Windows Ultimate Extras: All Hype and No Jump?

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.istartedsomething.com/20070227/vista-ultimate-extras-sham/' target='_blank'>http://www.istartedsomething.com/20070227/vista-ultimate-extras-sham/</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Besides BitLocker encryption, a few pro-user tools (RDP, CompletePC backups, shadow copy etc..) and the Family Discount program, the only other reason to even consider purchasing Windows Vista Ultimate was for the Ultimate Extras. Users were suppose to feel good about themselves for having access to exclusive and premium content only available to the most expensive version of Windows ever manufactured, but at the moment, they might look a little stupid. Hold’Em &amp; DreamScenesSo far, some users have paid an addition of approximately US$150 for a black box, some Vista features mentioned above, a poker card game, various language packs and videos projected on the desktop. Like there aren’t enough free hold’em poker card games out there already with much better graphics and AI. Even VLC media player could have even done what takes a technical preview to do, years ago - playing videos on the desktop. Now it takes another add-on (Deskscapes) on top of an add-on to do what should have been done in the first place - dynamic content on the desktop. Microsoft even has a patent for it."</i><br /><br />I like the idea of Ultimate Extras, but I have to agree that one month into the thing, I haven't seen anything that would make me go "Yeah, I need to have Vista Ultimate". See, I already have Vista Ultimate, but it's because I'm an MVP and I didn't have to pay for it. If I had to pony up the pesos for Vista, I'd go with Home Premium. What would help the scenario here is if Microsoft would talk about a 12 month road map for Ultimate Extras, and let people know what they have planned. The digital books are, frankly, a stupid idea: anyone that's going to pay for Vista Ultimate is going to be a pretty hardcore geek already, and they're not the type to read digital books to get "tips".

[Jeremy Charette]

Oy, I could not agree more. So far all we have is one "beta" DreamScene, and poker. Yeah yeah, bitlocker and all that, but where's the really great stuff? I keep checking for updates, hoping there's some cool new Ultimate Extra I just won't be able to live without...hasn't happened yet.

[Darius Wey]

We had a session dedicated to Ultimate Extras at the Vista Lab in Beijing (which I still need to write about), and there was definitely a lot of brainstorming. The impression that I got was that DreamScene, Hold 'Em, and BitLocker were "it" for now, and the product team needed ideas to help make Ultimate worth people's time and money. Some of the ideas that we threw around included free access to OneCare, a souped-up imaging application (perhaps Expression Design or something similar to it), extended SideShow functionality, unique gadgets, and so on. We all know the existing Extras don't deliver the bang for buck that consumers expect from Ultimate, and that was a point I tried to hammer home while talking to the product team. Let's hope they act on it.

[Damion Chaplin]

Let's be clear here: If Vista Home Premium vs. Ultimate were along the lines of XP Home vs. Professional (i.e. at the same price points), I would have bought Ultimate even if there wasn't anything I planned on using in it. I'm just a geek like that. Microsoft has, however, priced Ultimate right out of my range (for an operating system), so no matter how many nifty features they add to it, I still won't be able to afford it.

[Kris Kumar]

I paid my own pesos to buy the Ultimate. :-( I didn't buy it for the Extras but because Ultimate edition was the only one that did Media Center and Remote Desktop. Both are features I was looking for. Home Premium had one and Business had the other, Ultimate was the only one that combined both. I do feel ripped off a bit.

[leslietroyer]

I was "forced" into the Ultimate because I wanted both Media Center and Domain logins. I run a SBS server at home and really like being able to sit at any computer, see all my mail, files...... I might need to rethink things with the new Window Home server. Then Home Premium would be just fine.

les

[jeffd]

Same here jason. I have ultimate, but I didn't pay for it and would probably be just as happy with premium and a little extra cash in my pocket.