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#1
HomeGroup vs Workgroup
OK, so today at college I got into a huge debate with a peer of mine. Basically, for one of our courses, we had to demonstrate how to use a Windows 7 HomeGroup to share some files and establish some basic connectivity. We then had to connect a Windows XP machine to the HomeGroup. Basically, the argument I got into today was if a homegroup and a workgroup are seperate entities or the same thing under Windows 7. For example, my opinion was that of Windows 7 HomeGroups being a COMPLETELY seperate feature. It is proprietary to Windows 7 and no other operating systems can communicate in the way a HomeGroup does (password protection, sharing libraries, etc.). The opposing opinion was that a HomeGroup is just a Windows Workgroup re-named, basically saying that when Windows 7 creates a Homegroup, it creates a Workgroup CALLED "HomeGroup" and shares are treated as shares in a workgroup are. There's no password authetication or anything like that.
I would just like to ask you guys, the community, who has been with Windows 7 since Beta Build 7000 and settle the score between me and my classmate. My teacher was also of the opinion that a HomeGroup is just a Workgroup re-named and that a Windows XP machine would be able to connect to a Homegroup similarily to the way a Windows 7 machine would. I believe this incorrect and would like some feedback concerning this.
Thanks for your reply.