Windows 7: More Variants, Less Confusion
One of the things everyone hated about Windows Vista was the fact that it came in too many varieties. Microsoft is also notorious for changing names around. XP came in Home and Professional editions. Okay, those two were relatively easy to keep track of. However, then Vista introduced the nonsensical idea of “Home Basic” and “Home Premium” along with “Windows Starter 2007,” “Windows Vista Enterprise,” and so forth. No wonder consumers were confused.
It seems as though Redmond has learned a lesson, though. While they’re preserving the wide range of available options, only two — Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows 7 Professional — will be available via retail channels. The others, including the various Business and Enterprise incarnations, will be sold to corporate customers. Another, Windows Starter Edition, will be used for “price-sensitive customers with small notebook PCs” via the OEM market. In other words, people with Netbooks and other tiny systems can get a somewhat stripped-down Windows.
In other good news, “each version will be available in either a 32-bit or 64-bit version.” This means customers who own 64-bit hardware will finally be able to use it to its full capacity…but of course, many applications are still available only in 32-bit versions. This is bound to change as more 64-bit users complain to application vendors, and those vendors decide to build 64-bit native binaries.
In a move that’s sure to thrill those XP customers who patently refused to move to Vista, a direct upgrade option is in the plan. XP customers “can purchase upgrade media and an upgrade license to move from Windows XP to Windows 7,” so there’s no need for an intermediate step through the Vista morass.
It’s good to see a bit less confusion in the Windows space. Now however, the big question is whether people will yawn or cheer when Windows 7 appears. This is a release that could make — or finally break — Microsoft. I suspect it’ll be far more successful than Vista, simply because many sites will need an upgrade by that point. People and companies who refused to upgrade from XP to Vista won’t have much choice. Or they’ll defect. We’ll find out when the new release finally hits stores.