Microsoft Windows Visa Released

Updated on 2/10/2007 at 2:39PM EST

The long awaited successor to the world's most popular computer operating system, Microsoft Windows XP, was released to retail stores this past Tuesday.

Dubbed "Microsoft Windows Visa", the new operating system has been seven years in the making, and promises customers an equivalent user experience to their current flagship product, while adding the capability of using a credit card to purchase exciting add-on functionality to enhance the user experience.

"Our customers will find the new Windows Visa to be a fantastic upgrade from Windows XP," cites Windows product manager Michael Aston. "You can make the operating system better and better, the more you pay. We're offering our customers the ability to spend almost $3,000 over the next 5 years, in small increments, to enhance their user experience. Our customers only pay for the features they use."

The "wow" begins with a vast array of product editions, which include Home Basic, Home Premium, Business Basic, Business Premium, Enterprise, Enterprise Premium, Student and Teacher, Student and Teacher Premium, Ultimate, and Ultimate Premium, and all are available in upgrade versions as well. "Windows MC" and "Windows AMEX" will also be available in the second quarter, each with the aforementioned product editions.

"We feel that by offering a large, obfuscated assortment (317) of Windows Visa editions, those normally confused by choosing an operating system will be able to choose the edition that they think they need, without having to really think about it," explained Aston. "People don't want to think about their operating system purchase, so no matter which edition they buy, we offer them the ability to crossgrade or upgrade to whichever product edition they think they should have bought to begin with, for an incremental fee. And Windows Visa makes electronic purchasing simple and easy. So go ahead, grab the box that has the best color or shape. It's easy!"

Microsoft is also touting the fact that their flagship operating system can "auto-purchase" upgrades for the end user as needed.

"If you have Windows Visa Home Basic and love using Microsoft Word 2007, for example, and down the road you decide that you'd like to print a document, Windows Visa can purchase the 'Windows Visa Print Pack Basic' automatically, so you can print that first document seamlessly," explained Aston. "If, later, you decide that you'd like to print more than one page at a time, Windows Visa is smart enough to know that you already own 'Windows Visa Print Pack Basic' and silently purchases the upgrade to 'Windows Visa Print Pack Premium' in the background, so your multi-page document prints without uninterruption."

Consumers seem genuinely excited about the new product, and are anxious to purchase new features for years to come.

"I just bought Windows Visa Home Basic, and I think it's really great that I can upgrade to Windows Visa Home Premium later, and get cool additional features like email and web browsing," claimed a new customer. "Although, I don't like the fact that Visa Home Basic stops working after 12 months. I mean, what if I don't have the money to upgrade next year?"

Other customers are more excited about the new visual effects in the new operating system.

"I love how the windows are like this blueish aqua kind of color," said potential customer Josh Willem. "They changed the colors of the buttons on the top, and the windows move around in a different way. I can't wait to get my hands on this baby!"

Whatever the reasons, most customers interviewed agreed that "Macintosh OS X had better watch out now."

"Macintosh OS X is $129, and comes with all this stuff," explained Shirley Hempfil of Portland, Oregon. "I don't need all that stuff. I'd rather spend $99 on Windows Visa Home Basic Upgrade, and then buy the features I know I will use, and features like printing start at $29.99! So I can buy both and still spend less than on Macintosh. And for $49.99 I can buy an extended warranty on Windows Visa, where they send me new CD's if the old ones stop working. I just mail in the old ones and they pay the shipping to send a new one to me. And I can do that as often as I want! Apple expects you to copy your own CD as a backup. Who wants to do that?"

Microsoft also claims that its multimedia support is the most advanced of any computer operating system to date.

"Our DRM (digital rights management) system with AACS and HDCP is so advanced, that most existing computers, even with HDMI or DVI based digital displays, can't view high definition (HD) movies," claimed Aston. "And the ones that do work, have degraded pictures so that our customers won't feel tempted to steal the video and put it on a file sharing network."

Aston went on to explain that protecting premium content was the primary reason for the development of the new Windows version, and the permissions-based encryption is interwoven throughout the entire system kernel, because "this is what our customers told us they wanted."

Windows Visa Home Basic Upgrade has an MSRP of $99, and the high-end Windows Visa Ultimate Premium is priced at $399. But even owners of the high-end Windows product have a myriad of upgrade options that will surely keep them purchasing Microsoft Visa features for years to come.