gigaom.com) -- Earlier this week, Microsoft (MSFT) formally announced the various Windows 7 SKUs, or product editions, and a brouhaha quickly ensued. There were the inevitable comparisons against Mac OS X which essentially has one edition consumers can purchase. Questions arose around netbooks because they’re capable of running the Ultimate edition, but consumers won’t want to buy an OS that adds a disproportionate amount of cost to lower priced hardware. Good questions all, but some of this is much ado about nothing, at least from a consumer perspective. Today, there’s some focused clarification by Brandon LeBlanc on the Windows 7 Team Blog that merits a closer look, especially as it pertains to netbooks.
Let’s start with the many editions of Windows 7. For sake of argument, I’m going to assume that you’re in what Microsoft considers a developed country. That rules out Home Basic. And since you’re a consumer (remember, that’s the focus here), you have no chance to purchase Windows 7 Enterprise. So now from six possible editions we’re down to four already. That should reduce 33% of the whining.
Digging deeper, the Windows 7 Starter Edition and its limitation of running three simultaneous applications at a time isn’t something you can buy off a shelf. You can’t because it’s only sold through OEMs. Might you see this license type included with a PC from a Dell, HP, Acer or [insert computer brand here]? Sure, but it would very likely be on value-based systems. You might see it offered on some netbooks, but I expect two things if that happens. One, these systems won’t sell well or they’ll see higher return rates. Two, these systems will offer Windows 7 Starter Edition at the same price as a Linux system, i.e.: this keeps cost down (one of the Linux benefits), but still offers the familiar look-and-feel of Windows. Personally, I think this edition was created as a business decision, not a technical one. I see this as meant to eek out a little more revenue instead of losing it to Linux-based systems. I’m not necessarily in agreement with the decision to offer it, but quite honestly, I don’t expect it to affect me (or most of you) in the slightest.
And then there were three. That leaves Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate. In terms of marketing muscle, Microsoft is putting most of it behind the first two. Ultimate is nice and runs well on a netbook, but the vast majority of netbook owners don’t want or need what Ultimate adds. It’s simply not worth the cost premium on a bit of $350 hardware: the extra features aren’t very consumer-focused. So you can get it, but you won’t likely see ads for it. And if you’re already running Windows 7, you can quickly and easily get it through the Windows Anytime Upgrade feature. I can’t share specifics on the upgrade process, but I’ve read other observations stating that it can be done in less than 10 or 15 minutes. I’ll go out on a limb and say it can be done even faster than that.
This brings up a point worth mentioning and it’s something that Brandon reiterates too: all of the Windows 7 features are included with every edition. They’re on your PC if you’re running Windows 7; you simply need to run the WAU to pay for and unlock an upgraded edition. There’s no need to insert a disk or worry about not having an optical drive for your netbook. And as you move up the ladder, each edition is a superset of the prior. That means any upgrade is a true upgrade: you won’t lose any of the features you had, you will only gain features. One hope I have is that Microsoft allows you to remove the code for the higher edition features, given that some netbooks have limited storage capacity. I’d gladly accept the inability to use WAU if I could gain a few hundred megabytes or a gigabyte of hard drive capacity.
So now, we’re essentially down to two: Home Premium and Professional. Microsoft recommends the former for consumers while the latter is aimed at enthusiasts and small business customers. These are the two editions you’ll see on store shelves and they will be the two offered on the vast majority of new systems. That’s it.
With two left, where does that leave netbooks? Here’s a direct quote from Brandon, emphasis mine:
“Many of you have been asking about how to think about SKUs and very low-end notebook PCs or “Netbooks”. All SKUs of Windows 7 will work on many of these devices, with Windows 7 Home Premium as the recommend SKU on small notebook PCs with sufficient hardware.”
Again, I have no doubt some netbook OEMs will offer the limited Starter Edition of Windows 7, but they won’t be top sellers for the reasons I mentioned. There is the caveat of “sufficient hardware” but I don’t see that as an “out” either. Windows 7 runs more than adequate on the common Intel Atom netbooks currently available. It’s been proven by us, by sites around the web and even emphasized by Microsoft when Steve Sinofsky took a Windows 7 netbook on stage at last October’s WinHEC. The current minimum recommended specs for Windows 7 (subject to change, of course) list a 1.0GHz CPU, 1GB of system memory, 16GB of storage capacity, DirectX9 support and 128MB of video memory for Aero. By and large, many of today’s netbooks fit the bill and surely tomorrow’s will too.
Valid questions like “couldn’t Microsoft have made it simpler?” or “why do we need six versions to choose from?” are sure to continue, but after today I’m moving on. Case closed. The consumer and netbook choice isn’t as complex as some would make it to be. I’d rather just get the edition that works best for me and my hardware so I can have fun and be productive with my netbook.
Besides, we have more important issues and challenges in mobile technology than this, don’t we? I’d prefer to focus on those because they’re things I can address, tweak, change or potentially control. I’ll likely take some heat for this opinion, but the way I see it: I have zero control of what product editions that Microsoft offers, so I’m not going to waste my time or energy on it. It’s that simple to me, and it can be for many of you to0. Think about it this way: knowing what you know about your computing needs and the availability of the six editions, how much of an issue it really?
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram