1. REVIEWS - Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
with Service Pack 2 - Full Version
ViewUserReviews
Average Customer Rating
3.2 out of 5
Product Feature
Microsoft Win XPq
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Product Description
Windows XP Home makes it easy to use your Computer for those Personal projects you enjoy. Service Packs
round up the bug fixes and product updates you need for operating more smoothly. This Service Pack bridges
the gaps between the original software and user requests more fully, responding to customer wishes and
making XP even better. Read more
Product Description
With Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2, you get safer browsing and communication, powerful
security tools, and improved experiences. Packed with multimedia features, Windows XP Home Edition with
Service Pack 2 aims to unlock the full potential of your personal computer. It also looks great, with rounded
window corners, larger and more detailed icons, and a clean-look desktop.
The Security Center lets you check the status of your essential
security settings.
The best thing about Windows XP is that, because it belongs to the Windows
NT/2000 product family, it's designed from the ground up for reliability,
security, and networking. XP Home users will soon see the benefits of this.
The dreaded Windows crash-and-reboot cycle really is much less common
with XP, and, provided the hardware is up to scratch, XP's performance is
better, too. The downside is that using a different code base can make
compatibility with old applications less assured. Business applications
normally run fine, but older games, MIDI software, and system utilities may
well cause problems.
Windows XP is more customizable than previous versions, including its visual
themes that let you change the whole appearance of Windows in an instant.
Fast User Switching is a neat feature for computers used by more than one
person--it lets another user log on without killing the previous user's session,
and when you switch back, running applications and open documents are as
you left them. This is impressive, but what really counts is that XP
understands how to deal with multiple users. Each user has their own
special folders, such as My Documents, which cannot be seen by other users.
And for those with more than one computer, the network setup wizard
simplifies setting up a network.

2. Windows XP Home has many strong multimedia
features. New Media Player lets you copy music
from CD to hard disk, create your own playlist, and
write your own music CDs if you have a CD writer.
You can also play back DVD-Video (but only if a
hardware or software DVD decoder is already
installed) and play MP3 audio files and MPEG videos
(but sadly not the popular RealMedia formats).
Admittedly, Media Player does nothing that you
cannot also do with free alternatives, but it is slick
and nicely integrated. There is also Windows Movie
Maker, a basic tool for capturing and editing videos
that's fun to use, although too limited for serious
work.
The Information Bar in Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack
2 notifies you when it blocks ActiveX control or active content and
then lets you decide what to do.
For Web browsing, XP Home comes with Internet Explorer 6.0 and MSN Explorer. The most significant new
feature for Internet users is the built-in firewall. A firewall protects against one of the most disturbing security
risks, in which other users unknown to you might connect to your computer while it is online, reading private
files or causing other damage. XP's built-in firewall is a simple affair, but it does prevent most types of
unauthorized connections.
Service Pack 2 allows users to instruct Internet Explorer how to
handle downloads from a specific publisher
The XP user interface is not a radical departure from
earlier versions of Windows, but there are a number of
small changes that together add up to a significant
improvement. For example, you can add and remove
shortcuts from the Start menu by right-clicking on the icon
and selecting Pin or Unpin from the pop-up menu.
Windows online help is integrated into a Help and Support
Center that works like an internal Web site, with
searchable help, tutorials, and walkthroughs. Laptop or
other flat-screen users can set Windows to use ClearType
for screen fonts, for a more readable display.
There are, of course, some pitfalls. Windows XP Home is
demanding on hardware, and it would be a mistake to
install it on less than Microsoft's recommended minimum.
Business users note: unlike Windows 98 or Me, XP Home
Edition cannot join a Windows server domain, so the
networking is peer-to-peer only--see Windows XP
Professional Edition for this functionality. There is also no
multiprocessor support, and a mildly annoying anti-piracy
measure requires you to obtain a code from Microsoft for
full installation and any future system changes. But don't
let that put you off: this is Microsoft's best Windows yet.
Windows XP Service Pack 2 Features
Internet
Explorer Pop-up
Blocker
Makes browsing the Internet more enjoyable by enabling you to reduce unwanted ads and
content.
Internet
Explorer
download
monitoring
Warns you about potentially harmful downloads and gives you the option to block files that
could be malicious.
Internet
Explorer
Information Bar
Provides better information about events that are happening as you browse the Web, so it’s
easier to know what’s going on and address potential security issues.
Windows
Security Center
Allows you to easily view your security status and manage key security settings in one
convenient place.
Windows
Firewall update
Automatically turned on by default, this improved firewall helps protect Windows XP from
viruses, worms, and other security threats that can spread over the Internet.

3. Improved
wireless support
Dramatically improves and simplifies the process of discovering and connecting to wireless
networks.
Bluetooth
technologies
Enables you to easily connect to the latest Bluetooth-enabled hardware devices such as
keyboards, cell phones, and PDAs.
Windows Media
Player 9 Series
Makes it easy to enjoy music, video, and broadband content with enhanced security.
Read more
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