for Windows 7 before seriously considering an operating system upgrade. For those planning to build or upgrade a PC with Windows XP, get it is while it is still available.
P.S. -- After trying MS Office 2007, I also bought a copy of MS Office Professional 2003 while still available.
Customer Rating: Summary: Windows XP Pro
Comment: Windows XP is not available through Microsoft- so I was thrilled to find a new box on Amazon.
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