[PCWorld]

Post your comments for Windows 7: More Flavors Than Ever? here

[rixware]

People may blame compatibility issues or price for Vista's failure. But the proliferation of versions may have played a greater role than anyone has yet to realize.
Most consumers are not tech savvy enough to discern which version is the best for their needs. For me, in my home office, from which I run my home-based business, do I need the Home version or the Small Business version?
I don't know. What's the difference? Is it something small or big? Is it convenience or functionality? Is one missing a feature that I really need? One is $100 more than the other so it must be something. But who knows?
I'm exaggerating only a little.
It's clear that Microsoft has forgotten the first rule of marketing: KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid).
One version.
Not two or three or 10.
One.
That's the smartest move they could make, even given all the conventional wisdom about slicing and dicing up the customers into price-sensitivity segments. That only works when everyone understands your product.
Lets face it: Most people (readers here excepted) don't understand Windows enough to make that type of decision.
A great way to get rid of customers: baffle them.

[technicaljedi721]

My compromise to Microsoft is to create one packaged version of Windows 7 with the muti-sku's integrated inside the OS. But lets streamline those down a bit.

Netbook Edition - For Netbooks, legacy machines, and subnotebooks.

Home Edition - Consumer Edition with access to corporate networks, Media Center, and full backups.

Professional Editon - Sans Media Center, install option for Media Player, and corporate goodies for roll outs.

Ultimate Edition - Superset of everything.

Lets gear the Product Keys to allow you to change versions at will instead of locking you to one. That way the consumer needs or doesn't need function, they can change it when they please.

Can we also put the pressure on Microsoft to include 2 licencees in every sale of Windows 7? Most people need more than one. Also, an under $200 family 4 pack would definitely be helpful in these struggling times.

[dfschmid]

Stop it, Microsoft!

Enough already!

I want only one edition.

Not 700.

Not 50.

Not 10.

Not 5.

Not 3.

Not 2.

Only one please.

Make it simpler.

Our lives are already burdened with billions and billions of settings and options we don't understand.

Just give me one OS.

I'm a regular joe just trying to get my work done. I don't have time to deal with the edition garbage game. Ultimate means nothing to me. Basic means 'don't buy that'. Home also means 'don't buy that'. Premium sounds like a credit card.

Just give me one edition called 'Windows 7' with one option: 'Click here to install.'

Thank you.

[TheBigOldDog]

Microsoft has become the personification of the dysfunctional large company. All of these problems were pointed out before Vista even launched and they simply ignored everybody. They simply will not listen anymore.
PS - there is NOTHING "MBA textbook-style" about what they did. No business school nor textbook that would recommend adopting a marketing strategy that was so obviously doomed to fail from the start. It was an attempt to maximize revenue in the misguided belief that they had the power to dictate terms to the market. If anything, the Vista case will be studied by B schools as one of the biggest failures in recent history.

[RNR19952]

LOL like the rant

[waldojim]

And people say Linux fails because of the number of options available....

[oldschoolh4ck3r]

The problem with making a single version available as opposed to multi-tiered versions is that the single version would have to be priced based on all the features included. So, if you want to use just the basic OS features, and not a database/web server, for example, you'll still have to pay for that feature; you wouldn't have the option to buy the OS without the extras (for a cheaper price). I don't like Microsoft's naming scheme though. "Home", "Premium", etc. It's confusing. Just one name is all is needed, with multiple offerings featuring different features and prices. They should offer the additional features for a smaller additional charge online or offline instead of having to buy a new copy of the OS branded with a different name.

[bbvammy]

How about USB edition? so, I can take it with me like Ubuntu or Linux

[lenioia]

Enough of all those Skus. Please, no more flavors than Vista, and possibly, fewer. Really few people and few small biz have the necessary understanding of licensing to buy the correct version. I saw so many people coming to me with a brand new Vista Home + Office Home ready (not even activated), convinced they had all they need to use it for work... How can you explain them there's no way they can upgrade their office eval to an office pro for less than the price of the pc, while they could have had it as a far cheaper OEM if they only knew about it? Does anyone understand how much this mess is pushing people in the illegal software market? So, no more Skus than those the casual user can understand while passing in a retail store, more crystal clear advertising about which version to pick and why, more training to your resellers, and more economical feasible options to change version at any time if you have changed your mind or happened to buy it wrong. For all of your products, I'm really sick to spend more time in the licensing than in the actual installation. It looks like you're doing all your best to prevent people from having the correct/legally purchased version.
And "I think there should be one version of Windows which allows the OEMs [PC makers] more flexibility"... where, in the craplet sector? So that people can blame Microsoft once again about buggy and annoying OEM software MS hasn't any control over? Do you think anyone understand is not Vista fault, when ages passes while an Acer (the masters of all the crapsmiths in my opinion) is starting all the eAnythingManagement utilities?
And please note, this above is the opinion of a long time Microsoft fan. I'm using live search from the beginning and hotmail since it became yours, I recommend your products to the businesses I work with, I'm an office ribbon fan since the first beta.
I even loved Clippit.
But your licensing is a nightmare for anyone dreaming of a legal license. If you aren’t to change anything about it, at least start bundling headache pills into the license boxes. They should fit into the empty spaces where CDs were once used to stand.

[dragon69]

if they want it be a success then they should try and no more then 4 or 5 different versions and they should price it lower then they did with vista (or offer a cheap upgrade from vista ) so if they can price the full retail version for less then 350 and have only 4 or 5 versions they may have a hit on their hands
just my humble opinion

[ChillerBaggins]

I agree with 'TheBigOldDog', if they teach this for MBA we are all doomed. Even I, with no qualifications know there are 3 sectors to cover only.
(Cost-Retail$)
Low -(that would be Home Pre)
Medium - Pro
High - Ulti or enterpr
People move between these 3 depending on their finances - but that's it! Covers whole market.
You wonder where MS marketing dept. learnt their ??trade???

[Northlite]

What ever version comes on the computer I buy that I can afford will be the version I have. My Vista machines depending on price came with Basic and Home Premium which I dumb ed down to Basic anyway. I don't sit around looking at my OS I just use it to run my programs.

[ChillerBaggins]

See, that's choice 1 (low) or 2 (medium$) which you could afford. However I should say that those 3 price choices where for the box product of Windows only. When loaded onto a machine the 3 price choices become the manufactures machine, not Windows.

So, a manufacturer would load Windows as just another component and sell 3 priced (their brand) machines. And they WOULD prefer to just use one Windows - and their choice would be Windows Home Premium as it was known in the past.

The fact that they had to offer 2 choices of OS by including BASIC, was because Vista would NOT RUN properly on some machines. That was Microsoft stuffing them around - and Intel sticking it to MS to offload under performing chips they had massive stocks of.

You got to a retailer and try deciding on more than 3 price choices - you will become disorientated and more than likely delay your purchase. (That is of the ONE BRAND NAME.)

[Northlite]

I think I just read that Win 7 will have 7 versions, a low end will be for Netbooks and so on up the ladder pretty much the same as Vista. Some will be self evident, Enterprise is for volume licences. Still this won't effect me as I am dollar driven not version driven. I don't care which version comes on the computer, it just has to have enough horse power to fit the need it is intended for so which Windows version isn't important to me. I am not dependant on any of the options included in higher priced versions as I have an array of software of my own that has to be loaded on them.

I have been buy, sell and trading in home computers for a group of about 25 or so people since Windows 95 and by and large these people have worked their way up to - surf the web, email, do music to iPods or MP3 player and hook their digital camera to them. My sister who only does AOL still has a Windows Me computer, the rest are on XP and a few stepped up to Vista but not until they wanted to or wanted more computers in the house. I haven't upgraded an OS since XP came out, prior machines were not worth upgrading to run it, it was more practical for us to stay with what we had until we wanted to upgrade the entire machine, back in those days less was upgradable on store bought machines also.

I think the up side to buying a cheap computer is that you don't have to feel you have made an investment that you have to keep forever so in 3-5 years you may feel you got your moneys worth out of it, sell it off and buy a new one.

As a side note the one Basic I have here is and Acer with an AMD processor, not Intel, with a gig of ram, it's used for AOL for my husband and all the younger kids games, some dating back to Windows 95.

For an example, I am running the beta Win 7 Ultimate on my laptop, I have yet to find anything in this version that is useful to me over the Basic version of Vista. Maybe it's because over the years I have never been OS dependant on it coming with features, I have my own. For browsing I use FireFox, for email I use Thunderbird, for serious photo work I use GIMP for light stuff I use Windows Live Photo Gallary before that Picasa, before that PictureIt 9, for just all around I use Infranview, for Office work I use FrontPage for 3 web sites I manage, MS Office and some computers have OpenOffice on them, in short the Operating system doesn't have to come with any extras for me or anyone I set a computer up for. I use Windows Media player to handle my music for my MP3 player and rip and burn to CD's for the car. I use an SD card in my camera which I plug into my laptop or desktop and use Photo Gallery to transfer them over to the computer.

[dragon69]

i have a limited education but from what i can figure out from the windoze 7 blog their will only be 5 SKU's (stock keeping units) released
and i think these are what they will be

Windows 7 Ultimate

Windows 7 Enterprise

Windows 7 Professional

Windows 7 Home Premium

Windows 7 Home Basic

but you almost have to be a lawyer to read the windows page lol

but it should be only 3 or 4 to keep most of their customers from getting to confused when chosing the right version for their needs in my humble opinion and i hope they keep the cost inline or lower then vista was when released
Message was edited by: dragon69

[ChillerBaggins]

Might be worth trying:

BurnAware Free

and

MP3Gain (To level the sound..)

*Do a Google ..