The Hidden Costs of XP Home Networking

In order to provide home and small business users with instantaneous networking solutions, Microsoft is including native support for Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) Internet gateways in Windows XP. Teaming up with leading manufacturers, the software giant is making certain that future product offerings remain UPnP compliant. This announcement underscores the software giant's push for small Windows XP powered networks.

According to today's press release, "Universal Plug and Play is a key
element in Microsoft's vision of home networking, in which smart devices, PCs and the services they provide are "peers" on a network and communicate via a digital information exchange." With UPnP compatibility, standalone devices connect seamlessly with one another even across multiple vendors. But despite embracing this industry initiative for fast and easy connectivity, Microsoft's own policies may add bottlenecks to the process.

Product Activation will be required for standalone copies of Windows XP, meaning one copy of the operating system cannot be deployed across multiple computers. While Microsoft licenses have always held this caveat, it was never truly enforced and Windows users have become un-accustomed to that requirement.

Although volume licensing is open to businesses, no plans exist to offer home users the same level of options or flexibility. When businesses purchase five or more copies of Windows, they are not required to activate each individual installation. Microsoft product manager Marc Croft told BetaNews, "We continue to evaluate different licensing and packaging options for Windows in the future. However, currently we do not have any committed plans for a 'Home Network Pack' or similar for Windows XP at launch/availability."

This leaves home users who purchase Internet Gateways with the expensive task of purchasing multiple Windows licenses for each computer in their home network. Despite this inconsistency, Microsoft continues to tout the capabilities of Windows XP to provide enhanced solutions for connectivity problems that may be encountered in a home environment.

Microsoft's vice president of Windows
Networking and Communications Jawad Khaki claims, "Windows XP is designed to enable the digital world by providing powerful yet simple
connectivity for both home and business. The broad industry support of Windows XP and UPnP will make it incredibly easy for people to get the
most out of a high-speed Internet connection."

While no distinction is made between home and small business applications, home users will end up paying more for the same technology. Regardless of any benefits offered by the integration and support of home networking into the operating system, licensing technicalities will undoubtedly throw a hitch into the end user experience.

Nate Mook contributed to this article.