Why you shouldn't even consider XP Home Ed. for new PCs

[wrathchild_67]

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060103-5891.html


For Windows XP Home Edition, there will be no security updates after 12/31/06." Regarding paid support for problems unrelated to security patches, I was told that "Users who want to continue to receive support after the Microsoft assisted and paid support offerings have ended may visit the Retired Product Support Options Web site."


As for Windows XP Pro:


Based on the current timeline and our own expectations for the launch of Windows Vista, we estimate Windows XP Professional Mainstream Support ending in late December 2008, with Extended Support ending in December of 2013.


I'm still not sure how security patches released for XP Pro will not work in XP Home edition. The OS are nearly the same thing minus the remote desktop, encrypted filesystem, Windows domain client, RAID, etc....

[zachig]

I guess it will work for the home edition as well, since it seems really strange to me that Microsoft will support and supply security updates only for the XP Pro version, till the release of the Vista.

[liqnit]

XP home was invented by microsoft but uses the same kernel as PRO
so unless they will intentionally make the updates not comptibale
i see no reason for for this not work

still it will take vista a lot of to be mainstream among home users
also if we look at Win98SE and ME they have elongated their support
for those products without any problems

[ProMemoreX]

I have Windows Media Center 2005 which is XP home and XP pro combined together with the capabillities of home entertainment things. How long will the support for that last for..?

[wrathchild_67]

Well technically MCE 2005 was released late last year, so the existing product cycles for XP Home and Pro shouldn't apply. Much like WinME was a slightly facelifted version of Win98 (minus the things that made 98 good lol), MCE is really XP Pro, minus a registry imposed limitation on the ability to join a Windows domain (which can be gotten around easily). But MCE is actually a seperate product from XP.

[ProMemoreX]

Well technically MCE 2005 was released late last year, so the existing product cycles for XP Home and Pro shouldn't apply. Much like WinME was a slightly facelifted version of Win98 (minus the things that made 98 good lol), MCE is really XP Pro, minus a registry imposed limitation on the ability to join a Windows domain (which can be gotten around easily). But MCE is actually a seperate product from XP.

So your implying that I will get support forever? I never knew that MCE is a separate product from XP... Well Microsoft have been advertising MCE 2005 lately and have been encouaging everyone to buy a MCE computer.

[wrathchild_67]

Well technically MCE 2005 was released late last year, so the existing product cycles for XP Home and Pro shouldn't apply. Much like WinME was a slightly facelifted version of Win98 (minus the things that made 98 good lol), MCE is really XP Pro, minus a registry imposed limitation on the ability to join a Windows domain (which can be gotten around easily). But MCE is actually a seperate product from XP.

So your implying that I will get support forever? I never knew that MCE is a separate product from XP... Well Microsoft have been advertising MCE 2005 lately and have been encouaging everyone to buy a MCE computer.

Not forever- Just longer than XP Home. Since MCE is not an enterprise level product it will have a product cycle lifespan like XP Home's, it will just end later due to it coming out 4 years after XP Home.

[wrathchild_67]

Looks like I was wrong about the lifecycle of Windows MCE 2005:
http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/search/?sort=PN&alpha=Windows+XP&x=18&y=21

Even though it was actually released at the end of 2004, it still has a mainstrem support cycle until 12/31/06 just like XP Home. That's incredibly disappointing.

[ProMemoreX]

Darn, now I guess I'll buy Vista and hopefully my computer can run it :) Without updates I'm scared of hackers comming into my computer and taking personal information.

[wrathchild_67]

Well you really only need to worry about getting hacked if you're not using anti-virus or a firewall. That, and stay away from dodgy porn sites- they'll get through your defenses everytime. :wink:

When you hear about worms that can exploit a system without user action, that usually can only happen if the particular insecure service is accessible from the internet or if someone else on the same network has the worm and your firewall trusts traffic from computers on the same network, which would imply that the computer has no firewall, that or the firewall has allowed an exception on that port.

[wrathchild_67]

http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/?LN=en-us&x=7&y=12&C2=1173

Looks like Microsoft changed their minds and now the deadline for the end of mainstream support is 2 years after the release of Vista. It was the common sensical thing to do.

[tomato]

Yes. Good move by Microsoft, else they would have to deal with many an anger user 01/01/07.... it just makes sense to support your O/S for as long as possible... it may not make much financial sense, but you've gotta support your product for as long as it's out there in the public