Microsoft finally releases new Vista Ultimate Extras, still "ultimate" in name only

Last year Microsoft really carried on about fulfilling its commitment to all the power users that anted up to get untold future Vista Ultimate Extras -- yet none really materialized besides the disappointing early stuff like DreamScene and Texas Hold 'Em. Well, get ready to feel a whole new wave of Ultimate justification wash over you, because today Microsoft is releasing a trifecta of new Extras: sound schemes, DreamScape animations, and OS language packs. Oh yeah, there's definitely some Vista "Wow" in here -- but it's mostly from being kind of appalled at these sorry post-apologetic excuses for "ultimate"-grade software additions. Someone wake us when Microsoft decides it cares about making good on its many unfulfilled promises to Vista users.

[jrsz24 @ Apr 22nd 2008 7:58PM]

Dude... Vista is the greatest operating system that i have ever used! I don't know what all the negativity is about. It makes XP look like crap and is so much faster than XP.

Of course i smoke crack every day!

[BigDaddyM @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:16PM]

This article isn't about the validity of Vista, but the broken promise of Microsoft and its Ultimate edition.

I wished there was a class action suit over luring customers to buy a product based on promised extras, and so far the extras are languages packs and a few games. Quick Nick knacks... not quite the Ultimate extras everybody was expecting or promised.

Also, the few updates we are expecting are clearly taking longer to deliver.

Not to mention that Vista is still uggy and slow... Sadly, I love the concept, just the execution of Vista sucks. XP FTW!
M

[BigDaddyM @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:16PM]

This article isn't about the validity of Vista, but the broken promise of Microsoft and its Ultimate edition.

I wished there was a class action suit over luring customers to buy a product based on promised extras, and so far the extras are languages packs and a few games. Quick Nick knacks... not quite the Ultimate extras everybody was expecting or promised.

Also, the few updates we are expecting are clearly taking longer to deliver.

Not to mention that Vista is still uggy and slow... Sadly, I love the concept, just the execution of Vista sucks. XP FTW!
M

[Sachin @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:17PM]

Hey, don't take me for someone who downloads stuff illegally, but couldn't you download the new sound schemes off of like uTorrent or something and put them into the right directory to use with, say, Home Premium?

[Neebs @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:23PM]

I was thinking the same thing, up until the last sentence.

[Aguiluz @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:26PM]

BigDaddyM:
"Not to mention that Vista is still uggy and slow."

Uggy! Wow! What's 'uggy!'

Anyway, Vista isn't that ugly and slow for me.

[peachepe @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:31PM]

I was going to write the exact same thing :p

[Rollins @ Apr 22nd 2008 11:43PM]

Funny, on my computer, Vista is rather pretty and fast. No, really.

[Sachin @ Apr 23rd 2008 7:39AM]

Well, I noticed no one's seemed to reply to my "downloading the extras online" comment (it's been done before with the PRODUCT (RED) extras)...anyway to the fellow Engadgeters:

If you find a link, post it please...I'm definitely keeping my eyes peeled as the sound schemes look pretty cool.

[Sachin @ Apr 23rd 2008 7:40AM]

HEY DISREGARD MY LAST COMMENT - found a blog with the Ultimate Extras on here:

http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18013

DreamScene movies on first page (apparently there's a DreamScene hack for Home Premium) - they are SkyDrive links

The Sound Schemes are on the second page - its a RapidShare link

Installation
Put the 'Schemes' folder in C:/Windows/Media
Put the Videos in C:/Windows/Web/Windows Dreamscene

YAY

[OneLove @ Apr 23rd 2008 11:02AM]

If someone can just tell me how to keep my folder settings from resetting I would be happy. (install XP not an option).

Every time I open a folder I have to add the "Modified Date" tab and its F'ing frustrating!! I have the "remember each folders settings" set, but it doesnt work. I also know about the registry hack, but why should I need to hack my registry?

[Rob @ Apr 23rd 2008 1:31PM]

"Uggy" ...I like it. Do I mean buggy, or ugly? Why not both?

New word FTW.

[CT A @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:00PM]

Dreamscene doesn't even work properly. Everytime the UAC pops up, it gets an error and closes.

[AndrewNeo @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:42PM]

Who in their right mind actually leaves UAC enabled?

[PeterF @ Apr 22nd 2008 9:09PM]

@AndrewNeo
everyone.

There is no reason to disable it, it is only annoying for the first couple days of Vista as you install programs and drivers. Day-to-day use you dont really see it. The only time UAC pops up when you aren't installed something is when you change something in the Program Files or Windows Folders, and how often does anyone do that?

[Aaron @ Apr 22nd 2008 9:18PM]

"and how often does anyone do that?"

I believe the answer is: "quite frequently"

[CT A @ Apr 22nd 2008 9:20PM]

Average users don't encounter the UAC often.

[ethana2 @ Apr 22nd 2008 11:34PM]

gksu is better in just about every way. It's one of the many things they tried to imitate with Vista and failed.

[OneLove @ Apr 23rd 2008 11:09AM]

I have the UAC setting "behavior of the elevation prompt for administrators in Admin Approval Mode:" to "elevate without prompting" and UAC doesn't bother me with prompts anymore.

The thing that gets me is when vista says that i don't have permission to my own folders or wont let me write files in certain folders unless I run the program as an admin. ARGGGGGHHH!

[powerart @ May 1st 2008 4:36PM]

1. Copy DreamScene.dll to %windir%\system32
2. Copy DreamScene.dll.mui to %windir%\system32\en-US

run reg file

Reboot

all you need to do for home premium

[Christian Martin @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:01PM]

Language packs! WOOOOOOOO!

Ugh.

[MIKE @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:36PM]

Wooo... it's the future.

Windows Users are so fucking sad.

[Seth @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:38PM]

What a great day its been! Earth Day and more Vista language packs!

[Seth @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:40PM]

@Mike.

Please, just go curl up with your Mac in a ball somewhere else. We're here to celebrate Vista, not for you to be a Bill Gates-Hater.

Seriously, do you have nothing else to do except call people sad? That's low, really low.

[Scott Miller @ Apr 22nd 2008 9:35PM]

"celebrate Vista"

Now thats funny, but you forgot the

The only ones celebrating Vista are the people that developed it. They still can't believe M$ paid them to do that. OK, IT "professionals" too.

[Scott Miller @ Apr 22nd 2008 9:37PM]

/sarcasm

I didn't forget, but I did use brackets < >

[Will H. @ Apr 22nd 2008 10:55PM]

Because what Vista really needed was 2GB more bloatware.

[John @ Apr 23rd 2008 3:11PM]

LMAO you mean not even the business editions of Vista get international language support? Great extra; too bad it comes standard on Macs and Linux users can install whatever languages they want free.

Enjoy your money pit!

[quomen @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:01PM]

Sorry I haven't been active on Engadget lately but is it only me that doesn't like the new extreme wideness of it? I have a 24 inch monitor 1920*1200 and the columns are over half the width of the screen... it's a pain to read. And did they get rid of the "highest ranked" comments? Can someone explain what the dealio is?

[Olu O @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:11PM]

Engadget's Microsoft bashing ... everyday since 1994

[Les @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:18PM]

Microsoft fan speaking, and yeah Ultimate is not worth it.

[Sam Zebian @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:19PM]

Engadget didn't exist in 1994...

[andres @ Apr 22nd 2008 9:46PM]

@ sam
and yet they still bashed it

[Khris @ Apr 22nd 2008 10:26PM]

More useless DreamScenes to suck up even more resources, and some SHITTY new sound schemes!! Wow!! Sure glad I got Vista Ultimate and all the "Extras" that come with it!

What a joke! Microsoft is becoming more of a joke everyday, and releasing crap like this sure doesn't improve their likability factor.

[Heineken77 @ Apr 22nd 2008 10:43PM]

Sam Zebian @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:19PM
Engadget didn't exist in 1994...

Neutralandres @ Apr 22nd 2008 9:46PM
@ sam
and yet they still bashed it



LOL

[J L @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:17PM]

I have to agree w/ Engadget here. They aren't bashing, they are just angry that the Ultimate Extras aren't really THAT ultimate... (I have Ultimate. I feel your pain, engadget. :p)

[Sam Zebian @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:22PM]

I like vista, and I realized that I really bought Ultimate for the extras and the scan/fax utility being built-in to the os... Only to find that I could've gotten a free scan/fax utility and the extras aren't too great, I kind of wish I got home premium, it runs more efficiently too. (uses less resources)

[Sam Zebian @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:23PM]

Oh yea, and the Bill Gates signature edition never existed on home premium, so I got ultimate...

[Aaron @ Apr 22nd 2008 9:21PM]

The real reason to get ultimate over home premium is that it came with Shadow Copy. That was really my only reason. I'm still disappointed about the extras though. Good ones would have been a nice icing on the cake.

[Backlin @ Apr 22nd 2008 10:01PM]

You got the version with the stamped-on signature?

Nice!

[Sam Zebian @ Apr 22nd 2008 10:05PM]

yup, I actually bought it...

[LJKelley @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:23PM]

Ultimate does have more features to it than just Ultimate Extras such as Remote Desktop (that Home Premium doesn't have) and combines Vista Business with Vista Home Premium.

But yet... do please make it sound that Microsoft is stealing from buyers of Ultimate. I am very happy with Vista Ultimate and enjoy the extras we do have.

[natenovielli @ Apr 22nd 2008 9:16PM]

ok guys, don't just complain, i want to hear some suggestions.

what would you like to see for "ultimate"-grade software additions

also, you should note that vista ultimate does come with other features besides these "ultimate extras"

[Danny @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:30PM]

2 Words: ULTIMATE SUCKERS!!!!!

[Curtis Joslin @ Apr 22nd 2008 9:59PM]

2 words

PIRATED IT!!!!

[mlb @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:30PM]

I guess most of you all are too young to remember Plus 95 and 98. This is the same kind of crap they've done before. Wow, back then you got Golf 98, Mcafee virus scan, "deluxe" cd player, some stupid marble game, and a few desktop themes. Anyone else seeing a pattern here?

[Skyfox @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:40PM]

At least when you bought the Plus Packs you knew what you were getting on the box. With Ultimate it's like a blind purchase of an unknown amount of possibly useless software.

They could have simply supplied us with the download of a flash video of Bill Gates laughing. Perhaps thats the next dreamscene.

[Daza @ Apr 23rd 2008 3:30AM]

MS Golf 98 was actually pretty decent as far as golf games go.

[Xepol @ Apr 22nd 2008 8:32PM]

Once again - Vista Wow, as in wow this sucks.

Language packs they would have to distribute anyways are somehow an ultimate extra? Ya, great, now I can switch my interface over to a language that I clearly don't use, or the OS would have shipped with it (not much point selling the english version to Spain,China or Japan for example)

Just imagine paying 500-600$ for an OS with extras and THESE are the extras they eventually deliver.

I suspect that that this is all just more fodder an eventual lawsuit...

Heck, if they ever bothered writing the powertoys for vista, they would have to make them vista ultimate extras, because they already outclass everything already written (inspite of their current vapour ware status)

[gaforces @ Apr 22nd 2008 9:03PM]

I second the powertoys for windows comment! Bring it.. please!