Documents briefly posted to Hewlett-Packard’s Web site indicate Microsoft may be considering offering Windows 8 to the public in fewer editions (or SKUs, short for stock-keeping unit) that it current does with Windows 7—even though Windows 8 will be expanding onto a whole new platform with ARM. First spotted by ZDNet’s Stephen Chapman, the documents have since been pulled from HP’s site, but seemed to indicate Microsoft may be ditching the little-loved “Basic” editions of Windows in favor of three tracks aimed at consumers, enterprise users, and high-end professionals:

• Microsoft Windows 8 32 Edition
• Microsoft Windows 8 64 Edition
• Microsoft Windows 8 Enterprise 32 Edition
• Microsoft Windows 8 Enterprise 64 Edition
• Microsoft Windows 8 Professional 32 Edition
• Microsoft Windows 8 Professional 64 Edition

If the numbers represent Microsoft’s thinking on Windows 8 SKUs—and there is absolutely no indication that they do—the move would indicate Microsoft is trying to simplify how it offers Windows to consumers. Presumably, the 32-bit editions would encompass offerings for ARM-based devices: current ARM processors are all 32-bit

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