Microsoft Vista Info Leaked

slashnutt writes to tell us Yahoo News is reporting that Microsoft accidentally released information about Windows Vista earlier than originally planned. From the article: "Microsoft disclosed information about a plan to release eight different editions of the new operating system on a company help page that was under development. The company has not made any official statements about the different versions of Windows Vista it plans to offer. The company has since taken down the Web site and declined to confirm the information and said it will offer more details about the Vista launch, targeted for the second half of 2006, in the coming weeks. Microsoft spokesman said in a statement 'This page has since been removed as it was posted prematurely and was for testing purposes only.'"

Comments

Enough Choice To Choke A Horse

[American AC in Paris]

Ugh. Eight different versions.

Windows Vista Starter (designed to combat piracy of Windows overseas; probably won't go on sale in US)
Windows Vista Home Basic
Windows Vista Home Premium
Windows Vista Business Basic
Windows Vista Business Premium
Windows Vista Corporate Basic
Windows Vista Corporate Premium
Windows Vista Ultimate

While I'd really like to believe otherwise, I cannot help but think that this will turn into a nightmare for application support. The ones that worry the most are the two at either end of the line: Starter and Ultimate. Will you need Ultimate to run top-of-the-line games or use top-of-the-line hardware? Will people with Starter not be able to use your program because they're missing certain functionality? Will you be able to burn DVDs with Home Basic, or does that functionality only come with Premium and Ultimate?

Sure, each version will be tailored to that particular end user's most likely needs. You can bet, however, that there'll be all sorts of "incentives" to bump yourself up to the next level of functionality in the form of "well, that functionality only comes with version X"...

Re:Enough Choice To Choke A Horse

[ender-]

Why would you think that? Microsoft has the BEST support for multiple OS and backwards compatibility that I've ever seen in the entire software industry. The vast majority of current software designed for Win32 runs on any of their platforms from the past 10 years. Can you think of any vendor that has better cross-OS and backwards compatibility support? I certainly can't.

At the risk of being labeled a troll, I have to suggest that perhaps this is because they don't actually change their OS. They just add crappy layer upon crappy layer so that the old stuff runs because every old Microsoft OS is still buried in there somewhere.

Re:Enough Choice To Choke A Horse

[Rob_Bryerton]

It confuses more than it clarifies.

I suppose that's intentional; that way the customer, confused about which 'version' to buy, will upsell themselves, just to be 'safe'.

Re:Enough Choice To Choke A Horse

[dr.badass]

When Joe User gets to decide, is he a Basic or Premium home user?

Premium, of course. Who the hell wants to be Basic? They might as well call it "Windows Vista for Dumb People Too Dumb and Uncool for Premium" or "Windows Vista for People Picked Last for Kickball in the Fifth Grade". Nobody will willingly buy Basic, and that's the reason it exists.

This is common pricing tactic, and it works amazingly well. Our estimation of value works differently looking up the scale than it does looking down. If something costs half as much but is only half as good, that's not seen as a good deal, where something that costs twice as much only needs to be 50% better to be worth consideration. Adjust this to your products and you can always find a point where people will pay a lot more for very little difference. People will focus on the differences, often fixating on some non-essential feature that they *might* want, and base the final decison on that alone.

Some people seem offended by these kinds of pricing tricks, but I find them incredibly interesting in a "they're hacking my brain" kind of way.

Testing?

[AJWM]

'This page has since been removed as it was posted prematurely and was for testing purposes only.'"

Testing what, the waters?

Re:Hey, its better than Linux

[bogado]

It's true, but none of those thousands of versions of linux are intentionaly crippled. Ops. No you cannot run a 'server' with this version or no you can not setup this or that without the premium version.

Sure, Linux is still strugling with the packaging since there is no standard. But it is getting better and better, everyday. :-D

Re:Old news

[tyme]

posterlogo wrote:

More choices are rarely a bad idea. I dislike bundled crapola that I'll never need or want.

It appears you have never heard of the paradox of choice.

In a nutshell, too many choices often lead to a inability to decide. It is the same reason people take so long to decide on an ice-cream flavor at Baskin-Robbins or on a dish from a chinese carry-out menu: too many choices. Most people simply don't want to think too hard when making a purchase, so it's a good idea for companies to make the range of choices as few and distinct as possible.

Here is an excerpt from the book.

Re:Hey, its better than Linux

[courtarro]

Likewise, I'll bet all 8 versions of Vista use the same "kernel". It's not the kernel that makes things work or not work (for the most part), it's the user-level software on top.

It won't be that confusing to retail buyers

[MojoStan]

- Windows Starter 2007
- Windows Vista Home Basic
- Windows Vista Home Basic N
- Windows Vista Home Premium
- Windows Vista Business
- Windows Vista Business N
- Windows Vista Ultimate
- Windows Vista Enterprise

Windows Starter version will never be seen by 99% of people outside its intended market (developing nations). How many Slashdot readers have even seen Windows XP Starter Edition on a computer or in a store (including online stores)?

The 'N' versions of Windows (Europe-only) will be simply ignored by the vast majority of buyers and retailers. Some retailers (maybe most) will not even stock the 'N' versions. Source:

Still 'no demand' for media-player-free Windows

Vista Enterprise Edition will only be available through volume licensing, so retail buyers won't see this version either. The IT folks who can buy Enterprise Edition are knowledgable enough not to be confused.

So far, that leaves:

- Windows Vista Home Basic
- Windows Vista Home Premium
- Windows Vista Business
- Windows Vista Ultimate

Since Vista Ultimate Edition is probably only for the uber-geek, most retail buyers will probably only need to choose from three versions: (1) Home Basic, (2) Home Premium, and (3) Business. For buyers of Windows PCs, that choice is similar today: XP Home, XP Media Center Edition, and XP Pro.

Re:What you talkin' about?

[westlake]

The point is that there is no company or other entity telling someone what they can and can't do with their Linux installation just because they didn't pay enough money.

There are always trade-offs.

Red Hat dropped out of the consumer market. Linspire is anchored there.

The uber-Geek might be able to bend any randomly chosen Linux distro to his will. The reality is that most of us have to make choices.

Choices in hardware. Choices in software. Choices in technical support.

Time and money.