I have to wonder what makes Microsoft think that we need five different versions of Windows Vista:
- Windows Vista Business
- Windows Vista Enterprise
- Windows Vista Home Premium
- Windows Vista Ultimate
- Windows Vista Home Basic
I can understand having a server version that is different from a client/desktop/notebook system, but these are all client versions. Ug, sometimes too much choice just results in more pain.
Hey, speaking of a server version, what is the next Windows server OS going to be? Will there be a Windows Vista Server to replace Windows 2003 server?
April 28th, 2006 at 10:12 am Evan Eickmeyer
The article at http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,1995,1950434,00.asp reveals a 6th SKU for Windows Vista: Windows Starter 2007.
The article at http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,2180,1931478,00.asp notes that there are technically 8 versions, the additional 2 being Windows Vista Home Basic N and Windows Vista Business N. The ‘N’ releases do not include Windows Media Player, ‘as ordered by European antitrust regulators.’
While 6 versions of Windows Vista sounds like overkill, the latter article also notes that there are currently 6 versions of Windows XP: XP Home, Professional, Media Center, Tablet PC, Professional x64, and Windows XP Starter (as well as XP Home N and XP Professional N).
April 28th, 2006 at 10:24 am Evan Eickmeyer
I hit ’submit’ before addressing your other questions. The article at http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,2180,1948571,00.asp states that Windows Server 2003 will be replaced by the codename Longhorn Server, scheduled for release in 2007.
Beyond 2007, the article reveals ‘Microsoft was shooting to roll out a new version of Windows desktop and Windows server every two years.’ This is despite the fact, as an analyst notes in the article, that Windows development has historically been serialized, not in parallel.
Before the latest announced delay in shipping Vista (to January 2007), Vista was scheduled to be followed by codename Fiji (aka Vista R2) in 2008, with Fiji to be followed by Vienna (fka Blackcomb) in 2010. In the server department, Longhorn Server R2 is scheduled for 2009, to be followed by Vienna Server in 2011.