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No, I'm not talking about architectural features. I'm talking about Microsoft's ubiquitous operating system and office suite. I get questions from people all the time about Windows and whether or not it comes with Office. I completely understand the confusion because Microsoft uses idiotic naming schemes to describe their products.
Of course, Windows XP is the operating system. It comes in two flavors - Home edition and Professional. Usually, XP Professional is used in business environments because it's better suited for large networks. Chances are any computer you have at home has Windows XP Home.
Microsoft Office is Microsoft's Office Suite. It includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and sometimes Outlook (email), Access (a database application), Frontpage (web design, or a few other business-oriented applications depending on the version you have. These days, if you have Office you have one of four versions - Office 97, 2000, XP, or 2003. You can see how things can get confusing with this naming scheme.
Instead of Office, your computer may have come with Microsoft Works Suite. This is a very scaled-down version of Office that includes the full version of Word, a simple database, contact manager, Encarta Encyclopedia, Microsoft Money, and Picture It! (an image editor).
The key thing to realize is that Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Office are two totally independent pieces of software. Just because you have Windows XP, does not mean you have Office. Office is very expensive and almost never comes with a computer package unless you specifically ask for it (and you will be charged a hefty fee). Don't ever buy Office with a computer purchase. This is where computer vendors make a lot of their money. You can always buy it cheaper online. The cheapest Office edition is Student and Teacher edition which you can easily find for $125 online.
