One of the common gripes levelled against Microsoft and their operating systems is that there are just to many versions available and all of this segmentation leads to customer confusion. Take for instance Windows XP, their highly popular desktop OS that was launched in 2001.
This version of the Microsoft OS was available in five varieties, including one that was dedicated for the tablet computer. Five years later, Redmond came out with Vista and their OS was still segmented with the company releasing Vista in Enterprise, Business, Starter, Home and Ultimate versions. Windows 7, their latest desktop OS was no better with five versions being released.
Although we know Windows 8 is on the way this year, there were not a lot of details about the upcoming Microsoft OS available. We still don’t have an official launch date, nor do we know what versions are going to be released. Interestingly enough however, it would seem that there may have been a mix-up on the part of HP and part of Microsoft’s plan for Windows 8 may have been inadvertently released, at least in terms of the versions. According to a document that was spotted on the HP website, Microsoft plans on releasing three versions of Windows 8 and these include a basic edition, a professional edition and an Enterprise edition. For the average customer, this should make life a lot easier as they will not need an Enterprise version of Windows 8, meaning the choice will boil down to either a basic or a professional version.
There are a few things to keep in mind regarding this leak. First of all, this is a leak and there is always a possibility that this plan can change between today and the official release of Windows 8. Secondly, as it stands now, this plan is only for Windows 8 for Intel machines as Windows On ARM is not available yet for hardware vendors.
