An examination of Microsoft internal documentation this weekend reveals that the software giant is prepping a number of major end-user features for Windows Vista (codenamed Longhorn), many of which had not yet previously been revealed. Here's a rundown of many of the features we can expect in the various Windows Vista product editions (for more information about the editions, please refer to "Windows Vista Product Editions Revealed," URL below).
As noted in that previous article, Microsoft is created 7 versions of Windows Vista for end users (9 if you count the N Editions that will target European markets). To differentiate these products, the company is carefully matching feature sets to the expected markets that will adopt each product version.
Two low-end versions of Windows Vista, Starter Edition and Home Basic Edition, will not feature the much-vaunted Aero user interface that will adorn all other Vista versions. Instead, these versions will utilize a lower quality, XP-like user interface that is more appropriate for the low-end hardware that infrequent PC users and those emerging markets might utilize. Starter Edition and Home Basic Edition will also lack the rolodex, tab previews, and task bar previews features that other Vista editions will offer.
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