Despite no announcement being made on UltimatePC.com, Microsoft have released a new sound scheme and a content pack for Windows DreamScene as part of its Windows Vista Ultimate Extras offerings for customers who purchased the Ultimate edition of Vista.

After installing the sound pack customers get Ultimate Extras Pearl and Glass sound schemes and additional Windows DreamScene Content.

For those who have been waiting for Ultimate Extras perhaps this is a sign that more is to come from the software giant.

View: Windows Vista Ultimate Extras


There are 57 additional comments
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(1 reply) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #1 Posted by b0m8er on 22 Apr 2008 - 18:45
yey!
Quote this comment #1.1 Posted by nX07 on 22 Apr 2008 - 19:40
I guess my source was right about having the Ultimate Extras back on track again Almost perfect timing, too..

Albeit I am happy that they are putting out more, I'm really hoping for gadgets and things rather than aesthetics.
(4 replies) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #2 Posted by naap51stang on 22 Apr 2008 - 18:47
Yawn
Quote this comment #2.1 Posted by Hurmoth on 22 Apr 2008 - 19:05
My thoughts exactly. Besides the fact that these are useless (I disable all Windows sounds anyway), by now I can't imagine that most people really care about the Extras now anyway.
Quote this comment #2.2 Posted by theyarecomingforyou on 22 Apr 2008 - 21:28
I care about Ultimate Extras but these are a slap in the face to those of us that were actually waiting for something worthwhile. I disable all sounds and have no interest in any of the video desktops I have seen to date. I'm much rather have some more games or new visual styles - anything I'd actually want to use.
Quote this comment #2.3 Posted by +Beastage on 23 Apr 2008 - 10:16
(Hurmoth said @ #2.1)
My thoughts exactly. Besides the fact that these are useless (I disable all Windows sounds anyway), by now I can't imagine that most people really care about the Extras now anyway.


Opinions opinions opinions... I like these... you don't , they are useless to you.

People should really start to differ personal taste from facts.
Quote this comment #2.4 Posted by Hurmoth on 23 Apr 2008 - 12:49
^ lol wow, just curious, where did I state that what I wrote was anything other than my personal taste? Give me a break.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #3 Posted by Lant on 22 Apr 2008 - 18:49
A different sound scheme is actually a good idea, it should help me getting completely annoyed at one so I won't turn them off.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #4 Posted by Skyfrog on 22 Apr 2008 - 18:50
Sound schemes will work on any version, even Windows 3.1
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #5 Posted by Marshalus on 22 Apr 2008 - 18:51
Ooh, sounds... how about something useful?
(1 reply) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #6 Posted by Daokoras on 22 Apr 2008 - 18:52
FINALLYYYYY.....
Quote this comment #6.1 Posted by toadeater on 22 Apr 2008 - 19:26
(Daokoras said @ #6)
FINALLYYYYY.....


So this is what you've been waiting for? A pack of wavs and some backgrounds?
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #7 Posted by Drakesh on 22 Apr 2008 - 18:59
A few new .wav files and some more mediocre Dreamscenes content. Yay. The novelty wore off in about...30 seconds.
(2 replies) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #8 Posted by ecotrojan on 22 Apr 2008 - 19:06
god i'm such a sucker for buying Vista Ultimate
Quote this comment #8.1 Posted by trip21 on 22 Apr 2008 - 22:38
(ecotrojan said @ #
god i'm such a sucker for buying Vista Ultimate

Me to (though I purchased OEM simply by picking up a new HDD), I could have purchased Home Premium and run a crack to get Remote Desktop functional and if I wanted dream scene (the only slightly interesting extra) I would now have it as part of my Stardock subscription)
Quote this comment #8.2 Posted by Shiranui on 23 Apr 2008 - 01:33
(ecotrojan said @ #1)
god i'm such a sucker for buying Vista Ultimate


A sucker indeed, if the only reason you bought Ultimate was for extras.....
(1 reply) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #9 Posted by Julius Caro on 22 Apr 2008 - 19:13
a year and a half and this shows that not even microsoft cares about vista xD
Quote this comment #9.1 Posted by Typhon on 22 Apr 2008 - 20:09
All the comments are making me lol cause it is true HAHAHHAHA
(1 reply) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #10 Posted by WindowsNT on 22 Apr 2008 - 19:13
I for one happy I bought Ultimate Edition. I wanted the ability to have features of Home Premium and Business together like Media Centre and join a network domain. I didn't buy it for the ultimate extras so would get unused anyway.

Anyone who got it just for the Ultimate Extras I would be rather surprised.
Quote this comment #10.1 Posted by Fritzly on 22 Apr 2008 - 21:41
The difference is between "For" and "Also".
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #11 Posted by GEIST on 22 Apr 2008 - 19:15
You gotta commend them for having the balls to put out such useless crap after all the flak they got for their absolutely poor Ultimate scheme.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #12 Posted by CUBBYJR2005 on 22 Apr 2008 - 19:21
this is funny after I download the update it told me another update was avaible and it was vista service pack 1 wow I was surprised.
(2 replies) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #13 Posted by williamhook on 22 Apr 2008 - 19:38
What happend to those monthly magazines that we were supposed to get digitially. I swear I read something about that back when Vista was in beta.
Quote this comment #13.1 Posted by nX07 on 22 Apr 2008 - 19:42
Yea Windows Ultimate was said to have exclusive content available..
Quote this comment #13.2 Posted by Typhon on 22 Apr 2008 - 20:25
(nX07 said @ #13.1)
Yea Windows Ultimate was said to have exclusive content available..


I think cause Vista is pirated so much why release stuff for it.
(1 reply) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #14 Posted by vetneufuse on 22 Apr 2008 - 19:52
what did you guys expect? Ultimate extras are just the new name for Microsoft Plus! basically
Quote this comment #14.1 Posted by doncoyote.cl on 22 Apr 2008 - 22:10
(neufuse said @ #14)
what did you guys expect? Ultimate extras are just the new name for Microsoft Plus! basically


Exactly!
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #15 Posted by Dualkelly on 22 Apr 2008 - 20:30
another useless feature to con people out of well earned cash
(1 reply) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #16 Posted by C_Guy on 22 Apr 2008 - 20:44
A new sound scheme might be nice since Vista's default one is worse than XP's.

I just hope the new sound scheme was cheaper to make than the original one. I remember Neowin posting articles before Vista's release about the time and money Microsoft spent creating the "perfect" startup chime for Vista. A terrible waste of money on a few seconds of sound noise.

And you can't even customize it!!! That's a slap in the face.
Quote this comment #16.1 Posted by xiphi on 22 Apr 2008 - 20:53
I actually like the default Vista sound scheme much more than XP's. XP's sound scheme was all in-your-face, while Vista's is more subtle.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #17 Posted by +warwagon on 22 Apr 2008 - 21:24
Sounds are the first thing to get disabled on my system, along with all fades and animations. I leave the transparency though
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #18 Posted by Navan on 22 Apr 2008 - 21:24
I really like the new dreamscene content....!
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #19 Posted by miguel_montes on 22 Apr 2008 - 21:39
Microsoft, release some more visual styles, so we don't have to crack your UXtheme or buy WindowBlinds!! COME ON!!
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #20 Posted by Litespeed on 22 Apr 2008 - 21:47
That link doesn't go the extras. It just goes to the Vista Ultimate page.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #21 Posted by Xilo on 22 Apr 2008 - 22:08
lol

Enjoy your Ultimate Extras.
(2 replies) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #22 Posted by exotoxic on 22 Apr 2008 - 22:17
i cant believe people bought it for the ultimate extras alone lol... you should have bought it for the features you need
Quote this comment #22.1 Posted by Frazell Thomas on 22 Apr 2008 - 22:23
People rarely do what they should do...

If we did the economy would collapse I bet
Quote this comment #22.2 Posted by Skyfrog on 23 Apr 2008 - 00:49
Most people only needed XP Home Edition, but they all wanted to be Professionals. I even remember hearing many people claim that Home Edition was based on the old DOS kernel like 98. It's all about marketing; name a version of Windows "Ultimate" and everyone is going to think they need it.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #23 Posted by dpcdpc11 on 22 Apr 2008 - 22:31
after all these years they spent developing Vista... and this is the extra content?? screw u guys(M$ i'm going home!
how about including some extra cursor themes or some general themes?? or some hi quality wallpapers cause the default ones are a joke... a bad joke that is!!
i remember as it was yesterday the joy i had when i installed Plus! for Windows 98... cool themes with walls, sounds, cursors... how expensive is to make something like that??? there are tones of freelancers out there who would make these things for free only for the credits.
M$ is like pointing at their clients, laughing and saying: SUCKERS!!!
(1 reply) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #24 Posted by AndyD on 22 Apr 2008 - 22:37
I'm glad I got Ultimate for free through the NYC Launch Event.
Quote this comment #24.1 Posted by eilegz on 23 Apr 2008 - 15:20
i got mine via windows 2008 server launch here

anyways, lets hope that microsoft do a single version of windows like mac osx.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #25 Posted by Izlude on 22 Apr 2008 - 22:52
they sound ok. the new dripping ice looks kinda cool too.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #26 Posted by paesan on 22 Apr 2008 - 22:56
First thing I do is disable all sounds on my OS. I like vista but ultimate is a joke and is not worth the extra money. MS defintely screwed people over with ultimate and the so called extra features.
(2 replies) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #27 Posted by Doli on 23 Apr 2008 - 01:17
Vista Ultimate = Home Premium + Business. If people bought it for the 'extras' part then they learned a lesson. Before Vista even came out websites were already showing some of the extras in Ultimate so you knew the extras were going to be little things nothing big. Who in their right mind would pay more just for extras if that was just the only thing that made Ultimate special? If you wanted Home Premium + Business then you made a smart purchase.
Quote this comment #27.1 Posted by PGHammer on 23 Apr 2008 - 02:03
However, no other version of Vista includes all the various features that Ultimate does, even as options (not even Vista Enterprise). In fact, what would Vista Business (or Enterprise, for that matter), offer a *home* user (even a telecommuter) that Ultimate lacks?. I went with Ultimate (as opposed to Home Premium) *not* for the e-penis value, but because I do at times have to log onto other PCs running Vista *remotely*. No other version of Vista lets me do that (not even Enterprise).

Finally, *unlike* Enterprise, Ultimate is available in System Builder three-packs, as well as singly (Enterprise, however, isn't available *at all* outside of VLAs or MSDN).

Vista Ultimate is more like Media Center Edition 2007 Third Edition; however unlike the first two, it's readily available retail (and in the OEM channel, unlike the original Media Center Edition), whereas Home Premium and Business replaced the wildly successful XP Professional. While Home Premium includes *some* of the features of MCE, it certainly doesn't include them all. Also, unlike Media Center Edition, domain support is intact (and doesn't require hacks). And before you trot out Virtual PC 2007 (which Enterprise does include) Ultimate supports VPC 2007 (which can be added to any version of Vista at no cost except download time and bandwidth).
Quote this comment #27.2 Posted by Doli on 23 Apr 2008 - 02:20
(PGHammer said @ #27.1)
However, no other version of Vista includes all the various features that Ultimate does, even as options (not even Vista Enterprise). In fact, what would Vista Business (or Enterprise, for that matter), offer a *home* user (even a telecommuter) that Ultimate lacks?. I went with Ultimate (as opposed to Home Premium) *not* for the e-penis value, but because I do at times have to log onto other PCs running Vista *remotely*. No other version of Vista lets me do that (not even Enterprise).

Finally, *unlike* Enterprise, Ultimate is available in System Builder three-packs, as well as singly (Enterprise, however, isn't available *at all* outside of VLAs or MSDN).

Vista Ultimate is more like Media Center Edition 2007 Third Edition; however unlike the first two, it's readily available retail (and in the OEM channel, unlike the original Media Center Edition), whereas Home Premium and Business replaced the wildly successful XP Professional. While Home Premium includes *some* of the features of MCE, it certainly doesn't include them all. Also, unlike Media Center Edition, domain support is intact (and doesn't require hacks). And before you trot out Virtual PC 2007 (which Enterprise does include) Ultimate supports VPC 2007 (which can be added to any version of Vista at no cost except download time and bandwidth).


Sorry my last sentence should have said "If you wanted Home Premium + Business then you made a smart purchase by getting Ultimate."

Quote this comment Reply to this comment #28 Posted by Shiranui on 23 Apr 2008 - 01:37
Something is better than nothing, but the kind of person who would buy Ultimate is also the kind of person who would be least likely to be interested in a sound theme. A new visual style might be more welcome though.

Anyway, keep them coming - once or twice a month would be nice.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #29 Posted by cpenner on 23 Apr 2008 - 01:55
Found the sounds for non-ultimate users, just google it. Posting the link results in some weird spam thing...

Last edited by cpenner on 23 Apr 2008 - 02:03
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #30 Posted by +HappyAndyK on 23 Apr 2008 - 04:09
Yes, Microsoft is expected to release quite a few Ultimate Extras this year. Such long gaps makes no sense. An extara a month would probably be better. While to most they may be useless, some actually are looking forward to it. How about some themes or visual styles?
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #31 Posted by -Hiroshi- on 23 Apr 2008 - 04:16
Oh nice, I guess the struggles to get Vista running properly paid off...
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #32 Posted by onscreen on 23 Apr 2008 - 04:19
Love the new sound scheme
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #33 Posted by mel00 on 23 Apr 2008 - 05:09
Hey Microsoft. I need you to release a new themes. Seriously I hate main theme for Vista, changing the color is not enough for me...

yeah. nice sounds.

Quote this comment Reply to this comment #34 Posted by +rm20010 on 23 Apr 2008 - 05:14
Pearl sounds like XP's sound scheme played by a crackhead.
Glass is okay. The shutdown sound is far too long.

I'm getting the idea these sounds were unused sound samples done by Robert Fripp.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #35 Posted by lordofangels on 23 Apr 2008 - 07:16
Ultimate PC Extras and Exclusives website updated to include new extras Ultimate PC
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #36 Posted by MtDewCodeRedFreak on 23 Apr 2008 - 08:13
I have Vista Ultimate SP1, and yeah I do download the Extras just for the heck of it, except the language packs.

Last year when I got the Ultimate upgrade, I have discovered a way to force ReadyBoost on an incompatible flash drive (via RegEdit) and also discovered how to enable BitLocker without the use of TPM (via Group Policy). Google it and you'd find tons of answers.

And, if you say such comments like "Wow good for you, here's a cookie" I'll burn you. Those 2 features are most needed for me, and my 4-year-old Dell computer doesn't even support those. The extras are cool, not needed, but 2 of the extras have to have BitLocker enabled.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #37 Posted by +Skwerl on 23 Apr 2008 - 14:58
Vista Utimate has all of the features of Vista Home Premium and Business. That's the reason to purchase Ultimate- not for the extras. The extras are just extras- little tidbits like the Microsoft Plus packs were. I think most people are expecting way too much from Ultimate Extras. I think DreamScene and the games and sound schemes are quite sufficient, and just about what Microsoft promised.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #38 Posted by Hak Foo on 24 Apr 2008 - 03:17
I wasn't impressed.

Am I doing something wrong that DreamScene turned on = 10-15% CPU usage on an E6750 otherwise at idle? And this with a graphics card (Radeon HD3650) that was advertised as good at doing the heavy lifting for video.
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