Windows 8 Versions Limited by Microsoft

Windows 8

Six may be the magic number for the upcoming Windows 8 OS of Microsoft of a pair of documents from Hewlett-Packard are to be believed. This means that the company aims to make its latest OS offering that will be released into the market much simpler.

The number and the specific versions of the upcoming Windows 8 OS were found on a pair of files from the website of HP. However the files that showed the Windows 8 OS versions were already removed from the website of the company.

It was a good thing the blogger who found the files, Stephen Chapman of ZDNet, was able to save images of the versions that were cached by Google. These versions reportedly support the drivers for a smartcard reader of an HP laptop.

Among the Windows 8 version were the Windows 8 32-bit version, Windows 8 64-bit version, Windows 8 Enterprise 32-bit version, Windows 8 Enterprise 64-bit version, Windows 8 32-bit Professional version, and the Windows 8 Professional 64-bit version.

Even as the first version on the list, the Enterprise version is aimed at big businesses while the Professional version is aimed at the market for high-end users and small-sized business.

For the moment no statements were issued by Microsoft in connection to the reports. The number of versions for the upcoming OS offering of Microsoft will be smaller compared to the present version, which is reportedly available in eleven different versions.

Six different SKUs were available for the Windows 7 OS, however with the 32-bit and the 64-bit editions increased the number to eleven. The Windows Vista was also available in eleven SKUs for the 32-bit and the 64-bit versions of the OS.

With the limited number of versions, users - be it business or individual users - will not be confused once the OS enters the market. The Consumer Preview of the Windows 8 OS was launched by the company recently.