Microsoft has announced their “edition strategy” for the generally well-received Windows 7. The bad news is that there are six different versions of the operating system. The good news is that consumers who are thinking of purchasing an upgrade disc will only really have to choose between two of the six: Home Premium and Professional. Check out the original article to get a run down of the different versions.
What MS Did Right:
- Windows 7 Starter sounds like it’s aimed squarely at the netbook market, which seems to be the next big thing. Microsoft has stated that Windows 7 Premium has a small enough footprint to run fine on a netbook, so this watered-down version should finally be able to succeed Windows XP as a de facto netbook OS.
- Emphasis on just two main versions brings people back to a simpler time, much like XP, where there’s basically a Home (Premium) version and a Professional version.
What MS Did Wrong:
- The first three versions can be thrown all together into one and then allow the computer/user to decide which is appropriate for their machine. For instance, if the processor is an Intel Atom, the Starter restrictions could automatically go into effect. If the video card can’t support Aero or some of the other visuals, then it’ll be automatically disabled. It’s ridiculous to have more than one edition for personal use. Axe the Starter package completely and the “Home” part and just call it Windows 7 Premium. Then you’ll have two very consumer-centric brands to choose from: Premium and Professional.
- Will anyone require ALL of the features of Ultimate? It’s unlikely, so why not dump those features into Professional and put the “Ultimate” edition out to pasture?
If MS followed this path, then we’d have a mere 3 versions of Windows 7: Premium, Professional, and Enterprise (which is really just volume licensing of the Professional Edition). This would clear up a ton of confusion for buyers because, in addition to being more concise, it just makes more sense.
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