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6 versions with 6 different start menus.  Who at Microsoft thinks this is actually good?

The Ultimate version should say "Thanks for your Money" on the start menu.

I still can't believe there are 6 versions. There should be Home Premium, Professional, and Enterprise, and that's it.

I myself am confused by this. Couldn't there be a standard set of features new to Windows 7 that appears on Start menu of all SKU's? Improved WordPad and Paint, Sticky Notes, Media Player, Getting Started?

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Why would anyone find this confusing? Awkard... yeah, but hardly confusing.

Noone seems to complain to one obvious stupidity - Snipping tool?! I mean come on! Is that most-used application on advanced versions of Windows?

It would make way more logic to include WMP/WMC, WordPad, Picture viewer, ok, add Sticky Notes if you like them.. and you can than just add Remote Desktop to Pro/Ent or something similar.

Getting started and Anytime upgrade should be there as well, that's fine, and IMHO only thing that actually makes sense in the Microsoft's setup that Paul described.

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How is any of this confusing? Starter and Home Basic aren't even offered in most countries. Only emerging markets such as Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Russia,  and South America. Most Western Countries will never see Starter or Home Basic. So you might as well forget about them, because they won't be in stores. Enterprise Edition is just for big businesses, small businesses, and special contracts. Nobody anywhere in the world will see this version unless you deal directly with Microsoft.

The most you'll see in the store is Home Premium and Professional Edition. Just two.

More than likely, there will be some places that sell Ultimate like Fry's or Microcenter. I bet Ultimate will mostly be sold as an online upgrade if you absolutely need everything.

But since Paul's being thorough, he has to mention Starter, Home Basic, and Enterprise. This information has been publically available for months now. Heck, you can Google it, look it up on Wikipedia, or Microsoft's website. All this "confusion" non-sense is just an FUD tactic.

Looks like MS is at it again.. becoming too overconfident before they sell any copy. Why the heck do we the consumer care what is on the start menu?

I always customize my own.

I'm with subzerohitman.  You lot are too picky and too obsessed with editions to actually note that different editions are aimed at different markets.  In virtually all markets, you'll only ever see two versions of Windows.

This is a prime example of geeks who can't get their head around the real world and worry too much about things that don't matter one iota.

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"Starter and Home Basic aren't even offered in most countries. Only emerging markets such as Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Russia,  and South America. Most Western Countries will never see Starter or Home Basic."

Sorry, that's wrong.

Windows 7 Starter is available on very low-end systems worldwide.  Only Home Basic is available exclusively in underdeveloped countries.

@sub:

I should note that Starter is only available to OEM's.  It isn't available at retail.

The very fact that there is confusion here in this thread as to what versions are sold to whom and where makes the point of version confusion.

I have no doubt that most consumers will get home premium and that 99% of business will use Pro and maybe Enterprise.

Bestbuy (Fry's is not nation wide) will probably sell the most copies of Ulitimate in a store for those suckers that buy it, and NewEgg will grab the majority of online Ultimate sales.

The confusion level is not high, I just think that if you are trying to sell something, the less consumer confusion about your product the better.  I am even going to say that is probably a business 101 best practice.

So who here can tell us what the default Start menu was on Windows XP Home? How about Windows Vista Professional? How about Windows 95?

Nobody?

Yeah. I'm sure the items on the default Start menu will be a huge issue for all of you. Yeesh.

We need a comparison table ;)

"The very fact that there is confusion here in this thread as to what versions are sold to whom and where makes the point of version confusion."

No actually it doesn't.  It just means that people aren't reading what others that are more informed wrote but continue to harp on the subject anyway.  Paul, Microsoft, and even myself have mentioned the same information over, and over, and over again, yet some still just can't clue in.

AFAIK Ultimate will also be an OEM SKU.  As far as I've read from Microsoft, there doesn't seem to be much word that it actually will be available at retail, but it's also an exclusive SKU that I probably won't be selling anyway because Pro offers everything any enthusiast or high-end user would need.  Only businesses really need the capabilities of Enterprise/Ultimate.  Now that Pro includes everything in Home Premium, I don't see the need for users to pay to go to Ultimate.  The only confusion I see is from a lack of communication from Microsoft due to the fact that they haven't started mass-marketing it.  Obviously that's because it's not complete yet.

Oh will you some of you please stop!

Do we need YET ANOTHER 200 post faux outrage  "I'm sooooooo confused over all of these versions" P*** and Moan-a-thon?

THAT MOST OF WHICH YOU WILL NEVER SEE!

Is that clear that you will not see most of them? Should it be posted in 200 different languages so you can get it through your thick heads?

I swear you would think people on sites dealing with technology would have the ability to READ and UNDERSTAND the reasons for multiple versions before they repeat the same tired BS, that has been uttered stupidly before.

Master3

It really does come down to one question...

Will this computer be used as part of a corporate network?

If Yes, buy Professional

If No, buy Home Premium

And if at some point in the future your needs change and you do need to connect your Home Premium computer to a corporate network then you can upgrade at that point to Professional.

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The only people who are confused are the ones who let themselves be confused.  Why people are so concerned about editions that they aren't even going to get I don't know.

@mike:

I would go so far as to say that if someone has a special case and they need the Enterprise features for individual use, they probably already know that they need to buy Ultimate without even thinking about it.

Waethorn

The "Having different versions is too confusing" arguments rarely seem to come from anyone actually confused. They seem to come from people who really are saying "I want Ultimate but I don't want to pay more than the cost of Starter"

"So who here can tell us what the default Start menu was on....Windows Vista Professional?"

That's a little hard to do actually.

"The "Having different versions is too confusing" arguments rarely seem to come from anyone actually confused. They seem to come from people who really are saying "I want Ultimate but I don't want to pay more than the cost of Starter""

Another double standard from mikegalos...point out the basis in fact of that statement for us, please. Just earlier today, you were complaining about people doing exactly what you just did.

--tayme

tayme

You'll find many examples in the multiple times this has come up over the past several months including many you likely participated in. Feel free to go back through the history on this board for examples of discussions that provided that conclusion.

Waethorn:

Nailed me on that one. I changed one part to get a better spread of examples and missed changing the other part.

@Master3 the only OUTRAGE I see is your post.  I hope your blood pressure is in check, maybe you should switch to tea and put down that 5 hour energy drink.

Regardless of wether you understand the versions, most here would/should, there has been plenty of pieces published on version confusion caused by Vista with the average consumer.

This is old, but its still funny.

www.joyoftech.com/.../915.html