Windows XP comes in two flavors, Home Edition and Professional. The first difference you'll notice is the price tag. XP Home costs $100 for the update CD or $200 for the full install, whereas XP Professional costs $200 for the upgrade or $300 for the full installation CD. The extra bang you get for your XP Professional buck offers little of interest to the home user. Here are the key features that set XP Professional apart from XP Home edition.

Remote Desktop
Gain remote control of your Windows XP Professional machine with bundled Remote Desktop client software. The software can be installed on any machine with Windows 95 or newer, and allows you to see and interact with your Remote Desktop within a window on the local machine. You can edit local files with remote applications, then allow the remote applications to access local peripherals (scanners, printers, etc.).

Microsoft claims Remote Desktop works well even over a dialup connection, as only mouse clicks, keyboard strokes, and display information are transmitted over the Internet. However, TechTV Labs found Remote Desktop to be sluggish on slower connections, and recommends a fast connection to avoid Internet rage.

Like this feature? There are options other than an XP upgrade, as Remote Desktop is not a new idea. Symantec's pcAnywhere software offers similar functionality. Recently outdated versions run as low as $25 on Price Watch, but the newest version retails for around $100. Go here to read our review of pcAnywhere. Another option: GoToMyPc, a subscription-based remote networking service.

Dual-processor support
If you have two processors, you need to shell out the extra hundred dollars for Windows XP Professional. Windows XP Home Edition does not support a dual-processor system.

View network shares offline
You can set XP Professional to automatically cache specified network shares at logon for availability off-line. Not the most useful feature for the home user, but it's great for business travelers with laptops.

Encrypting File Support (EFS)
XP Professional boasts EFS, a feature first included with Windows 2000. XP Professional can encrypt files and folders with a random and unique encryption key. This is a great feature for theft-prone laptops with personal or sensitive information, but an unnecessary nicety for the home user already behind the XP firewall.

Click on the next link below to see a chart of the differences between Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Home Edition.