Ultimate Team Delivers Only Ultimate Sham

Published by Omkar Joshi | Filed under Microsoft, Windows, Vista, Ultimate Extras

Microsoft has failed to deliver on its promise of providing exclusive downloadable extras for Windows Vista Ultimate, dubbed “Ultimate Extras“.

Microsoft has always touted Ultimate Extras as one of the main features which separate Vista Ultimate from the other versions of its operating system. Vista Ultimate currently retails for US$399 while its next of kin, Home Premium retails for US$239. Ultimate Extras was supposed to provide users of Vista Ultimate a rich feature that would set it apart from other versions of Vista, but it seems Microsoft has failed to live up to its promise.

“These cutting-edge programs, innovative services, and unique publications provide a richer computing experience for Windows Vista Ultimate users.” Since its consumer launch on January 30, the Ultimate Team has not delivered any new finished Extras to consumers.

At Vista’s consumer launch, Microsoft released three Extras including a poker game; an add-on to BitLocker, Vista’s whole-disk encryption tool; and DreamScene, a video screensaver, in beta form. Unfortunately, DreamScene has now been left in beta for more than 5 months.

It is said that Microsoft is having problems with the DreamScene codebase. In other words, it would fail to work reliably or work at all on right-to-left language based systems. This is in effect an architectural problem that can’t be easily solved by a patch. This would lead to DreamScene remaining a perpetual beta, because it would be discriminating to release and support a final version of DreamScene that only works on English systems. While it remains in beta, Vista is excused from adhering to such standards. Unfortunately, this is only the tip of the iceberg.

A reliable source has suggested that there is no longer an Ultimate Team even in existence. It is rumoured that there never was a team to begin with, but rather a group of people from many departments in Microsoft who collaborated with marketing on Ultimate Extras. This would explain the lack of insight, progress and direction on Ultimate Extras if no one’s responsible for it anymore.

It is puzzling to see so much secrecy around a product that consumers have already paid for. Assuming that they announce their ideas one month in advance of release and a third party duplicates the product, it should make no difference to Microsoft’s profits, since consumers have already paid Microsoft for Vista Ultimate. Consumers don’t buy Vista Ultimate for the extras that are coming out, they buy Vista Ultimate in anticipation of the extras that are coming out.

Normally when consumers purchase products they pay for what’s inside the box, if a disagreement arises it is easy to resolve. However, with Ultimate Extras people are purchasing Vista Ultimate based on the promise that Microsoft will regularly deliver them useful enhancements. Unfortunately, this is an empty promise, a promise now not far from a lie.