Windows XP editions
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.
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.
Unlike that decision, however, Microsoft was also forced to withdraw the non-compliant versions of Windows from the South Korean market.
[16] Windows XP Starter is a lower-cost version of Windows XP available in Thailand, Vietnam, Turkey, Indonesia, India, Philippines, Russia, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador, Uruguay, Malaysia, 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.
Not found in the Home Edition, these include localized help features for those who may not speak English, a country-specific computer wallpaper[17] and screensavers, and other default settings designed for easier use than typical Windows XP installations.
In addition, the Starter edition also has some unique limitations to prevent it from displacing more expensive versions of Windows XP.
In addition, the Starter edition is licensed only for low-end processors like Intel's Celeron or AMD's Duron and Sempron.
On October 9, 2006, Microsoft announced that they reached a milestone of 1 million units of Windows XP Starter sold.
[21] The initial release was available solely in conjunction with computers that included media center capabilities, and could not be purchased separately.
Unlike competing commercial digital video recorder products, Microsoft does not charge a monthly subscription fee for its Media Center TV guide service.
Consumers generally purchase Media Center pre-installed on a new computer, or from a reseller that sells OEM versions of Microsoft software.
Some functionality, such as Media Center Extender support, use of multiple tuners, or HDTV playback/recording carries higher system requirements.
Media Center tuners must have a standardized driver interface, and they (originally) required a hardware MPEG-2 encoder, closed caption support, and a number of other features.
Media Center remote controls are standardized in terms of button labels and functionality, and, to a degree, general layout.
Except for MSDN and Volume License subscribers, Windows XP Tablet Edition could not be purchased separately.
There have been two releases: Service Pack 2 for Windows XP includes Tablet PC Edition 2005 and is a free upgrade.
In addition, it includes some of the following components: The following downloadable packs released by Microsoft add more functionality: Windows XP Tablet PC Edition utilizes the Ink object as a means of data input and storage.
Integrated with the operating system is a Tablet PC Input Panel (TIP) which allows handwriting to be converted into text for use in most non-full-screen applications.
The integrated handwriting recognition in Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 can recognize print, cursive, or mixed writing.
When a computer has a positive time balance, it operates in "normal mode" and functions as a regular Windows XP Home Edition machine.
"Windows XP Professional x64 Edition", by contrast, ran on standard x86 CPUs which supported the then-new "x86-64" 64-bit extensions.
While the original Itanium processor contains an on-chip IA-32 decoder, it was deemed far too slow for serious use (running at about 400 MHz), so Microsoft and Intel wrote a software 32 to 64-bit translator dubbed the IA-32 Execution Layer.
According to Microsoft, 32-bit software running under WOW64 has a similar performance when executing under 32-bit Windows, but with fewer threads possible and other overheads.
Microsoft has released a number of editions of Windows XP that are targeted towards developers of embedded devices, for use in specific consumer electronics, set-top boxes, kiosks/ATMs, medical devices, arcade video games, point-of-sale terminals, and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) components.
The devices targeted for XPe have included automatic teller machines, arcade games, slot machines, cash registers, industrial robotics, thin clients, set-top boxes, network attached storage (NAS), time clocks, navigation devices, railroad locomotives, etc.
However, Microsoft has made some exceptions to this rule, allowing XPe alongside a standard OEM install of Windows.
Some Dell notebooks contain an embedded XP installation as part of the MediaDirect 2.0 feature, and they were also found on some Acer ones as well as the Samsung Q1.
It was released on May 25, 2005, and focuses on the point of sale device market, such as fuel pumps, self checkout stations, automated teller machines and cash registers.
It is intended for those who would like to upgrade to Windows XP to take advantage of its security and management capabilities, but cannot afford to purchase new hardware.
