Six still available behind the counter
Microsoft is trying to show that it's learned a thing or two from Vista and that producing a huge number of different - and sometimes competing - versions isn't necessarily the best way to go.
Six of one, two of the other
Although there will still be six different flavours of Windows 7 available, it's only going to be promoting two primary editions in the hope of keeping things simple. It's anticipating that Home Premium will be the natural choice for the consumer, while Professional will be a better fit for business.
That said, there will still be four other versions available for segments that don't naturally fit into Microsoft's consumer and business shaped holes. At the low end there's Starter edition, which is an OEM installation only option so will arrive pre-installed on machines, and Home Basic which will only be available in emerging markets.
Big corporates will also get their own Enterprise edition and for the personal user that must have everything there'll also be an Ultimate package.
Interestingly, there'll be no separate version for netbooks as Microsoft reckons that any version of Windows 7 will run fine without specific tweaking.
Microsoft has also promised that each version will be a superset of the one below it, so you won't find you have to choose between gaining some features and losing others when it comes to picking which edition to go for, as could be the case with Vista.
Availability
Windows 7 is currently in beta stage - you can even take it for a spin yourself if you like by downloading the test version. Microsoft is keeping schtum about when the final release will be.
Comments
Post new comment