Wow.
Nice haul!

Wow, that's pretty decent.

I envy you. I have to go through an Express Upgrade to get my copy of Vista. I expect to see it sometime in June.

But what's in the big "Start Here" box?

Can I have one please? The UK never gets these goodies!

Ah, just saw that picture. Somehow it seems like something that would utilize DX10 would be more appropriate than Zoo Tycoon 2. Crysis maybe? But one can only dream of the level of detail of Zoo Tycoon if it were to use DX10.

What, no "welcome to the social"? Or is that a satchel emblazoned with lame-ass clip art I see in the background?

I am wondering if they gave a Xbox Controller to "Everyone?" and why the Hell did they?...

I doubt everyone there even owns an Xbox or 360...

I'm here combining gift cards to see if I can run to best buy and get Unlimited tonight. I wish members of the Beta got a mail in rebate or coupon for a $$ off. I loved Vista but I don't see how I am going to be able to afford it. Shame, I wish could of gotten a nice stash like that.

keithldick a wired 360 controller will work on a PC straight out of the box. That one actually says on the "Xbox 360 controller for Windows" on it. Same controller, same price tag. Just a different box.

you can get a 360 controller receiver for PC now...

you can use all your wireless 360 peripherals on PC...including wheel and headset...

The "Xbox Controller" is not for an Xbox or 360, its for Windows machines, like ones that run Vista for example. Look closely at the Lego star Wars II box that says PC Games for Windows.

it seems like it's wired controller so it's just regular USB gamepad...

The 360 controller is for use on a PC as well as the Xbox.

"lionelbob says:

The "Xbox Controller" is not for an Xbox or 360, its for Windows machines, like ones that run Vista for example. Look closely at the Lego star Wars II box that says PC Games for Windows."

Ahh, Shame on me for not looking at the larger Pic of the controller...

That's it, I'm switching to Linux.

Did "everyone" get this schwag, or did you have to actually buy Microsoft's latest hunk of junk to get it?

Attention: news flash. The new Xbox controllers now work on both PC and Windows. (DirectX 9 input, actually; no need for Vista though that'll work, too.) But yes, this is wired.

In fact, everything in this bag runs on XP, interestingly enough. But at least Lego Star Wars is good fun.

Both the bag itself and, with some work, the xbox controller should also work with Linux. ;)

WHAT's in the box? I can make out 1 that says USB key me thinks but it'd be nice to know whats in the mystery box of microsoft.

Hey, i'm just glad you guys are showing anything Microsoft!

..honestly!

You guys could totally give away the schwag... bag would be decent at least.

...shaaaaare the loooooad....

Probably a stack of mouse pads, cuz you can never have enough mouse pads, I still have a Pc World windows 3.1 tips and tricks mouse pad, and its mint.

yeah really what was in the big green box was that a mouse pad???

Where is the cheapest place to purchase Home Premium Full (non OEM)?

just curious.

The cheapest site I've found so far is amazon, most place its $240...and you will eaither have shipping or tax...or both, but amazon its $227 with no shipping or tax....is that the best deal on the net?

Nice schwag, but they left out the x6800 and dx10 card needed to make it perform on par with your old XP machine.. sorry had to bash. I just wish OSX ran on my tricked out gaming rig and that my PowerMac was as powerful in hardware it is in OS. And who cares about an xbox360-esque controller unless GOW-PC is included?

Tee Hee. That XBox controller package looks like a sad face.

hmm odd i went to the dallas event and they gave only the first 100 people usb thumbs.. so what gives! i wanna bag! of wammies

@edgarj
Having a DX10 card has nothing to do with the performance of Vista. And besides, as long as you have about 1GB of RAM, Vista performs just the same, if not better, than XP. You can't use the Aero Glass UI as an excuse because Windows offloads that work to the GPU.

If you're going to bash, at least do it right so you don't look like a n00b. For example, you could mention how most of the new features came from OS X, or how it runs like molasses with less than 1GB of RAM, etc.

But hey, Gizmodo, we're all dying to know what's in the mysterious box!

Nice freakin' snag of schwag!

That box is giant. Must be the manual =P

Damn, what a haul...I wish I had had an invite. :(

The only good thing in the bag is Lego Star Wars and maybe the controller. I'll stick with Leopard since, you know, Apple does it right...

Inside the mysterious Vista logo box: a Vista mousepad, a copy of Zoo Tycoon, a Belkin transfer cable for moving from one system to a new machine, a couple of flash drives, and lots of press materials, etc.

Nice schwag. I'm sure this won't influence you in anyway about Vista, right?

"lionelbob says:

The "Xbox Controller" is not for an Xbox or 360, its for Windows machines, like ones that run Vista for example. Look closely at the Lego star Wars II box that says PC Games for Windows."

Actually, the wired XBox 360 controller will work on both the PC and the XBox 360. It seems like it was given away to hype certified Games For Windows games.

murc, you'll probably never see this post, but I'm surprised no one responded to your question faster, cheapest place to get Vista Premium on the net is torrents... duh, nothing is cheaper than free

too bad, switching to linux as you read

Has anyone been able to get that new software packaging open?... Even a steak knife has not worked!

hughjass-

Thanks for poindextering my comment with such insight. No, dx10 isnt required, but MS is touting game performance in their main pitch, and dx10 is really the foundation of that calim. My point was that for vista to be upgrade material for me, I'm going to need to have the hardware to take full advantage of it. My x6800 is a fine, but my motherboard and gfx card (7950GX2, dx9) are both suboptimal for the most attractive Vista features, and they are many. If I really wanted to bash I'd cite performance hits (see THG's rundown) and the general filigreed nature of vista's lures. I work on a Mac and but buy PC's with my own money, so my opinion is empirical in nature. Thanks for the super advice on how not to look like a n00b.