Windows XP Professional

Windows XP is a line of proprietary 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. more...

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Codenamed "Whistler" after Whistler, British Columbia (as many Microsoft employees skied at the resort during its development), Windows XP is the successor to Windows 2000 and is the first consumer-oriented operating system produced by Microsoft to be built on the Windows NT kernel and architecture. It also put an end to Windows 9x/Me by integrating some of 9x's features into the Windows NT codebase. Windows XP was first released on October 25, 2001, and as of 2006 is the most recent consumer version of Microsoft Windows available to the general public, with over 400 million copies in use, according to an estimate by an IDC analyst.

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 has additional multimedia features enhancing the ability to record and watch TV shows, watch DVDs, and listen to music. 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 x86-64 processors.

Windows XP is known for its improved stability and efficiency over previous versions of Windows. It presents a significantly redesigned graphical user interface, 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 XP was followed by Windows Vista, released to volume license customers on November 30, 2006. Worldwide general release for Windows Vista is scheduled for January 30, 2007.

Editions

The two major editions are Windows XP Home Edition, designed for home users, and Windows XP Professional, designed for business and power-users. Other builds of Windows XP include those built for specialized hardware and crippled versions sold in Europe and select developing economies.

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