37,002 Versions of Windows

I'm a Windows guy, I've always been a Windows guy. I've worked with Macs almost as much as Win boxes in my career, and it's not that I think either is better, I just like Windows more. I have to admit, I haven't really given any 'nix OSes a chance yet, but that will come, and I'm sure I'll find things I like and dislike about them as well. What really irritates me to no end is this 'separate operating systems for different users' foray that we're starting to see. It seemed to start in the days of Windows ME (oh my was that a waste of money, resources, time, and whatever else it could have been a waste of). Windows ME was geared toward people who wanted to use Windows 98 but couldn't figure it out or wanted a more "user-friendly environment". Now I'll admit, I fell into the hype and bought ME, and had it installed for a total of about an hour before putting 98 back on my machine (hope my money was well spent, Microsoft). I liked some of the new features, but my main beef was with hardware incompatibility, and lack of support for Personal Web Server (oh MAN, remember those days?! We were all so young and foolish.) Then came Windows 2000 and Windows XP with their "Home" and "Pro" versions. YECH. Try buying a PC nowadays with XP Pro installed - you won't find a budget laptop with an XP Pro installation. The two laptops I purchased this year (about $1200-$1300 a piece) both came with XP Home installed, and I purchased OEM copies of XP Pro to put on them both (that's right, I pay for my software, so shut up). I hate XP Home and its lack of support for some of the things that I want to use it for. I hate that there are different versions, and I hate that you don't have the option to choose which installation you want when you buy a computer (I also hate bundled software on my Presario and like-machines, but that's a different story; they're easily removed with a quick format and reinstall anyway). So now here I am, checking out Vista online (yeah I'm a little late on this one) only to see that there are no longer two versions for us to choose from, but there are now SEVEN versions (yes 7, actually 9 according to the site below, but I didn't read it long enough to understand it) that we need to wade through to choose what features we want and what ones we can do without (at least for now, until we decide we need those unavailable features and are forced to upgrade anyway). http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/winvista_editions.asp Anyway, there's a link, check it out if you want. MS, stupid move, sorry. Why not just provide one version with all the same functionality and components, and offer different setup types on the same installation, including a "Custom" type for more savvy users. Ugh, and of course I just happen to use a bit of everything in Windows, so my version is going to cost like $600 (actually about $150 when I wait for a year and a half and then buy OEM with a $3 mouse, I can deal with XP Pro for now, but the only reason I will wait is BECAUSE it's going to cost like $600 when it comes out).