Windows XP Pro & Windows XP Media Center Edition

  • Thread starter Thread starter D. Spencer Hines
  • Start date Start date
What do folks here see as the merits and limitations of these two OS, as
compared and contrasted with each other.

Has anyone used both?

DSH
Click to expand...

The limitations are that both "operating systems" are running on a toy
operating system called Windows.
 
D. Spencer Hines said:
Even "Home Users" should be able to:

"Encrypt sensitive files and data"

And:

"Restrict access to selected files and folders".
--------------------------------------------------------------

Financial Data for example -- Parents and Children.

THINK!
---------------------------------------------------------------

I realize Microsoft is going for Market Segmentation and Maximum Revenue
Generation.

Which doesn't bother me -- I own MS stock and wish them well.

But to tell "Home" Users they don't need those capabilities and then to sell
them a deficient OS is wrong.
Click to expand...

At this point I suspect you're just trolling. There are many ways to
skin a cat: if users want to protect files *in the same manner as* XP
Pro then they can buy that. However since home users typically don't
even put password protection on their login screens, then neither of the
two features you've called out are going to work. Then of those who do
apply a password, so many forget it and are screwed because they don't
have a backup or corporate help-desk to turn to.

By your reasoning, if corporations ONLY sell their top of the line
products then consumers are getting deficient products. So I suppose we
should all be running Windows Server etc
 
Hi..

My two cents, The most notable differences I have read about are that
Windows Media Centre requires some different drivers (as an example NVidia
have issued WMC specific graphic drivers) so there is a risk that some
software may not work until patched. And the second difference is that WMC
version can run two TV Tuner cards (so you can watch one channel whilst
recording another) compared to a single card in XP Home/Pro.

Andy
 
The thing that really aggravates me about Home, is that you can not place
certain restrictions on different users. Home only allows two user groups:
administrators, and limited users. Limited users are so limited, that it
could drive even the most computer illiterale insane. Therefore, most people
are constantly running with administrator rights. This can be a potential
security issue. For example, if a there is a teenager using the computer,
s/he probably uses legit programs which, at some point, require admin rights
(such as games). But, because this person is constantly running as an admin,
they can also install potentially harmful software, and possibly without even
knowing! This is one of the reason I would never recommend Home to anyone,
regardless of their comp knowledge. In my opinion, Pro is the way to go. You
don't have to use all of the complicated features, just set all user accounts
to the users or power users group so they cannot install programs that could
damage the system. Its that simple. They should have at least included that
into home.

-Christopher Isherwood
 
Christopher said:
The thing that really aggravates me about Home, is that you can not
place certain restrictions on different users.
Click to expand...


The point I made below is that many people don't *want* to do that and
wouldn't do it even if the choice were available. Many home users are single
users, and don't even have multiple users on one computer.

Back in the days when most of us used Windows 3, 3.1, Windows 95, and
Windows 98, there was no multi-user facility at all. We got by without that
facility. Now users of Windows XP have an extra facility, the abillity to
have multiple users on a single machine.

No, you don't have the same ability to put restrictions on users as you do
in Professional, but you have more ability than you had in the Windows 98
and earlier days. If that ability isn't sufficient for you, then by all
means buy XP Professional instead of Home.

The point here is that you have a choice. Buy Professional if you want or
need its extra features; buy Home instead, at a considerable savings, if you
don't want those extra features. For the *great* majority of Home users,
those features aren't desired, wouldn't be used if they had them, and making
Home available to them for less money than Professional is a real benefit.to
them, saving them a substantial amount of money. Giving people a choice to
get more features for more money or fewer features for less money is *not* a
scam.

You can buy a Toyota Camry or you can buy a Lexus. Those who don't need or
want the extras in the Lexus can save a substantial sum by choosing the
Camry.
 
Christopher said:
The thing that really aggravates me about Home, is that you can not place
certain restrictions on different users. Home only allows two user groups:
administrators, and limited users. Limited users are so limited, that it
could drive even the most computer illiterale insane. Therefore, most people
are constantly running with administrator rights. This can be a potential
security issue. For example, if a there is a teenager using the computer,
s/he probably uses legit programs which, at some point, require admin rights
(such as games). But, because this person is constantly running as an admin,
they can also install potentially harmful software, and possibly without even
knowing! This is one of the reason I would never recommend Home to anyone,
regardless of their comp knowledge. In my opinion, Pro is the way to go. You
don't have to use all of the complicated features, just set all user accounts
to the users or power users group so they cannot install programs that could
damage the system. Its that simple. They should have at least included that
into home.
Click to expand...

The software writers who demand admin rights should be continually
admonished. Phillips and Sony are insane enough to require it to run
their MP3 synchronization software. In no case is it necessary - it's
just lazy programming.
 
I have TWO media center computers CONNECTED to my home WIRELESS network of 5
computers (2 XP pro, 1 XP home and the 2 MCE) and sharing folders and files
as well as printers and internet.
 
I don't know what you people are talking about. I have some files and
folders that are shared and some that are not. The only thing I can't do
with my home version is have selected sharing of a folder or file, it's
either shared or it isn't. But as far as the Media Center computer, I CAN
connect it to my wireless network and share everything I can with any of my
other computers. My Dell media center computer is one on my home wireless
network.
 
no hardware difference. The tuner for the media center is extra. The price
quoted is just for the software upgrade.
 
I have both Media Center computers and XP home and Pro computers on a home
wireless network. I enjoy my media center computers because they do
everything that my XP home and pro computers are set to do AND I can use it
to record the TV programs I like, and I love the guide (programming guide)
and all the information it provides about the movies and the actors. I like
that I can connect, via media center, to all my other computers and play
anything media file on my network on my TV. I can schedule recordings for
weeks in advance and repetitive recordings (like House, one of my favorite
TV shows). I have videos on several computers and when my family come over I
can sit them down on the sofa and play my videos or photos stored on any
computer. I can play any music from any computer through my media center
computer.
The only thing my Pro version has that the others don't, is the ability to
add more sharing options, like who can and who can't, or who can see and who
can change a file, which I don't use since all the computers are in my home.
I have most of my shared folders set to view and copy from one computer to
another and not allow it to be deleted or changed. In that situation, all my
computers, home, pro and mce, perform exactly the same.
 
Home can have up to 5 computers on a network.
Pro can have up to 10 computers on a network.

MCE and Home cannot join a domain.
The numbers of computers on a domain is not limited.
The computers on a domain share a central directory database.
Domain computers can be anywhere in the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Server_domain
 
Home can have up to 5 computers on a network.
Pro can have up to 10 computers on a network.
Click to expand...

The proper word is CONNECTIONS - not "computers". One computer may
have more than one connection.
 
Clearly, but if you follow the links you will see that it goes into more
detail. You CAN connect to the internet. How else does it get it's program
guide updated? It doesn't use your TV, the cable guide has tons of
information that it gets from the internet and MS is foolish enough to thing
that everyone is connected directly. One of the main features of Media
Center is its ability to connect to ALL your other computers to use the
media on each of them. (I understand that Media Center and Home versions of
XP can only connect to 5 at one time where XP pro can connect to 10 at a
time, and MCE and Home can not connect to a DOMAIN, which is an internal
type of server that would give you unlimited connections)
All 5 of my computers (I realize that I have 3 MCE computers though I've
never used or set up the media center on one and even forgot it was a mce
computer) ARE connect to each other, sharing with each other, using my cable
connection via my 802.11x router. When not using the media center, you
wouldn't know it was a media center computer. They do EVERYTHING my XP home
versions do, and since I don't use the extra security features of my xp pro,
all 5 computers actually function exactly the same in every way, outside of
the mce features.
 
Carol said:
And for Ken's original question about the differences, this is MS had
to say:
Click to expand...


No, I'm not the person who asked. I answered the question, saying "Media
Center is a superset of XP Professional (with one exception). Everything
that is in XP Professional is also in Medai Center, except for the ability
to join a domain. Media Center also has its extra media-related features."

I subsequently modified my original statement to reflect what
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/windows/editions/xp-pro/media.mspx said--that
Media Center could not connect to a wireless network. But as you pointed
out, that page is wrong, and my original answer was correct..
 
Does Windows XP Media Center Edition actually have ALL the security,
encryption and compartmentation features that Windows XP Pro has?

DSH
 
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