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Microsoft Confirms 6 Versions of Vista
Darthmalt writes "The BBC has a story confirming that there will be 6 versions of Vista. They are
Vista Business, Vista Enterprise, Vista Home Basic, Vista Home Premium, Vista Ultimate, Vista Starter. Also included are some of the differences between each version."
There is a thing called a "re-gifter". I think it was coined on Seinfeld, but the concept has been around forever. At least since the invention of the fruitcake.
Why get your news from the BBC when Microsoft released this information yesterday?
Nothing for you to see here. Please move along.
:)
Um, that's not what a vista is
I've still got to be sold on Vista. It seems to offer less new stuff than XP, and at least most people got a benefit from going from 9x to XP, in that it was a far better OS underneath.
I'm getting Vista Home Basic just for the the Basic interpreter.
org.slashdot.post.SignatureNotFoundException: ewg
"We don't want customers to be forced into buying something that isn't going to meet all their needs," said Barry Goffe, Microsoft's director of Windows client product management.
Translation: We understand from psychology that people can only make effective, informed decisions when the number of choices is low, typically around six. We understand that one of the principles of building is a successful company is to segment your market according to their willingness to pay. Hence, I propose we offer six versions of Vista, each priced differently, each with a clear difference in feature set so that we can effectively capture our consumer surplus without our customers being constrained by the tyranny of choice.
Simon.
"We don't want customers to be forced into buying something that isn't going to meet all their needs," said Barry Goffe, Microsoft's director of Windows client product management.
Most customers get what is bundled with their computer. Most do not know if they have Windows 98, ME, or XP. Customers will be forced to buy what is the most economical for the OEM's to include with their machines.
Computers were supposed to be "multi-purpose" machines. Now that hardware is leveling, the differences are all in the software. The purpose of these levels is marketing and price control. Do not believe for a minute that this is about providing "choice" to the consumer.
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
Namely the emerging market of people frustrated with the other five versions...
GetOuttaMySpace - The Anti-Social Network
I've always argued that windows is far better than linux, because it's not
going to fragment in the way linux does. It's a huge problem. You write an
app for linux and you can never tell what their system is going to be like.
They could be on redhat, or ubuntu, or any of the popular distros.
With windows, it's nice and clear. Either they are in 2000. Or XP (Home or
Business). Or Vista. That is Vista home. Or home premium. Or business.
Or richer business edition.
Think I'm going to buy a mac.
Phil
In other words, the manufacturers/integrators are the ones who will be making the "which version" decision. Only people like us who build our own machines are going to care.
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
I count 3, maybe 4: Mac OS X PowerPC, Mac OS X Intel, Mac OS X Server PowerPC, and probably Mac OS X Server Intel once they release new Xserves. Under the hood they're quite similar, but you can say the same about Windows Vista too. If you want to deliver a solid, fast application it's got to be a universal binary; if you're going after the Mac OS X data center market you need to make sure your product works on the server versions as well.
For more information, click here.
Yes, because there will be some graphical hardware requirements for the Aero interface that not everybody can or cares to meet. This gives them the opportunity to not have to pay for a graphical interface they can't or don't want to use.
If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
I'll take the Windows Vista "Half Way Decent Security Out of the Box" Edition please....
We're sorry, that version won't be available until March of 2010^H^HJune of 2012^H^HDecember of 2015.
"If you don't know where you want to go, we'll make sure you get taken."
...Rob
The American Dream isn't an SUV and a house in the suburbs; it's Don't Tread On Me.
I used to do tech support. The "what operating system do you use" was already the question that created the most ridiculous answers. Sounds like that question just got a whole lot more fun.
the number of retail copies of XP sold, compared to the number shipped preinstalled on systems is pretty inconsequential. MS don't *have* to offer much beyond continued support and patches, some eye candy and an iron-clad OEM agreement with the PC manufacturers and it'll end up on millions of desktops by default.
the real question is how much leverage will it put on new markets for them: mobile devices (activesync as core component, "plays for sure" tie-ins to MP3 players, windows mobile messaging integration into exchange server, media center and xbox 360 integration - if done successfully it'll leverage a whole load more of joe sixpack's home into the MS domain...
Someone still stuck in 1998 I see. That myth was debunked successfully a long time ago. Why don't you google for "applications barrier to entry" to see why no competitor has threatened MS.
Among my roles at work is web development. I keep a whiteboard here that says, "COMMIT TO STABLE SOFTWARE!" and it has two sections: "DAYS SINCE AN IE CRASH" and "LIFETIME RECORD." Sort of like those signs at factories that say, "198 days without an accident." Anyway, the "DAYS SINCE AN IE CRASH" is currently 1. The lifetime record is 2.
"I have never won a debate with an ignorant person." -Ali ibn Abi Talib
Apple hasn't released a retail version of Tiger, and Apple has frequently bundled versions targeted for the system they're bundled with... it usually turns out they're bootable on more than just that model, but it's not like a retail version.
If you count customized bundles as separate versions, there's thousands of versions of XP.
So really there's only two versions, Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server.
Has Apple stated that Leopard will be released in two versions or in a single "Universal" package?
I wrote: "Apple hasn't released a retail version of Tiger".
I meant to write: "Apple hasn't released a retail version of Tiger for Intel".
I even previewed it and I still missed that.
These guys are just plain insane. Just one more example of how being a monopoly (or overly dominant) can just blind you.
Reminds me of Apple's position before Jobs got back in there. Their catalog was HUGE, with tens of different versions.
Jobs got there and cut it down in three: iMac, Laptop and Server. Down from dozens to three, very clearly potitionned. In no time, they got back in the market.
Of course, that was not the only factor. By far, but still...
Anyways, it won't recognize my RPC-1 drive... So I guess it's time to switch this HTPC to Linux after all. Cause the MS route is definitely blocked. There is no way in hell I'm going to buy an OS that doesn't let me play my DVDs the way I want it.
--
XviD review, from 500kbps to 4000kbps
Write boring code, not shiny code!
It's a shame they have such a cut down list of releases, I was wondering Microsoft Windows Vista We Screw You Out Of Your Hard Earned Money For An OS That Wont Have Any Benefits Apart From Having Halo 3 Exclusivity Even Tho Halo 3 Sux0rz Ultra Shiny Professional No Default Deny Edition.
which is totally what she said
I'm a relatively happy Windows 2000 user. Since I have been using it, it has given me no problems (aside from the msblast worm that hit me). I still see no valid reason for me to upgrade to XP - the only thing remotely useful is the built in firewall, however I have always used an aftermarket one which in my opinion is better than Microsoft's. As for Vista, I really don't see any reason for me to switch.
I think I can safely say that I will never be purchasing a computer with Windows again. I'm looking to buy a intel-powered Mac laptop (MacBook) once they have some time to work out any bugs or issues.
Dude, you need pixel shader 2.0 for shiny mode. So a radeon 9500/geforce 5200 and up.
re: "What does Vista do that 2000 doesn't?"
Notable Windows Vista features:
- WinFS (oops, nope, scratch that!)
- the bash-like shell Monad (oops, nope, scratch that!)
Let's try again!
Notable Windows Vista features:
- DRM to deny your Fair Use rights as provisioned by Copyright Law and The Constitution of The united States of America
- shiny new Aero skin (Oops, don't have an Nvidia 6x00 and Pentium 4 2.8 or higher? Still stuck with an ATI Radeon? Scratch this one!)
- Red Screen Of Death for the Really, Really Bad Errors
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
Most people who have a choice will buy the cheapest option when it comes to electronics (I-POD being an exception, but it is a fashion accessory). This is because of the WallMart effect and commodity hardware/generic software.
Because of this, MS is going to try to split out their market, much like GM did in the post WW2 era: Get poor and young people to buy cheap, no frills. As they advance up the economic ladder, upsell them to the higher end product. The core product is still the same (same engine, transimssion, even in many cases, the same body), but add on more/"better" options like leather seats, climate control, 8-track tape players, marketing, etc.
The only problem with that model is when real competition shows up, you have to start adding the better options on to the low end cars to keep up with the competitor. At some point there is a knee to the curve and there is no difference at all between Cadilac and Chevy, except for the name plate, marketing and cost. This completely kills your most profitable market (high end) because the customer doesn't want to drive a Cadilac that looks exactly like a Chevy Cavalier, and they've long since moved on to something else.
At some point the marketing department takes over the company and decides that they need a product that they can sell, not one that makes sense. Sadly, we are at that point now with the SUV (made worse by stupid laws that require fuel economy calculations to be an average of the fleet of cars and trucks instead of on a per-unit bassis). After all, when was the last time you saw an SUV ad that didn't feature at least one shot of the truck on some back road out in Montana with the perfect family at the campsite? Or a pickup ad with some cowboy roping steers out in West Texas (with his good friend the oil wildcatter, getting dirty out in the back 40)? Who wouldn't want that lifestyle? I sure would, and, apperently, so do most women aged 25-50 who can't park.
I think this is why apple will be the next big deal, and some low end OS, written mostly in India or China will be the end of MS. Microsoft will be forced to compete on features with some low end OS that just beats them at there own game (HINT: It won't be Linux as we know it, but it may be something that is based on it, much like the Subaru boxer engine was a knock off of the VW*). This will piss off the high end, who will move to Apple, kill MS R&D's budget and MS will be the first major company to crash and burn in the infromation age. Remember: What's good for GM is good for America? That was said at a time when 60% of the cars on the road were GM built, and the biggest threat to them (as precieved at the time) was the Sherman Anti-trust Act. BTW- Microsoft will, after releasing Visa, will announce their biggest quarter ever. Buy your stock just before the release, and sell it 3-4 months after their biggest quarter ever. Don't look back, because they won't be around much longer after that.
*Linux is the VW microbus of the software world: cheap, reliable software you can fix yourself. Just that you may end up going uphill in reverse since the reverse gear has much higher touque than first, but you know that already since you fixed the tranny yourself. Just know that thost people pointing and laughing wouln't know how great a vehicle you have, and yes, you are superior to them.
"Well, good luck finding a judge that doesn't run a bestiality site."
Well said. I don't see any reason to upgrade either. Had MS done something interesting... perhaps, moved away from the registry paradigm, it may have received my interest.
Actually this could backfire. Having multiple choices that are difficult to choose among drives people to alternatives. People are systematically irrational in this way. If somebody prefers A over B, then they should continue to prefer A over B even if choice C suddenly becomes available, right? Wrong. Often they will go to *B* is it's too hard to choose between A and C, and all three choices are close in value. A famous study illustrating this had people choose their compensation for participating in a quick study. They could choose between this fancy pen (told it was worth around, say, $5) and like $3 cash. People almost invariably took the pen. However, when other people were given their choice between two different but comparable pens, each worth around $5, and $3 cash, they just took the cash. They didn't have a good reason to pick one pen over the other (says one theory), or the cost of debating the choice was higher than their preference over the third alternative (says another theory), so they go for the neutral, third alternative. There have been many, many similar experimental examples.
So, if people are stressed or stymied by having to choose among even two copies of Windows, much less six, and they have been at all flirting with an alternative option (i.e., another OS, or just don't bother upgrading at all), this could easily put them over the edge.
(This comes for the reason-based choice work of Eldar Shafir and others)
What for?
Conserve Oil, Recycle, Boycott Walmart
I cannot cite stats (and wish I could), but in the case of Win2K, there's a lot of money sitting on the table. Aside from values such as Microsoft believes 1/3 of all Windows (versions) currently in use are warez or late beta copies, 1/3 of their revenues come from MS Office, now their ca$h cow.
Right now, however, their greatest 1-2 punch is Marketing and Sales. And they are stymied. It's more than tens of thousands. I think it's into the hundreds of thousands of business|corporate seats of Huey, Dewey and Louie (Win2K, Office2K, VS6) and they have no intention of budging. Why should they? Aside from the fact the service ended with an SP4-rollup for Win2k, Win2K died June 30, '05. VS6 is be removed from D/L MSDN (if it hasn't been). If you were a bean counter crossbred with a techie, you wouldn't be tossing any more chips onto the table. The systems are stable. TCO is lower, lower, lower, and lowest with time. If you take a bite at the bait on Microsoft's hook, you'll have to spend tons 'o hardware, software, training, you name it. Stuff Microsoft and all of their cronies (towit: hardware for new workstations|PCs) will simply drool over.
"Ducks on the Pond" may be a baseball term, but not for Microsoft. Those three are so tightly enmeshed Microsoft might have gotten something soft & fleshy caught in their collective zippers. They've presented their shrewder customers with no reason to upgrade and look back at Donald's nephew's in a scrapbook on running as a virtual machine for old-time's sake (like Microsoft Bob).
This may be a case of Microsoft screwing up by doing better than they were expected to have. And it's costing them enough money to make $crooge McDuck blush.