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Potential Windows 8 SKUs discovered in HP documents, have since been pulled

Potential Windows 8 SKUs discovered in HP documents, have since been pulled

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ZDNet discovered references to three different editions of Windows 8 in a pair of HP documents, potentially indicating the OS will be available in just three variants; Standard, Professional, and Enterprise.

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Windows SKUs
Windows SKUs

Microsoft has never been shy about offering up a cornucopia of SKU selection when it comes to Windows, but some information discovered by ZDNet could be an indicator that Microsoft will be scaling things back for Windows 8. Revision notes for a device driver discovered on HP's FTP servers reportedly listed 3 different editions of Windows 8: the standard install, along with both Professional and Enterprise editions, all available in 32-bit and 64-bit variants. While the documents themselves are still available online, they've since been scrubbed of any Windows 8 references. It's important to not read too much into the listings — they could have simply been placeholders as much as anything else — and with Microsoft confirming that Media Center will be broken out into its own product, we already know that there will be at least a few more Windows 8 SKUs made available. Still, it could represent a reversion to the simpler days of Windows 2000, which had only four different editions. We'll see if we find out more next week; Microsoft is set to launch the Windows 8 Consumer Preview at MWC, and we'll be there to bring you all the details.