a casual user will have no reason to spend the extra money on xp pro. Home is essentially the same operating system, using the same file system (NTFS) and has 95% of the same features. There are features like being able to join a domain in a corprate environment to name a few features left out of xp home. XP home is just as networkable as win2k, win98 and so on (except for the annoying firewall that blocks unrequested access from other computers). The only other difference that I've seen, is that I have no problem installing xp pro on more than one system where as xp home will only allow you to install it on one desktop... if you try to install it on another desktop you will have to call microsoft to update your license. Even with an OEM version of xp home you can take the os off one system and put it on another (even though it says an OEM version is only valid on the original system it came with). If I had to I would buy the oem xp home for about $90 if I was only installing on one system. If I had to install it on more than one I would buy xp pro upgrade (I haven't had to use another version of windows to validate the upgrade... it seems to be stand alone, why it's called an upgrade I have no idea??).
As a student I was able to buy xp pro upgrade for $35 so that was the best option for me.
As a student I was able to buy xp pro upgrade for $35 so that was the best option for me.
