Need some sage advice from you seasoned software buyers.
So, an annoying string of 'puter events have made me decide to take the plunge into buying MS XP when it is released upcoming.
I have a pair of Q’s which I’d like advice on.
What’s the cheapest place to get this thing in a relatively timely manner? I’m sure there will be online distrubutors selling this cheaper than Best Buy, so which ones can deliver withing a couple days? Whats the retail on this thing supposed to be anyways?
For those of you more familiar than me, shoukd I get the home or business version of XP? I do quite a bit of work on my home machine, but its pretty simplistic stuff. Alot of text editing (code) and alot of Linux terminal sessions. A moderate amount of Excel and word processing and a significant amount of web browsing, and media playing (not editing). I guess in short, whats the extra hundo on the business version getting me?
Really, the best way to get XP cheap is to find a place where there is a steady sting of low level blues: parsers have shown, again and again, that slow and steady wins the race. Unfortunantly, places wihta steady stream of mobs tend to be overcamped, so it takes some doing.
To help any more, I’m gonna have to know what level you are.
OK, I very very rarely need to say something like this by here goes:
What the fuck are you talking about?
BMU, when you say “hard core” I assume you’re not talking about a basic cable modem, wireless hub/router, 2 desktops and a laptop all running various forms of Windows. Right?
What about the possibility of me building a Linux/Apache webserver at some point in the not to distant future. I don’t suppose XP has any file-sharing capabilities with a Linux box sharing an internet connection?
One other Q that I forgot to ask. BMU can probably answer this fairly well.
Whats the advantage (if any) to buying the full version as opposed to the upgrade? I’ve got a Win 98SE which came pre-installed on a IBM and a bootleg full version of the same.
The upgrade is the same as the full version except you have to insert your old cd when installing clean. I think it might come with some sort of boot disk too, but I’m not sure. I’ve been using the upgrades.
The BEST way to get XP would be to purchase a license only for Windows XP Pro from an online vendor, such as http://www.directdeals.com . These packages usually come with no support, manuals, or CDs, just a certificate of authenticity. Then, download and burn an ISO (CD-ROM image) of XP Pro Corporate Edition (Corporate Edition has no Activation or other icky stuff like that). If you want to purchase an upgrade, you can do it the same way, just buy the upgrade license and make sure you keep your old license for windows around Just In Case™.
This method saves you money, gives Microsoft their money to keep them happy, and keeps you from having to deal with the horror known as Windows Product Activation.
Currently Directdeals has an OEM 3-pack of Windows XP Pro for $490. If you get two friends to go in with you, you each get the full version of XP Professional for only $165, shipping included. That is one hell of a deal.
Personally, I think Win XP Pro is just XP home minus the useless junk, and with more usefull features. I’m using XP Pro and I like it a lot. Nice UI, stable, good features.
FDISK, either the website is down, or the link is busted.
Frankly from all the things I’ve read, I’d see no benefit from coughing up an extra $100 on XP Pro for my usage.
That leaves me with one big question, and I’m hoping BMU can back me up on this, should I get the Full Version or the Upgrade.
I know many upgrades are really full versions that simply require a previous registration to use. I don’t know if this is one of those cases, or if I’d be missing out on some level of support, docs, or anything on the CD that I might ever need to run the new OS.
Anyone have the dirt on this?
FDISK, frankly for a savings of $35 its worth it to me to have support, manuals, and a original CD with a receipt. The idea of getting a hold of a coporate copy sounds nice, especially if I build a second machine which I may want to loan the OS to, but it also might not be worth the hassle.
Fdisks web site worked for me. They even have Works 2000 for like $14.00
Yeah, get the full version or youll have to install one operating system then another to update it when you get a new HD. Boring.
Still, on ebay.com XP full is pretty cheap. I hear the Corporate version doesn’t require a dial in confirmation activation though, which is, I must say, a bonus saving a lot of hair pulling.
XP Pro is a lot more like what you’d be used to using if you had NT Workstation (or Win 2k pro). A lot more network management utilities than say Win 98 has.
XP home is more like 98 in that is only has the type of stuff a home user would want. It does have enhanced networking (for broadband, cables, dsl, etc and file sharing).
As for upgrade VS full… the difference is indeed that upgrade requires a “qualified media” to install (this means a previous version of Windows installed or on disk/cd). If you have 98 or NT or Win 2k now buy upgrade and save some cash.
Volume licensing - This is only really an option if you buy 5 or more licenses at once. There is a minimum purchase limit to volume licenses. Yes, if you need 5 or more licenses, buying a volume license is cheaper (no support, no manuals and only one CD) and you do bypass activation.
This said, activation is not a horror. If done online activation can be done in under 2 minutes (and on the phone in less than 5) and requires no (that is 0 - zero) personal information. The purpose of activation is to stop casual copying of the software and Microsoft is not interested at all in your personal information or your hardware/ software configuration.
As we said before look for online retailers. I’d stay away from Ebay myself unless you are a trusting soul, it is possible to get the short end of the stick.
I just looked at FDISK’s link, the software you are getting from that site is OEM software. Meant to be packaged with computer hardware or systems and not a typical product.
OEM product typically requires either a specialized OEM purchase license or the purchase of a piece of hardware or computer with the sale.
