Stardock has started to deliver the DeskScapes 2.0 Preview yesterday to anyone that wants to give it a whirl. Previously DeskScapes was a way for Vista Ultimate users to extend the functionality of Dreamscene, but now it works on any version of Vista without needing Dreamscene. It's a great way to have an animated desktop background on your Vista machine, oh, and did I say that it's free?
Stardock is a company that is well recognized for their wide array of software applications that let users customize the appearance and functionality of Windows. Earlier this year Stardock announced the launch of a free product, called Deskscapes, who's goal was to make Windows Dreamscene even more extensible.
Microsoft was finally able to ship an update to the Ultimate Extras a few days after the deadline they had set for themselves.
One of the most anticipated Vista Ultimate Extras is the DreamScene application (currently in the preview state). It lets you use videos as your desktop background, and with the free DeskScapes you can take it to a whole new level. Of course to legally get this feature in Vista you’ll need to be running the Ultimate edition (it’s already been cracked though).
For Windows Vista Ultimate users, the “extras” that were promised have been a bit disappointing thus far. While four different extras have been released (Windows Hold’ Em, 16 Language Packs, Secure Online Kay Backup, and Windows Bitlocker Drive Preparation Tool), one of the most anticipated, DreamScene, has not yet been released in its final form.
When Microsoft released a DreamScene Preview for Vista Ultimate users, I couldn’t wait to try it out. Once I got it installed I was indeed impressed, but I still felt like I was missing out on the full capabilities of what DreamScene could really do.
People who can afford to fork out the money for Vista Ultimate will receive what Microsoft calls the “Ultimate Extras.” These are additional features that can be downloaded through the Windows Updates to provide things like drive encryption, Texas Hold’em poker, and DreamScene.
VLC Media Player has got to be one of the best video players available, and it doesn’t cost you a single penny. Why is it so great? Well, it is a combination of the extremely simple interface and the large number of codecs that are included to support almost any type of video.
The video above demonstrates four new videos that Microsoft just posted for use with the Windows Vista DreamScene preview that they made available in the middle of February. If you’re a Vista Ultimate user you can play around with DreamScene and the new videos by performing a Windows Update.
Yesterday Microsoft released the pre-release of DreamScene as part of the Ultimate Extras that Vista Ultimate users have the capability to use. It's one of those "wow" factors that a lot of people will probably be impressed with. You could take it and use it for it's face value, or you could dive in and try out DeskScapes which extends the Windows DreamScene and adds more capability.
