With each subsequent release of Windows we're left bracing for what will surely be another mind-boggling assortment of retail packaging options. With Windows 7 there was a dizzying 6 SKUs to choose from and we're sorry to say that, at least for now, there are even more coming with Windows 8. As noted by windows 8 beta the registry contains the keys for all current versions of the OS and, with a quick trip to Regedit we were able to verify with the screenshot above. That boils down to the coming list:

• Windows 8 Starter
• Windows 8 Home Basic
• Windows 8 Home Premium
• Windows 8 Professional
• Windows 8 masterful Plus
• Windows 8 Enterprise
• Windows 8 outfit Eval
• Windows 8 Ultimate
• Windows 8 ARM edition

We will of course point out that this is from the buyer Preview, so not perforce a final tally, and the job Eval version is of course just for trials, but it's interesting to note the addition of crack Plus. Office 2010 Pro Plus adds in extra integration with Sharepoint and Office Communications Server, leaving us to wonder if this flavor of Windows 8 won't offer some similar collaborative tools. And then there's just that one, lonely ARM edition, which could leave non-x86 utensils buyers out of the cross-shopping fun altogether.

Update: As Jack Schofield points out, you couldn't indeed choose from all those Windows 7 SKUs, there were only three boxed vendibles in hand in the US. It remains to be seen how many of these Windows 8 variants will appear at retail here.

[Thanks, Sagar]

Windows 8 registry shows nine or branches.
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