When XP came out, Microsoft began offering different "flavors" of the OS. There are Home, Professional, and Media Center editions. When Vista came out, this was made more complex and confusing to the end user. You have Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate. You couldn't just upgrade from Home Basic to Business either. It required a complete re-install.
My question is "When I buy Vista, can't I just have Vista? Why is it possible for me to buy functionally limited software?"
Well...my question doesn't get an answer, but the choices are slimmed down into categories and a structure that make more sense. When Windows 7 hits the shelves you will be able to select from Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate/Enterprise editions.
The editions are incremental. Home is Windows 7 with the new interface, media center, etc. Windows 7 Professional is everything that Home Premium is plus advanced abilities like joining a domain and some other stuff handy for business. Ultimate/Enterprise edition is everything that Pro is plus all the language packs, bitlocker drive encryption, and you can boot it from a Virtual Hard Disk file. High-end stuff.
The upgrade process from one edition to the next is vastly simplified: Buy the key, enter it, and the new features are unlocked.
So there's another optimistic bit of info as we look forward to the end of XP and the rise of '7.' My beta machine is still humming right along. I'm using it to develop a web application, and it's still performing very well.
Thanks for reading. Next topic is going to be encryption!
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