I think the article has the right idea. No one thinks that if the single version is the Ultimate, it will cost $500. That's silly. It would be priced somewhere near the bottom of the current range. Starter should not exist. It's just a way for low end OEMs to screw the end user. It is reasonable to have two or three versions: a desktop/laptop for nearly all users, a server version with fewer UI frills and more system management/security, and possibly a smaller fewer frills for low end devices but not crippled like the starter version.
Why would it be silly? Microsoft would charge the price where they can make the most profit and that would probably be somewhere in the middle of all the current price ranges. The current setup allows Microsoft to sell to people who don't have the budget of companies without appearing to rip companies off. Similarly OEM demanded that the price be cheaper so Microsoft made a new version but had to justify to regular users why they don't pay the starter price.
