Keeping an eye on Windows and other things tech!

Remember the whole idea behind Windows Vista Ultimate?  Just to jog your mind – the idea was that you would pay extra for this version of the OS and receive, free of charge, various sundry upgrades/updates that can be downloaded from the Windows Update site during the life of the OS.  All of these were intended to only be for those who purchased Vista Ultimate.

Well it has been a disappointment across the board for many, myself included.  Very limited things have been offered that are truly ultimate extras (a game, sound packs, language packs, some encryption tools, and Dreamscene content).  This Wikipedia entry explains the concept and the criticism of the Ultimate Extras concept.

The whole reason for the explanation is that Microsoft has actually released some updated Extra’s for download today and I wanted to tell you about them.

In this 120MB download are a game called Tinker, a sound pack based on the Tinker game and three additional Dreamscenes (which all look alike – their motion is rippling water).

I am glad to see something from the Extras team but I personally think this continues to be too little, too late.  If you spent the extra money on the promised extras then your no doubt disappointed because many people expected much, much more.

Microsoft Tinker Game (Main Page)

Microsoft Dreamscene Content Update

Is the Windows Vista Ultimate a point of issue with you?  If it is your not alone.  Many of us got the Ultimate version of Vista in order to get all of the extras that were being talked about when the new operating system was announced.

The trickle of extras has been very slow since Vista’s release in January 2007 and only  handful of them have been made available since then.

Well the trickle picked up a little bit of pace yesterday with the release of a couple of extra additions.

This release includes two new sound schemes and three new DreamScene videos for your desktop.

Long Zheng has put together a short video to highlight the different sounds in the new schemes compared to the default Windows Vista sounds.  You can watch it here - Ultimate Extra Sound Schemes - A Comparison.

The UltimpatePC.com website has a good comparison of the sound schemes as well - this one is a text explanation of the differences instead of using their sounds.

The other extra that was published yesterday is three new videos to use on your desktop for full motion video wall paper:

The Windows Vista Blog has more details.

And be sure you keep your eyes on UltimatePC.com for more Ultimate Extra news in future as well as hot Ultimate Exclusives for Windows Vista Ultimate users.

Let’s hope this is the case.

Other sites that are talking about the new extras:

• Neowin.net - Microsoft Launches New Windows Vista Ultimate Extras

• Microsoft release new Windows Vista Ultimate Extras - Download Squad

• Yuck new Windows Vista Ultimate Extras

• Windows Vista Ultimate Extras Released » D’ Technology Weblog

• Microsoft releases two more Ultimate Extras