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Windows XP Windows
XP is a line of operating
systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal
computers, including home and business desktops, notebook computers,
and media centers.
The name "XP" is short for "experience".Windows XP is the
successor to both Windows 2000 Professional and Windows Me,
and is the first consumer-oriented operating system produced by Microsoft to be
built on the Windows NT kernel and architecture.
Windows XP was first released on 25 October 2001, and over 400 million copies
were in use in January 2006, according to an estimate in that month by an IDC analyst.[4]
It was succeeded by Windows Vista, which was released to volume
license customers on 8 November 2006, and worldwide to the general public on 30
January 2007. Direct OEM and retail sales of Windows XP ceased
on 30 June 2008. Microsoft continued to sell XP through their System Builder
Channel (smaller OEMs who sell assembled computers) until January
31, 2009 [5][6].
XP may continue to be available as these sources run through their inventory or
by purchasing Windows Vista Ultimate or Business and then downgrading
to Windows XP. The most common
editions of the operating system are Windows XP Home Edition, which is targeted
at home users, and Windows XP Professional, which offers additional features
such as support for Windows Server domains and two physical processors, and is targeted
at power users, business and enterprise clients. Windows XP Media Center Edition has additional
multimedia features enhancing the ability to record and watch TV shows, view
DVD movies, and listen to music. Windows XP Tablet PC Edition is designed
to run stylus applications built using the Tablet PC
platform. Windows XP was eventually released for two additional architectures, Windows XP 64-bit Edition for IA-64 (Itanium)
processors and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition for x86-64. There is
also Windows XP Embedded, a component version of the
Windows XP Professional, and editions for specific markets such as Windows XP
Starter Edition. The NT-based
versions of Windows are known for their improved stability and efficiency over
the 9x
versions of Microsoft Windows.[9][10]
Windows XP presents a significantly redesigned graphical user interface, a change
Microsoft promoted as more user-friendly than previous versions of Windows. A
new software management facility called Side-by-Side Assembly was introduced to
ameliorate the "DLL hell" that plagues 9x versions of Windows.[11][12]
It is also the first version of Windows to use product activation to combat illegal copying, 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 6 and Windows Media Player,
and for aspects of its default user interface. Later versions with Service Pack 2,
Service Pack 3,
and Internet Explorer 8 addressed some of these
concerns. During development,
the project was codenamed "Whistler",
after Whistler, British Columbia, as many
Microsoft employees skied
at the Whistler-Blackcomb ski resort. As of the end of May
2009, Windows XP is the most widely used operating system in the world with a
61.54% market share, having peaked at 85% in December 2006. Editions Diagram representing
the main editions of Windows XP. It is based on the category of the edition
(grey) and codebase (black arrow). The two major editions
are Windows XP Home Edition, designed for home users, and Windows XP
Professional, designed for business and power-users. XP Professional contains
advanced features that the average home user would not use. However, these
features are not necessarily missing from XP Home. They are simply disabled,
but are there and can become functional. These releases were made
available at retail outlets that sell computer software, and were preinstalled
on computers sold by major computer manufacturers. As of mid-2008, both
editions continue to be sold. A third edition, called Windows XP Media Center
Edition was introduced in 2002 and was updated every year until 2006 to
incorporate new digital media, broadcast television and Media Center Extender capabilities. Unlike the
Home and Professional edition, it was never made available for retail purchase,
and was typically either sold through OEM channels, or was preinstalled on
computers that were typically marketed as "media center PCs". Two different 64-bit editions
were made available, one designed specifically for Itanium-based workstations,
which was introduced in 2001 around the same time as the Home and Professional
editions, but was discontinued a few years later when vendors of Itanium
hardware stopped selling workstation-class machines due to low sales. The
other, called Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, supports the x86-64
extension of the Intel IA-32 architecture. x86-64 is implemented by AMD as
"AMD64", found in AMD's Opteron and Athlon 64 chips, and implemented by Intel as "Intel 64"
(formerly known as IA-32e and EM64T), found in Intel's Pentium 4
and later chips. Windows XP Tablet PC
Edition was produced for a class of specially designed notebook/laptop
computers called tablet PCs. It is compatible with a pen-sensitive screen,
supporting handwritten notes and portrait-oriented screens. Internet Explorer 6 running in Windows XP Tablet PC
Edition. Microsoft also
released Windows XP Embedded, an edition for specific
consumer electronics, set-top boxes, kiosks/ATMs, medical devices, arcade video
games, point-of-sale terminals, and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
components. In July 2006, Microsoft released Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs,
a thin client
version of Windows XP Embedded which targets older machines (as early as the
original Pentium). It is only available to Software Assurance customers. It is
intended for corporate customers who would like to upgrade to Windows XP to
take advantage of its security and management capabilities, but can't afford to
purchase new hardware. Editions for specific
markets Windows XP Starter
Edition is a lower-cost edition of Windows XP available in Thailand,
Turkey,
Malaysia,
Indonesia,
Russia,
India,
Colombia,
Brazil,
Argentina,
Peru, Bolivia,
Chile,
Mexico,
Ecuador,
Uruguay
and Venezuela.
It is similar to Windows XP Home, but is limited to low-end hardware, can only
run 3 programs at a time, and has some other features either removed or
disabled by default. Each country's edition is also customized for that
country, including desktop backgrounds of popular locations, localized help features for those who may not
speak English, and other default settings designed for easier use than typical
Windows XP installations. The Malaysian version, for example, contains a
desktop background of the Kuala Lumpur skyline.[15] In March 2004, the European Commission fined Microsoft €497 million
(US$603 million) and ordered the company to
provide a version of Windows without Windows Media Player. The Commission concluded
that Microsoft "broke European Union competition law by leveraging its
near monopoly
in the market for PC operating systems onto the markets for work group server operating systems and for media
players". After unsuccessful appeals in 2004 and 2005, Microsoft reached
an agreement with the Commission where it would release a court-compliant
version, Windows XP Edition N. This version does not include the
company's Windows Media Player but instead encourages users to pick and
download their own media player. Microsoft wanted to call this version Reduced
Media Edition, but EU regulators objected and suggested the Edition N
name, with the N signifying "not with Media Player" for both
Home and Professional editions of Windows XP. Because it is sold at the same
price as the version with Windows Media Player included, Dell, Hewlett-Packard,
Lenovo
and Fujitsu Siemens have chosen not to stock
the product. However, Dell did offer the operating system for a short time.
Consumer interest has been low, with roughly 1,500 units shipped to OEMs, and no reported sales to
consumers. In December 2005, the Korean Fair Trade Commission
ordered Microsoft to make available editions of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 that do not contain Windows Media Player or Windows Messenger.[20]
Like the European Commission decision, this decision was based on the grounds
that Microsoft had abused its dominant position in the market to push other
products onto consumers. Unlike that decision, however, Microsoft was also
forced to withdraw the non-compliant versions of Windows from the South Korean
market. This decision resulted in Microsoft's releasing "K" and
"KN" variants of the Home and Professional editions in August 2006. That same year,
Microsoft also released two additional editions of Windows XP Home Edition
directed towards subscription-based and pay-as-you-go pricing models. These
editions, released as part of Microsoft's FlexGo
initiative, are used in conjunction with a hardware component to enforce time
limitations on the usage of Windows. Its target market is emerging economies
such as Brazil
and Vietnam. Languages Windows XP is
available in many languages. In addition, MUI packs and Language Interface Packs translating the user
interface are also available for certain languages. References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_XP |
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