Windows 7 to Come in Six Delicious Flavors

[Lemur]

Once again with the Basic, Home, Pro and Ultimate, and variations on all and sundry. I don't even see a breakout for 64-bit; does that mean that every version of Windows 7 is 64-bit, or what, exactly?

The following will be the actual new SKUs for the OS:

• Windows 7 Starter (limited to three apps concurrently)
• Windows 7 Home Basic (for emerging markets)
• Windows 7 Home Premium (adds Aero, Touch, Media Center)
• Windows 7 Professional (Remote Desktop host, Mobility Center, Presentation mode)
• Windows 7 Enterprise (volume license only, boot from virtual drive, BitLocker)
• Windows 7 Ultimate (limited availability, includes everything)

This information has been confirmed by Microsoft... who never listens to us. At least most consumers will only see Home Premium and Professional options at retail, which is more akin to the XP options of yore, and means WMC will be "baseline" for most PCs.

[Xiahou]

Seriously, what is wrong with them? You know how many versions there should be?

1

I mean, XP was tolerable with Pro and Home (Pro was the only choice for me). But seven six flavors? Ugh.

[Lemur]

I find the descriptions quite unhelpful. Can Windows Home Premium join a domain, for instance? Which ones are 64-bit, or are all, or none, or what?

And what, exactly have they done with UAC, the most annoying pseudo-security feature in the history of man?

[Husar]

Well, since i have Vista Business I can tell you it does NOT have Windows media Center and does NOT have a DVD codec either, so I'm not sure Windows 7 Professional will have either of these like Home Premium does...
Amd yes, I agree, way too many versions.
I wonder which onegoes to MSDNAA though, Professional?

[Lemur]

But 7 flavors? Ugh.

It's six, actually, at least when we're talking about workstations. Let's not even go into server versions.

[Xiahou]

It's six, actually, at least when we're talking about workstations. Let's not even go into server versions.

Right, I think I transposed a Windows 7 '7' into the number of flavors while skimming the story...

[Lemur]

The Register struggles to make sense of the distros.

In the consumer space, customers outside of developing technology markets will get Premium edition, which Microsoft described as a "full function PC experience and visually rich environment."

Here, things start to look confused - and threaten to unravel for Microsoft.

Professional will be for people that work at home and need to connect to a secure corporate network and for small businesses that must manage an IT infrastructure. However, the company's made a fundamental assumption with the Professional edition about the sets of services those working from home or working for small businesses will want.

If such people work from home, outside the security of the corporate office, why wouldn't these customers want BitLocker to secure their machines?

That leads us to Ultimate. According to Microsoft, Windows 7 Ultimate will be for "a very small set of customers who want what everything that Windows 7 has to offer." These customers are "PC enthusiasts" that want features in the Enterprise edition such as BitLocker.

Problem is, Microsoft doesn't do "enthusiast" markets, so what's going on? It sounds more like Microsoft will try to up sell Professional users excluded from Enterprise edition

Then there's netbooks.

[naut]

They don't learn do they?

[Whacker]

@ Lemur's comic

Good god, I'd rather switch to something like OS400 before I'd use MacOS.

[Lemur]

@ Whacker: Just close your eyes and pretend the punchline is "Ubuntu," and then the hate will drain away.

[Whacker]

Lemur:Some relevant quotes. "Use your aggressive feelings, boy. Let the hate flow through you." "Your hate has made you powerful."

... and lastly...

"I'll never turn to the Dark Side."

Never shall the taint of MacOS stain my household. Thus is my creed! It is a bit easier to read the comic if I close my eyes and imagine he says "Ubuntu" or even "FreeBSD".

On topic, I have no idea why Microsoft is doing this nonsense, greed appears to be the only logical choice. It seems like more attempts to squeeze money out of individuals for the same thing they've been buying all along. If Vista Ultimate is the current example of MS's "fully featured" OS, then it'd be like what Flagship tried to pull with Hellgate: London. Sure, you buy the game and can play it online for free, but you had to pay a lame subscription to basically get all the good gear and features the game should have shipped with.

[TevashSzat]

On topic, I have no idea why Microsoft is doing this nonsense, greed appears to be the only logical choice. It seems like more attempts to squeeze money out of individuals for the same thing they've been buying all along. If Vista Ultimate is the current example of MS's "fully featured" OS, then it'd be like what Flagship tried to pull with Hellgate: London. Sure, you buy the game and can play it online for free, but you had to pay a lame subscription to basically get all the good gear and features the game should have shipped with.

Well, economically what Microsoft is doing is price discrimination.

By charging customers up to what they are willing to pay, they are halving the deadweight loss and adding it into their revenue.

Basically, the average joe may not be willing to pay for the "best" version of windows so they go for the starter or basic ones. The more tech savy or rich customers, though, are willing to pay more.

That way, Microsoft can maximize its profits. Making business sense, however, hardly means making common sense......

Same concept here as in Collector's Edition games and Limited Edition items and such

[Gregoshi]

And there are four different pictures that can be on each box. Collect 'em all!

[drone]

I guess I'll be the one to ask a stupid (yet potentially complicated) question. Say you get stuck with Vista on a computer you purchased lately because M$ no longer wants you to buy XP. Now, you have heard wonderful things about Windows 7 and hate Vista to it's very core. Can you purchase an upgrade package to 7? How much do you get charged to go from Vista SKU X to Windows 7 SKU Y?

[Lemur]

I don't think there's any upgrade pricing/availability info just yet. But even assuming they offer some sort of upgrade from Vista, isn't that normally done in a timeframe close to release? As in, "Buy Vista after Jun 3rd and get a coupon for a discount upgrade to Windows 7"?

[drone]

They had 98-to-XP upgrade packs for years, I thought. I haven't really seen too much demand for XP-to-Vista upgrades, since who in their right mind would trash a perfectly good XP licence (downgrades, on the other hand...). I've never actually used upgrade packs, since I would just get a whole new computer when moving to the next version. But with the short turnaround for Vista SP2 Windows 7, I would imagine several people wouldn't mind upgrading OS'es without getting new hardware.

If they do have upgrades, I'm just curious how they price Vista Cripple to 7 Ultimate, Vista Home 32 to 7 Premium 64, that kind of combinatorial mess.

[TevashSzat]

They had 98-to-XP upgrade packs for years, I thought. I haven't really seen too much demand for XP-to-Vista upgrades, since who in their right mind would trash a perfectly good XP licence (downgrades, on the other hand...). I've never actually used upgrade packs, since I would just get a whole new computer when moving to the next version. But with the short turnaround for Vista SP2 Windows 7, I would imagine several people wouldn't mind upgrading OS'es without getting new hardware.

If they do have upgrades, I'm just curious how they price Vista Cripple to 7 Ultimate, Vista Home 32 to 7 Premium 64, that kind of combinatorial mess.

IIRC, all new versions of Vista bought after July of this year will offer a free upgrade to Windows 7.

Not positive on this so I'd look it up somewhere first, but this should be right

[caravel]

This thread gives me a headache...

As to upgrades I wouldn't touch them, even Linux distribution upgrades are a bit of a lottery. Windows upgrade packs have always been a joke. Even upgrading using a full version is hit and miss. I've tried 2K to XP upgrades on many different machines, old and new, and about half work. The rest have various problems including various BSODs on start up. You usually get to the point where setup restarts the PC and that's it.

[Banquo's Ghost]

It appears that those who wish to upgrade from XP to 7 will need to completely wipe their hard drive.

“I can confirm that customers will be able to purchase upgrade media and an upgrade license to move from Windows XP to Windows 7 - however, they will need to do a clean installation of Windows 7,” a Microsoft flack confirmed to The Register.

“This requires the user to back up their data, install Windows 7, re-install the programs and restore their data. For PCs running Windows Vista customers have the option of an in-place upgrade of Windows 7 keeping their data and programs intact or to perform a clean install of Windows 7.”

Funny old system, is Windows.

[Lemur]

Well, if you're going to change Windows operating systems, you should do a clean install anyway. Ask anybody who's been in an IT department—"upgrading" a Windows OS is asking for trouble.

[CrossLOPER]

I think I'll stay with XP just a little bit longer... like maybe the next ten years. Of course, that's not counting my Vista laptop.

[Spino]

Why six flavors and not seven? Is MS afraid that a seventh version might break the seventh seal and usher in the apocalypse?

And which one of these flavors is deliciously lubed for my system's enjoyment?

[Tellos Athenaios]

The UAC supposedly has become more user friendly; proof of which: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02...c_attack_demo/

And I think I'll pass. For what it is worth: hardware wise there will be little to no incentive to upgrade from Vista, both are NT6 after all.