Microsoft Readies Packaging for New Versions of Windows and Office

Published: February 22, 2006

by Alex Woodie

Microsoft has reportedly set the final packaging for this fall's introduction of Windows Vista. It also announced last week the new name for its next generation of Office, which had gone by the codename "12."

On the OS front, we'll likely see a collection of six main Vista editions, including Windows Starter 2007, Windows Vista Enterprise, Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Ultimate, and Windows Vista Business, according to the Web site www.activewin.com. Additionally, Redmond will ship two versions of the OS that don't contain the Windows Media Player, including Windows Vista Home Basic N and Windows Vista Business N. Microsoft is still planning to ship Windows Vista by the end of the year, with the server version, which still goes by the codename Windows Server "Longhorn," expected to follow in early 2007.

On the Office front, Microsoft announced that this fall's release of the new version of Office will go by the name 2007 Microsoft Office. Microsoft says this lineup will include a wide assortment of "suites, applications, servers, and services" (not to mention a headache if you tried to view and grasp all the options and upgrade paths at one sitting).

At the top of the Office heap is Office Enterprise 2007, a new offering that includes every Office product in one kit and caboodle, including new 2007 versions of Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, Access, InfoPath, Communicator, Publisher, OneNote, Groove, and a package of services that Microsoft calls "integrated solution capabilities such as enterprise content management (ECM), electronic forms, and information rights and policy capabilities." The old 2003 version of Office Professional Enterprise Edition 2003 becomes Office Professional Plus 2007, and includes everything in Office Enterprise 2007 except for the OneNote and Groove bits. Office Enterprise 2007 and Office Professional Plus 2007 will only be available through volume licensing deals.

Moving down the stack, we come to the $499-Office Professional 2007, which has everything the Plus version does except for InfoPath and Communicator components, and Office Small Business 2007, which has everything Office Professional has except the Access database, and costs $449. The Office Standard 2007 offers the "big four" Office components, including Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint, and will cost $399. The Office Home and Student 2007 packages Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and OneNote for the bargain basement price of $149, while the Office Basic 2007 package, which is only available through OEMs, will include Word, Outlook, and Excel.

In addition to the suites mentioned here, each of the individual Office programs will also be available, for various fees, depending on if you're buying the product new or upgrading from an older product. Some programs will also be available via Web services, including Outlook Web Access (OWA), Communicator Web Access, and Project Web Access. The company will also have new 2007 versions of its Groove collaboration applications, including Groove Enterprise Services, Office Live Groove, and Office Live.