Windows Ultimate Extras Review

1995 was a golden year, both for Microsoft, and for those testing its products. The company was prepping Windows 95 (codenamed Chicago and previously known as Windows 4.0), of course, but also a slew of add-on products such as Office 95 and the initial proprietary online service MSN, the Microsoft Network. Early that summer, a surprise package appeared: The first beta of something called Plus! for Windows 95, a collection of applications that made Windows 95 more useful and fun. Some saw Plus! as a fluffy and unnecessary add-on, and while there was certainly some truth to that, I figured that anything that makes the computing experience more enjoyable has to be at least somewhat worthwhile.

In the intervening years, Microsoft has released various Plus! packs, some of which were issued alongside specific Windows versions, others that were released on their own. These Plus! packs all had certain things in common: They were generally inexpensive, certainly optional, and they usually included at least one or two gems, especially if you're the type of person who enjoys visual enhancements like themes, desktop wallpapers, and the like.

With Windows Vista, Microsoft has sadly elected to discontinue its use of Plus! packs. Instead, the company has created a new collection of downloadable add-ons for Windows Vista called Windows Ultimate Extras. As the name implies, Windows Ultimate Extras is only available to owners of Windows Vista Ultimate, the most expensive Windows Vista product edition. And that's a problem: With previous Plus! packs, any Windows user could opt-in. Now, you have to pay for the Full Meal Deal (i.e. Ultimate edition) before you even qualify. I understand the need to differentiate Vista Ultimate and justify its higher price. But it seems that you could at least make the Extras available to other Vista users at a price. Common sense.

If you can get over the requirements, however, the Ultimate Extras map pretty closely to previous Plus! packs. There are fun but pointless utilities like DreamScene, which provides an animated desktop background. And there are the truly useful utilities, like the Windows BitLocker Drive Preparation Tool, which arguably should be an integrated part of BitLocker, and not an Extra.

In any event, let's break down the available Extras into logical categories and see what we've got.