Vista Delays And Multiple Versions: Cut Through The Confusion

Takeaways
Microsoft hasn't set pricing yet, and that could have a profound effect on which versions wind up being the best values. Still, I'm already drawing conclusions.

First of all, Windows Vista Home Basic is the version of Vista you should avoid. Unless there are specific business reasons for buying or leasing Vista Basic machines, I can think of no real reason why the purchase of such a product makes sense. The hardware support level will be XP class, and in that case, you might as well buy or stick with XP.

I haven't tested Windows Vista Enterprise yet, but I don't think it offers enough extra functionality to make it a must-have over Windows Vista Business. The virtualization utility would be nice, but you can add that functionality from standalone utilities offered by VMWare and Microsoft. Of course, because of the volume pricing available for Vista Enterprise, those few added features are just little sweeteners. But Vista Business will be available at volume discount pricing, too.

It's unclear whether Vista Business will be selling on business-class PCs from direct retailers like Dell and Gateway in time for the holidays. But if you have to have Vista on a new PC, that may be the way to go. Although Vista Business lacks the digital media features, it's a very good OS. It's probably no surprise that I find myself gravitating toward Vista Ultimate. I don't really need it at work, but in my home office, Ultimate will be a must for me and probably many other advanced users. It's the only version that can host Remote Desktop connections. I have e-mail running on only one machine in my home; in order to access it wirelessly from any room in the house, I simply initiate a Remote Desktop connection. So the one machine running e-mail, at least, will need Windows Ultimate.

People who run small businesses largely from their homes, and who try to get away with a single PC for both business and pleasure, will also prefer Vista Ultimate. For many home users, though, Vista Home Premium is probably the best version.

Microsoft has invited reviewers to a workshop in early May, and with Microsoft's WinHEC 2006 tradeshow being held in late May, it's very possible we could see another beta drop that month. On the other hand, Microsoft's recent Windows Vista delay announcement throws the logic of everything Microsoft has worked for into doubt. Could there be two or even three more major betas? Has Microsoft decided that it needs to add new features to the consumer versions?

A lot of things are up in the air. Microsoft is breaking a lot of traditions with this one, and I expect the surprises to keep coming.