Windows 8 to have 3 SKUs Windows RT

Back at the beginning of March we were disappointed to discover that Microsoft was apparently going to carry on its tradition of offering way too many versions of Windows 8. For Windows 7 there were 6 versions to choose from, and the registry files included with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview suggested that was increasing to 9 SKUs for Microsoft’s next OS. Now Microsoft has officially announced what versions of Windows 8 will be available, and thankfully it looks as though they have listened to feedback from users. There won’t be 9 versions of Windows 8–Microsoft has decided on just 3 SKUs: Windows 8 looks to be the standard consumer edition of the operating system, and will be the choice for the majority of users. Windows 8 Pro is suggested as the version for enthusiasts and business users. The main features it adds include drive encryption, virtualization, and remote desktop hosting. In both cases, 32-bit and 64-bit versions will be offered. As for the third SKU, Microsoft has decided to name it Windows RT because it is exclusively aimed at ARM platforms and therefore needs to be differentiated. It will only ship with hardware and comes with touch-optimized versions of Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and OneNote as standard. You can view a full feature comparison via The Windows Blog link below, but it looks as though Windows 8 Pro will only be necessary for a minority of users. Windows 8 does everything most people will want, and it’s really great to see Microsoft adopting just 3 versions of its OS. Probably the most complicated thing about Windows 8 is the upgrade path. Obviously Windows RT doesn’t feature in this regard, but upgrading to Windows 8 isn’t allowed if you are running Windows 7 Pro or Ultimate. For those users there only exists an upgrade path to Windows 8 Pro. Alternatively, if you run Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, or Home Premium, you can upgrade to Windows 8 or 8 Pro as you wish.