XP home vs. pro and remote desktop

[Guest]

I am needing to work from home and want to use remote desktop to access my
work computer. We are thinking about getting a new laptop which probably
would come with XP Home. Do I need XP Professional on my home computer since
that is what we have at work? What is the difference between Home and
Professional? Also, it seems most of these computers come with Microsoft
WORKS and I need the office suite. HOw compatible are Works documents? I
have Works on my desktop at home now and when I try to open documents at work
I am not able to. And finally, can I buy XP upgrade to upgrade from Windows
ME on my current home desktop? Thanks for any input.

 

[Doug Knox MS-MVP]

No, you can run the Remote Desktop client from Win98, Me, Windows 2000 or Windows XP.

For the differences in XP Home and Pro

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/choosing2.mspx

As far as I know, the only features of Works and Office that is compatible is Word. If you need Office you should order the PC with it.

And yes, you can purchase an Upgrade version.