Windows XP is a line of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on general-purpose computer systems, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, and media centers. The letters "XP" stand for experience.[1] Codenamed Whistler during its development, Windows XP is the successor to both Windows 2000 and Windows Me, and is the first consumer-oriented operating system produced by Microsoft to be built on the Windows NT kernel and architecture. With the release of Windows XP, the Windows 95/98 architecture was finally discontinued. Windows XP was first released on October 25, 2001, and as of 2006 continues to be the most recent consumer version of Microsoft Windows available, with over 400 million copies in use, according to an estimate by an IDC analyst.[2]
The most common editions of the operating system are Windows XP Home Edition, which is targeted at home users, and Windows XP Professional, which has additional features such as support for Windows Server domains and dual processors, and is targeted at power users and business clients. Windows XP Media Center Edition consists of Windows XP Professional with new features enhancing the ability to record and watch TV shows, watch DVDs, listen to music and more. Windows XP Tablet PC Edition is designed to run the ink-aware Tablet PC platform. Two separate 64-bit versions of Windows XP were also released, Windows XP 64-bit Edition for IA-64 (Itanium) processors and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition for AMD64/EM64T processors.
Windows XP is known for its improved stability and efficiency over previous versions of Windows. It presents a significantly redesigned graphical user interface (GUI), a change Microsoft promoted as more user-friendly than previous versions of Windows. New software management capabilities were introduced to avoid the "DLL hell" that plagued older consumer versions of Windows. It is also the first version of Windows to use product activation to combat software piracy, a restriction that did not sit well with some users and privacy advocates. Windows XP has also been criticized by some users for security vulnerabilities, tight integration of applications such as Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player, and for aspects of its user interface.
Windows Vista is scheduled to be the next major revision of Microsoft Windows, with a planned release date of November 2006 for business editions, and January 2007 for other editions.
Editions
The two major editions are Windows XP Home Edition, designed for home users, and Windows XP Professional, designed for business and power-users.
Windows XP Professional offers a number of features unavailable in the Home Edition, including:
the ability to become part of a Windows Server domain — a group of computers that are remotely managed by one or more central servers (many businesses that use Windows have a Windows Server and a domain)
the use of a sophisticated access control scheme that allows specific permissions on files to be granted to specific users under normal circumstances. However, users can use tools other than Windows Explorer (like cacls or File Manager), or restart to Safe Mode to modify access control lists.
the Remote Desktop server, which allows a PC be operated by another Windows XP user over a local area network or the Internet
offline Files and Folders, which allow the PC to automatically store a copy of files from another networked computer and work with them while disconnected from the network
the Encrypting File System, which encrypts files stored on the computer's hard drive so they cannot be read by another user, even with physical access to the storage medium
centralized administration features, including Group Policies, Automatic Software Installation and Maintenance, Roaming User Profiles, and Remote Installation Service (RIS)
Using multiple processors for symmetric multiprocessing, allowing the PC to divide work between multiple processors (CPUs). Home is limited to one processor and Professional uses up to two physical processors, regardless of the number of CPU cores or Hyper-threading.[3][4]