One of the biggest problems with Windows Vista was its rather convoluted and complicated SKU scheme, where there were far too many different versions of Vista to figure out. To make matters worse, the Home Basic version left out several defining parts of the operating system leaving customers with a sense of being lured in by certain features that in the end turned out not to be there. With Windows 7, the company will still offer a myriad of different versions, but according to Microsoft Senior Vice President Bill Veghte, it will be a lot less problematic than with Vista.
Yes, Windows 7 will come in many different flavours, but according to Veghte, it doesn’t really matter to most Western customers because they will only ever see Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows Professional. Starter and Home Basic will only be available in emerging markets, and Enterprise will only be available to customers in the volume licensing program (large companies and enterprises). The Ultimate version will probably not be sold via OEM channels, but will be bought separately by people who really need all the bells and whistles. The company will, however, focus mostly on Home Premium and Professional, and states those will make up for 80% of Windows 7 sales.
There will also be additional changes. For instance, each higher-priced version will be a superset of the lower priced version. No longer will a certain feature be available in Windows x, but not Windows x+1. In addition, every Windows 7 disk will actually carry all the features of Windows 7, so there’s no need for additional disks.
If we look at the versions on a closer level, we see that Windows 7 Starter will carry most of the Windows 7 features, such as the new taskbar, but it will lack the live previews (which constitute a major part of the new taskbar’s functionality, so that doesn’t make any sense). In addition, you will only be able to run three programs at a time, and it will carry limits on screen resolution and other hardware elements. As said, this version will only be available in emerging markets.
The Home Basic version moves up a notch by removing the application and hardware limits, but for the rest, it’s still pretty, well, basic, with no Aero support, no multitouch, no DVD playback, and no Windows Media Center. Like Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Home Basic will only be sold in emerging markets.
The two versions that actually matter to us Western consumers, Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional, are very akin to Windows XP Home and Professional. The differences between them amount to Professional being able to join domains, as well as having features such as DirectAccess, BitLocker, and the ability to boot from a virtual hard drive.
By more or less focussing completely on these two versions, Microsoft does seem to show that it has learned something from the Vista debacle. Removing the crippled versions from the OEM channels is obviously a very good move, but it probably won’t stop the complaints about the company’s product tiering.
The differences between them amount to Professional being able to join domains, as well as having features such as DirectAccess, BitLocker, and the ability to boot from a virtual hard drive.
Does that mean you can’t run the home version in vmware? If so, that’s idiotic.
No, Windows 7 has a new feature which allows it to mount and boot from a Virtual Hard Drive.
You have to wonder if it’s REALLY so hard for them to just make ONE version that just works. Even if they think they’re going to lose money doing that, I imagine the customer satisfaction ratings will go up significantly.
The problem with Vista was customer confusion, now with 7, they only see “Home Premium” and “Professional” in retail, that is two editions, like XP with clearly set target audience.
Problem solved.
What problem? There was never a problem to begin with. In server world this might work, if you want to serve only web, or mail or databases (but those editions have to be really cheap then)… But for the client it doesn’t make (much) sense.
Edited 2009-02-03 21:22 UTC
indeed. It always p***ed me off when the version of windows that came with my computer couldn’t join domains. I’d have to buy a second copy in order to do that.
I said f**ck it. I’ll just join AD with linux. Some mangling later and tada….far cheaper and I didn’t have the to suffer that irritating feeling that I had been scammed.
except ofcourse that you still purchased the crappy home edition, and on top of that, wasted your time joining a worthless Microsoft AD domain.
heh…very true on both counts.
At the time you couldn’t buy a pc without windows.
Actually, It still is quite difficult.
So what are you moaning about?
I suspect that the original poster was suggesting that there was never a problem with Workstation and Server versions to begin with but that MS had to go and find a problem for the marketing solution of rebranding different levels of crippling in the same OS.
Dreaming up problems for a neat solution you can’t wait to try out always goes well in a production implementation.
Even better choices:
1. Client
2. Server
And if you have to ask which one to get, the server version is probably not for you.
Right. So, um, how long do they seriously think it’ll take before someone figures out how to turn home premium into ultimate? Brilliant.
You do realise that upgrading from Windows Home Premium to Ultimate has always been possible with Windows Vista? Its this wonderful thing called ‘anytime upgrade’ – but hey, I won’t stand in your way of pulling a paddy over something that has existed in Windows for over 2 years.
I believe he means for free….i.e. without getting scammed.
I know what he means – that there will be some sort of hack or crack out there to allow one to upgrade their version of Windows for free. Well, its been 2 years since Windows Vista has been released and I’ve yet to see something that works reliably and between updates which allows such a feat.
With that being said, I’m not involved with the hacking and cracking community much these days so I’m unsure as to the situation; whether there could be a work around but due to the nature of how it is spread – it hasn’t bubbled up to the surface for the unwashed masses to use.
Just as a side issue; nice to see moderation abuse is alive and well on this website.
I don’t think the lack of the bits on a disk is what stops people from doing that in general
.
About a day. Don’t you remember the Vista disks that have all versions on it but different install stacks depending on serial number.. or the Office disks that had all the software on it but left pieces out depending on your serial number.. or the …
Just dump all versions of Windows 7…..
I don’t mean, dump Windows 7, but just have 1 version.
Settle on a mid range price and have done with it.
By emerging markets, I assume that means places where people can’t afford the full-blown product. But I’ll bet that in these ’emerging markets’, somebody will be selling the pirated version of Ultimate on the street corner for $2. Wonder which they’re going to go for?
This is going to be more subtle. Those “emerging markets” are markets where Windows has no clear dominance, partly because user base is still building, partly because, since they’re “emerging” now, many governments (like India, Brazil, China and so forth) decided to invest into cheaper systems in order to provide a more widespread availability of PCs. Those “basic” versions will be sold at 2-10$ in order not to let other system to gain share.
It’s getting harder to justify why MS can sold Windows and Office at bargain price in those countries, expecially in a globalized market. So I bet they will stop selling basic versions in Western countries in order to justify a cheaper Windows in those countrie, something which makes me angry too, not because those countries doesn’t deserve cheaper software, but because that means Microsoft could slash its prices.
Seems about right – and as MS wants to fob them off with crap (starter edition anyone?). One can almost feel sympathy for the makers of the Chinese edition.
Being unable to allow remote access on my Home Premium machine, or not having the Media Center on the Business edition I got from my college was frustrating (the only “solution” was shelling out $150 more to have both features at the same time).
This time it’s fixed. But still, there is an “Ultimate” version, which should’ve never existed.
Now they can sell to home users, and small businesses and large businesses without much confusion. (I’m talking western market.)
The reason they went with multiple versions it to extract a price premium from businesses (and more from large ones) that want domains and bitlocker etc. They’re willing to pay that. Home users would howl if they had to pay the same price that businesses are willing to pay for 1 “super” version, but didn’t need that functionality. Under a certain price point the price seems “normal.” It’s a business decision.
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… should come as standard! It’s free and integrated, so why not include it for every home laptop user. I know I’d like the peace of mind without having to fork out for Ultimate.
For all the ‘copying’ MS is accused of you’d think they would at least go for this and just release a Windows and Window Server and maybe (MAYBE) a Windows Lite/Mobile.
I can see the next Apple/I’m a PC ad making fun of Windows 7 and how they’re going from 8 versions to say 6 versions or whatever it is.
So people in developing countries don’t deserve live previews on their taskbars or having more than 3 apps at a time?
Its like they are doing it on purpose to promote piracy. Keeps people off F/OSS alternatives.
Yeah, seems like we’re backwater junk. We’re not even part of the West! (I live in South America).
The virtual hard disk support seems a bit problematic. At some point you have to load a driver that will read the virtual disk file as a drive space. Much like loopback devices on Linux. So where does the driver some from? You must have to have at least part of the OS out side the VHD. Does this mean more screwing with the MBR? Also, why are they implementing their own VHD? Vmware and several other hypervisor makers have already agreed on a standard for VHD format.
NO MS, the problem was not the confusing choice – the problem was that the lesser versions simply offered too little! All the cool stuff that makes Vista interesting in the first place isn’t in there!! An unfortunately you tried to feed the castrated version to world + dog, the one nobody wants. omg, I should send them an invoice for this deep, not so deep, really obvious insight.
How about just having two versions called
a) Windows Desktop
b) Windows Server
windows netbook too.
Windows Netbook should be the same as Windows Desktop. People have been running the beta, which is the Ultimate edition, just fine on netbooks.
Unfortunately Microsoft, in it’s infinite wisdom, may disagree. According to this article:
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/246562/windows-7-to-come-in-six-flavour…
from PC Pro magazine, the crippled Starter edition is “A lightweight version for netbook computers, that will only be capable of running three applications concurrently.”
Yikes! Looks like it’s Linux or death for netbooks then. Microsoft have to learn that this is not a market they can kill.
I’d add Ultimate to my OS collection for recreational purposes if the license cost was reasonable. The lower versions are all just crippled Ultimate installs though.
The state of New south Wales (pop. ~ 5 million) in Australia has it’s own version of OLPC that will provide 197,000 laptops to school students. The budget including a very comprehensive software suite is a miniscule AUD500 (USD315) per machine. Looks like MS will be locked out.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/technology/biztech/specs-released-for…