Microsoft knows that nothing sells better than the element of mystery. Raise the price of Vista Home Premium by $160, slap an ‘ultimate’ logo on it, throw in the element of mystery, and sell it to consumers who are willing to pay for something that simply doesn’t exist.

The TV game show, Let’s Make a Deal, comes to mind. Contestants were given a prize, just before being asked to wager it for the possibility of something greater; only, the prizes were concealed, usually behind one of three curtains, boxes or doors.

The chance of receiving a greater award was enough to motivate contestants to trade their prize for whatever was behind their chosen mystery door. This usually resulted in the contestants walking away with the ‘zonk’ prize, an undesirable and worthless item such as food, clothing,  or Vista Ultimate.

Windows Vista Ultimate Edition includes every feature from every other edition, but comes with Windows Ultimate Extras. At the time of launch, Microsoft wouldn’t disclose any details on Windows Ultimate Extras and described it as extra “programs, services, tips, and tricks.”

Take a look at what Vista Ultimate purchasers are getting for the extra $160:

1. Windows Hold’Em - A spin on the popular Texas hold’em poker game.
2. 16 language packs for the Windows multi-language user interface
3. Windows BitLocker Drive Preparation Tool - configures hard drive to use BitLocker drive encryption
4. Secure Online Key Backup - stores backup copy of your BitLocker recovery password.

Microsoft, in a recent announcement, claimed: “To date, we have released four sets of Extras.”  Four extras?  BitLocker and Online Key Backup go hand in hand, and I would hardly consider 16 language packs to be an ‘extra.’

But Microsoft has announced the shipment of 2 more ‘extras’ by the end of the Summer: Windows DreamScene and the remaining 20 Language Packs, which I’m surprised Microsoft doesn’t count as 21 extras. Windows DreamScene allows you to use a video (mpeg or wmv only) in place of the static image on your desktop. DreamScene may look neat for a minute or two, but as soon as your system suffers from performance issues, it will be just as useful as having 36 language packs.

Microsoft intends to ship additional extras in the future, but says, “We cannot identify dates or provide details at this time.” Perhaps Microsoft is taking it one extra at a time, and simply doesn’t know what the next extra will be. (If you’re looking for hints, there are still over 2,000 language packs that can be created) Even better, maybe Microsoft is still trying to keep the ‘mystery’ element in play so it can continue to rape consumers of their $160 for every copy of Vista Ultimate sold. 

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Entry was posted on Monday, July 2nd, 2007 at 9:49 am under Microsoft, Opinion, Vista.  Print This Post

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