Too many Vista versions… mistake?

Apple has always kept three words in mind, “keep it simple”. Microsoft (market leaders in confusion) take the opposite approach. With eight different versions of Windows Vista they like to keep customer mystification at necessary Microsoft levels.

Microsoft isn’t blind, they’ve realised that mistakes have been made with Vista. With Windows 7 (the Windows Vista successor) they’ve put a lot of effort into improving Vista and have developed a Windows 7 pre-beta that is stable enough for general use. This does show Microsoft is learning from their mistakes, Windows Vista Beta 1 (Longhorn) was an utter disaster and an unusable operating system.

Does Microsoft see the eight versions of Windows Vista as a mistake? On installation of Windows 7 pre-beta it is clear that the decision hasn’t been made yet as the logo states, “Windows 7 Ultimate”. Microsoft confirmed that Ultimate Extras (a failure) was soon to be a distant memory. Does this mean the end of Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise and Ultimate? Hopefully.