Though we've had "intelligent" speculation up until now, Microsoft has been a bit tight-lipped on the "exact" flavors of Vista that will be in the market. Now, though, we can see the full list, straight from Redmond. What will consumers be getting? A total of five different versions of Vista, more than any other previous version of Windows (though XP comes close if you include 64-bit versions). The five versions are "Vista Business", essentially for workstations, "Vista Enterprise", for those needing various native encryption, data protection and legacy support, "Vista Home Basic", a stripped-down version for the "home" user, "Home Premium", which will include native DVD burner and media center functionality, and finally "Vista Ultimate", a conglomerate Vista that is missing nothing. The Starter Edition is included without saying due to all the hype it has received.

An interesting note is that all versions will be made available for 32bit and 64bit platforms, so older CPUs will still be feasible for running Vista provided you meet the other system requirements. Some versions are OEM or partner only, and pricing has not yet been made available by Microsoft, though with the impending release date of December, that should change soon.