It's Not Ultimate Enough
link: original article - section: windows
Windows Vista Ultimate users looking for "extras" shouldn't wait on Microsoft.
Once again, Microsoft's marketing machine is grinding its gears, if today's blog post about "Ultimate Extras" is any indication. In a nutshell: there ain't nothing coming.
Windows Vista Ultimate Extras were supposed to be special goodies for those people willing to pay extra for Microsoft's biggest, baddest operating system. To date, the goody bag is looking more like Charlie Brown's Halloween sack: "I got a rock."
According to the post:
"We intend to ship Windows DreamScene and the remaining 20 [Windows Vista language packs] by the end of the summer...We also intend to deliver additional Extras in the future...We plan to ship a collection of additional Windows Ultimate Extras over the next couple years that we are confident will delight our passionate Windows Vista Ultimate customers. We cannot identify dates or provide details at this time."
Microsoft's idea of extras until now consisted of language packs, a card game, encryption enhancement and an online key backup utility. Shouldn't these so-called "extras" be part of the base operating system? Microsoft's idea of more extras: More language packs and a final version of DreamScene, which is, essentially, video desktop wallpaper.
What kind of bleeding edge, early adopter who has plunked down between $260 and $400 for Ultimate, is going to swoon over language packs?
There's a word for someone willing to pay big money for the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink version of Vista: enthusiast. Early adopting enthusiasts are potentially powerful, word of mouth marketers. Their influence—with friends and family or on blogs, newsgroups and forums—will hugely affect Vista's adoption. A satisfied enthusiast will tell lots of people that Vista is great. The user who is dissatisfied with the product will be pure poison.
Microsoft, you don't want to tick off your enthusiasts. Promising them a special Ultimate goody bag of extras but not delivering it is a good way to start trouble. The first rule of good marketing is to promise one thing and deliver a whole lot more. The situation the Ultimate Extras seems to be in is that a lot has been promised and a whole lot less has been delivered. Language packs and more resource hogging video desktop scenes aren't extra anything.
Microsoft's delivery of extras is glacially slow. Google might get three or four products out of perennial beta before Microsoft delivers something new to Ultimate users.
I had expected Microsoft to give Ultimate buyers the equivalent of Windows 95, 98 and XP Plus SuperPacks for free. Such extras might have wooed more people to buy Ultimate.
But I've griped enough. C`mon, Ultimate users, it's your turn to pipe in. Has Microsoft delivered enough Ultimate Extras? Or do you want more? And if you want more, what do you expect?
