Comments on: Microsoft boxes up Vista

Six versions of Microsoft's next operating system are being prepped and polished for launch in the second half of 2006.

[msims]

Most home users only need Vista Premium

This should simplify the confusion:

http://news.com.com/Chart+Six+versions+of+Windows+Vista/2009-1016_3-6043243.html?tag=cd.top

IMHO most users would only need Vista Premium becuase the Basic and Starter lack the media and Areo Glass UI and only run in a 32-bit system.

Vista Premium runs in both 32 and 64-bit environments and its the only version home users would ever need.

As for the other editions Windows Vista Business, Enterprise and Ultimate who needs them but only businesses themselves.

[dingleberry420]

xp pro

My xp pro box does everything I need it to. Email, Web, Video Editing, GAMES, Business Apps. I won't be buying Vista unless MS sticks a gunto my head and cancels support for XP(even then I may still run it for the games).

Until another good option is available for games (no consoles please), then I will stick with what I got and save my money.

[Robert G K]

I agree

My idea was to have plugin or addons you you can buy, if you just want the regular windows, but in a month or two you decide you want media center you just buy the addon for example.

I like your thought though, but the problem with that is that when you buy windows your buying the version with everthing but options are locked. Now MS would probably be afraid someone would find a way to unlock it and then everyone would have all the options. Thats the only problem I see. My thought you buy from a store or download from the Microsoft online store the options you want.

Although they would propbably make a seperate activation code for each option and if you did find out how to unlock it you wouldn't be able to update like with windows now. I think one of the ideas would be good. It would make it better for us because we can buy a version of windows and if we need more functions we don't have to buy another version to get those functions, we just buy them seperately.

I thought I read MS was thinking of selling windows in moduels anyway, I guess decided not to.

[jamie.p.walsh]

Tablet/MCE hybrid....

touchscreen jukebox?

[Chung Leong]

No, you will get the new GUI

You just won't get the Glass interface in the Vista Basic: translucent menus, 3D effects, etc.

[thedaddy54]

Too Many Versions - Confusing

I need XP Pro to run a few business apps that will not run on XP Home for my high performance laptop. However I would also like the features of Media Center when I'm at home and no one could answer whether the apps worked under XP Media Center.

Vista will have the same problems. I'm confused already about which version I will need to use. Should it be Home Premuim or Ultimate? Business sounds like it's missing some pieces and Enterprise won't work since I only have 2 computers.

The decision is simple. I'll just stick with XP Pro and have dedicated computer for each purpose. The idea of a "one-size fits all" business computer/OS combination remains an elusive goal due to the vagaries of MS operating systems.

[R. U. Sirius]

Microsoft - I will NOT upgrade

Sorry Redmond, but you have lost me as a customer. I will not upgrade to your overpriced DRM infested operating system. The next OS that goes on my PC will either be Linux or Solaris. I have been able to find programs to replace all those that I currently use on XP, and am evaluting which OS I like better on my older machine.


Oh yeah, Mac users, I might end up buying a Mac as well.

[City_Of_LA]

That's ok Ru

I'll be paying for my first Windows OS EVER when Vista ships. I'll be stepping into your shoes buddy. They don't lose anything.

[System Tyrant]

I saw only three viable options...

Vista Starter - I think this is a good idea since most third world countries aren't going to be running the latest hardware.

Vista Home - No need for more than one version.

Vista Pro - Ok doesn't really exist, but I see no need for stripped version of the top end version. Just another way to make money.

***

My personal opinion is that you only need two versions.

Vista Starter

Vista Pro

Sure home users don't need all the pro version features, but why you can always just not use them.

[jerrellt]

Three options--I agree

I see the same thing. In fact, could not MS give the user the option of installing certain features?

For example, if I'm in an corporate environment, and I configure a new pc for my users, then there should be options in the setup to turn off features like media center, music, etc.

Similar to MS Office, have a customized options of features to be installed or not instead of selling us extra versions.

[hutchman77]

What About Catching UP?

Has M$ even made a dent on the enterprise side of getting
business' to even adopt XP mainstream. I don't think they've
made a good argument to get business that live on Win2k to
switch to XP, not to mention Vista. They've had 7 years to get
Win2k users to switch to XP, looks like a marketing failure on M$
part. 7 years, and you get 6 versions, they might as well put a
coin operation on the side of the computer and have "pay per
use" on it, and you'd get a refund everytime the system would
crash. But then M$ would go in the hole, oh well. And to all
those who for some sick reason desire to install Vista on a Mac,
that kind of desicration is like putting a Chevy 350 in a
Mustang-GT.

[technewsjunkie]

PREVIOUSLY they said they were REDUCING the versions

PREVIOUSLY they said they were REDUCING the number of versions
of Windows "Due to complexity and end user confusion"

I guess they no longer beleive it causes end user confusion and
versioning complexity.

Hmm.

[Joe Blow]

Who Cares? Most People/Businesses Aren't Going to Upgrade ...

they're going to do what has become the time-honored tradition of using whatever comes on the next computer they buy. There's nothing compelling in Vista for the average Joe (or even the above-average one ;) ) not to mention all those businesses and government agencies still running Windoze 98, despite all of Microsloth's claims to the contrary - unless you want fixes for the things that were delivered broken in XP to begin with, which should have engendered a bunch of class action lawsuits by now. I guess the lawyers who would work on those are still pounding away at the hundreds of suits still circulating as a result of the conviction on Abuse of Monopoly Power (I didn't realize the little guy in the top hat on the board game wielded so much power!).

Until Vista ships, I'll just have to make do with the same or better features already available in OS X and Linux (and for the Microslothie trolls here, I develop software that doesn't care what OS it runs on, so I already know all about the "wonderful" things yet to come out of Redmond, and I'm already dealing with them in the Vista Betas, thank you very much).

I do wonder why there was never an XP Ultimate Edition that fixed all those hundreds of critical vulnerabilities still floating around out there? Ah, that's right, gotta change the name, but sell the same old gas, ala Esso/Exxon.

Your mileage may vary; do not spindle, fold, or mutilate, batteries not included; postage and manhandling extra ...

All the Best,
Joe Blow

[nonstopdoc1]

Waiting to buy Vista tablet.....

I dont care what mac fanboys say. MS is lightyears ahead of apple in tablets but they will still claim that only company thats innovative is apple. People who use tablets know what I am talking about. And I dont mind built in media center capabilities (I use XPMCE everyday). And also It's always nice to have options.

[Llib Setag]

Newton 2200 Tablet Computer

Been There, Done That YEARS & YEARS AGO from Apple.
Without Apple's innovation there simple would not be a Tablet PC...period.

The Newton evolved into the Palm PDA from ex-Apple people starting up Palm OS & PDAs.

Also, as a techno-Seattle person I have only seen about a dozen Tablet PC's being used. TOO EXPENSIVE,fragile & poor handwriting recognition.

IF you're Citizen Gates, Big Brother Balmer or Paul Seahawks Allen, then they just for you.

Seattle Riddle:
Q: Why does Citizen Gates live next to Lake Washington?
A: So he can walk on water to Redmond.

[System Tyrant]

Tablet PC's...

I know a couple of people with tablet PC's. They hate them. They took them back and got laptops.

Me personally, I think they are pretty neat idea. Of course I see no reason for Apple to make one. What would you run on one? Most people I know that use Apples are musicians and graphic artist and they don't have much use for tablet PCs.

One of the people that hates them is a graphics designer and thought it would be good for that sort of thing or even doing sketches out on the road. According to her it just doesn't work for that sort of thing. She took it back and got a new Powerbook and a drawing tablet.

I think it's kind of funny in one respect. You spend all you time telling people not to touch their LCD screens and then they get a tablet PC and start writing all over them.

[No invasion of privacy]

Microsoft Boxes Up the iPod

Imagery speaks so much louder than words:

http://www.youtube.com/w/microsoft%20ipod%20packaging%
20parody?v=VAGr3mVVUwE

[sderf]

vista

Can we have one with out IE built in it?
If I want let me losd it seperate from the OS
Thanks
Fred

[darrius3365]

new computers

Since most people will probably be introduced to Windows Vista via new computers (since there are a ton of people out there with 98/ME/whatever), I don't think the multiple version thing won't be that big of a deal.

The cheap computers will come with Basic and the heftier models will come with Premium, Ultimate, whatever.

[Llib Setag]

NEWS FLASH !

AstlaVistaOS will take ONE GIG OF RAM to run a full capacity people.
No "basic beige no-name box" will work with Shorthorn/Vista.

IF you want Vista OS & all the "new fangled modern super cool features " (i.e. Mac OSX) then Citizen Gates is making sure you HAVE to upgrade in to new, bigger, Intel Crates or you're outta luck Partner!

[ServedUp]

Absolute Mess.

What a mess of a pricing model. Its obvious they want to ring every
penny from me. I hope its secure as they tout it or else, I won't buy
another product from them as long as I live.

[steven.randolph]

Not a Microsoft Basher

Just to be clear, I was not "bashing" Micro$oft, as one writer accused, when I criticised their decision to market Vista in umpteen different versions. I was merely trying to state that this would be a very poor marketing decision on their part.

I think when I want to really "bash" a company or product, you'll darn well know it.

[BruceLawrence]

Don't kid yourself

I tend to agree with you to an extent. I bet you my next paycheck however that there is a core version of this OS and from there on out, all we are buying are "feature packs" and they simply relabel the OS with "Pro" or "MCE".

Come on... in the basic basic versio you can only open 3 windows at one time? You think they rewrote the OS for that? Its probably the same OS as Pro but with limitations placed on it. Infact it will probably be hacked to unlock this limitation.

I have no reason to believe that Microsoft is smart enough to actually compile 6 different versions of this OS and have it work properly.

[BruceLawrence]

woops....

Sorry, that was meant to be posted as a reply to a thread further down.

Apologies.

[waywardvariable]

I wouldn't be so sure

One would think that any changes to the Kernel and the low level OS Components from Edition to Edition would be minimal if any, I would however expect significant changes in the userland binaries and libraries to accomplish some of the things on the list of differentiated features that they've published for Vista, in other words I don't think it's going to be a simple "add these files, overwrite those, change these registry values and you go from Edition X to Ultimate Edition"...one would suspect that their is going to be some tying of editions to activation keys and some post activation key checking or some such.

The "starter" 3 apps at once thing is a bit perplexing though, I can understand watering down the low end edition for differentiation and value creation reasons, but this one seems a little ridiculous, one that begs the question, "Why the heck would anyone want to use this and not just grab one of those pirated copies (that M$ is attempting to fend off in the 3rd world) or just go ahead and use a Linux or a BSD? I think they may have went in the wrong direction on that one....

[David Arbogast]

Clueless People

Leave it to CNet to turn a product announcement into a perpetual waterfall of uninformed anti Microsoft comments.

Yes, Vista will have 6 versions.

So did XP.

The difference, is that XP versions were based upon specific hardware configurations. The Vista versions are based upon how users interact with their computer.

Clearly, this is an improvement over the previous strategy.

More information on each version is available on the Vista web site, and is discussed here:
http://inaniloquent.com/PermaLink.aspx?guid=3710e93e-063d-4b93-b79b-e8c5f72c374f

[H Voyager]

Hardware config had reason

This, really, doesn't.

About the only reason for MS to be doing this, is because they're trying to sell both an operating system and a utilities/media/whatever suite in the same box. I know for businesses, it makes a certain amount of sense, to have a one stop shop, but for the rest of us it is like the old joke about building something you can sit in, sleep on, and brush you teeth with.

Harry Voyager