Windows Vista Ultimate had an interesting feature touted by Microsoft before it's release, named Extras. This was intended to be an added extra for the paying the hefty price of Ultimate, to give some bonuses to those who paid for it. Unfortunately, Microsoft didn't plan it very well, and included very few with in the release of Vista Ultimate. This led Microsoft to publicy apologizing over the matter, and to this day not a great number have been released.This led people to wonder about Windows 7 Ultimate. Would it feature Extras, or would Microsoft not worry about them this time around? As Ars Technica reports, Microsoft has indeed chosen not to include Extras in the upcoming release of Windows 7.
A quote from Microsoft states, "Our new approach to planning and building Windows doesn't have the capacity to continue to deliver features outside the regular release cycle. While our core development team is focused on building the next release, our sustained engineering team is focused on updates to existing features. As a result we don't plan to create Ultimate Extras."
This may be because the release of Windows 7 Ultimate is not advertised as much as Windows Vista Ultimate, with it only being offered on high-end OEM computers, and during promo periods. Also, it may be because people mainly decided to buy Vista Ultimate for it's other features; not the Extras.
What do you think? Is it a wise move for Microsoft to not include Extras, or would they still be nice to have at some point?
I'll be more happy if Windows 7 is given as an Ultimate Extra for Vista Ultimate Edition
I'll be more happy if Windows 7 is given as an Ultimate Extra for Vista Ultimate Edition
Seriously people who expected MS to release goodies for Ultimate should blame themselves only.
I remember when i got XP there was a link to a web page to get more themes. The web page stated the more themes would be coming soon. No theme appeared and after a while the page was replaced by a link to MS Plus! home page.
MS makes good product but MS is still and will always be MS. Don't expect them to release something if they don't have too. Even if they promised it.
The lack of gadgets for Vista and Ultimate goodies failure should not be a surprise to anyone. It was written in the sky.
Doesn't matter anymore as I'm switching to a mac.
That's what I thought when I bought my first Mac almost eight years ago. Guess what? I still haven't switched back to Windows.
And this is relevant how?
I learned on Mac's as a kid, switched to PC's later on, tried the Mac switch last year, and I find myself on Windows again.
MacOS was decent, but I can't take OS X seriously.
Let us know how they respond to your demands.
Microsoft, I'll pay you an "extra" $50 if you'll just let me reinstall my god damn OS without having to call you up and ask for your freaking permission first, like a toddler asking his parents permission to watch television. I SHOULD NOT have to phone you because I had the misfortune of replacing my motherboard. I should NOT have to phone you or buy ANOTHER copy of your operating system when upgrading my computer. And I sure as hell should not have to pay you to provide additional broken functionality to what is already the most expensive desktop OS on the planet.
After the fiasco that was Vista I have zero intention of giving Microsoft another dime of my money because they can't seem to provide a consistent experience on their desktop with minimal frustration. There should be just ONE version of Windows 7 and we should be free to install it as many damn times as we please!
Simply put, I primarily use Linux because of these issues. I use XP when I don't use Linux though. I gave my copy of Vista Home Premium to a friend (yes, "gave" and not "sold") because it simply refused to run quickly enough...and that was without Windows Aero going. Now Compiz-Fusion in Linux on the other hand... Can you say "zoom"?
Windows 7 looks promising. The public beta runs reasonably quickly on my system, and I don't mind the fact that there are a number of different flavors. Different ones have different purposes, and Linux and OS X are no different (you wouldn't pick up OS X Server when you only want to play games, surf the Web, etc., right?)
Bottom line - Windows should be OK once Vista is forgotten (ME is in the back of many people's minds, and that is where it will stay hopefully)...assuming Microsoft does things "right" from this point forward.
Think I'm about to try the beta copy of Windows 7 that I downloaded a couple weeks ago on this computer. Can't be as bad as Vista, and from what I've been reading, most people agree.
Upon second thought, no I won't install Windows 7 as the POS iso I burned to disc won't even boot!! Another fine POS from MS!! Nothing shows up under properties or exploring the disc. I KNOW for a fact I burned it properly. I've burned way to many iso's and stuff to have not done it correctly, so I don't want to hear any guff from amyone! It just plain and simply is a POS!!
Looks like I may have yet another reason to stay a Windows XP/Linux user (which I KNEW was the better thing to do anyway. Thank you Lord for not letting me install this stupid thing!).
Last edited by cork1958 on 07 Feb 2009 - 13:24
However if you have an OEM copy it is tied to a single computer and cannot be transfered. And as such they lock it to the motherboard. But then we all know this. However Microsoft is still letting people swap out dead motherboards and giving them new keys anyways. So good for microsoft.
Cork - you clearly burned the iso wrong. The vast majority of people don't have this problem. If the iso was corrupt we'd all be having this issue. So likely your download got corrupted or you simply burned it wrong.
You saved $100 and lost the ability to play any games as well as run ALL of the world's professional grade software. I do more than just share files, compile code, and web browse, so I don't see any value whatsoever in saving a measly $100 by switching to a Shareware hobbyist OS.
I'm glad it works for you, but Linux is not the answer to 99.99% of the modern computer user's needs.
I normally don't use this acronym, but:
PROBLEM EXISTS BETWEEN KEYBOARD AND CHAIR
How convienent to run off your mouth on how POS an OS is while shifting blame away from either burning the disc at too fast of a speed, using poor quality media or burner, the wrong burning software, etc.
What an unintelligent rant. Do you not THINK maybe the problem is with YOU or your HARDWARE or MEDIA? Do you honestly think MS would make an OS ISO available that simply doesn't work and not fix it? Do you know of anyone else having this problem? Did you do a CRC check after you downloaded the ISO? Have you tried different media, or different software or different speeds to burn the ISO?
THINK!
However if you have an OEM copy it is tied to a single computer and cannot be transfered. And as such they lock it to the motherboard. But then we all know this. However Microsoft is still letting people swap out dead motherboards and giving them new keys anyways. So good for microsoft.
Cork - you clearly burned the iso wrong. The vast majority of people don't have this problem. If the iso was corrupt we'd all be having this issue. So likely your download got corrupted or you simply burned it wrong.
I have a legit copy of Vista. I bought it myself at Future Shop.
Had to change my mobo last year and had to call MS. Went fine guy who barely spoke english asked me my serial and voilà.
The focus won't be split between features, security and stability, the latter two of which are the most important to the overall user experience. Don't take that the wrong way; I'm not saying features are a bad thing. I'm simply reminding people of the fact that if you are constantly getting infected by malware, the features are then useless because it would take so long to run them or because they are interrupted by annoying pop-ups (anybody ever had a pop-up interrupt a full-screen DirectX/OpenGL game? It's extremely annoying). Of course, if the system keeps crashing for some reason, the features are rather useless as well because you can't enjoy them for long.
Extras are useful...when the system works. For many, Vista worked well. However, that wasn't/isn't the case for a lot of users, resulting in upgrades/downgrades (take your pick) to XP. Many Windows 7 beta users have already noted that it is faster than Vista (maybe not/maybe faster than XP, depending on the configurations and the applications used). Sure, it is also lighter-weight because it isn't feature-complete, but I wouldn't really expect it to get too much heavier.
Thumbs up, Microsoft, for doing it right this time.
Zing!
Dammit! Your razor sharp wit is faster than mine!
Hold'em was pretty good
/sarcasm
besides the price tag, that is.
besides the price tag, that is.
VHD boot support, applocker as well the advanced remotecontrol features. but like the mpeg2 decode support in vista ultimate you'll have alot more features in the final version, just uncalled until now.
Remember that end-users saw NO OBVIOUS VALUE or Coolness Factor in upgrading to Vista because all of it's improvements were under the hood and designed for future expansion (like Windows 6.1 aka 7).
Remember that end-users saw NO OBVIOUS VALUE or Coolness Factor in upgrading to Vista because all of it's improvements were under the hood and designed for future expansion (like Windows 6.1 aka 7).
True, True. I'm still running Xp (x64) here, precicely becasue there's just no compelling feature in Vista... not compelling enough to make me shell out $400 just for an OS anyways.
Besides, if I really wanna get cutting-edge with my OS, I have many free flavors of Linux to choose from. Delicious, delicious flavors.
I still wish they'd allow us to have DreamScene, extra language packs, GroupShot, and all that stuff anyway.
I didn't say it did. All I said was Windows 7 ultimate is just a single license enterprise edition. That is all it is.
Each higher end version of 7 has all the features of the subset version plus some.
Last edited by archer75 on 07 Feb 2009 - 18:36
Even office PCs do more than spreadsheets these days...honestly.
Even office PCs do more than spreadsheets these days...honestly.
vista business right now doesn't have MCE or media player, and professional xp before that didn't have MCE, so this isn't exactly a departure by microsoft.
The hard costs for MS once the OS is coded is in updates/patches and TECH SUPPORT. Having multiple, overlapping versions of Vista surely cost MS a fortune in hard costs for what amount to very little "Ultimate Extras" sell-through.
What an ASININE decision that was, on every level.
The fact that Microsoft never really delivered on their promise...
MS never said what the extras would be or how many of them there would be.
There were extras released and they weren't bad, not everyone is going to appreciate eye candy and games.
The fault, if we are assigning any, lies with those that are upset as they made their purchasing decision on a product feature that had no concrete definition and unfounded expectations (as far as I know) of receiving more extras than were released.
My question to those who fall into this category is:
What extras were you expecting and what about the product description led you to that expectation?
If you have something from a ms blog, product advert, conference or whatever that substantiates your expectation please share.
Last edited by arsekicker on 08 Feb 2009 - 02:18
You're kidding, right? :|
Probably not. This is C_Guy ...
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