Windows XP or Windows 7 starter?

Monkey09

Hi,
Im planning on buying a laptop over the next few days. Ive narrowed my choices down to 2-One is Windows XP and the other is Windows 7 starter. Could anyone tell me which is the better option? Does windows XP have microsoft word?
Thanks in advance!

yoyo

Windows 7 Starter is very limited so I'd say XP, however Windows 7 is better and more secure than XP. Also neither XP or 7 will come with the full version of Office, a Trial version may be included, or a cut down version called works. But you can get a great (legally) free office suite LibreOffice at www.libreoffice.org

Nick

cookie1977

Have a look here for a comparison between windows 7 versions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7_editions
Starter is quite limited but maybe whats missing wont bother you too much. At a push if it's between the two and only the two you're talking about I'd still go for windows 7 starter.

laughter189

There is no support for Windows XP after Apr 2014 -

Its best to buy Windows 7 now .

Read this taken from Microsoft website :

Support lifecycle
Support for Windows XP without a service pack ended on September 30, 2004 and support for Windows XP Service Pack 1 and 1a ended on October 10, 2006

Windows XP Service Pack 2 was retired on July 13, 2010, almost six years after its general availability.
In accordance with Microsoft's posted timetable, the company stopped general licensing of Windows XP to OEMs and terminated retail sales of the operating system on June 30, 2008, 17 months after the release of Windows Vista. However, an exception was announced on April 3, 2008, for OEMs installing to ultra low-cost PCs until one year after the availability of windows 7 (October 22, 2010)

On April 14, 2009, Windows XP and its family of operating systems were moved from Mainstream Support to the Extended Support phase as it marks the progression of the legacy operating system through the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy. During the Extended Support Phase, Microsoft will continue to provide security updates every month for Windows XP; however, free technical support, warranty claims, and design changes are no longer being offered.

On April 8, 2014, all Windows XP support, including security updates and security-related hotfixes, will be terminated.

jahalpin

Windows XP and Windows 7 Starter are only avaliable on netbooks and not on full laptops.

Most laptops come with Windows 7 Home Premium which is a very good operating system and is probably the best desktop OS ever

As other posters have said, Microsoft Word is not included as part of Windows. However, if you or anyone in your household is a student (inc. primary and secondary) you can buy a full version of Microsoft Office 2010 for around 70euro from www.software4students.ie. A lot of stores also offer the full version of Office 2010 Home and Student for between 70 and 99 when you buy a laptop from them

Gadgetman496

jahalpin wrote: »

Windows XP and Windows 7 Starter are only avaliable on netbooks and not on full laptops.

Not true! See HERE

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Monkey09

Thanks so much for all the replies, very much appreciated!

Ok, this is probably a stupid question but what does it mean by saying that Windows XP will no longer be supported? I'm completely confused!

To be honest, my needs are very basic. The main purpose would be for using Skype (so a decent enough webcam would be a must!) and for some small internet surfing. So, i'm probably best buying a notebook.

The things is, i'm finding it next to impossible to find a notebook which has Windows 7 starter and a decent webcam.

Anyone have any suggestions?

cookie1977

Monkey09 wrote: »

Thanks so much for all the replies, very much appreciated!

Ok, this is probably a stupid question but what does it mean by saying that Windows XP will no longer be supported? I'm completely confused!

To be honest, my needs are very basic. The main purpose would be for using Skype (so a decent enough webcam would be a must!) and for some small internet surfing. So, i'm probably best buying a notebook.

The things is, i'm finding it next to impossible to find a notebook which has Windows 7 starter and a decent webcam.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Support means after that date if there's any bugs or problems (security related) with windows xp will probably not be fixed by microsoft. How about telling us the max amount of money you want to spend and what screen size you'd like and we'll post suggestions (maybe tomorrow from me anyway).

Monkey09

It sounds like having windows xp wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, if i have good anti-virus software then!

I'm looking for a screen size of about 10 or 10.1 as i need something portable for travelling!

My budget would be around 300e. Have done some research online and notebooks seem to be a bit cheaper there!