Windows 7: The Six Versions Explained
Regardless of calls for one version, Microsoft will release six versions of Windows 7. The good news: Most users need only care about two or three of them. Here we explain the features of each version and who is likely to use them.
CIO — Despite pleas from users to stop the confusion and craft one version of Windows 7, Microsoft is continuing down the path it followed with XP and Vista releasing multiple versions or SKUs (stock-keeping units) of Windows 7.
Six Windows 7 versions, to be precise. But most users only need to decide between two versions. Microsoft has said that 80 percent of users will be deploying Windows 7 Home Premium (consumers) or Windows 7 Professional (small businesses, remote workers). This is where Microsoft will put most of its marketing muscle.
"We have over 1 billion customers. It's hard to satisfy all of them [with a single version]," Windows General Manager Mike Ybarra has said. "There are vocal customers who want every feature, and more regular consumers who say 'I want a version that can grow with me.'"
Yet some analysts are accusing Microsoft of manipulating customers and padding profit margins with the high number of versions and bloggers are emphasizing that three versions are enough.
Here's a look at the features of each of the six Windows flavors and who might want them. Microsoft has not yet announced pricing for Windows 7.
Windows 7 Starter
This is the bare-bones, 32-bit only version of Windows 7 intended for users in developing countries, to serve the most basic computing needs.
Starter is designed for lightweight, portable netbooks, though Microsoft claims any of its versions will be able to run on netbooks.
Windows Starter 7 will not have the Aero Glass graphical user interface that is included in all other versions of Windows 7 (except Windows 7 Home Basic) and can only run three applications at a time. It will include the revamped taskbar and jump lists, Windows Media Player, the file-sharing feature Home Group (you can participate in a Home Group but cannot create one) and other basic features such as Action Center and Backup and Restore.
Starter will not be available in retail stores, and will only be offered pre-installed on new PCs by Microsoft OEMs.
Windows 7 Home Basic
Home Basic sits somewhere between Starter and Home Premium. It has all the features of Windows 7 Starter and will also only be available through OEM partners in developing countries. Also like Starter, it will not include the Aero Glass GUI.
Some of the features Home Basic has over Starter: the ability to run more than three applications at once; a 64-bit version; thumbnail previews from the taskbar; and Mobility Center, which allows you to manage the various networks that you connect to with your laptop.
