Exclusive: Vista Product Editions Still Not Finalized

Five months after I revealed the Windows Vista product editions, Microsoft appeared to corroborate my report last weekend, officially revealing which Vista versions customers will be able to purchase later this year. The corroboration came in the form of a Web page that described each product edition. However, just 1 day after being posted, the Web page was taken down. Now, Microsoft says that it hasn't yet finalized Vista branding.

"Microsoft recently posted a Web page designed to test the Windows Vista Help system that included incomplete information about the Windows Vista product lineup," a Microsoft spokesperson told me. "This page has since been removed as it was posted prematurely and was for testing purposes only. We will share more information about the Windows Vista lineup in the coming weeks."

On the now-missing page, Microsoft's final branding varied only slightly from my initial report: One product version (Starter Edition) was renamed and one version (Vista Small Business) didn't appear on Microsoft's short-lived Web site. But according to the comments I've gotten from Microsoft, perhaps the Small Business version of Vista is indeed making a comeback.

Here are the product editions Microsoft plans to ship for Vista according to the most recent information I have:

Windows Starter 2007 (Previously Windows Vista Starter Edition). This version doesn’t use the Vista branding because it won't include the Windows Aero graphics display found in the Vista product line and will be available only in a 32-bit version.

Windows Vista Home Basic (and Home Basic N). This is a simple version of Vista that's aimed at single-PC homes. Vista Home Basic is the baseline version of Vista, which all other product editions will build from. Home Basic N is aimed at the European Union (EU) and will lack Windows Media Player.

Windows Vista Home Premium. This version is aimed at whole-home entertainment and personal productivity throughout the home and on the go. As a superset of Vista Home Basic, Vista Home Premium Edition will include everything from Vista Home Basic to Media Center and Media Center Extender functionality (including Cable Card support).

Windows Vista Business (and Business N) (Previously Windows Vista Professional Edition). Windows Vista Business is roughly analogous to Windows XP Professional Edition today. This version is aimed at business decision makers and IT managers and generalists. Business N is aimed at the EU and will lack Windows Media Player.

Windows Vista Enterprise. Optimized for the enterprise, this version will be a true superset of Vista Business. It will also include unique features such as Virtual PC, the Multilingual User Interface (MUI), and the Secure Startup-Full Volume Encryption security technologies ("Cornerstone"). There is no analogous XP version for this product.

Windows Vista Ultimate. The best OS ever offered for a personal PC, optimized for the individual. Vista Ultimate Edition is a superset of both Vista Home Premium and Vista Business, so it includes all the features of both those product versions, as well as additional features.

As I noted in my September 2005 write-up, all of the Vista product names were placeholders and could change before the final product release. This week, it's clear what some of those changes are. For more information, please refer to my Windows Vista Product Editions Preview on the SuperSite for Windows; I'll be revising this document to match the known changes soon.

Windows Vista Product Editions Preview

End of Article

Very good article
It would be good to see a article with the hardware requirements to run the OS and with other apllications running as well .

danielhyam February 18, 2006 (Article Rating:

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I'm running Build 5270 on an Intel Centrino 1.6GHz with 1GB ram and it runs perfectly with all the advanced graphics and Aero Glass turned on, I expect by RTM that you should be able to get it to run on a 1.0GHz machine with 512mb ram and a VDDM/LDDM compatible graphics card (specs are what I'd guess for full Aero Glass effects).

Jason Cox February 18, 2006 (Article Rating:

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Fire Microsoft's marketing department. FIRE them! This is so hilarious. Microsoft is such a corporation. They don't even realize they speak in meaningless corporation market-speak now.

"Would you like Windows Vista Home Basic or Windows Vista Home Premium? Or perhaps you would prefer Windows Vista Ultimate? It's 'optimized for the individual!' Or if you're wanting something quick and cheap, what about Windows Starter 2007? Or do you need Windows Vista Business for your home business?"

"Um...what? I thought I just needed Windows."

"With any version of Windows Vista, you'll get to run Windows Mail, Windows Address Book, Windows Picture Gallery, Windows Live Messenger, Windows Media Player, Windows Internet Explorer, Windows Defender, and Windows DVD Maker! Access them all from the Windows button, previously the Start button, integrated with Windows Live and Windows Office Live! Also comes prebundled with Windows Office on request."

"Does everything need to start with Windows?"

"Windows Vista! Clear! Connect! Organize your digital life!"

"Please stop reading from the Microsoft.com Windows Vista page and speak like a human, please...I just want something to surf the 'net with..."

"Well, here's a 3.2Ghz 1GB RAM powerhouse with a DirectX9.0c video card with Vista pre-installed...you're gonna need it just to boot up and display windows on the screen."

"WHAT?! That's it, I'm getting an iMac."

bonch February 19, 2006 (Article Rating:

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bonch,
LOL, your imaginary conversation is hilarious and isn't far from the truth! I agree that they should fire Microsoft's marketing department... just look at what they also did to all the Visual Studio 2005 editions, what a bunch of idiots!

levesda February 19, 2006 (Article Rating:

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bonch, you should be writing commercials for Apple. Brilliant. And it's only funny because it's true...

As for "reading from the Microsoft.com Vista page", I love Paul's clearly objective line:

"Windows Vista Ultimate. The best operating system ever offered for a personal PC, optimized for the individual."

Yikes. Talk about reading from the script. And here's a question: Why do have to go all the way up to "Ultimate" to get a version "optimized for the individual"? Shouldn't the "Home" versions be "optimized for the individual"?

This is gonna be fun.

lotsamystuff February 19, 2006 (Article Rating:

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"Clear," indeed. This is a transparent case of MS marketing trumping development decisions and feedback from customers and the press.

Let's call it what it is: a total disaster. It's a disaster for the OS, by crippling features in dumb ways. (EU legal compliance notwithstanding, but why punish your US market for that?) It's a disaster for support of all types, by again creating different OSes with different capabilities and workflows. It's a disaster for the platform, because it will slow adoption and confuse users. And it's, ironically, a disaster for marketing, because there's no way you can sell this many flavors of an OS.

Of course, it hasn't actually happened yet. Maybe there's time to get them to about-face on what looks like it good be a really great upgrade.

Paul, thanks for breaking this now -- because what every journalist, every user needs to do from here on out, EVERY time we mention Vista, is to start and end with this complaint.

peterkirn February 19, 2006 (Article Rating:

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The tragic part is that once upon a time, Vista was supposed to be a really great and revolutionary rewrite of Windows. Marketing and management killed that.

bonch February 19, 2006 (Article Rating:

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M$ reminds me of the American car companies building their bloated overly chromed cars while ignoring what their customers wanted and the Japanese cars slowly taking over. One of these days M$ will get a wake up call and people just wont pay big bucks for DRM hobbled bloatware.

blahblahblah February 19, 2006 (Article Rating:

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This sounds like the right environment for Linux to jump in and gain some market share.

blahblahblah February 19, 2006 (Article Rating:

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This is more proof that Microsoft is losing it's grip. They have been completely out of touch with their users and developers. IE 6 & 7 is a web designer's nightmare, this Vista DRM is a nuisance, Active X should be outlawed.

Some people may not like Macs, but you have to admit that Apple really nails usability. Microsoft should stop copying 2-3 year old features and figure out how to implement OPEN SOURCE architecture!

mjeffreys February 19, 2006 (Article Rating:

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