Microsoft Vista Info Leaked

slashnutt writes to tell us Yahoo News is reporting that Microsoft accidentally released information about Windows Vista earlier than originally planned. From the article: "Microsoft disclosed information about a plan to release eight different editions of the new operating system on a company help page that was under development. The company has not made any official statements about the different versions of Windows Vista it plans to offer. The company has since taken down the Web site and declined to confirm the information and said it will offer more details about the Vista launch, targeted for the second half of 2006, in the coming weeks. Microsoft spokesman said in a statement 'This page has since been removed as it was posted prematurely and was for testing purposes only.'"

Re:Enough Choice To Choke A Horse

[C-Diddy]

The cost of differentiating a product in this fashion are huge, both on the development side, and especially on the support side. I wonder if this isn't a bit of a mistake. I remember the situation Apple faced several years ago: A substantial number of product lines created huge costs. One of the first things that Jobs did was to slash the number of hardware products, thereby cutting out big chunks of fixed and support costs.

MS, however, does have some pretty good marketing folks, and software isn't hardware, so maybe they get economies of scale here in a way I can't think of at the moment (particularly as I'm sipping a martini at my desk).

Re:Enough Choice To Choke A Horse

[Rodness]

What (quite possibly) actually happened is that they did intend eight versions, and the OEM manufacturers came back and said "eight? are you fucking nuts? we can't get people to intelligently choose between two choices (home and pro), and you want to offer eight?"

So now they're backpedaling (and probably consolidating) and trying to cover their asses... "Oops, our bad!"

Someones getting fired...

[gwizah]

Have they leaked which of these versions will run Halo 2?

Or will it be included as a pack in?

Accident, my ass.

[NaugaHunter]

More like 'How can we see how people will react to this idea but maintain deniability if they hate it?' If it's liked, fine. If it isn't the story will be 'oh that was an old plan - here's what we're really doing.'

Bundled Crapola

[forsetti]

"More choices are rarely a bad idea. I dislike bundled crapola that I'll never need or want."

I agree, but I think eight baseline distributions will be a nightmare for them to support, and a nightmare for us to choose and upgrade between. One baseline "Windows Vista" would be sufficient, plus something like apt-get (ms-get media-player) or a nice little entry on the Microsoft Update page to "Install Cable Card Support", or "Install Media Player Support". You could even be guided through a shopping cart type environment, so they could charge for the "upgrades".

Why sell 8 distinct versions? Maybe better answered with another question - if I buy "Windows Home Premium", can I "upgrade" to "Windows Vista Business" for a reduced cost?

Re:What you talkin' about?

[hwangeruk]

Its not so retarded. Imagine you are a decision maker. Do you roll your own distribution? Or choose one off the shelf? If so which one? The guys argument may not have been delicately articulated, but its still a valid point. "Linux advocates" can hardly make negative comment about MS product range when in the Linux world the choice is even broader. Whether more choice is bad, or product ranges having missing features is a discussion on value which Linux may well win in terms of price/features (I mean how do you beat free? if not for total cost of onwership) is another matter. But he is right. I too would rather for general office automation at work choose an XP flavour from 8, than a Linux distribution from many many more (even if there are only a handful of serious choices)

Re:What you talkin' about?

[JordanL]

You are discussing kernel versions a completely different topic.

You've got to be kidding.

That's like saying that Dell and HP and IBM and etc. all sell different versions of windows because they all come prepackaged with different crippling spyware.

different situations

[dustmite]

Market segmentation [wikipedia.org] (with rate fences and aimed at price discrimination) is not the same as substitute competition [wikipedia.org]. The latter is actually good for you.

Re:What you talkin' about?

[penix1]

"Free software discussions aside, do you think that is also unfair that one must pay more for a nicer car over a basic car? They both get you from point A to point B, but one has more amenities that some people want."

So if I got this right you are bitching that there is too much choice in Linux? If so, then here goes my rant...

All of Microsoft's problems with security as well as stability are rooted in the fact that they are homogeneous. Every Windows system is exactly like the next. The lack of diversity is what will always make them vulnerable regardless of the scheme they try next to patch it. It is a problem of their own doing.

Let me illustrate why diversity is not only preferrable but necessary...

Let's say you have a "managed forrest" of oaks. What do you think will happen when an oak disease breaks out in that forrest? you got it. They all get infected. Now, lets run the same scenario in a diverse forrest. That same oak disease won't affect the pines, maples, etc..In fact, if you have isolated pockets of oak a disease is less likely to spread. That is what diversity does.

Now, back to this topic. The diversity in Linux makes it stronger, not weaker. Regardless of the "version" of Windows you get it is still going to have the same features, structure, and vulnerabilities if the base is homogeneous.

B.

IBM have the best (backwards) compatibility

[cmdrbuzz]

Why would you think that? Microsoft has the BEST support for multiple OS and backwards compatibility that I've ever seen in the entire software industry.

I would suggest you look at z/OS, where I am currently running a module that a predecessor wrote back in 1975 (way before I was born).
Not to mention the iSeries lot, where they have changed the hardware architecture twice (ala the PPC to x86 mac change) without any recompiles, let alone source changes.
And again, OpenVMS where I can run stuff written for VMS 2.0 on VMS 7.3.

The software industry is more than just Microsoft.

Re:It won't be that confusing to retail buyers

[Ruie]

Windows Starter version will never be seen by 99% of people outside its intended market (developing nations).

I was actually hoping that one would be able to pick it on Dell's website and knock off a few more bucks off the purchase of my next Linux notebook.

Re:It won't be that confusing to retail buyers

[MojoStan]

Don't forget about the people who d/l it from kazaa or bittorrent?

Ars Technica actually has an interesting take [arstechnica.com] on this (Enterprise Edition, Business Edition, and pirated versions).

Most Slashdot readers probably know about a pirated "corporate" version of Windows XP Pro that's widely available on peer-to-peer networks. This version's volume licensing (and no activation requirement) is what makes this pirated version easy to use by illegal downloaders.

For Vista, the only versions availabe through volume licensing (Business Edition and Enterprise Edition) are missing features that most pirates want (Media Center features and other goodies). The versions that pirates want (Home Premium and Ultimate) will require activation, so illegally downloaded copies of these versions will be a pain in the ass to use (in theory). Doesn't MS block "cracked" versions from downloading updates?

Re:You're a sheep-wool over your eyes and everythi

[Anonymous Coward]

I've been asked for an explanation. I was trying to use Ghost to image a bunch of our PC's with our standard software load and then run the mini setup wizard so that I could enter the particular key for the box being installed. The problem is that OEM keys will NEVER activate via either the web or the automated phone system, so I had to talk to a person each time. I ended up having to get in writing from MS that I could use a volume license key to mass reinstall OEM licensed PC's.