Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition FULL VERSION with SP2

July 3, 2008 | By Doug In Dining Tables |

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition FULL VERSION with SP2
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.

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.
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.

Customer Review: It’s just windows
Delivery and service from Amazon was fine, as usual.

The product is Winows, so it is buggy, flaky and horrible, as expected. Too bad I had to buy it!

Customer Review: XP for Me is Solid and Good
I have XP running on a bootcamp partition on my MacBook and it is doing just fine. I spend most of my working time in Word, hardly ever using any of the other programs in the Office suite. However, I use the Adobe products PhotoShop, InDesign and Illustrator a whole bunch. Other than that I play solitaire, watch videos and, of course, use both Explorer and Firefox when I go online. That’s about it for me, software wise, and XP handles it all without fail, without crashing and without giving me any headaches.

And I will miss it when I upgrade to Vista, however my machine can handle the upgrade. If yours can’t, then I’d recommend you stay with XP. It’s solid and good. Vista may be better, but it’s not worth buying a new computer over.

Pyrex Smart Essentials Microwave Steamer
Pyrex Smart Essentials, 2 QT, Steamer Casserole With Glass Cover & White Steamer Basket.
List Price: $14.99
Amazon Price: $14.99
Customer Review: Microwave steamer
It’s a standard pyrex microwave casserole dish with a plastic steamer basket. As usual, dollar for dollar you can’t beat the quality of Pyrek products for cooking. This is a nice addition to any cook’s supplies, especially if you do frozen veggies in the microwave. It’s simple, basic, easy to clean, no gadgetry. Love it!
Customer Review: Terrific
This is a terrific item - I wonder why no one’s made a microwaveable steamer basket to put inside other micro-ware? Anyway, this is of usual Pyrex quality and design, at an affordable price. Can’t beat that!

70′ Ellington Fans Molino Ceiling Fan Bronze Finish
Price: $349.95

CorningWare French White 9-inch-by-13-inch Baking Dish
Corningware II, French White, 9″ x 13″, 3 QT Oblong Dish, New Corningware II Is Easy To Handle, Sturdy, Safe & Easy To Clean.
List Price: $17.99
Amazon Price: $17.99
Customer Review: Where’s the lid
Anyone know where a glass lid can be obtained? Would be many times more useful with one!
Customer Review: Corning Ware
I received this item in over 100 pieces. Obviously this is not an item I would trust to have shipped again through Amazon.com. I was actually told to order it through one of the other sellers who will package it better to increase their ratings.