Now that win 8 has RTM’ed…. im going to stop pkaying with it in virtuals only and install it on my main work laptop….

But which version ? Well, apparently finidng out the exact differences isn’t as easy as a quick google search….

Some of the hits bring up pages like these…

http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2012/04/16/announcing-the-windows-8-editions.aspx

http://windows.about.com/od/windowsosversions/a/Which-Version-Of-Windows-8-Is-Right-For-You.htm

http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/making-sense-of-the-windows-8-versions-1076505

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/253990/windows_8_which_version_should_you_choose.html

What amazes me is how incredibly vague all of these articles are – and why would you take some of these features out ? isnt that much more work ?

So – Windows 8 and Windows RT are effectively useless for anyone that is likley to be reading this blog – “cannot join to a domain”…. fair enough, most home users dont need to do this – but are you actually gaining anything by taking it out ?…. woohooo, you’ve crippled 2 versions from being able to be managed in the most basic ways – that your comsumer market are never going to use anyway. You’ve maybe stopped a few cheap-skate corporates from using the standard version…. but there is market segmentation and then there is market confusion and annoyance…. you’re engaging in the latter.

and from the windows team blog (top link) – in regards to the differences between Pro and Enterprise….

“As with previous versions of Windows, we will also have an edition of Windows 8 specifically for those enterprise customers with Software Assurance agreements. Windows 8 Enterprise includes all the features of Windows 8 Pro plus features for IT organization that enable PC management and deployment, advanced security, virtualization, new mobility scenarios, and much more. ” 

Can we have some specifics? what have you taken out? (i am skeptical that it really contains “all the features of pro”) whats the much much more? (e.g. in win 7, media centre wasnt included with enterprise – which for traveling consultants is nice to have…. is Direct Access available in Pro or only in enterprise ? etc.)

It’s all well and good to release a product – but c’mon…. you guys (MS) know what the differences are between the versions – how about publishing that info in a concise way to remove confusion, rather than vague fucking sales bullshit.

I short – provide clarity around the features of your versions at release – its not an unreasonable request – and it will stop your TAM’s from getting hammered with support calls.