Microsoft has been criticized in the past for the sheer number of SKU’s they roll out for Windows. Windows 7 arrived in quite a few editions – Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Home Basic, Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate, and also Windows 7 Enterprise for the volume licensing customers. All of these version have their own capabilities, and the Starter version had some severe limitations, that basically just begged the user to upgrade it. Confusing right? Compare that to Apple, who only makes one edition of Mac OSX for consumer machines. The good news is that Microsoft has finally listened to the criticism, has made the Windows 8 choice a lot easier for customers.
Here are the “normal” versions of Windows 8:
Windows 8: This is the defacto version of Windows 8 which will ship with most new consumer x86 based computers. x86 processors are your standard Intel or AMD based laptops or desktops. Users of Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, and Home Premium will have an easy upgrade path to this version of Windows 8. Expect the new Start Menu, with its all the included “tile” based apps, like Mail, Calendar, Messaging, Photos, Music, Video, and some social features. The user will of course still have access to the traditional desktop for apps that have not been written to utilize the new Start Menu tile interface.
Windows 8 Pro: Another x86 based Windows version, but focussed on business-line machines, who also require business features, like joining domains. Users from all versions of Windows 7 (except Enterprise) can upgrade to this version of Windows 8, and the feature additions are all valuable to power users. Security features include Bitlocker encryption, encrypted file system, group policy and remote desktop host. Expect business-focussed hardware to ship with this version of Windows.
And here are the specialized versions of Windows 8, which cannot be bought seperately:
Windows 8 Enterprise: Very similiar to Windows 8 Pro, but only available to Enterprise customers, who have Software Assurance agreements. Major addition is the ability to use advanced deployment tools, very similiar to the old Desktop Optimization Pack. Not available to standard consumers.
Windows 8 RT: This version of Windows is built specifically for ARM based tablets and mobile devices. ARM is the typical processor architecture used by tablet devices and phones. Because it runs on a entirely new architecture, it cannot be run on x86 based hardware, and the standard Windows Desktop is not available. This means that all ARM-focussed apps will need to be run inside the tiles interface. This version of Windows will include special touch-enabled versions of Office which is custom made for mobile ARM hardware.
Want a full rundown of which features will be available with which version of Windows 8? Check out this table, courtesy of Microsoft:
| Feature name | Windows 8 | Windows 8 Pro | Windows RT |
| Upgrades from Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium |
x |
x |
|
| Upgrades from Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate | x | ||
| Start screen, Semantic Zoom, Live Tiles | x | x | x |
| Windows Store | x | x | x |
| Apps (Mail, Calendar, People, Messaging, Photos, SkyDrive, Reader, Music, Video) | x | x | x |
| Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote) | x | ||
| Internet Explorer 10 | x | x | x |
| Device encryption | x | ||
| Connected standby | x | x | x |
| Microsoft account | x | x | x |
| Desktop | x | x | x |
| Installation of x86/64 and desktop software | x | x | |
| Updated Windows Explorer | x | x | x |
| Windows Defender | x | x | x |
| SmartScreen | x | x | x |
| Windows Update | x | x | x |
| Enhanced Task Manager | x | x | x |
| Switch languages on the fly (Language Packs) | x | x | x |
| Better multiple monitor support | x | x | x |
| Storage Spaces | x | x | |
| Windows Media Player | x | x | |
| Exchange ActiveSync | x | x | x |
| File history | x | x | x |
| ISO / VHD mount | x | x | x |
| Mobile broadband features | x | x | x |
| Picture password | x | x | x |
| Play To | x | x | x |
| Remote Desktop (client) | x | x | x |
| Reset and refresh your PC | x | x | x |
| Snap | x | x | x |
| Touch and Thumb keyboard | x | x | x |
| Trusted boot | x | x | x |
| VPN client | x | x | x |
| BitLocker and BitLocker To Go | x | ||
| Boot from VHD | x | ||
| Client Hyper-V | x | ||
| Domain Join | x | ||
| Encrypting File System | x | ||
| Group Policy | x | ||
| Remote Desktop (host) | x |
