Windows 8 to come in four flavors

We all know that Windows 8 is coming out later this year. It’s been publicized and previewed so much that the final product launch will probably lack some fizz. Now we’re finding out a little bit more about the specifics of what will be on offer. There will be four versions of the software: one for home use, one for businesses, one for machines armed with ARM chips, and one for large businesses who buy a ton of licenses in bulk. Don’t worry so much about those last two, they won’t come up much in your life unless you run an IT department somewhere. For the rest of us, there will be Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro, the Pro being the business version.

This is a paring down of previous versions of Windows, which came in lots of different editions and got kind of confusing. Historically, Microsoft has never had to worry much about being simple, but the rise of Apple on the end user side may have forced Redmond’s hand a bit.