Officially, Microsoft has said that it is still taking tester feedback and is refining the SKU set for Windows 7. Unofficially, we've already deduced that there will probably be Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions, at the very least. There's also talk of a Small Business edition, but the information on that one is a little more murky.
If you disregard the "N" editions mandated by the EU, both XP and Vista had six editions each. Windows 7's number is still to be decided. The general consensus on the Internet is that, at the very least, Starter and Home Basic should not make a comeback in Windows 7. Unfortunately, Microsoft sees the situation a little differently, as the company does not want to cut itself out of markets that currently use XP Starter, Vista Starter, or Vista Home Basic.
Full Story: http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/01/microsoft-to-google-we-already-offer-that-see-windows-live.ars
If you disregard the "N" editions mandated by the EU, both XP and Vista had six editions each. Windows 7's number is still to be decided. The general consensus on the Internet is that, at the very least, Starter and Home Basic should not make a comeback in Windows 7. Unfortunately, Microsoft sees the situation a little differently, as the company does not want to cut itself out of markets that currently use XP Starter, Vista Starter, or Vista Home Basic.
Full Story: http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/01/microsoft-to-google-we-already-offer-that-see-windows-live.ars