Windows XP Home Edition vs. Windows 98 and Me

Are Windows XP's new features worth the cost of upgrading? Find out how Windows XP measures up against Windows 98 and Me.

As you've probably heard, Microsoft has developed two versions of the new operating system: Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Home Edition. The Professional version is supposed to be an upgrade to Windows 2000 Professional, while the Home Edition version is an upgrade to Windows 98/Me.

If you're a home computer user, you're probably very curious about Windows XP Home Edition, considering that it follows closely on the heels of Windows Me. After all, Windows Me was widely touted as the ultimate home user operating system and recently made its debut on September 14, 2000. Should you plan on making the upgrade?

In this article, I'll take a look at some of the key features of the new Windows XP Home Edition operating system. As I do, I'll advise you as to whether the features warrant the cost of the upgrade.

Wizard Note: In taking a look at Windows XP Home Edition, I'm going to compare it to both Windows 98 and Windows Me. The reason is twofold: First, there are a lot of you out there still running Windows 98. Second, Windows XP Home Edition contains a lot of features first introduced in Windows Me.