Only problem with that, Sandy, is that XP is almost not available now, at least here in Oz, and will not be supported by Microsoft whichever version you have at some time in the not far distant future. Most reports on 7 are of the opinion that it is far superior to Vista. I can't say that I have had any problems with support from Microsoft with OEM versions in the years I've been running with them (at least 7), so I could not be sure that it would be an issue for Bill. Mind you, I normally access the various forums for problem-solving: there are some very clued-up people out there, most more than willing to share their knowledge free of charge.
HTH John in Brisbane -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Sandy Harris Sent: Sunday, 23 May 2010 1:14 PM To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List Subject: Re: Stupid Windows Question On 5/23/10, William Robb <[email protected]> wrote: > Ok, I have the choice of buying Win 7 OEM or Win 7 Retail for half again > more money. What's the difference? I run Linux, consider it hugely superior to Windows for almost everything, and it is free. However, one place where it seems to be weak is photo processing. If I had to use Windows, I would not touch any version later than XP, because Vista and 7 include "features" designed to protect movie companies from the computer owner. As I see it, that is wasting resources and acting contrary to my interests. No thanks! But anyway, the retail & OEM versions should be effectively the same. The difference is licensing and support. The OEM versions are sold to PC makers (Dell, HP, ...) really cheap, but they come without Microsoft support. Want support? Talk to your vendor. According to MS's license, they should only be sold with a new PC, but they do turn up often on the open market. The difference you may need to watch for is Home vs Pro vs Server version. Often PCs. especially laptops, come with the cheaper Home version. Fine for some purposes, but if you want to use it on a network with network log in, say at the office, then you find that the Home version does not handle network authentication; you need to "upgrade" to the Professional version to do that. Then if you want to use network logins on your own network, you need at least one machine running the Server version. Pro can use network authentication, but only Server can provide it to other machines. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
