I have both Pro and Home OEM versions. Bought both online for $135/$85 but you have to buy some hardware to get OEM price. They really mean like hard drive but most anything qualifies. I got Norton Utilities OEM for $30 and Roxio CD Creator OEM for $10 at the same time. It makes buying a little hardware a better deal. Did you actually read your Microsoft Win 95 or 98 manual? Everything is online now anyway.
In spite of all the Microsoft bashing, I have never had a more stable OS but I never used 2K. Both systems have been extemely stable for me and my AH frame rates went up when I switched from ME to XP Home. I have had maybe 2 or 3 BSOD in 18 months between two systems before getting everything tweaked. EDIT: XP is rather bloated and has security issues. I would suggest Service Pack 1, all critical updates and turning off what you don't need or want using:
http://www.blkviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htmBTW Pfunk is correct, you don't get any other apps even if you buy the retail version. OEM version does come with Free installation support. I actually used it on my first install ofthe Home version but it turned out to be a memory issue. No Charge.
