Windows

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http://www.osweekly.com/index.php?option=c...&Itemid=449

 

The Problem With Five Versions of Windows Vista

Author: Brandon Watts

Date: Monday, 11 September 2006

 

 

 

(Column) - One of the great things about Amazon and other online shopping services is that they usually list items for pre-order months before they're actually released. This allows your anticipation for the product to build more and more until your wait is justified with the release of the item that you've been in expectation of. I don't know if you've been anxious for Vista, but Amazon has given us a sneak peek at when we can expect to get our OS-lovin' hands on it.

 

Microsoft has been hinting at a January release date for quite some time, and according to Amazon, they're going to meet that goal since the date is scheduled for January 30th. Now, if something came up and Microsoft felt like it would be best to further delay the release of the software, then you can count on the fact that the release date would be pushed back, but for right now, it looks like we can get ourselves into the January 30th frame of mind.

 

These product listings from Amazon are significant in a couple of other ways, too. Not only do they reveal the supposed release date, but they also shed some light on the pricing and the number of versions that we can expect, and all I can say is I've got a headache from reading through all of it.

 

You'd probably think that there would be a Home and Professional version of Vista like there is for XP, but that would be too easy for us to understand. Instead, we're faced with Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate. The cheapest version of the software is the Home Basic Upgrade which will cost $99.95 (not bad, Microsoft) while the most costly version will be the full version of Ultimate which can deplete you of $399. Yikes. On top of that, additional license packs are present in Amazon's listings, and you'll have to rub your eyes in disbelief once you see what they'll financially require of you. As you can imagine, more versions lead to more complications.

 

We've known that Microsoft would be unleashing The Fab Five on us for some time now, and it just amazes me that they've found it necessary to release five different versions of their OS. You can't just tell a computer retailer that you want to buy Windows Vista; instead, you'll have to specify which version you want. This may not seem like a big deal to you, but it's going to lead to user confusion just like Home and Professional did for XP. There are just two versions of Windows right now - imagine what it's going to be like when there will be five. People won't know what they're getting.

 

I can sort of grasp the concept behind having a Home and Professional version, but five different versions? Crikey! Sometimes I just wish Microsoft would give us all of the goodies in one tidy package like Apple does. When you buy OS X, you get all of OS X - no questions asked. They do sell a Family Pack, but it's the same OS with extra licenses. Every OS X user essentially has the same experience, and they aren't left wondering if their version can support a certain feature. You know, I may be a Basic or Premium user, but I might like to have access to some of the Ultimate features of Windows on occasion. By following through on this strategy, Microsoft is fostering the expansion of the digital divide.

 

In terms of pricing, the Home Basic Upgrade may be rather affordable, but the expanded versions are reaching for the stratosphere. If you rely on your computer for business, then you can reason that an OS upgrade is an investment, and the price may not seem that ridiculous when you think about the fact that new versions of Windows are released several years apart from each other.

 

Even with that said, sticker shock may still be an issue for Microsoft, and it probably wouldn't have hurt them to at least consider the idea of progressively improving the OS year after year and charging a reasonable fee to upgrade to the latest version. This is what Apple has done with OS X, and it's allowed them to be more profitable on their OS sales. OS X may appear to be cheaper, but if you upgrade to each subsequent release, then you're actually paying more for Apple's OS then you would for Vista. The upgrade approach makes the cost more palatable, and you avoid the sharp sour taste that is left in your mouth when you have to consider whether you're going to drop a lump sum of money on the whole kit and caboodle.

 

January 30th may be the day that Vista is released, but it could also be the day that hordes of Windows users make the move over to Linux.