Wal-Mart: Microsoft should kill Vista Home Basic

[cork1958]

The real question should be what idiot or idiots actually BOUGHT home basic.

It was probably the one's who already knew what bloated crap was coming along with VistaMe2 Ultimate, and DIDN'T want all that junk (such as me). I just wanted the Vista disc to to copy and make into a Lite edition!

It only took me 2 days to realise what a POS Basic was also and wipe it from that machine. Already knew what a POS the other versions were.

[simmorya]

Why did they bother to release Windows Vista Ultimate. Im still waiting for my extras.

BitLocker should have been moved to Windows Vista Business.

There should be

Windows Vista Home

Windows Vista Business and

Windows Vista Enterprise.

Thats all.

[rpgfan]

I think the Capable/Ready thing was rather stupid.

Capable - able to be run Home Basic, without Aero and its buddies, regardless of how slow it is.

Ready - able to run Home Premium, with Aero and its buddies, regardless of how slow it is.

It is pointless. I just "fixed" a Vista Home Premium machine's networking issues for a friend, and it was super slow. Umm... It was barely out of the package! I asked my friend if I could take it home to speed it up a bit since I bought Home Premium for a new computer that I'll get around to buying at some point. He said, "Sure," and I just finished things up a couple hours ago. It is still rather slow, but the machine is "Windows Vista^TM Ready".

My hatred for Vista continues to burn brightly...

[revvo]

These many versions of Vista, it's Microsoft with hits huge marketing retarded strategies that do not meet the customers needs.

Vista Home Basic is a joke of an OS, as bad as M.E and I said this in my earlier posts, it should have never existed. Home Premium is fine, but it should have just been called Vista, and Business would be Vista Professional. That's it, no stupid Ultimate unless you want a larger e-penis.

[shakey_snake]

Home Basic shouldn't be sold for retail. It should be a OEM only.

Anyone whom home basic is intended for isn't going to install their own OS, however easy it is.

Selling it for retail does confuse retail customers.

[Caetel]

Two editions would have been preferable like XP, but even 3 could work.

Vista Home Edition

Vista Business Edition

Vista Ultimate Edition

That could have worked. Instead we have Enterprise and Home Basic too, which makes it confusing for consumers who don't do their research.

Doesn't really apply much to me either way, I'm waiting on Seven before I consider a new PC.

From my point of view, Home Basic is for PCs which wouldn't benefit from the additional functionality of Home Premium such as Aero or Media Centre, although it probably shouldn't be available to purchase standalone.

Enterprise isn't available for consumers anyway, so I don't know how it would be confusing.

[+Fahim S. MVC]

What most people don't seem to understand is that Home Basic does include Aero (i.e. the hardware accelerated GUI) but doesn't include the 'Glass' theme (it does have the same theme, without the tranlucency).

There has never been any issue with Home Basic, just the cruddy machines it was sold with - that aren't even capable at running it fully.

[KeeperOfThePizza]

Microsoft should listen to walmart considering walmart is pretty much the economy right now.

[Scorbing]

Who isn't furious about Microsoft's marketing.

Who isn't furious about Vista in general? Some love it. Some hate it. Some don't know what to think of it. Some call it Windows ME v2.0.

What can I say...

[Kupo-Cheer]

I think that Home Basic serves its purpose. I wouldn't personally use it, since even my 4 year old desktop computer can run the full Vista Aero (though only barely; and I couldn't see buying Vista Basic separately if you already own a full copy of Windows XP, but if you are buying a new computer, then why not go with even the most basic Vista if solely for the security updates? I mean, in most cases Vista and XP come at the same price, or possibly slightly higher in Vista's case. In my opinion, it is still worth it for the average user to run Vista Basic.

Now, in the case of buying it at retail, I can't really speak because I am very knowledgeable when it comes to computers. I personally don't see how people can't see the difference in Vista Home Basic and Home Premium; although I suppose that if you are a complete tool you could be confused. At that point, I think if people have no idea what they're getting into, then they *should* be "scammed" for their own inability to do the research before delving into the incredibly complex world of computing. Do we always have to attack Microsoft, who cater to the computer-retarded simply because they are still the leading operating system designers? A computer is an expensive luxury... one should know what they are getting themselves into.

[toadeater]

Do we always have to attack Microsoft, who cater to the computer-retarded simply because they are still the leading operating system designers? A computer is an expensive luxury... one should know what they are getting themselves into.

I wouldn't call a computer a luxury. Unless maybe you work at a dead end job. Computer skills, usually involving MS Office, are a requirement for most careers these days. MS has the market all locked-in, this is why people are mad at MS, they don't have any real choice but to use MS Office, and various other MS mumbo jumbo.

[Crazysah]

Microsoft made a Vista Basic just to make some money. They new some or the other people will buy it. They did not need to though!

[anthonyspt]

Keep OS X and Apple out of the argument here. Although 1 version from them is a good point of reference, OS X doesn't have 1/2 the features of Vista especially when you start adding up features OS X just won't even do like Ink/TabletPC, Media Center, Business features.

Vista itself stumbled out the door, this was Microsoft, NVidia, ATI's & Intel's fault. Although NVidia and ATI can try to argue that WDDM changes made it hard for them, then NEVER delivered even a Beta quality driver for Vista during the entire Beta cycle, so even if it were last minute changes, they had got even got a driver finalized enough to have to 'change'.

Vista with current drivers works well, and is what should have shipped, it now even outpaces XP in gaming with 1GB of RAM and this is will all the extra OS Noise level services running in Vista over XP. Vista architectually has the might, sadly the drivers and hardware issues at RTM time was horrible and has plagued the OS in consumer minds.

Microsoft SHOULD NEVER have released Vista with more than 1 or 2 versions. Everyone in the OEM channels and technical consultants to Microsoft YELLED at how horrible multi-versions was and the impact it would have on consumers. Even developers on the Vista team tried to protest the version changes, but were overruled by the marketing and Ballmer 'business $$$ first' people at Microsoft. (Things were better when ideal employees were groomed to be more like Gates with the mentality of just giving the technology to people instead of a large Dr Evil plan on how to make even more millions from it.)

Vista should have 2 versions, both being identical, with the buisness version NOT shipping with games, toys, etc on the DVD, even though they could still be installed from a secondary DVD. This would eliminate all buisness concerns.

Vista Ultimate should be the other version that has all the business and home features and installs everything the consumers wants installed.

As for Ultimate Extras, these should have been a Plus Pack - and sold as a $20 plus pack as Microsoft has done since Windows 95 days. Then people could pay $20 bucks for animated wallpaper. The Multi-language version that is Ultimate should also not have included the language packs as 'ultimate' extras, this is ridiculous.

NT & Vista have brilliant unicode and multi-language support and Vista is the first first to ship a language agnostic version, and there is no reason it should have been tied to the Ultimate version only. This increased deveopment demand as well, to supply regional copies of 'home' which is insane.

Microsoft should at this point, give everyone Vista Ultimate (even business users if they want it), and kill BOTH home versions. Ultimate like business has features that home users would use more than what MS realized, as Ultimate includes the 'Previous Versions' and complete backup features that are better than OS X's time machine, and provides more features for example, but Microsoft can't hit Apple head on in marketing with this, as they ripped the UI for it out of the Home versions.

I hope someone at Microsoft listens this time around and consolidates Vista down and eats the losses. Consumer goodwill is worth more than ANY money they have or would make off of the version differences. PERIOD.

[anthonyspt]

Why did they bother to release Windows Vista Ultimate. Im still waiting for my extras.

BitLocker should have been moved to Windows Vista Business.

There should be

Windows Vista Home

Windows Vista Business and

Windows Vista Enterprise.

Thats all.

I agree, however if you think Ultimate is just about the 'extras' there are about 50 features you have that Home and/or Business users don't have in total. The 'extras' were marketed too hard, and the real differences in Ultimate haven't ever been outlined by the tech community nor has Microsoft hilighted them.

For example, you have previous versions, this works with on Volume copies of document changes in addition to every backup you have ever made like Time Machine does. It is like Time Machine from OS X on steroids because it doesn't even require backups to work and it also doesn't ahve to backup every hour to keep very granual changes archived. It is a brilliant concept Microsoft first put on Windows Server 2003 and expand Vista to include backups like time machine does. Apple rips off the idea, and Microsoft is stupid enough to only put it in Business and Ultimate versions and Apple gets all the stree 'credit' for a Microsoft concept that Vista still does better.

I am too disappoint the Extras haven't all come out, but I am also happy for the Ultimate features that you don't get in the other versions.

[EnzoFX]

I see where both arguments are coming from, and both make solid points.

BUT, The naming scheme is still complicated. They're just names, and they should be simple. It's like if MS is trying to define what every one of these versions is intended for, but no matter what it names them, it screws up with people's impressions. IMO, this is BECAUSE there are other weirdly named versions for them to think about. I mean, even when it was XP MCE Edition (a very descriptive name), people would still ask me how it was different from the rest, and tried to compare it directly, etc. etc. They didn't get it, BECAUSE they have so many other names for reference.

Strictly Retail: just have simple names, Define it clearly in store, what their purposes are, so people can identify which version is right for them. Eventually people will learn the lingo/associate them properly/know what they represent, whatever.

I see what MS is trying to do, and let's say its the right thing to do, but

MS has such huge market share, that for that very reason, they should try to simplify everything as much as possible. They can have as many different versions as they want, I don't care, but they should make it simple for the consumer, at least make it SEEM simple, like if there's only one windows vista for them (not everyone is computer literate), and IMO that means simple titles/advertising.

[NEVER85]

Who isn't furious about Vista in general? Some love it. Some hate it. Some don't know what to think of it. Some call it Windows ME v2.0.

What can I say...

Those people are idiots.

[Gally]

They should just rename premium to home and remove basic

[Brandon Live Veteran]

They should just rename premium to home and remove basic

Why? Why would they do that?

Some people want the cheaper version. Just because you don't, why is that choice causing you a problem? Don't like it? Don't buy it. Home Basic replaces Windows XP Home, which I felt was a much crappier offering, personally. Home Basic, though, works fine. Sure, it doesn't have Media Center and such... not everybody wants to pay for that.

Why did they bother to release Windows Vista Ultimate. Im still waiting for my extras.

BitLocker should have been moved to Windows Vista Business.

There should be

Windows Vista Home

Windows Vista Business and

Windows Vista Enterprise.

Thats all.

But I want Media Center and Remote Desktop in the same version. Your suggestion does not allow that.

Ultimate is an amalgam of Home and Business.

Enterprise doesn't belong on your list. It's not a "SKU" really, you can't buy it. It is only for EA partners.

[ATLien_0]

I still think there should just be one version. I mean it really doesnt make sense how the business version costs $100 more than home premium when in the end after removing the home premium features and adding the business features into the OS its the same number of features.

One version thats all you need and at the install you can be given options on how the computer will be used

[Brandon Live Veteran]

I still think there should just be one version. I mean it really doesnt make sense how the business version costs $100 more than home premium when in the end after removing the home premium features and adding the business features into the OS its the same number of features.

One version thats all you need and at the install you can be given options on how the computer will be used

Business costs about the same as Home Premium, or only slightly more. The main thing it lacks is Media Center, but it adds in Remote Desktop, Previous Versions (aka Shadow Copy), domain-joining capabilities and group policy management, Fax tools, etc.

Basically, Home Premium took over the price point and market previously occupied by XP Media Center Edition. That was always a little bit cheaper than XP Professional.

The main difference is that in the Vista era, there is more to set them apart. And there's also the new Ultimate edition, the lets you have the features of both (something you couldn't do on XP).

As for having "one edition" - that edition would be pretty pricey. I don't think most users would want that.

[MGS4-SS]

One version being pretty pricey is an awful excuse.

Apple offers only one version at $129, I can't see how Microsoft can't match that.

[Glowstick]

The main difference is that in the Vista era, there is more to set them apart. And there's also the new Ultimate edition, the lets you have the features of both (something you couldn't do on XP).

Ripping MCE files out of Windows XP "Media Center Edition" and putting it into Windows XP Professional gets you MCE in XP Professional, next to joining domains and everything. And ripping in this context is meant like simple file copy.

The only thing that does "couldn't do" here is the Microsoft tax.

[markwolfe Veteran]

One version being pretty pricey is an awful excuse.

Apple offers only one version at $129, I can't see how Microsoft can't match that.

I am sure that they could. But they are a company. They have marketing analysts that determine price points to maximize profits. Any business does the same thing. Even Red Hat, which essentially sells support with a free OS, sets their prices to make the most money they can. Apple's $129 comes a little more frequently with each release, too, and that must be considered.

I don't begrudge Microsoft, Apple, Red Hat or any other company their profits. If you disagree with the price, shop elsewhere. :)

[XIII]

Not to mention that most Apple revenue comes from hardware, not software. They could easily compensate the low cost of having everything in one version.

[Dc'1]

I like having Vista's choice in SKU's, Vista Home Basic, I dont like.

It wouldn't be as bad if the basic theme was exactly the same as aero exept without the blur and transparency.

Microsoft should just get rid of Vista Home Basic, XP looks better than it, and has much bettur functionality.