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7...count em...7 versions will be released for Microsoft Vista... (1 Viewer)

Jason Adams

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There will be two general categories of Windows Vista editions, which map closely to the two that exist today for XP ("Home," which comprises Starter, Home, and Media Center Editions, Pro, which includes Professional, Professional x64, and Tablet PC Editions). In Windows Vista, the two categories are Home and Business. In the Home category, Microsoft will create four product editions: Windows Vista Starter Edition, Windows Vista Home Basic Edition, Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, and Windows Vista Ultimate Edition (previously known as "Uber" Edition). In the Business category, there will are three editions: Windows Vista Small Business Edition, Windows Vista Professional Edition, and Windows Vista Enterprise Edition. In all, there are 7 product editions planned for Windows Vista

Here's how the product editions will break down:

Windows Vista Starter Edition: Aimed at beginner computer users in emerging markets who can only afford a low cost PC. As with the XP version, Windows Vista Starter Edition is a subset of Home Edition, and will ship in a 32-bit version only (no 64-bit x64 version). Starter Edition will allow only three applications (and/or three windows) to run simultaneously, will provide Internet connectivity but not incoming network communications, and will not provide for logon passwords or Fast User Switching (FUS). Windows Vista Starter Edition is analogous to XP Starter Edition. This version will only be sold in emerging markets.

Windows Vista Home Basic Edition: A simple version of Windows Vista that is aimed at single PC homes. Windows Vista Home Basic is the baseline version of Windows Vista, and the version that all other product editions will build from. It will include features such as Windows Firewall, Windows Security Center, secure wireless networking, parental controls, anti-spam/anti-virus/anti-spyware functionality, network map, Windows Search, the Aero user interface, Movie Maker, Photo Library, Windows Media Player, Outlook Express with RSS support, P2P Messenger, and more. Windows Vista Home Basic Edition is roughly analogous to Windows XP Home Edition. This version is aimed at general consumers, Windows 9x/XP Starter Edition upgraders, and price sensitive/first-time buyers.

Windows Vista Home Premium Edition: Whole home entertainment and personal productivity throughout the home and on the go. As a true superset of Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Premium Edition will include everything from Home Basic, as well as Media Center and Media Center Extender functionality (including Cable Card support), DVD video authoring and HDTV support, DVD ripping support (yes, you read that right), Tablet PC functionality, Mobility Center and other mobility and presentation features, auxiliary display support, P2P ad-hoc meeting capabilities, Wi-Fi auto-config and roaming, unified parental controls that work over multiple PCs, backup to network functionality, Internet File Sharing, Offline Folders, PC-to-PC sync, Sync Manager, and support for Quattro Home Server. Windows Vista Premium Edition is similar to XP Media Center Edition, except that it adds numerous other features and functionality, including Tablet PC support. My guess is that this will be the volume consumer offering in the Windows Vista timeframe (today, XP Pro is the dominant seller). This version is aimed at PC enthusiasts, multiple-PC homes, homes with kids, and notebook users.

Windows Vista Professional Edition: A powerful, reliable and secure OS for businesses of all sizes. Windows Vista Pro Edition will include domain join and management functionality, compatibility with non-Microsoft networking protocols (Netware, SNMP, etc.), Remote Desktop, IIS Web server, and Encrypted File System (EFS). Additionally, Pro Standard will include Tablet PC functionality. Windows Vista Pro is roughly analogous to XP Pro today. This version is aimed at business decision makers and IT managers and generalists.

Windows Vista Small Business Edition: Designed for small businesses without IT staff. Small Business Edition is a superset of Vista Pro Standard Edition, and includes the following unique features: Backup and Shadow Copy support, Castle and server-join networking, and PC fax and scanning utility. Additionally, Microsoft is looking at including a number of other features, many of which might be cut: These include Small Business Edition guided tour, pre-paid access to the Windows Live! Small Business or Microsoft Office Live! subscription services, Multi-PC Health (a managed version of Microsoft One Care Live), and membership in the Microsoft Small Business Club online service. Microsoft will offer a Step-Up program for Small Business Edition that will allow customers to upgrade to Windows Vista Enterprise Edition (see below) or Windows Vista Ultimate Edition (see below) at a reduced cost. This SKU is new to Windows Vista; there is no XP Small Business Edition. This version is aimed at small business owners and managers.

Windows Vista Enterprise Edition: Optimized for the enterprise, this version will be a true superset of Windows Vista Pro Edition. It will also include unique features such as Virtual PC, the multi-language user interface (MUI), and the Secure Startup/full volume encryption security technologies ("Cornerstone"). There is no analogous XP version for this product. This version is aimed at business decision makers, IT managers and decision makers, and information workers/general business users.

Windows Vista Ultimate Edition: The best operating system ever offered for a personal PC, optimized for the individual. Windows Vista Ultimate Edition is a superset of both Vista Home Premium and Vista Pro Edition, so it includes all of the features of both of those product versions, plus adds Game Performance Tweaker with integrated gaming experiences, a Podcast creation utility (under consideration, may be cut from product), and online "Club" services (exclusive access to music, movies, services and preferred customer care) and other offerings (also under consideration, may be cut from product). Microsoft is still investigating how to position its most impressive Windows release yet, and is looking into offering Ultimate Edition owners such services as extended A1 subscriptions, free music downloads, free movie downloads, Online Spotlight and entertainment software, preferred product support, and custom themes. There is nothing like Vista Ultimate Edition today. This version is aimed at high-end PC users and technology influencers, gamers, digital media enthusiasts, and students.

According to internal Microsoft documentation, the goal of the product edition differentiations in Windows Vista is to provide "clear value proposition" to all customer segments and take XP-era innovations, such as the Media Center and Tablet PC functionality, to the mainstream. Windows Vista is also being positioned as a transitionary product for the x64 platform: Almost all Windows Vista editions will be offered in both x86 (32-bit) and x64 (64-bit) versions. Microsoft expects to transition almost completely to x64 post-Vista.






:angry:

Re-god-damn-diculous.
 

Joseph S

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You'll be able to get Mac OS Leopard for Intel and PPC before all 7 of these hit the streets.
 

Scott L

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Any word on price? I'm assuming there's so many options in order to justify the one most of us will want ("ultimate" edition) will cost a bazillion dollars.

I'd hate to be stuck with one of the mainstream ones only to find out later that it doesn't support a feature I want or need later on down the line.
 

David Williams

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That's what I was gonna say. :D

What in heaven's name is taking Windows so long to catch up with Apple? Vista will bring Windows up to Tiger's level and by then Leopard will be the stalking cat.
 

Chris Bardon

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That'd be my guess. This is really kind of an interesting move on their part, and it does make some degree of sense in their anti-piracy efforts. Now they're able to offer (theoretically) less expensive home options, while at the same time forcing businesses to pay more for features that they want. They've also said that bulk licensing will only be available for the pro versions, which will be missing features that the home/ultimate versions have, meaning that the "corporate key" loophole will be closed.

Honestly, the best innovation that could come out of this structure would be getting rid of the outdated "one copy per PC" rule. Perhaps a feature of the Home Premium package would be the (legal) ability to install on multiple machines on a home network (or at least, the ability to buy cheap additional licenses).
 

Charles J P

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Are you guys saying that the new Apple OS will run on PC hardware? I'm aware that Apple switched CPU suppliers from IBM to Intel so I really dont have a clue what you guys are referring to and perhaps I'm infering to much.
 

SethH

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No, MacOS will not run on run-of-the-mill PC hardware. It will only run on Apple hardware which will, at that time, include Intel processors.
 

Tekara

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yeah, I'm for linux. . . faster and free, what's not to like about that?
 

Scott L

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If all these small handy freeware programs & games I have on my HTPC were available on Linux I'd definitely get a Linux box, or at least dual-boot. ;)
 

Christ Reynolds

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i switched to linux, and i very rarely use my windows machine anymore. if i could get dvd decrypter and dvdshrink (or suitable replacements) working with my dvd+/-r drive, i wouldnt use it at all. i get them both running under wine, but niether one recognizes my dvd drive. i think it's probably the drive, since nero doesnt recognize it in windows.

ive been using linux almost exclusively since the beginning of the summer, and i like it very much. i'm still getting used to it every day, even though i cant give up windows entirely until certain programs have quality replacements for them. there are also some quirks to work out with the amd64 architecture, everything doesnt work quite right all the time, but it's no worse than any of my windows woes (yet). i'm not a windows hater, i just like the idea of all the software i use being free.

CJ
 

StevenFC

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If I have to use Vista at work I will, but I'm perfectly happy with XP Pro and Linux at home. Nothing I've seen about Vista makes me want to run out and get the latest and greatest Microsoft OS.
 

Chris Bardon

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At this point, I'm with Steven on this one. I'll definitely be using it at work, since we'll probably have to support our software on any (or all) of these versions at some point, but my home machine is pretty much fine the way it is. Since they've taken out some of the features that would have made Vista a significant improvement over XP (WinFS for example), it really seems like just a cosmetic/more crap that you don't need upgrade. If anything it'll mean that I'll just hold off on buying new components now so I can get a cheap OEM copy of vista.

One thing I just noticed though is that there's no server platform listed. Does this mean that Server 2003 (or the upcoming 2003 R2) will still be the primary server platform at that point?
 

Charles J P

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My guess would be yes (on the server 2003 question). I'm not sure what Windows Vista would have to offer that would get me very jazzed either. I read an announcement on the next version of Office that talked about how it will try to predict your needs based on what you tasks you are doing and display the most likely tools etc. Great, fucking clippy the retarded paper clip on steroids. If this is what MS is moving towards, I'll be running XP for a long time.
 

ThomasC

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In the description for Windows Vista Home Premium Edition:

How is this justified? Is it just for DVDs that aren't copy protected, or did Microsoft send a "give up on fighting piracy" memo to the MPAA?
 

Francois Caron

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Drat! Beat me to it! :D

I'll stick with XP at home for the time being. Much of the stuff I use every day is designed mainly to operate on a Win32 platform. But it wouldn't surprise me if Linux versions start popping out more frequently after Vista is released and many users suffer through it.

Why does Vista sound so much like Windows ME? I have a bad feeling about this...
 

Glenn Overholt

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Chris, for those of us that can think back that far, MS wanted one OS for both servers & users back around 1993, and originally predicted that they'd pull it off around 2000. XP was close, but not quite.

1 version of the OS is a good idea, so now they're doing 7? Is this one of those - one step forward, two steps back sort of thing? :)

I think it would be better to just sell everyone the basic edition, and sell modules for the rest, at $10 to $20 each. LIke if you had a family of 3, you'd get one basic and 2 'extra user' add ons at $1o each. A media add-on would work for all 3.

Glenn
 

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