Windows 8 to cut SKU's from 11 to 6

[Timman_24]

Looks like it's back up to 9
http://windows8beta.com/2012/03/excl...nsumer-preview

Fail.

Wow. ARM edition? That's BS, it should just read during the install and appropriate the right drivers. The differences between these are probably trivial, but it is too confusing, even for enthusiasts. I hate to see the return of the worthless starter edition.

To be fair though, these are from registry scans of the prerelease distro. Things are subject to change and I believe there hasn't been an official announcement yet.

[Nick_B]

I have no problem running 32 bit software on a 64 bit OS - none at all.

For business software (at least in many industries), it doesn't matter if something runs if you can't get vendor support for it.

[JabberJaw]

perhaps Microsoft offers the illusion of choice to protect their virtual monopoly

[Vindir]

Honestly though... make it two or four SKUs. A Home and a Pro edition. Then if necessary a 32 bit and 64 bit. It's tardacious to have to play these games with MS after all this time.

[ImaNihilist]

Honestly though... make it two or four SKUs. A Home and a Pro edition. Then if necessary a 32 bit and 64 bit. It's tardacious to have to play these games with MS after all this time.

Honestly, why even have a home and pro edition? Just means that Windows at home may be different from Windows at work.

Sorry! This version of Windows doesn't allow compatibility mode!
Sorry! This version of Windows doesn't support network backups!
Sorry! To use BitLocker, please upgrade to a better version of Windows!

Ridiculous.

[Vindir]

Honestly, why even have a home and pro edition? Just means that Windows at home may be different from Windows at work.

Sorry! This version of Windows doesn't allow compatibility mode!
Sorry! This version of Windows doesn't support network backups!
Sorry! To use BitLocker, please upgrade to a better version of Windows!

Ridiculous.

Agreed. I say home and pro because it's too much to ever hope they'd not want to stick it to "pro" and "business" users.

It's all unnecessary.

[vertices]

I personally think it's fine to have a home version, then a business version. I mean there is a lot of tech and development that goes into Windows features that will only be used by Enterprise. I see no problem with charging extra for those features. But I really can't see the need for more than 2 versions. Home and Business, that's all they need.

[James]

I personally think it's fine to have a home version, then a business version. I mean there is a lot of tech and development that goes into Windows features that will only be used by Enterprise. I see no problem with charging extra for those features. But I really can't see the need for more than 2 versions. Home and Business, that's all they need.

As long as home supports backup to a network drive. (Which is the one feature I recommend Win7Pro for "home users" to get.)

[James]

Update: Offical versions announcement from Microsoft. Win8 is equivalent to Win7 Home premium. Win8 Pro is equivalent to Win7 Ultimate. Win8 Enterprise is Win8 Pro w/ volume licensing. And finally WinRT is Windows 8 for ARM. Interesting note: WinRT comes with Office pre-bundled.

http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b...-editions.aspx
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5755/m...oduct-editions

This means that we are down to 7 SKU's for the mainstream, which isn't terrible. And only 6 can actually be purchased. (WinRT is ONLY available pre-installed.)

SKU list:
-----------------
Win8
Win8 64-bit
Win8 Pro
Win8 Pro 64-bit
Win8 Enterprise
Win8 Enterprise 64-bit
WinRT

*Edit: Final note: Windows Media Center is a PAID ADD-ON for Win8 Pro ONLY. This pisses me off... a lot.
*Edit2: Still can't understand why Microsoft is bothering with x86 only versions. So dumb.

[Steven P Jobs]

*Edit: Final note: Windows Media Center is a PAID ADD-ON for Win8 Pro ONLY. This pisses me off... a lot.

hahahahahaha that can't be a real thing

[James]

hahahahahaha that can't be a real thing

Straight from the Windows blog. It will be paid software, only available on the Win8 Pro version.

Windows Media Center will be available as an economical “media pack” add-on to Windows 8 Pro.

[Timman_24]

Straight from the Windows blog. It will be paid software, only available on the Win8 Pro version.

Oh well, I don't know many people that use it. It is ugly and bloated IMO.

[James]

Oh well, I don't know many people that use it. It is ugly and bloated IMO.

I honestly love it, not to mention it's still the single piece of software that can do CableCard TV recordings. Until more providers offer IPTV that can be recorded easily, it's the only solution.

[Timman_24]

I honestly love it, not to mention it's still the single piece of software that can do CableCard TV recordings. Until more providers offer IPTV that can be recorded easily, it's the only solution.

I know WMC is used a lot for recording as they have a huge compatibility list, but I'd dare to say most people only have very basic media center needs. Streaming from the PC to a device is probably the number one feature people need. A lot of people just use XBMC or Front Row for mac.