Windows XP Pro x64 Data Protection Features

I've been experimenting with the Windows XP Professional x64 Edition beta, a product that's surprisingly similar to its 32-bit cousin even though Microsoft only recently decided to add most of the functionality from the 32-bit version of XP Service Pack 2 (SP2).

Now due in the first half of 2005 along with the release of Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1), XP Pro x64 will include virtually all the features from XP Professional Edition (32-bit), except for the 16-bit subsystem that enables DOS application compatibility and various legacy protocols such as Apple Computer's AppleTalk and NetBEUI.

The current XP Pro x64 beta--the publicly available build 1218--is a curious amalgamation of Windows 2003 and XP SP2 with features from the XP Luna UI, the Bluetooth stack, XP SP2 Windows Firewall, and a few interesting new features that are specific to this release. For example, XP Pro x64 has 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE), presumably because none of the IE add-ons will work in the 64-bit version.

Read the full article about these features at Windows IT Pro