Gizmodo: Vista Ultimate

Windows Media Center Offers "Olympics on the Go"

Sean Fallon — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:39:00 EDT

If you and your DVR are having trouble keeping up with all of the Olympics coverage, Microsoft is offering Media Center users the opportunity to catch up with on-demand content. All you need to do is launch Windows Media Center on a PC or laptop running Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate and scroll down to Online Media. There you will find a link to activate “NBC Olympics On The Go." (Can also be activated via the NBC site). The content is said to be "up-to-HD quality," whatever that means, so you should get a decent look at your favorite events. [Olympics on the Go]

Microsoft Cuts Vista Prices, XP Still Better

Haroon Malik — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:45:00 EST

Looks like Microsoft is trying another push to get Vista Ultimate running as your OS of choice. The top-end operating system will receive a price cut from $399 to $319, whilst the upgrade version will now retail at $219, a savings of $40 on the original price. Vista Home Premium will also be dropped in price, from $159 to $129. If you were holding out, now seems like a good time as any to take the Vista plunge, or stick with XP SP3 because it kicks Vista-ass. Your call. Note: the Digg badge on this post corresponds to the original news' Digg. [News.com]

CNet Checks Out Windows Vista: Stable, but No OS X Killer

Louis Ramirez — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 19:18:57 EST

The folks at CNET have given Windows Vista Ultimate a thorough testing. Their verdict? Buy it if it's already installed on a new PC, but skip it if you're merely upgrading. Though they found MS' new OS very stable, they felt there weren't enough new features in it to merit an upgrade. Also, chances are if you do upgrade, you'll need a stronger PC to take advantage of the new features. In other words, that old, dusty Dell ain't gonna cut it.

Among the things they did like...

were the OS' new Instant Off button which caches all your open files and lets you shut down immediately. There were also better support options throughout the OS, with a much-improved Help section that helps with troubleshooting. But in the end, Vista left CNET with that sinking "is that all" feeling.

"Compared with Mac OS X 10.4, Windows Vista feels clunky and not very intuitive, almost as though it's still based on DOS."

Ouch. And with Leopard coming up, it looks like the gap between the two operating systems will only get wider. – Louis Ramirez

Windows Vista Ultimate [CNET]