Six Editions of Windows 7?
It has been announced this week that the upcoming Windows 7 release will come in six different versions! I find this to be utterly ridiculous.
Back in the 1990s, I always lamented the dual Windows offerings, which at the time were Windows 95/98 for home users and Windows NT/2000 for business users. Later, when Windows XP was released, it still had two flavors, with Home and Professional editions available. I was at least pleased that both of them fell under the umbrella of a single product, XP. Fast-forward many more years, and Windows Vista came in four versions: Basic, Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate. I think this confusing lineup has been partly to blame for Vista’s slow acceptance, though that is only one small aspect of what people have not liked about Vista.
Microsoft has apparently not learned any lessons from their past decisions, and seem content to confuse their customers all the more. They are charging forward with six editions of Windows 7. Really? This is completely asinine to say the least. Upgrading from any of the four different Vista releases to any one of the six new Windows 7 releases is sure to be a complete nightmare. I am really fed up with the state of Windows today. I believe that at this point, adding even more editions of Windows to the already absurd lineup is a monumental mistake. It gives the public a perception that the new Windows is going to be even more bloated and confusing than the last one.
In 2006, I bailed on the Windows world and became an overnight Mac user. As such, I can confidently say that I use the one and only Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard operating system. Every other Mac user has the same installation and feature set that I have on my Mac. As Steve Jobs once said, mocking Microsoft, “Everybody gets the ‘Ultimate’ edition.” Microsoft should do likewise, with one single Windows 7 product to debut on the market. Then again, I suppose that would be too easy on the end user, which is something that Microsoft has not shown much interest in over the years.
bravo! you should send that to some pc mags.
Maybe I will!