Windows Xp Editions

Windows XP Home Edition, which is designed for home users, and Windows XP Professional, which is designed for business and power-users are the two major editions of Windows XP. 

Windows XP Professional is used in a professional environment (such as a business office, a graphic design company, a centrally administered corporation or educational organization). The features of Windows XP are:

• It consists of Offline files and folders, which let the computer store a copy of files from other computer automatically and work with them even when you have disconnected from the network.
• It consists of a sophisticated access control scheme, which grants specific permissions on files to specific users under normal circumstances. Though, users can use tools other than Windows Explorer or restart the Safe Mode to modify access control lists.
• The professional edition also has the ability to become a part of the server domain which is nothing more than a network of computers that are separately managed by one or more than one central servers.
• The Windows XP professional edition also consists of a Remote desktop server that enables a computer to be used by another person over the Internet or over LAN.

It also has a feature where it can encrypt files that are stored on the computer's hard drive so that they cannot be read by another user, even with physical access to the storage medium.

Windows XP Home Edition is intended for home or small office use. Following are the features of the Home edition:

• The whole concept of User login has been designed to make it user flexible. No provision for authentication of network domain is given and one must individually authenticate network resources.
• Users are explicitly assigned to the Restricted User group. And other than this group no other group exists. 
• Windows XP Home Edition supports only a single CPU computer.