Comments on: Windows 7 will come in many flavors

The software maker plans to focus on two editions--Home Premium and Professional--but will offer at least four more versions in some parts of the world.

[protagonistic]

Once again Microsoft proves greed will trump common sense.

[AStrangis]

According to Paul Thurrott's coverage at http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/win7_skus.asp there are only 5 SKUs. I don't see any mention of Home Basic anywhere. Only Home Premium and Professional (both which include Media Center) will be targeted at retailers.

[stevent1992]

I find it particularly sad that MS thinks they need to market an "Ultimate" version. Why the hell does the market need any more than just TWO product editions that are capable of satisfying the needs of both home and business users?

[rapier1]

Something to keep in mind is that there are multiple classes of business users. IPv6 over IPSec mobile connectivity just isn't going to appeal to the smaller companies or those without a predominately mobile user base.

[the_ricochet]

@AStrangis

Look towards the end of Thurott's article under "But wait, there's more". He mentions Home Basic there.

[xZero2007x]

@Astrangis:
"Unlike with Vista, however, the Home Basic version will be sold only in emerging markets." Credit: This article, Cnet.
Please learn how to read. Unless Paul Thurrott's a foreigner whose country fits the 'emerging markets' requisite, then you're not going to see the Basic SKU. And I took a gander at his site--at a glance, I couldn't find anything to give me a hint on where he's from, but from the way he types and the amount of info he has, I doubt so.

@protagonistic:
I lol'ed.

[Nataku4ca]

@stevent1992

Ultimate makes some of us that are loaded feel good...

(spending money is actually stress reliefing sometimes lol)

[Mark_Anderson]

ITT there are two kinds of people. Those who realise that this is a non-issue and pinheads.

[superswiss]

What I wanna know is if 7 Home Premium is getting Remote Desktop Support unlike Vista Home Premium. This was very upsetting to the Media Center community, because XP Media Center Edition was based on XP Professional and included Remote Desktop support. Especially since Windows Home Server provides Remote Desktop access from anywhere on the Internet to any of your PCs at home, but only if the OS edition supports Remote Desktop. Sort of a pointless feature in Windows Home Server as most home users run Home Basic or Home Premium.

[getwired]

Don't count on it. That's a fundamental shift in the product. RDP will most certainly be >= Pro.

[catch23]

Try Live Mesh.
Offers remote desktop (well, something like it) on Vista home, xp, whatever.
It still is a beta and a little flaky, but all around pretty good.

[Squashman2]

I felt the same way about Windows Home Server. They made it this direct point of access for everything on your network and advertised it as being an easy way to remote into your network and into other computers on your network. Problem is you still needed XP Pro or a Version of Vista that support RDP to do it. Most people who are going to use Windows Home Server are people who use Vista Premium and XP Home.

[Zen-Masta]

VNC works great on windows xp, on vista there is Ultra VNC. I haven't used Ultra VNC myself but I heard it's pretty similar to VNC

[superswiss]

catch23,
Yes, Live Mesh is cool. I've been using it since the tech preview. Problem with Live Mesh Remote Desktop is that it's going through servers at Microsoft's data center. It's not a direct connection like it is with Windows Home Server. Therefore, if Live Mesh is having issues I can't get to my machines. Happens all the time especially since this is all still in Beta. Also, the connection setup is terribly slow compared to Remote Desktop through Windows Home Server. I have my Home Premium hacked to support RDP, but I'm looking for official support. I'm not going to pay $150 for an upgrade to Ultimate, just to get RDP and to make Windows Home Server work as advertised. In my mind I've already paid for that feature when I bought my Windows Home Server.

[sting7k]

Really, who cares?

[Super2online]

If you don't care, don't comment!

[Random_Walk]

This is insane. One of the large reasons why Vista failed is that it came in too many versions. Many applications vendors will be forced to write for the lowest common denominators (and ignore trying to leverage the more premium features), or be forced to write multiple versions of their products or to ignore large market segments. Many people expected all of the eye candy in Ultimate, but were disappointed when they tried to see it in Home Basic or even Home Premium.

This is part of why Linux is facing a hard time being adopted, due to the multiplicity of distributions for each market segment. Apple will see easier adoption because it only has one version for computers, one version for mobile devices, and one version for servers (XServe). Each of these three are logical market segments, where it makes sense to differentiate. Logical segments based on artificial divisions like money is stupid with a commodity product like an operating system.

I sincerely hope they change their minds.

[getwired]

And Apple will, justifiably, mock Microsoft for the decision to continue with the Baskin Robbins approach to marketing...

[scifiend]

You could be right, but I thought vista failed because it was a resource hog and it's DRM. Its funny how I used UBUNTU to recover files from my windows box when the registry got all messed up...

I have an intel mac too and I'm really annoyed with OSX because all the applications do everything in a way that takes up more space than needed and impedes access by other non apple applications...same problem with Itunes and the ipod the interface gets in the way of a good product. I hope linux wins out in the end or the duopoly decides to become more open.

[timber2005]

Haha, you seem to know nothing. Developers who develop and test an app on Vista Ultimate will have it work the same way as it would on Home Basic. You won't get transparencies in Basic, but apps are supposed to support non-transparency mode for laptops that disable it when using battery, and for XP backwards compatabilty.

Home Premium HAD the eye candy... no one without the right hardware missed it out of the box.

[adamzpocketnow]

Vista Home Premium had all the eye candy of Ultimate. The only difference was that Ultimate was also able to connect to Active Directory domains and a few other things.

This tiered approach to different versions of Windows makes sense to me. If there was one version of Windows that did everything, everybody would complain that it's bloated and confusing. This way, people who don't need to connect to a Windows 2008 Server in their workplace, have no need to buy the Ultimate version. People who don't need to connect to an AD domain don't need to buy Professional. People who want something that can run on a really inexpensive netbook might want a version of Windows appropriate for that.

Nobody complains about being able to choose different models of cars that have different types of features. How would you like it if there was only one type of car that you could buy?

[Random_Walk]

scifiend, This is why I mentioned it as only one reason, but not the only reason :) I also have a great desire for a more diversified market, since this would force all players to improve and refine.

timber2005, you forget that the programmer has to deal with feature sets. I am not talking about the user interface or windowing functions in this case, which should already be taken care of by the OS. I am talking of things like Active Directory support, Remote Desktop connectivity, networking functions, and similar sets just to name a few. If there is a desired feature set in Ultimate (as example) that does not exist in Home Basic, the developer either has to parallel that functionality for the crippled version users, set the requirements for "Ultimate" (or whichever), or simply go without it. You also misconstrue what was written. Home users see advertisements and demonstrations showing the eye candy, and buy a computer online with those same expectations, but do not get it. Apple has made it even harder for Microsoft to get away with this because OSX simply gives you everything, with no crippling or missing features because of price. To a typical consumer, a computer is a computer yes, but they expect the slickness.

[DrtyDogg]

Was XP a failure? It came in more versions than 7 will.

[BigGuns149]

Windows XP came in (Home, Pro, Pro x64, Tablet PC, Media Center, Starter) six versions! There are a couple more if you include the N versions in Europe. Furthermore, we aren't even considering the different media types (OEM, retail, volume licensing etc.)! When you get down to it the concept of numerous copies of Windows is NOT new! Repeat after me: Microsoft has been doing tons of different versions for well over a decade and that didn't stop people from buying Windows. The whole too many versions made people not buy Vista is BS. There were plenty of other real or imagined issues with Vista that have slowed its' uptake to a far greater degree.

I think the bigger issue imo isn't the difference between Vista Home Premium and Business or Ultimate, but rather the difference between 64 bit and 32 bit. Microsoft has completely messed up with their implementation of a 64 bit OS. 64-bit Vista doesn't have have half of the issues that people had with XP Pro x64, but there are several programs I have found that run in 32-bit Vista that don't run in 64-bit Vista, which is simply lame. Most stuff that works in the 32 bit version works in the 64 bit, but I think there is still too much software that doesn't work in the 64 bit environment that works in the 32 bit environment.

I agree with your point that Windows Vista had too many versions, but realistically I don't see there being a problem with there being three versions of Windows: Home, Business, and Ultimate(a combination of Home and Business for the ~1% of the population who actually need it or have more money than brain). I sold computers for years and the vast majority of customers don't need to buy the more expensive tiers of XP *or* Vista and unless Microsoft cripples their Home versions in some crazy way most people won't need to go spend more. Heck, when I read off the list of features that Microsoft highlights for one to upgrade to their business versions of Windows (XP Pro/ Vista Business/ Vista Enterprise) I find that even some business owners don't have neither a need or in some cases even a want for the features in the higher tiers of Windows. Sure most enterprise customers and even some medium size business are going to be using be using some of the network features (eg. Active Directory), but there are some small business owners that I met who never saw their business growing to the point of seeing the value in such features.

If Microsoft eliminated every desktop version save for Ultimate the price for most consumers would go up if Microsoft was trying to maintain the same profits. Anyone expecting MS to simply cut the profit margins for their most profitable division is smoking something and it isn't tobacco. Unless you are a user of Ultimate or Business you probably would end up paying more under such a plan. If you told joe six pack that Windows would be 20 bucks more, but he would now get Active Directory, domain based networking, and BitLocker he honestly would think that the offer sucked because he isn't going to use any of those features.

[tm_anon]

When I checked the Ubuntu website before I downloaded it and installed, I saw 3 versions of the software, just 3. There was 8.04 LTS (Long Term Support), 8.10 and Server editions. Granted, there was a server edition for each of them, so I guess you could say there were actually 4 versions, but since 8.04 and 8.10 are different releases, that's like counting Windows 7 as Windows Vista.

Anyway, Linux in and of itself has variations, I agree. Most of those variations just do things differently and can technically be classified as a different OS, just much more compatible with each other than you're used to. If you count Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Edubuntu, Geubuntu or any of those other variations as different versions, they're just different in looks. It's like saying Windows with a different task bar is a completely new version without changing anything else.

Anyway, that was my only problem with your comment.

[jture]

The company should change their name to Micro$$$oft.

Mac OS X comes in one nice neat version, thank you very much.

[john55440]

"Mac OS X comes in one nice neat version" With a miniscule 3% worldwide market share, and a lack of participation in many market areas, Mac OSX doesn't need multiple versions.

[xcal78]

A$$pple is the same on hardware as Micro$$oft is to software. Both companies dig out every penny they can from consumers without reguard to the economy. Neither will lower it's prices a bit. I see no difference between either company being money hungry vultures. The sad part is the alternative is Linux and that's no viable atlernative so you have Apple or Microsoft. Pick the lesser of 2 evils just like politics. Overall the TCO (Total cost of ownership) is cheaper with Microsoft with more application support but overall Apple is a far better and more stable OS and hardware. I have to pick Microsoft for pure money reasons as cheaper is better with the down economy plus a PC will be outdated in a few years with very little ROI (Return on investment) for home. If Apple is more competative when my PC is ready to update I'll switch to Apple at home. A small premium for an Apple is acceptable but it's too large of a gap to stomach currently.

[NErancher]

"The sad part is the alternative is Linux and that's no viable atlernative"
For some yes, others no. Linux only for 3 years in my household. I plug in my printer, it works, camera, mp3, same thing, no drivers to fuss with, just maybe an ok to verify what was plugged in. I can surf, edit photos, video, and play what little games I need. I can run updates and keep current with the latest things, or if I want to do a complete reinstall, 10 minutes later, I'm mostly set up, sound, video, everything configured. Also, no need to touch a command line on my setup, if I don't want to, to get things working. I never have to scan for viruses, I've never had a fatal crash that caused data loss, or the system not to boot. And it can work on many if not most normal computers, even really old ones. So yes, it is a viable alternative, for SOME. Emphasis on SOME, not ALL.

[Zen-Masta]

Yeah and the majority of mac users also buy their point release upgrades at what, $150 a pop? So yeah just keep adding up all the different versions of OSX that have come out and the scales do tip.

[timber2005]

OS X comes in THREE versions.
1 for Mac desktops and MacBooks
1 for iPhone and iPod Touch (this one should indeed be counted... it IS mac osx no matter how you spin it)
1 that has been modified to install on everything else :p

[ferretboy88]

Price Apple Ram and SSD drives compared to Lenovo. It was a $500 more for the ram and $400 for the SSD. Those were both on the top models of laptops. Apple charges $600 for DDR3 ram(4GB) and Lenovo $110. Who is greedy?

[rapier1]

Actually there is OS X Server as well. Are they still selling that?

[random truth]

@rapier
I think they still sell it. But hardly anyone uses it because of a thing called linux...

[rapier1]

@Random

Well I was trying to point out that there are multiple flavors of OS X as well. And its not that people aren't using OS X server because linux exists. I think its more that OS X server is mostly pointless and was pretty far behind the times when it was introduced (vis a vis the server market at least). If OS X Server was better I'm sure people would be using it.

[g-101]

I'm no fan of any of them...they all have problems. One reason Mac comes with more is because the iMac starts at $1,100. Why not just get their top of the line iMac for $2,200 and it still only comes with 2GB of RAM. if you decide you want to make your Mac faster next year... Oops I guess I need to buy a new one. You can buy a PC for less than $399 and put any operating system you want on it and upgrade for next to nothing when you want to.
It's easy to build an operating system for only 1 type of hardware and limited software like the Apple. Try building an operating system for thousands of different pieces of hardware and thousands of applications like Windows or Linux. To be honest the problem with most operating systems is not the OS but the applications themselves that are poorly written that we install.

[Microsoft_Cares]

Personally I dont see a big deal about it. Most consumers wont go for starter. Home premium is the equivelent of XP Home. Pro would be XP Pro, Enterprise will be sold to the enterprise. And then ultimate if you want everything

[catch23]

You are quite right. Started isn't even available in the US.
Home basic should be done away with, however. It is just useless.
You can, however, tell the desperation of the Ant-MS crowd, if they feel the need to complain so loudly about something so trivial.
Kind of funny, actually.

[rapier1]

Home Basic won't be on sale in the US either.

[Jeremy_R_Chappell]

I think this is actually quite a pain. Personally I think Microsoft would be better served if they limited the number of SKUs much more. You could give options for "typical" use though. imagine if I install on a "low power PC" it might make sense for the system to install something that feels like Home Basic. But there is real confusion about what all the versions mean. There seems no justification for "Ultimate" - and "Home Basic"/"Home Premium" was just a sneeky way to raise prices ("Home Basic" cost the same as XP Home - "Home Premium" cost more - did anyone want "Home Basic"? This is just a price rise.)

I think Microsoft should look at this again.

[BigGuns149]

@ Jeremy_R_Chappell: Ultimate is for the <1% of people who want media center and all the networking goodies (Active Directory, domain based networking, etc) and the people who have more money than common sense.

As for the higher price of Home Premium I don't consider it that outrageous if you consider that Microsoft hadn't released a version of Windows in ~5.5 years and didn't change the price a penny in that time even though almost everything else around us was going up in price. The cost of Windows is only slightly outpacing inflation. I agree that they arguably haven't made sufficient improvements to justify the price increase, but I think you have far more outrage than seems reasonable.

[nyurbiz]

MS = idiots.

[Super2online]

Idiots=commenters that don't realize they fall into that catagory.

[random truth]

idiots = people with low intelligence

[cwlqwp]

it makes perfect sense, especially since most consumers will only have three choices, home premium, Professional, and Ultimate(not counting ones stripped down for legal reasons). Its pretty self explanitory, home for home use, professional for small business, and Ultimate for those who want the best of everything for no reason at all.

[john55440]

As the article points out, "expect almost all PCs sold in the U.S. to come with either the Home Premium or Professional editions of the operating system." Claims that multiple versions create consumer confusion are silly. OEMs install the appropriate version - end of story.

[Renegade Knight]

OEM's install a version that may or may not be the right versino from you. Then they normally don't give you a choice, or if they do it's only two of them instead of 7.

[Jeremy_R_Chappell]

What's the difference between a "Home Laptop" and a "Business Laptop"? Not so easy is it?

In Vista the disk encryption was only available in Ultimate (if your hardware supported it) - why isn't this a Business feature?!

For OEMs this is a pain, you'd like ONE version. A lot of features don't fit neatly into these boxes, and a lot of people use their computers for work AND recreation, this isn't as simple as you think.

[rmva]

This is very upsetting news. The only thing more upsetting is that paint stores sell way too many colors of paint. They should stick to three or four. Much simpler. Less confusing.

[Sausagebiscuit]

well... primary colors would be enough, no?

[battmail]

Six versions, what are they thinking after the marketing nightmare of Vista! No matter how good Windows 7 is this is going to be trouble. I think someone in Microsoft management can't let go of some preconceived and obviously failed ideas.

One version please, Two at the most...

[xcal78]

I 100% agree that Vista has too many versions and was very confusing. I'd say sell 1 version with multiple installation keys. If you use X key you unlock it into Business version. If you use Y key it unlocks to Home or Z key unlocks to Pro. Make all options between the versions purchaseable online with an add-on key.

[cwlqwp]

@xcal78

it already works like that pretty much, same disk can be used to install any version. it depends on your key

[rapier1]

@xcal78,

Did you read the article?
"Windows 7, despite its many versions, will actually come as a single piece of code, or image. That means all the features will come loaded onto a Windows 7 PC, ready to be unlocked with an upgrade product key."

[timber2005]

If you aren't a in an underdeveloped nation, you'll only get to see 3 versions. Premium, Professional, and Ultimate.
I think three is acceptable. As as you said "Two at the most", well... all consumers are going to be worried about is 2.

Enterprise is Ultimate for Corporations who wish to chose what is installed (extremely customizable at install, but after its the same)

[Zen-Masta]

I don't see where you are getting six unless you are counting the 64bit counterpart. Personally I think they should skip 32bit with win 7 but as far as confusion goes I think people really over dramatize it. The people that would "get confused" aren't going to know that there is a 32/64 bit version. In the event they try ordering online from dell or some other OEM In many cases there is a simple paragraph or sentance explaining the difference. If they buy from bestbuy or circuitcity (RIP) they typically buy what looks cool for the right price. If they really have a question about it, the sales associates answer it.Boom end of confusion that lasted what, 30 seconds?

[make_or_break]

Emerging markets:
Starter
Home Basic

Developed markets (consumer)::
Home Premium
Professional
Ultimate

Corporate:
Enterprise

That's how you come up with six.

[DigitalAngelic]

@battmail:

People in emerging markets can't afford to buy Home Premium. Thus, Starter and Home Basic. Enterprise is only available as a volume license. Customers only have to choose between those three consumer editions, and that's a pretty clear choice.

[michael_anand]

Ridiculous reasoning behind trying to hawk the home basic or starter version in emerging markets. People will still find it cheaper to buy a pirated copy of home premium for example, rather than fork out X dollars for a genuine copy.

I grew up in South East Asia, and the majority of people there use pirated copies of Windows and Office because they don't see why they have to spend almost as much on software as they did on the hardware. That is the mentality over there, unfortunately. A better way to curb piracy to start making it worth while to connect to MS. Silly example here, but if genuine Windows users had access to a download site, much like iTunes, where they could not only get their updates, but also browse free apps, then those who can actually afford to buy Windows wouldn't still go to the boot leg shops scattered all over malls in this part of the world.

Also, if Windows 7 only has 1 'image', doesn't that mean all versions will take up similar amounts of hard disk space? Seems like a waste of time and space to me. Why install something I neither want nor have access to?

[likexx]

Agree. I don't think anyone in this world will use a "starter" version. Well, actually all people in China use "ultimate" version for vista (if they are using). They do purchase legitimate copy, as for some large corporation or government when they buy PC from Lenovo/IBM/Dell/HP...They simply replace those "basic" "enterprise" with pirated "Ultimate" version.

A more practical solution is not to provide "language pack" for Chinese. Instead, build a standalone Chinese Win7 and sell it at a low price, such as $150 or so.

The idea to enable legitimate copy users having access to MS download is also helpful.

[the_deek]

People in south east asia need to purchase licensed copies of windows so they can keep their ******* computers up to date, or switch to something free that gets patched regularly (Linux). I don't care if they have a moral opposition to spending money on an operating system and office suite.

[timber2005]

Most comonents in Vista that are disabled are installed anyway for certain functions. WMP and WMC use a lot of the same components, but diffrent front ends. Your saving the wmc executable and things like tv tuner drivers. Not much savings.
On the flip side, before if you lost your upgrade DVD, you were unable to upgrade. Here, you can upgrade anywhere, anytime, and most importably, ON A COMPUTER (ultraportable) LACKING A DVD DRIVE.

[Jeremy_R_Chappell]

I don't understand why Microsoft can't see this simple truth. But actually I think Microsoft are quite content for this to happen - they don't want anything else to catch on, pirated Windows is better than Linux (from their perspective).

Of course, this doesn't make it right - but this is the truth, piracy is actually useful to Microsoft, and why Linux hasn't taken hold in these nations - in all practical measures BOTH products are free.

[Dalkorian]

by michael_anand February 3, 2009 10:50 AM PST
Also, if Windows 7 only has 1 'image', doesn't that mean all versions will take up similar amounts of hard disk space? Seems like a waste of time and space to me. Why install something I neither want nor have access to?

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Curious no one has addressed this question. My take on this (uneducated take, I haven't looked anything up) is the install disk will only install the parts that the key used unlocks. So an Ultimate install will have a substantially larger footprint than a Home Basic install will.

Interesting if you think about it - pirates don't really need to distribute winblows anymore (of course they still will anyway), just keys to unlock the Ultimate version. Hacks to remove parts you didn't want, while enjoying the parts you do want.

Personally I'm still not interested, I prefer owning my own machine. Trashware kill switches like "WGA" can kiss my shiny metal ...

[johnpaulbuchuk]

Stupid Microsoft!!! ***??!!! Just when people are beginning to think that you are learning from your past stupidity, you go ahead and do another stupid act. Stupid idiots!

[ncaissie]

grow up.

[magusat999]

Despite the way johnpaulbuchuck expressed himself, he does have a point. One of Vista's mistakes was too many versions. Not just because of the amount of versions, but because it felt like there was this hard-sell approach to upgrade to the higher versions. Certain features were left out of the "lower" versions, not because it made sense, but to force people to upgrade to get those essential features. it made Vista feel broken and incomplete.

[troyrader]

I'm not going to throw rocks. I am just going to share that 8 months ago, I switched to a Mac at work and replaced aging home PC's with Mac's, and I nor my family could be happier with the change. I won't claim Mac is perfect, but my time spent dealing with "PC issues" is greatly reduced. I cannot imagine switching back.

[ncaissie]

What a load of crap.
OSX is for people that are to dumb to be trusted with access to the inner workings of the OS.
Try browsing the system files and tweeking it!
Or find some good games for the MAC!

[Goodbye Helicopter]

You can quite well access system files on the Mac. You just need to learn that it is not built like Windows. It is a BSD unix with a Mach kernel and things are very easy to locate...

[troyrader]

Are you seriously comparing the inner workings of OS X and Windows? I'll leave it to someone else to rip into you about the "inner workings" argument you made. Simply put though, it is a ludicrous statement. I won't brag or anything, but I am not dumb. I'm quite technical in fact. I'm also not a gamer. No interest in games. I want computers in my home to work, to not slow down after updates, to not require overhead of av software, to not need steady effort to keep them running smoothly, etc. OS X is for everyone who is tired of A) the games MS plays with the consumer and B) the products they have produced and the time required to keep them usable. I was on the verge of fully switching to Ubuntu, and had the realization that OS X is a slicker, more stable, better supported version of what I was wanting. Be careful when you call someone dumb, then vaguely compare the inner workings of operating systems.

[Random_Walk]

"OSX is for people that are to dumb to be trusted with access to the inner workings of the OS. "

Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal. Type "sudo su -" when the window opens.

Please try to not show your ignorance in such an arrogant fashion again.

[topgunb2]

@troyrader I'm planning to try mac as well and get away from MS, I use lot of office products (word and excel) and MS project. Is there an alternative for mac, specially for MSP?

[troyrader]

@topgunb2 My goal is to migrate to all native apple apps. I'm using the latest Open Office, which reads and writes msoffice 2007 files fine so far for me. I don't use MS Project, so I don't know of a good alternative offhand. I have been a heavy Visio user, and have been using Parallels and XP for that one app, but recently bought the latest OmniGraffle Pro which has been a great change as well. I've tried mail.app and Entourage and have settled on Entourage for now. I'm anxious for Snow Leopard to provide better Exchange integration. In your shoes, I would just google to find a good MS Project alternative. Omniplan and Basecamp show up on my first search, but I didn't read any about them. There is also a list of apps here: http://tinyurl.com/357fqf

[Dalkorian]

by Random_Walk February 3, 2009 1:23 PM PST
Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal. Type "sudo su -" when the window opens.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Paranoia reigns supreme - I wouldn't tell someone who has proven to know nothing about the guts of an OS (or anything about computers for that matter, I'm not sure what ncaissie meant when mentioning finding games for the Media Access Controller) of the existence of commands like "sudo su -". I consider that act similar to tossing a loaded handgun to a suicidal person.

[theoscnet]

It is unbelievable the tenacity of MS in it's desire to rip off it's own customers, to require customers to upgrade if they find one option that cannot be accomplished because their particular version has been sabotaged by the company who sold it to them. This just reeks of sick complacency. I was actually looking forward to buying 7, and will still buy the ultimate version, because I love new tech, and I know any other version is just begging to be upgraded if I need one particular feature. I feel sorry for those that must upgrade unknowingly.

You cannot play a DVD in Starter or Home Basic? Do you all realize how ludicrous this REALLY IS? This is like being told you couldn't play a CD on XP Home version. "F"ing unbelievable.

and the really sad thing about this is they must a made a killin' in upgrades with Vista's scheme to really polish this scheme any further with 7.

MS just shows it doesn't care about any of us at all! This money-grab shows they are slowly doomed to irrelevance. You can't keep beating the same dog, it eventually bites back!

[rapier1]

Home Basic won't be on sale in the US. Starter is only for sale by integrators on new PCs and its unlikely it will see much action in the US. The only versions *really* available will be Premium and Professional. The Ultimate version sounds good but unless you really need IPv6 over IP-Sec for mobile networking or local caching of remote intranet files its not all that compelling.

[theoscnet]

rapier1,

The problem isn't where those versions are being sold or used, it's the fact that exists in the first place. DVDs are as common as a CD player once was. Not giving the simple ability to play a DVD is pure greed. They know it will trigger upgrade mentality. It's find it very sickening.

[DrtyDogg]

if that is important to people they can add that functionality. It isn't very far fetched as XP didn't come with DVD support out of the box either. Roxio, Cyberlink, Nvidia, and Intervideo will all be applauding this as they still have at least one market for their products.

[g-101]

I don't feel sorry for the consumer. Look before you buy. Each version has a specific target customer which may be different for different countries. Would you buy a TV without comparing it to the seven TV's next to it. Chances are you won't buy the most expensive TV with the most features because most people don't need those features they just need a TV. Same thing with computers. The starter version is just a way for Microsoft to get some money for their OS before the Chinese put a bootleg version on it.

[Mr. Dee]

Home Basic does not have any limitations except for the Aero Glass theme. Its not restricted in features like Starter Edition. I think Microsoft has made some mistakes here.

[ubnyan]

Microsoft is hoping WIndows 7 will succeed where Vista's failed, however it seems we are back to Vista under a new name. MS knows that in reality no one will want to have a version without much to offer. MS seems to focus on what people can afford rather than what people really want and offering a more competitive OS. RIght pricing will be a key element to Windows 7 success. Let's expect less than $200 for their full (not upgrade) ultimate version or be prepared to see even more people moving to Mac or alternatives OSs.

MS Windows 7 chart:
Windows 7 Starter - For the poor
Windows 7 Home Basic - For the average Joe
Windows 7 Home Premium - For all os us / Comes standard from PC vendors
Windows 7 Professional - For a small/large business
Windows 7 Ultimate - For the r$ch

Veghte said that "Microsoft learned some important lessons from Vista" but failed to indicated what was learned. Perhaps the important lesson was "If at first you don't succeed(with Vista), try try again"
Well, at least MS will offer an easier way for pirates to crack the OS and unlock/upgrade a system by including all the features in any Windows 7 version. Lessons learned.

[rapier1]

The Starter and Home Basic versions won't be on sale in the US or most developed markets. So for 99% of the people reading this article they only have to think about Premium, Professional, and Ultimate.

[ice82]

Just bring the Premium version with Ultimate's features to the NA market ASAP, enough said.

[Hugmup]

If troyrader made a motion, I second it. I switched to a Mac because of XP and Vista problems, and now I find myself totally disinterested in anything Microsoft does.

[pcpimpster]

Just get the drivers right this time. Vista still has issues running high end graphics cards in certain hardware configurations. I refuse to upgrade my already high end system just because Vista's DX10 engine decides to blue screen on startup. While XP x64 works perfectly with the same hardware.
Vista kernel growing pains better be gone in this version.

[pithenumber]

The drivers are right this time, XP=>Vista was a major change internally, most Vista drivers are 7 compatible.