what's the difference between home and pro versions...

of xp and vista? i'm thinking about getting another laptop. i currently have xp home 32 bit. i'm considering getting 64 bit vista version but would like to know the difference between home and pro versions. i'm aware of some of the security differences and group policies but what else? what gains/performance gains would i see with a 64 bit os? what deficiencies might there be besides driver/software support with a 64 bit os? do jfl92's take more than 4 gigs of ram ? what laptops do support more than 4 gigs if jfl92's don't? sorry i crammed these questions. i am in a rush and won't be back for at least a couple of hours. thanks in advance to those who reply.

 

Vista doesn't have home and pro... it's basic and premium, ultimate and business. Basic doesn't have the flashy aero effects, and I don' think it has the media center stuff either.

 

Home Prem has a bunch of options that come in it and ultimate. Nearly everything in ultimate is easily achievable in home prem, at a huge discount. The 64bit of home prem limits ram to like 16gb.

Ref: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa366778.aspx

 

Here's the best feature chart I've found:
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/winvista_editions_final.asp

Each of the editions (except "Starter" which isn't sold in all countries) is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

Basically:

Basic: Stuff you need to run programs. Plus some basic multimedia features.
Premium: The stuff in Basic + Aero interface + additional multimedia features.
Business: The stuff in Basic + Aero interface + stuff needed to log on to a Windows domain (corporate network) + some extra stuff like more user management control (group policy) and Volume Shadow Copy
Ultimate: Business + Premium + a few extras

 

Good post, swarmer. I've never seen a comparison like that for Vista. Here's one for XP.

 

i am aware of the pro/business change. was just in a rush. thanks for the clarification though. it might've confused somebody else.

anybody familiar with the jfl92? going by what was posted, i should have no problems going 8 gigs ram if and when available mainstream in 4gb sticks, correct? i'm thinking it will, since i found out it supports sata 300 or whatever it's called. i'm just looking for the best value, upgradeable and futureproof laptop should i go with another jfl92. this laptop is awesome as is. i've used vista on other friends laptops, and they hate it worse than i do, and i'm the usually the most computer saavy person they know. any other 15.4 laptop recommendations for 64 bit processing?

 

I believe the JFL92 is limited to 4GB of RAM. Also, SATA300 has nothing to do with RAM, it is involved with HD interfaces.