Windows XP or Windows 2000 Professional
INTRODUCTION
Windows XP is the next release of Windows from Microsoft, scheduled for commercial availability in the second half of 2001. Built on the enhanced Windows 2000 engine, Windows XP features a fresh new look and enables exciting new personal computing experiences.
Windows XP symbolizes the rich user experiences Windows XP will offer by empowering people to move beyond disconnected applications, services, and devices to complete end-to-end computing experiences that redefine the relationship between people, software, and the Internet.
The following is just a sampling of the experiences that Windows XP delivers:
Communications - Enhancements in real-time voice, video and data communications will allow the PC to become a center of communications and creativity beyond just e-mail and instant messaging.
Mobility - Windows XP will allow the user to connect back to the desktop from any location and support for new wireless networks will be built-in.
Support ? Windows XP will unify the user?s support experience by enabling the user to provide temporary and secure control of their PC to whoever can best help them
Photos and home videos ? Windows XP takes an end-to-end approach to how people transfer videos and pictures onto their computer, how they use them on their PC and other devices, and how they share them in person or through e-mail, the Web, or removable media like DVDs and CDs.
Music and entertainment ? Windows XP extends this experience by applications that help buy music and videos, mobile devices, services for saving your music on the Internet and more.
Home PC sharing - Windows XP will make it easier for households to share a single PC but network devices and share pictures, music, files, printers and other resources.
SHOULD I DEPLOY WINDOWS 2000 PROFESSIONAL OR WAIT FOR WINDOWS XP?
Windows 2000 Professional dramatically improves the business desktop today via improved reliability and manageability, plus better laptop and Internet support. Many customer studies have shown a marked reduction in desktop TCO, and a payback of less than 12 months with Windows 2000 Professional deployments.
Windows XP Professional offers all of the benefits of Windows 2000 Professional, and extends the core functionality of Windows 2000 in the areas of reliability, manageability, networking and security, and delivers significant improvements in software and hardware compatibility, help and support, mobility, as well as delivering a rich new look.
Customers that are currently evaluating Windows 2000 Professional should evaluate the business need to upgrade to Windows XP when it becomes available. We do not anticipate the need for major infrastructure changes prior to deploying Windows XP alongside, or as a replacement to Windows 2000.
IF WINDOWS 2000 ALREADY HAS THE CORE FUNCTIONALITY THAT I NEED, WHY SHOULD I EVEN CONSIDER WINDOWS XP?
Windows XP offers all of the benefits of Windows 2000 Professional and goes above and beyond this by enhancing the core functionality, particularly in the area of compatibility, mobility, reliability and manageability. Windows XP will add new features such as remote assistance, remote desktop, and improvements to help and support that will further reduce IT costs and will also introduce several improvements that increase productivity and provide both business and home users with an easy to use and exciting PC experience.
Windows XP has also been developed with Microsoft?s .NET strategy in mind, meaning that it will become the platform for delivering important .NET services such as Instant Messaging and Passport authentication plus it will provide a rich programming platform for supporting multiple peer-to-peer and web-hosted services.
WHEN SHOULD I BEGIN TO EVALUATE WINDOWS XP PROFESSIONAL?
Business users who are updating their desktops today should deploy Windows 2000 Professional as this improves the productivity of desktop and laptop users and significantly reduces costs via enhanced reliability and manageability. If you have not begun to evaluate or deploy Windows 2000 Professional by the release of Windows XP, or you are planning to deploy new PCs in the second half of 2001, then you should evaluate a pre-release version of Windows XP and consider deploying it when it becomes available.
HOW WILL WINDOWS XP AFFECT WINDOWS 2000 PROFESSIONAL?
Windows XP Professional is the next version of Windows 2000 Professional that will provide additional benefits for businesses of all sizes. Customers will be able to easily deploy Windows XP alongside Windows 2000 Professional without major disruption of their infrastructures or additional compatibility requirements.