Sep 11
7 flavors of Windows Vista …tasty!
2005 at 05.25 am posted by Veerle
And you thought Windows Vista would bring simplicity to your digital lifestyle!
According to Microsoft: "The goal of the product edition differentiations in Windows Vista is to provide 'clear value proposition' to all customer segments."
So what's the fuss about then? Well Microsoft will announce (according to Paul Thurrott) that there will be 7 different versions of Windows Vista. Yes you read it right 7 versions, talking about confusing customers or explaining that one your mom :-) So let's look at them shall we:
- Windows Vista Starter Edition
- Windows Vista Home Basic Edition
- Windows Vista Home Premium Edition
- Windows Vista Professional Edition
- Windows Vista Small Business Edition
- Windows Vista Enterprise Edition
- Windows Vista Ultimate Edition
I'm not going to sum up what they are aimed for, if you want to be informed about that I suggest you visit Paul Thurrott's WinInfo site. Am I glad the folks at Cupertino aren't smoking the same joints as Microsoft does. There will only be one version of Leopard so that's crystal clear ;-) Hasta la vista baby!
32served
1
“Starter Edition will allow only three applications (and/or three windows) to run simultaneously...” This is the kind of thing that encourages people to crack Microsoft’s OS’s. I think I’ll stick with my Mac instead of choosing one of Microsoft’s crippled OS variants.
“Ultimate Edition"… *Uncontrollable Laughter*.
2
Where’s the EU version?*
*You know, the one without mediaplayer…
3
.....talk about making a mountain out of a molehill!
4
I wonder if the Ultimate Edition will include a “making of” or “behind the scenes” short. I also hope there’s a few deleted scenes!
5
Are they trying to compete with Bertie Bott?
Am I glad the folks at Cupertino aren’t smoking the same joints as Microsoft does.
A serious contender for quote of the month! Good one!
6
“There will only be one version of Leopard”
Actually, many more:
two.
• Mac OS X 10.5
• Mac OS X Server 10.5
7
I hope it’s not liked a stepped usell plan, like at the local theatre… “but for a quarter more, you could get the Ultimate size with your popcorn.”
8
@ AkaXakA: Where’s the EU version?*
*You know, the one without mediaplayer…
That’s soooo funny ;-)
Anyhow, M$ could bring out 1,000,000 versions of Longhorn/Vista/Whatever, I still wouldn’t buy it. I wouldn’t even accept it as a gift. I pass on M$-grass.
But okay, all the bashing aside: first they announce a new OS with a gazillion features, which get ripped out of the end product month after month (ok, maybe not all of them, but at least the most important ones), then they change the name of the product, and now there will be 7 versions ?? And they want to make it easier for users ??? I think this translates into their OS GUI: cluttered, unclear and un-intuitive !!!
Ooops, sorry for the extra bashing… ;-)
9
Out of the seven I wonder how many will work. Maybe that should be their focus, one version that’s not a piece of crap. :-D
10
Oh my god! That’s kind of too many versions of Vista. Simplicity isn’t the way to go when it comes to Microsoft (it never has). *sigh*
Thanks for sharing!
11
How on earth are people going to choose which one they need? If the Ultimate Edition costs $5000 (highly unlikely), everyone will freak out. Bad marketing scheme for Microsoft.
12
I can’t wait to see headlines from various hacking sites talking about how to make one version work like the other one. Also can’t wait to see headlines that talk about how you can have all the versions in one DVD. Just silly… This is just as bad as naming their product “Windows 2000.”
13
my current windows xp will be the very last microsoft os i’ll use… windows vista is already in the dust for me… welcome mac os x!
:)
14
I have no problem with the incessant gushing over Apple, but I find unnecessary Microsoft bashing annoying.
Perhaps if OSX had the same user base as Windows and were designed to work with a zillion different combinations of pre-existing, need-to-be-backwards-compatible hardware and software you wouldn’t have the one size fits either.
15
I don’t get the feeling that the multiple permutations of Vista is about compatibility… its about revenue. Its about holding out on features so that they can charge more for a more full feature set.
Its also a strategy to get more money where they know they can get more money. Home users will try to find the best deal possible, they’re looking at price. IT is looking at features and they’ll only find what they need in that pro edition which will be more expensive. MS knows where the money is.
The ultimate edition sounds like fluff to me. Gamers can do that now with free or cheap utilities.
I don’t think its too far off that they’ll try to make you subscribe to the OS.
This is another reason why I’m disliking MS more and more. They’re getting better with the OS but they’re also getting better at gouging the customer.
Granted, Apple has its gouging as well. Why else did they take away the dock and case from the mid-high end iPod models? So they could make more money by selling them individually.
16
http://www.dominique-petersen.com/photos/Funny/funny pics 9/apple_weed.jpg
Just to be fair with the bitching :)
17
Well for that 2% Maczealot one version of Leopard will be more than enough.
18
I think apple isn’t any better than microsoft in the $ department. If they had a 90% marketshare they’d take as much money out of you’re pocket too. As already said, they know how to do that.
19
Boys, this wasn’t about money but about 7 versions and the fact that it will confuse customers in what to choose. Simplicity is the key and personally I think MS could a better job at that. Apple has its faults too but they have a very different mentality towards customers then MS. And btw if you can’t stand the heat stay out the kitchen I say ;-)
You can bach Apple all you want for me part but if you do make sure you actually own a Mac to get an opinion (not some experience from years ago), remember I have a PC too so I know what I am talking about. To counclude I still think Steve is way cooler then Bill :o)
20
EXACTLY! How the hell is some average user going to decide on what version to buy or upgrade to?!?!! Will there be PCs shipped with every single version? That’s kinda weird. What version will Microsoft push for it’s users? The SB/Enterprise/Ultimate are pretty clear, but the 4?!?! There better be some very distinct differences between them to avoid confusion as much as possible.
Oh and GREAT site here. :-)
21
The money is still at issue here, because we all feel that it is the root cause of the confusing 7 version setup.
If MS actually cared about doing what is best for the users instead of trying to get every last little penny from its customers it would not have 7 versions of its software.
If you look at the differences they’re rather pitiful. They don’t reflect reasons for versioning - they represent reasons for segmenting a product to get more money. That in turn will cause confusion. I really wouldn’t be surprised if MS is counting on a bit of confusion to get the up-sell. Or, to make a bit more of a buck on that guy who buys too low a version and then has to get a higher version - maybe at a discount but still at more cost than it would have been to just buy the right version in the first place.
Yeah, Apple has its way of gouging its users but is a lot smarter about, in my opinion (and that’s not just the Mac zealot inside scratching to get out).
I work on both systems and work for a hardware/software distributor so I work among people who sell and service technology all day long, and the only people who really know what’s going on with what are the geeks - and we all fall into that category. The average person doesn’t know an iPod from and iRiver - they’re just MP3 players but the iPod has a ‘reputation’ about it. All that we’re gonna see out of 7 versions is confusion and misinformation.
22
If Microsoft was stoned they’d realize how stupid 7 versions were when they couldn’t remember why they were different in the first place.
Limiting the amount of application windows? This OS deserves to tank simply for that.
23
I have myself a BETA copy of windows vista and the main PROBLEM i have found so far as that there are no vista drivers for your hardware as of yet, its a bummer because i cant try all of its features. As for other problems, all i can say is that microsoft has deinately made this OS harder to use, i mean for starters there is no file, edit menu… u have to add them in yourself. Have fun trying to tell someone that one.
24
Since all I do is gaming on my PC (when I find the time) Win XP will be on that box for a looooooong time ;-)
Hasta la Vista, Bill!
25
There aren’t really 7 versions. It’s just a stupid marketing scheme to squeeze even more cash out of the people. They’re all the same but the license is different and so is the amount of tasks you can perform with it. Wanna rip a DVD? ‘upgrade your license’. That kind of rubbish. It’s seven versions of the same thing, each one stripped down differently except for the most expensive one which has everything. In a way the same thing is true for Mac OS X by the way. I’ve never quite understood why us Mac OS X workstation users don’t get the nifty Samba configuration tool from Apple. Like I’d never share a directory… doh…
As someone else pointed out already, they’re all the same whether they’ve got a colored windows thingy printed on their office or a shiny apple. I myself like Apple more for various reasons but as companies they’re all the same: reaching out for our wallets.
*pats his ridiculously expensive dual G5 once more*
26
@Marco: I’ve never quite understood why us Mac OS X workstation users don’t get the nifty Samba configuration tool from Apple. Like I’d never share a directory… doh...
Hmm… What do you mean here? Samba works perfect on a workstation and you can access/share a directory both ways (mac>pc) (pc<mac). We access PC’s every day without any special tool.
27
@Veerle> I know samba works fine on a workstation. I’m using it myself. However I know that MacOS X server comes with various easy to use tools to configure windows filesharing, ftp services and other network services. I’d love to have those tools as well, simply because it saves time :)
I’m talking about this kind of stuff:
http://images.apple.com/server/macosx/images/windows_screen_100803.jpg
I don’t see any compelling reason why one would not want that on a workstation as well. Quite often we’re simulating a server environment on our box anyway, at least developers like myself do.
Right now us workstation users have to go and edit configuration files in order to get fancy samba configs, apache configurations, ftp configurations etc. etc. to work. I have no problems doing that but it would just be nicer if the tools to do it quickly were available.
28
would anyone happen to have and drivers for windows vista, i have the beta version and i love it but i dont have sound or sata. i need AC97 audio drivers and silicon image sata drivers.
29
How about a version that includes a browser that doesn’t s*****
30
Yep. Glad to know Cupertino is short on dope… Made me laugh. Thanks.
...and geez what is up with that?
31
Think peeps! Remember how the courts ruled that M$ would need to offer versions without offending apps? M$ wasn’t lying when they said it would cause some confusion. Confused? You betcha!
Another more obvious reason is curtail some of the pirating their os’s have suffered in the past by offering stripped down version of os at lesser price.
Lurker_
32
Heres a nice little comparison of vista and xp http://www.bentuser.com/article.aspx?ID=332&page=1