Microsoft - giant in a slumber?

I often wonder if Microsoft should have been named as 'Macro'soft. And this is not without reason. Given its tendency to release a product with multiple or macro options, Macrosoft would have been apt. Here is why.

I purchased a new laptop yesterday and had an option to choose among the various Vista versions floating around. The base configuration comes with Vista Home Basic, which by the way is as basic as it can get. If there is one entertainment feature that I really like in Vista, it is Windows Media Center. I use it all the time to watch my Netflix DVDs and I should say, the features and display options are really good. But, Vista Home Basic unfortunately doesn't have the Media Center. And I need to upgrade to Vista Home Premium to get access to media center and other entertainment options. Though I have been using Vista Ultimate, I never really took the pain to contrast it other editions of Vista. I did so yesterday and was baffled.

Microsoft has six 32-bit vista editions and five 64-bit vista editions. Phew! 11 options to choose from for an operating system. Here is the comparision of the four flagship Vista editions. It doesn't show Windows Vista starter edition and Vista Enterprise edition. What really stands out is the fact that, atleast to me, lines aren't clear between the various editions. Who would want a Vista Home Basic when it is that pale compared to Home Premium. Why list it or have this product in the first place? Is it to just boost the image of Home Premium? Given Microsoft's hold in OS market, it would have been a great idea to release two editions for Vista - Home and Professional. Or even better, have just one version for 32-bit systems. Having too many options is making things complex for users and might prove to be Microsoft's undoing.

Complex or superfluous options is not just the case in Microsoft's OS product line. It looks like Microsoft has developed a penchant for multiple options. It has become a pattern. Another random example of an Microsoft product. SQL Server 2008 Express. First there is an option to choose between SQL Server Express or SQL Server Compact. Under SQL Server Express, one can choose among

- SQL Server 2008 Express with Tools

- SQL Server 2008 Express with Advanced Services

- SQL Server 2008 Express (Runtime Only)

And different files for 32-bit and 64-bit. So leaving the SQL Server Compact aside, SQL Server 2008 Express has 6 options. Why not have your best all-in-one installation giving users the option to install advanced features or tools if they want?

Before you think I am biased against Microsoft, let me give another random example. How many ways do you want to end your session on a computer? Windows XP got it right. Logoff, Lock, Restart or Shutdown. Wonder what Vista has done to it. They have two icons in the start menu - lock and shut down. And then to the right of these icons is a cascade menu having 'text' commands - Switch User, Log Off, Lock, Restart, Sleep, Hibernate and Shutdown. 9 options to terminate a user session. Too many choices spoil the dish?

I feel Microsoft will be better off if they reduce redundancy and focus on their core competencies i.e., the operating system itself. Look and feel do help but not as much as the functionalities. Once users like functionalities they will flock to download/use the products. And it need not try and impose its software on users, speaking of which I am reminded of another incident. I had a Sony Vaio that I wanted to downgrade and get rid of. It came with Vista Home Premium and before I got rid of it, I wanted to downgrade the OS to XP PRO and check that out. But call it whatever you may - monopoly or imposing the software or whatever, there is simply no option to downgrade Vista to XP on a Sony Vaio without getting your hands dirty. I downgraded the OS on my ThinkPad to XP in a jiffy but it took me an eternity to downgrade Vaio. Ofcourse, I did not like XP on ThinkPad and upgraded back to Vista, and that's my point - What's the problem in letting users install their choice of operating systems on the laptops they own? What's the need to impose your operating system, not giving users a chance to downgrade. Doesn't that show lack of confidence in Vista?

Finally, I feel Microsoft should get rid of redundancy, become more user-friendly in the sense that it gives users the choice to control software and devices they own and be innovative (remember Virtual Earth and Zune). Else, its efforts can be counterproductive and may lead to its own undoing.