Microsoft Corp. has failed to deliver on its promise of downloadable extras for the highest-priced version of Windows Vista, critics claim.
Dubbed “Extras” and exclusive to Vista Ultimate, the downloads were touted before, at and after the launch as one of a handful of features that separated the $399 operating system from the $239 Home Premium. On Ultimate’s marketing site, Microsoft currently says of Extras: “These cutting-edge programs, innovative services, and unique publications provide a richer computing experience for Windows Vista Ultimate users.”
Trouble is, according to critics like Scott Dunn, an editor with the popular “Windows Secrets” newsletter, Microsoft hasn’t followed through. Since January, when Vista was released to consumers, no new finished Extra have been offered to Ultimate users.
“Extras is not a minor feature of Ultimate,” Dunn argued. “It’s one of the things that sets it apart from Home Premium, and one of the few unique things that has been promised Ultimate users.”
Microsoft issued three Extras when Vista debuted, including a poker game; an add-on to BitLocker, Vista’s whole-disk encryption tool; and language packs for the operating system’s Multilingual User Interface. The next month, Microsoft posted DreamScene, a video screensaver, in beta form; DreamScene has not shifted out of beta since then.
“Some of these so-called extras should have been included with Ultimate,” Dunn said, citing the BitLocker add-on. “Without that, it’s very difficult to even use BitLocker.”…
Why does it not surprise me.
Microsoft on Monday issued an apology for the tardy release of two add-ons to its Windows Vista operating system and promised to have the offerings available by summer’s end.
When Microsoft released Vista in January, company executives touted a series of “Ultimate Extras” add-ons that would eventually be included in the operating system’s Windows Vista Ultimate Edition.
To date, the software giant has released four of those add-ons: a poker game known as Windows Hold’Em; the secure online key backup, which stores a backup copy of BitLocker recovery passwords and encrypting file system recovery certificates in a digital locker; the BitLocker drive preparation tool, which configures hard drives to use Vista’s BitLocker drive encryption feature; and 16 language packs.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2154528,00.asp
The team responsible for coming up with add-ons for Microsoft’s Windows Vista Ultimate reacted to critics Monday by breaking a three-month silence to say that they’ll finalize one already-released program within three months.
Last week, for not making good on its promise to deliver Extras — downloadable software that’s available only to Vista Ultimate users. The add-ons were to be one of a handful of features that separated the Ultimate from the Home Premium. But after releasing three Extras in January, then a beta of a fourth the next month, the feature seemed forgotten by Microsoft. The blog run by the group creating Extras went dark; until Monday, the most recent post had been March 13.
“We apologize for taking so long to provide a status update to customers,” the new entry read. “We will not ship the last two Extras showcased in January (Windows DreamScene and the remaining 20 Language Packs) until they meet the high quality bar required by our enthusiastic customers, and we believe that we can achieve that bar by the end of this summer.”…
http://www.arnnet.com.au/index.php/id;1113252551;fp;16;fpid;2
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