Windows XP Home: obsolete sooner than you expect

Ars Technica ^ | 3 January 2006 | Ken "Caesar" Fisher

[ThePythonicCow]

MineralMan,

Since Wolfstar said she trusted your opinion, and since I trust her judgements, I took a look at your freeper home page.

A tip of my hat to another USAF vet. I was tracking satellites (nice safe job) in Florida and Thailand in the early 70's.

Being a bit more irreverant, I term myself a "God damned atheist." But your home page says it well.

May we pass in the night again.

Thanks for the introduction, Wolfstar.

[Wolfstar]

Hi, TPC. Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. Thanks for your reply. I will take your advice: "Personally, I like paying less, and getting more configuration and out of sight, fully automatic operation, so will get something like NETGEAR RP614 10/100Mbps Cable/DSL Web Safe Router , which is $42.99 at newegg.com." Sounds like the right solution for me. I'm worried about keeping the data of potential clients secure if I can land telecommuting gigs. Later this evening from home, I will send you a private message to expand further.

[Wolfstar]

Thanks for the introduction, Wolfstar.

You are very welcome, as always TPC. MineralMan always posts good information on these tech threads, which I read and bookmark whenever I notice them.

I'm not a technical person, but do work in information systems. So I have a better than average understanding of these issues -- enough of an understanding to recognize who knows what they are talking about or not on these threads.

[zeugma]

XP Home is the same base as Windows XP Pro,

If I recall correctly, the actual difference between XP-Home and XP-Pro is a registry setting. At least this was the case when they first came out. After service packs, they may have diverged a little. There was a bit of a stink raised when people pointed this out at the time.

[zeugma]

btw, Ive had XP Pro running for 2 weeks straight w/o a reboot

That's a joke right? I measure uptime in months on my linux boxes. I consider anything less to be unstable.

[TChad]

These are the features offerred by XP Pro that are not in XP Home, as described by Microsoft:

Remote Desktop – remotely access your Windows XP Professional PC, from another Windows PC, so you can work with all of your data and applications while away from your office.

Offline Files and Folders - access to files & folders on a network share when disconnected from the server.

Scalable processor support – up to two-way multi-processor support.

Encrypting File System - protects sensitive data in files that are stored on disk using the NTFS file system.

Access Control – restrict access to selected files, applications, and other resources.

Centralized administration - join Windows XP Professional systems to a Windows Server domain to take advantage of the full range of powerful management and security tools.

Group Policy - simplifies the administration of groups of users or computers.

Software Installation and Maintenance – automatically install, configure, repair, or remove software applications.

Roaming User Profiles - access to all your documents and settings no matter where you log on.

Remote Installation Service (RIS) – support for remote operating system installations where desktops can be installed across the network.

Multi-lingual User Interface (MUI) add-on - change the user interface language to get localized dialog boxes, menus, help files, dictionaries, and proofing tools etc.

Above info is from here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/choosing2.mspx

[VeniVidiVici]

I've lost three Netgear routers in three years. That plus email tech support script kitties, turned me off to them. I've purchased a Linksys a few months ago and so far it's been fine.

[antiRepublicrat]

Well I own a version of 2kAS, don't have one of 2003 server - yet. But no need to buy one now.

Incentive is of course based on what you use it for now, but if you do Web serving, IIS 6 alone is worth the price over IIS 5, especially if you do any SSI or CGI (MS rewrote the previous broken and insecure handlers) or serve multiple sites (IIS 6 gives separate sites with multiple application pools, not just a bunch of virtual folders where they all go if one crashes).

[streetpreacher]

And the upgrade from it to Pro can toast your existing apps and data (thank God I had backup!)

No kidding. Learned the hard way: clean install.

[wardaddy]

they have one past 95?

[streetpreacher]

Thanks but most of us don't want to (and that's irrelevant to OS). I find Macs to be clunky. This is a Windows thread. Not interested in propaganda.

[js1138]

Does the other think he can call Dell after five years and get support on his broke-dick PIII 866?

Don't know about Dell, but I can say that Gateway is unable to supply a replacement motherboard for a four year old server. You might think servers would have a longer lifespann htan that.

[goldstategop]

You can always upgrade Windows XP Home to Windows XP Professional.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

[Billthedrill]

Dell goes five years on servers. After that, fuggedaboudid.

[Paleo Conservative]

It really depends. You can kill all the XP eye candy* and shut off new services to get some speed. And then there's the fact that 2000 can't take advantage of Intel's SMT ("Hyperthreading").

But if you bought a computer with Windows 2000 installed, it probably didn't have hyperthreading as a BIOS option anyway.

[ThePythonicCow]

Right now most of my network equipment is Linksys as well, and most of the equipment that I used to use and for some reason no longer use is Netgear. If I recall, the last Netgear router that I retired was too slow to handle the load of three very active users simultaneously without slowing down to an annoying degree. I didn't figure that was Netgear's problem - I figured I needed a more expensive router, with a faster processor.

Still - there might be a pattern here.

Wolfstar - perhaps I should not have recommended Netgear.

The actual firewall/router I've been using the last year or two, quite happily, is the LINKSYS BEFSX41 10/100Mbps Cable/DSL Firewall Router $(56.99):

I got it because it supported "Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI)", which means it keeps track of the packets you send out, and only allows packets back in that are in response to something you sent out. This makes for a safer firewall than the simpler rules that cheaper firewalls use.

Linksys no longer advertises that the BEFSX41 supports SPI. My guess is that they are doing this to get you to pay for their next model upscale, the LINKSYS RT042 10/100Mbps Broadband Router ($89.99):

Don't buy the above RT042 - the initial reviews I see in a quick search on the web suggest that this one has some serious bugs in its firmware that are still being worked. See for example Linksysinfo.org Forums.

For the last year or so, the best reviews have been for the D-Link Gaming Router D-Link DGL-4100 (Wired, $116.00) or D-Link DGL-4300 (Wireless, $125.00):

Gamers are definitely the most demanding users of residential routers/firewalls -- so if this one makes them happy, it is likely one of the best.

I used to use D-Link, a few years back. Maybe the next time I need a router, it will be time to go back to them. These D-Link DGL-4100 and DGL-4300 models look very nice, and get the best reviews.

So I guess it boils down to one of:

• LINKSYS BEFSX41 10/100Mbps Cable/DSL Firewall Router $(56.99), an older model, well respected, for more modest performance needs - say two or three heavy users at once, or
• D-Link DGL-4100 (Wired, $116.00) or D-Link DGL-4300 (Wireless, $125.00), the best available now for residential routers/firewalls, winning the reviews and fast enough for several simultaneous heavy users (if your DSL or Cable broadband connection is up to that).

[goldstategop]

Linux needs to copy Apple's drop and drag dmg installer. Just remove an icon from a virtual disk and drop it into your Applications Folder where it will auto install with no user interaction required. When you decide you no longer want the program around, simply drag the icon to the Trash and delete it - poof, its gone forever. It works beautifully in OSX and I think Linux OSses will eventually adopt it as a standard installer. That should make Linux mainstream in no time.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

[js1138]

I have come to prefer D-Link stuff. For one thing, thei $20 switches don't require crossover cables or use of a special uplink port. This is cool for folks who don't like ugly surprizes.

I've bought about a dozen D-Link products for offices, including firewalls, megabit switches, and routers. I've had one RMA.

My Home Netgear firewall/router/print server ($73) failed under warranty. The replacement has lasted for two years now. It has never required configuration, and online security checks say I am invisible.

I understand this product is too slow for online gaming, but I don't do that. I wouldn't notice a tenth of a second lag. I really like the (parallel port) print server. It really beats leaving a computer on for printer sharing. But for $60 or so you can get a real print server.

[chuckles]

I don't understand Linux but want to. I have several boxes that I tried to install Linux on, but gave up after a few days of frustration. I can't even add software without going bonkers. I don't know what a RPM is if it's not in a Chevy. What are the executables in Linux? Why do I have to mount a drive, why won't it mount itself?

I love the look and feel of Linux, but I'm from another planet. I just stare at the desktop and click on things trying to figure it out. Just changing the screen res is a hassle if you don't know where to look. I know what Roxio and ACDsee is but I don't know Gimp. What would you use to burn a disk?

I really hate Windoze, but I think all the rum in my youth hurt my neurons. I worked with DOS 3.0, wrote my own batches and Auto.exec's and config.sys files, and have only bought 1 computer from a store,(built all my own from scratch since my 286 in '84), but I swear I just can't do Linux. It makes me feel like I'm retarded or something. The only Windows program I really can't live without is Metastock. People talk about Wine, and Virtual something or other, But I need that program for my living. If I had a guru that could show me some things, maybe I could catch on, but I don't know ANYBODY that uses it.

I'm a willing candidate, but I feel trapped in a Gates prison.

[goldstategop]

If you want to go with Linux, get a Debian based distro like Xandros or Linspire. They make software installation virtually painless. And the operating systems are so close to Windows in appearance that you will not think you're working in Linux. Installation is graphical and once up and running you can get on the Internet to update the OS from the company's servers as well as download any applications you're interested in. The difference is the apps in Xandros Networks are free while Linspire requires a yearly feed to download them from their online wherehouse.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")