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February 10, 2009

Windows 7 Ultimate Extras cancelled

Microsoft unable to deliver special gadgets

Gregg Keizer

Microsoft has announced it will not offer 'Ultimate Extras' in Windows 7, and will instead focus on "existing features".

"Our new approach to planning and building Windows doesn't have the capacity to continue to deliver features outside the regular release cycle," Microsoft said.

"While our core development team is focused on building the next release; our sustained engineering team is focused on updates to existing features. As a result, we don't plan to create Ultimate Extras."

Windows 7 review

Windows 7 forum

Microsoft said last week that it will deliver a Windows 7 Ultimate edition as part of the new operating system release, but it has not spelled out in detail any of the six versions' feature lists.

Ultimate Extras was among the elements Microsoft cited in the months leading up to the early-2007 release of Windows Vista Ultimate to distinguish it from lower-priced versions. According to Microsoft's marketing, Extras was to be "cutting-edge programs, innovative services and unique publications" that would be regularly offered only to users of Vista's highest-priced edition.

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But users blasted Microsoft for the paltry number of add-ons it released and its leisurely development pace. Just five months after Vista was launched, critics started to complain, which led Microsoft to promise that it would do better.

Two months later, however, users again pounded Microsoft on blogs and the company's own support forums as its self-imposed deadline for delivering more add-ons came and went without any new downloads.

Currently, Microsoft barely mentions Extras in the online pitch for Vista Ultimate, where the feature has been relegated to a short paragraph at the end of a long list. "Sometimes you feel like a grown-up kid," it reads. "You love gadgets and anything that makes your computer more interactive. Windows Vista Ultimate Extras offer you additional security features and games that make Windows more fun and easier to use."

A company blog dedicated to Ultimate Extras, where company employees occasionally posted news of the feature, is no longer online. It was also a magnet for critics.

The last time that Microsoft offered new Extras to Vista Ultimate users was in September 2008, when it released a puzzle game, Windows Tinker; a sound effects package to go with the game; and a trio of DreamScene video screensavers.

Windows 7 video guide

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Comments received

uk said on Tuesday, 10 February 2009

I will keep xp - they can rip you all off when you buy it instead. XP is gr8 for emailing, surfing web, movies and games which is all i and lots of others want -

steve said on Sunday, 22 February 2009

how true is the last comment
Currently xp rules. it's fast, fast and fast. oh and have i mentioned it also doesn't keep asking questions everytime you want to run a program!!!!

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