You'd think that after getting sued, Microsoft would think twice before doing that. But they're greedy fucks, so what can you expect? I'm sure Starter will be worthless and Ultimate will be a ripoff and it will follow the trend set by Vista with a ludicrous price on top of it all for a glorified service pack.

it gives people a choice, if you don't need all the extra features you can buy a cheaper basic version, and if you want more features you can get the ultimate version

It gives you the illusion of choice. When in reality the cheapest version is about how much an OS ought to cost.

It is unfortunate that Microsoft dominates the operating system "industry" so to speak. They have really bombed everything in the last few years.

What?!? No Windows 7 Core edition for those of us who want to go back to a command line interface? No Windows 7 Ultimate Plus 100 that cost $100 more than Ultimate and includes the very useful feature of being allowed to download any one installation only digital copy of any Microsoft game valued at $25 or less? No Windows 7 Diamond that comes in a box with lots of bling and has a diamond screensaver unique only to that version for only $500 more than the Windows 7 Ultimate Plus 100 edition?

Come on Microsoft - how can I show that I like to spend tons of extra money for promised but never delivered features. Maybe they could try a new tactic - sell Windows 7 Beta for half the cost of Ultimate (but the license is only good for 6 months) and Windows 7 Metered (charges you for every second of time you use the Ultimate version - say 1 cent per minute. That's only $14.40 per 24 hours of use (so remember to shut down).

Why am I hearing The Who's song "Won't Get Fooled Again" all of the sudden...

W7Starter for the $400-500 laptops. Maybe we will see them in future netbooks? Don't know what the minimum requirements for W7 is yet so I'm just throwing that last one out as a possibility.

Only if it came in a shiny commemorative tin box with a map showing how to find all the hidden system settings.

@ MDillenbeck

Win7 Server will have a core edition, just like W2K8 Server.

Screen shot doesn't look all that legit to be perfectly honest. You don't get to select which version of Windows you run... you did that before you made it home.

I was under the impression that there were to be three versions...

A basic version designed specifically for netbooks and not sold to the masses, Ultimate which would be what is on most machines, and Business.

If this turns out to be true I sure hope that whoever made the decision behind this was one of the 5,000 employees canned.

I thought the whole idea would be sell us an OS cheap and slick without being bloated with stuff we may not want. Then with their live service you can "rent" features you want and download them and install... MS should get away from different feature set which you pay for. Allow us to pick and choose the service and software we want and stop cramming crap down our throats!

LOL its an improvement from all those idiots in the xp days thing pro is "faster" then home

tayb, that's the same install screen you get with w2k8 server, just gotta have the right license to register the right version. Probably will go away upon release though...

Will there be a Windows 7 Free Edition?
I don't see why this worths a penny over Linux...

I can't believe there is going to be an even more basic edition then Home Basic. Aren't Microsoft getting sued for improper marketing of Vista Basic because in reality it wasn't really Vista?

What can they possibly take more out of home basic? I'd buy the windows without IE for even just $5 less.

More proof than Mojave project is trolling people =D

If you download Windows 7 via MSDN, there is a note when you retrieve your Windows 7 Beta key, which reads:

While I doubt that Microsoft will move to a single edition of Windows 7 (the note seems to imply that Windows 7 will ship with multiple SKU's), it does seem clear that Microsoft may be rethinking the ridiculous number of editions that Vista shipped with.

Given the troubles MS has had with the whole "Vista Capable" program, I wouldn't be surprised to see some or all of the "Basic" editions (Starter, Home Basic, Business) disappear in Windows 7, leaving only the more full-featured editions (Home Premium, Enterprise, Ultimate). Of course, this is all just wild speculation at this point...

Doesnt matter to me. I get enterprise for free.

This had nothing to do with the fact that they had multiple versions, and everything to do with how they (based on Intel's crap and nagging) labeled the various hardware that ran those versions.

Damn I miss big company IT...got this olp shit on my end...none of it is free to me or the company.

Eff you dude!

Good info post, Earthquake.

I really hope they don't have a stupefied version like Vista Basic. If someone's PC doesn't meet the hardware driven interface requirements, it should just disable it.

Makes you miss the easy choice of XP Home vs XP Pro.

For any one who has used the Beta 7000 build this is alrady there but hidden by default. All you have to do is open the ISO and make some changes.


1. Make a copy of your .iso for safe keeping..
2. Open the .iso
3. Browse to the "sources" folder
4. Remove the file "ei.cfg"
5. Save the .iso

Now when you install you will get a choice of home basic, home premium, business, or ultimate.

This really is no surprise. Any company making any product would offer as many possibilities as possible in order to attract the most costumers.

There is a High demand for a GREAT MS alternitive, if you think you have what it takes to make a great OS by all means do so.

However with the 2 other options out there, one expects you to buy overpriced mid grade hardware and the other just isnt up to par on the compatibility list.When asked about the compatibility, your treated as if your a lower class citizan because you expect your software to work without trolling forums for 3 weeks, getting talked down to and spending more time tinkering with your OS then using your programs.

We need directx compliance in linux. If linux can get proper gaming support, i think MS would really have to think hard.

Unfortunate, but well said. I do still find linux to be worth the time and the occasional noob bashing that it takes to learn. Fortunately you only have to learn it once. I could definitely do without all of that though.

You can't have directx compliance in the same way you can comply with and use standards like HTML or TCP or etc. Directx is a closed source MS product so there are no published standards or specs to comply with. It will probably never come to linux unless it is reverse engineered, much like what the samba team does with SMB/CIFS.

Regardless of greed, i'll take it over Apple's BS anyday.
To be truthful, for the price of even the top end W7, its worth it.
I've wasted money on far less useful things that were far more expensive.
I know i'm not the only one.

At least I have access to the education versions and will be able to pick up Ultimate for about $30 from UT Austin.

I talked to Bill this morning, and apparently these WILL BE a Diamond edition. It is only $300 dollars more and has a time limitation, but you can extend the time by getting your friends to buy Windows 7 releases: 4 Months for Diamond, 3 months for Ultimate and Business, and 2 months for Home Premium. The Starter and Basic version do not grant extensions. Once the time limitation expires, it reverts to Home Premium, and for every edition you sold, you get tiered prizes! The low tier, at three subscriptions, is an "I Love Windows" bumper sticker, all the way up to 30 subscriptions, which is dinner with Bill at Outback Steakhouse! Included with all Diamond editions is a shiny diamond in a tin box. -->jhansonxi Bill would not elaborate on the quality of the Diamond, but he did say it would be compatible with Microsoft Live.

Windows 7 Extreme Gamer Edition. It is 64 bit only. It has less features than basic. Direct X 11. All services disabled at startup. Costs more than Ultimate.