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The UltimatePC.com site does have some semi-useful information about people who have ‘Ultimate PCs’, and how they have used their PCs and Windows Vista Ultimate to do ‘amazing’ things.
But the stark reality is that most of these things could just as easily be done in Windows Vista Home Premium, or Mac OS X. There doesn’t appear to be any particular reason why Windows Vista Ultimate is required at all.
There are profiles of a photographer, a designer and a gamer, along with information in ‘blueprint’ format of their PC setups. But it all comes across like a bit of an advertisement, rather than actual useful information, the likes of which is available from computer magazines and websites on the Internet already, in far more detail and less Microsoft marketing pizzazz.
Then there’s the ‘about us’ section of the Ultimate PC site. This document is the Ultimate in fluff feel-good stuff, and I’ve included some select bits for you to chortle over.
Microsoft says that: “We, the Windows Vista Ultimate team at Microsoft, have built this site to accomplish to very basic things:”
“1. We hope to inspire you to try new things and ultimately get more out of your PC by showcasing what people are accomplishing with their version of the Ultimate PC.”
“2. We want to make sure that you, as a Windows Vista Ultimate customer, are getting as much value from the experience as possible.”
Microsoft then go to on to explain that they have spoken to ‘experts’ in a “variety of professions where technology plays a pivotal role and asked them to share their point of view. How does the Ultimate PC and other essential technologies allow them to achieve the finest results possible in their area of interest? The result is a highly specialized point of view, expressed in the form of a "blueprint".”
They promise more scenarios to come, going into detail about the photo journalist, gamer, and home theatre expert scenarios, saying these “blueprints” are a “starting point for your exploration”, along with a “showcase” of so-called Ultimate PCs.
Then we get to the bit about the upcoming availability of ‘real’ Ultimate Extras: “Lastly and most importantly, UltimatePC.com will keep you up to date on Ultimate Extras - new and helpful features of Windows Vista Ultimate that we're able to deliver directly to your PC using Windows Update.”
There’s also a bit of “Ultimate Fluff” that says: “Our team loves Windows Vista Ultimate because it represents the pinnacle of what the Windows Vista operating system has to offer. More importantly, we're passionate about technology and the possibilities that it unlocks. When you use the combination of Windows Vista Ultimate with top-of-the-line PCs, excellent devices and the best software - what we think of as Ultimate PCs - you're able to accomplish amazing, surprising, helpful, moving, and very often fun things.”
Yeah, like dealing with driver issues, sluggish performance or Vista SP1 snafus is a 'fun' thing. That said, having to deal with these issues certainly is, in 2008, amazing, surprising, moving (me potentially to OS X or Linux) and not very helpful.
Anyway, they finish off with: “Thank you for being a Windows Vista Ultimate customer. We hope UltimatePC.com is a great place for you to visit. Sincerely, The Windows Vista Ultimate Team.”
Well, here’s my feedback. So far this site is not only a waste of space, it's a waste of cyberspace, too. It’s even been designed in Flash, instead of Microsoft’s vaunted Flash-killer, Silverlight. I'll bet the Silverlight guys are thrilled with that.
Honestly Microsoft... and Windows Vista Ultimate team. If you were going to launch this site, it needed to be launched WITH some new Ultimate Extras and some Ultimate Exclusives that are offered on a worldwide or region-by-region basis.
It’s very nice to see there are some people out there with brand new equipment which you’ve dubbed an ‘Ultimate PC’, running Windows Vista Ultimate, but just what kind of incentive is this for me to switch to Vista Ultimate if I’m using a new or relatively new PC with Windows Vista Home Premium?
David Bass
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