Microsoft lifts the curtain on Vista Ultimate Extras

For months know, Microsoft has made it known that it planned to position its downloadable Vista Ultimate Extra add-ons as icing on the top tier of the Vista cake. What Microsoft hadn't made public — until January 7 — was exactly what would be part of the Ultimate line up.



But at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2007 kick-off keynote by Bill Gates on Sunday night, Microsoft showed a bit of what Microsoft has planned for the first wave of Ultimate Extras. And at Microsoft's Windows Vista Lab, an event for about 60 bloggers, Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) and Windows community members held in Las Vegas on January 6 and 7, Microsoft officials filled out details on the rest of its Extras strategy.



Microsoft plans to make available only to Ultimate customers starting on January 30 — the day that that Vista becomes available in the retail channels — the following Extra downloadables:



* A Vista-customized version of the Texas Hold 'Em poker game



* Multi-user interface language (MUIL) packs, designed to allow individuals fluent in different languages to share the same PC. Microsoft plans to make MUILs available for 35 languages, in addition to English. (MUILs also are available to Vista Enterprise customers.)



* BitLocker Online Secure Key Storage. Ultimate customers will be offered a secure place to store their BitLocker encryption keys in the Online Vista Marketplace. That way, if they lose their keys, they will be able to retrieve them over the Web. (BitLocker encryption is a feature of the Ultimate and Vista Enterprise SKUs only.)



* Windows DreamScene, animated wallpaper technology that allows users to run high-resolution video inside the Vista Aero Glass user interface. Microsoft and selected partners, starting with Stardock Corp., will be providing sample content. DreamScene has been known by the codenames "Motion Desktop," and, more recently "Borealis."



* "Digital publications," a bunch of tips and tricks, blog links and other resources for getting the most out of Ultimate. These are just the first few offerings under the Ultimate Extras banner. Microsoft is planning to roll out downloadables over time, company officials said.



Justin Hutchinson, a group product manager for Vista, showed off during Gates' keynote a bit of the capabilities of DreamScene. He also put through its paces a new a "photo-imaging" Extra developed by Microsoft Research. GroupShot allows users to combine elements of multiple pictures together into a new image.



At the Vista Lab, Microsoft officials said that GroupShot. is an example of the kinds of next-generation Extras that Microsoft has in the development pipeline and won't be available as part of the first round of Ultimate Extra downloads. Microsoft isn't going public yet with its packaging or delivery time frame for the next wave of Extras.

 

Trends That Will Impact Your Life In 2007

It is having such a major impact on your lives that we often end up using its power without even realizing that we've done so. You buy a cell phone and later discover that calling and Smsing are two just basic uses of mobile other then these functions you can use mobile to listen to music , click photos, maintain schedules, remember importan dates ,etc . Similarly when you buy a broadband net connection and discover that internet surfing and email are just a small part of what you can do on internet . You can blog , stream live videos or run applications or even access your office work from home . If you lose your internet conection then you are literally cut off from the entire world .

So security would have a new meaning , and will require technology that will secure your digital identity. Connectivity have to be seamless and provide ample bandwidth to let you enjoy all services that are available these days . Likewise there are other areas that can have a lot of impact on your life . CPUs , operating systems , graphics are all undergoing a radical changes which will have tremendous inpact on our lives.