The many faces of Vista

So, you may have heard about the six versions of windows Vista that Microsoft will unleash on us latter this year. It would seem that this has caused a bit of a sour taste in many a poweruser's mouth, as they see that 6 is just too much. Well, just remember that Windows XP also has six versions, all aimed a specific device uses (aside from home and pro, that is) where as Vista's versions are keyed to more of what you use your computer for. For example, Vista Home Basic is just that, basic, easy to use for the average home consumer who just wants e-mail, Internet and word processing. Then, a step up, we find Home Premium, which is what most of us will have. It is comparable to Media Center + Pro, and with Tablet functions for Tablet PC users (though Home Basic may also have these functions) And lastly for the consumer market is Vista Ultimate, which is the be all end all Vista, encompassing all the features of the Home and Business lines. Speaking of business lines, Vista will have two business variants, one for smaller businesses, and one for larger businesses. And lastly, Vista Starter edition is a version aimed at developing nations. The latter three are unlikely to appear on store shelves in North America, Europe and other first world countries, as they are either not meant for those markets, or are not for home use.

This is better than what we have right now which is: XP Home, Pro, Pro x64, Media Center, Tablet PC and Starter (I am uncertain if there is a version of XP for Itanium processors). Starter is the same idea, for developing nations, but what if I wanted a Tablet PC that also had Media Center functionality? Or any such functionality in true 64 bit? I truly think that the Vista versions are more straightforward than the XP versions