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Microsoft unveils official Vista lineup, bye-bye Media Center
Remember when people thought that Windows XP Home, Professional and later Media Center would be to confusing for customers? Cuz Microsoft definitely doesn't. They officially announced the various versions of Vista this morning, and good luck keeping all six (yes 6) of them straight. Since we know that what you really want to do is record TV shows and stream high definition content to your Xbox 360, only two of them will really satisfy.Vista Business and Vista Enterprise are targeted towards workplaces small and large, respectively. Vista Home Basic continues your usual Windows XP/98/95 family tree with some enhancements, while Vista Starter is meant for low cost computers in emerging markets. Vista Home Premium adds the Aero desktop feature, Tablet PC and Media Center capabilities and Vista Ultimate is the do-everything of the bunch, including all of the available features.We're disappointed Microsoft didn't include Media Center capabilities across the product line. Besides the confusion factor, how are you supposed to tell your boss you need IT to install Vista Ultimate because you want to stream the HD Beat podcast while playing Project Gotham on one of the conference room projectors?
Microsoft WILL support Blu-ray? In Vista at least (maybe?)
Much has been made of Microsoft's supposed plan to include native support for only HD-DVD in their next OS, either in order to force customers to install extra software on their own and/or to force OEM's to face licensing costs on their own. Despite that, Windows IT Pro says internal Microsoft documentation indicates a plan to add Blu-ray DVD support to beta versions of Windows Vista.Microsoft still officially says it has no plans for Blu-ray support, leaving that to third party companies like Cyberlink. All of this comes just after Microsoft denied Blu-ray plans for the Xbox 360, so the question remains: Does Microsoft really hate Blu-ray, or do they really like it and are just playing hard to get? Be true to your feelings Bill.
