Every day for the past two weeks, Seattle has been bathed in golden sunlight. For every reaction, there is an equal and opposite reaction!
On a different note, I’d like to take a moment to fire off a rant about the different product editions of Windows Vista that Microsoft will be inflicting upon us. In total, Microsoft is planning to ship up to 8 different versions of Windows Vista, butchered in varying degrees, and offered to different “markets” of computer users. This includes, for example, intuitively named packages such as “Windows Starter 2007″ and “Windows Vista Home Basic,” (if “Windows Vista Home Basic Premium” is too much for you.)
I think this is dumb and irresponsible for several reasons. First, with eight different versions of an operating system floating around (three of which will be marketed to home users and consumers) Microsoft seems to be violating one of the basic marketing canons: don’t confuse the buyer. Now people are going to be worried about purchasing the “correct” version of Windows, and in a society where the majority of people are still pretty computer illiterate, this confusion will necessarily be counter-productive. In addition, this means that Microsoft, or perhaps your local best buy “sales rep,” now has a de facto license to tell you that you need to purchase a particular edition of Windows Vista.
Second, the differences between some of these versions do not appear all that significant, perhaps even trivial to some extent, and yet Microsoft’s marketing will be telling people that these are “different” operating systems for different purposes. But that’s just downright silly. I recognize that some technologies are not appropriate for certain users, and it would be silly to make a home user who will never have occasion to use XP Professional’s business-oriented networking capabilities pay an extra $100 for something they’ll never use. BUT EIGHT EDITIONS!? C’MON!
Third, and ultimately what pisses me off the most, is that it’s basically all the same crap but with different programs installed. But that’s what is so ridiculous about it: will someone who uses Windows Starter 2007 be restricted from installing programs and utilities that will essentially make that version comparable to Windows Vista Home Premium? Conversely, if someone can just uninstall crap that they don’t need on their Windows Vista Home Basic version, to make it look more like Windows Starter 2007, why shouldn’t they be able to do that, instead of having to purchase a “different” operating system? It’s an operating system-you’d think that people would at least be able to operate it. Frankly, if this is the case, I think this would make Windows Vista look pretty stiff and inflexible.
It can be very beneficial and efficient to create multiple versions of a product. Boeing sells the 777 in two different sizes and with three different types of engines. But Boeing does that because many airlines have enjoyed long-term relationships with certain engine manufacturers, so having a preference in engines makes Boeing more marketable. However, whereas Boeing offers choice because that’s what airlines want, Microsoft wants to dictate purchases of its operating system with this product edition crap.
So, I’ll say it again: EIGHT EDITIONS!? C’MON!
