Windows XP has arrived By Larry Anders, Librarian, Tampa PC Users Group Larry@AndersNet.com

If you’re NOT like me, and have decided to wait for all the bugs to show up in the latest incarnation of Microsoft’s newest operating system before taking the plunge, then I’ve got a site for you to take a look at while you wait. (By the way, I wouldn’t expect too many bugs with WindowsXP. This software was beta-tested by over half-a-million users.) InfiniSource has created quite a site related to all the Windows operating systems and if you’ve got a problem or a question about anything from Windows 95 forward to XP this is a good place to start. (http://www.windows-help.net/index.shtml).

The site this article is concerned with is (http://www.windows-help.net/WindowsXP).

One of the features I was really interested in was the Windows XP Upgrade Advisor. The Upgrade Advisor is a tool that checks your system hardware and software to see if it is ready for upgrade to Windows XP. If you run Upgrade Advisor while you are connected to the Internet, and if your system needs updates that are available on the Windows Update Web site, Upgrade Advisor will find and install the updates for you. Can’t get much easier than that. I used the Upgrade Advisor when I upgraded to Windows 2000 and it saved me some time and headaches.

If you’re not aware of it, there are two different versions of WindowsXP. Another nice feature on this site is a thorough comparison of both the Home Edition and Windows XP Professional. Most home or small business users can probably get by with the Home Edition (and save $100) but XP Pro has all the features of the Home Edition plus several other features like added security, remote access, access to files & folders on a network even when disconnected from the server, and backup and automated system recovery, to name just a few. There are several more. And if you’re into web publishing Windows XP Professional includes the IIS Web server 5.1 software. In my case, I felt the extra $100 was well worth the investment.

If you want to use the upgrade version, like I did, you need to realize that some older versions of Windows are only upgradeable to XP Pro. Below is a table from the site that lists the upgrade options:

And yes, if you purchase the Home Edition now, you can upgrade to Professional later. If the price is the deciding factor, the ERP of Windows XP Home Edition is $199.99 for the full version, and $99.99 for the upgrade, while the ERP for the full version of Professional is 299.99, and the upgrade is $199.99.

There are many, many more features on this site like free downloads, etc., but this writer’s intention wasn’t to tell you about all of them. I just wanted to entice you to visit the site and find out for yourself. And even if you’re not considering XP, there is plenty of information to help you out with whatever Windows operation system you’re using. Check it out. I think you’ll get something out of it. u