there are two sides to this coin.

one side is that of microsoft, who wants to include everything in its os. The other side, are allt he software companies, that lose tons ofmoney when microsoft includes programs for people to use.

XP home and XP pro while having the same underlying structure, are fairly different behind the scenes.

Now as far as software is concerned. you want photo editing software you get photoshop or paint shop pro. Microsoft can't compete with these products.

as far as anything else, you can easily get the software you need and have it work great.

XP comes with many drivers built in for many devices. Very old devices may be out of luck, but in some cases a windows nt or 2000 driver can work.

I happen to like XP a lot. it is very stable from my experience, runs plenty fast, and I havent had a problem doing everything I have wanted to do.

The computer manufacturer, is not required to bundle any software witht heir systems, and microsoft is not required to bundle anything with the os. They do bundle somethings because they like to include them int he os, but for the most part, thats how it is.

Tell ya what, go buy a brand new Mac, and tell me what software it comes with... hardly any, if any at all. I have had client's who bought brand new macs, and it didnt even come with a word processor.

So before you go knocking anyone, take a look at what is included with various computers. the manufacturers usually bundle software with the OEM version of the OS they are licensed to use. But they choose what to bundle.

Alon

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'92 300CE - Sold
2004 C240 - 744 - C7 Wheels - Android Radio
2002 C320 - 816 - Sport Wagon