Network Computing is part of the Informa Tech Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.

Microsoft Apologizes For Silence On Windows Extras: Page 2 of 2

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates unveiled Extras in January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nev. The downloadable features are meant to enhance the premium version of Vista with business-oriented and consumer-friendly tools.

Extras are among the perks Microsoft gives to buyers of Vista Ultimate, which carries an upgrade price of $260. The premium OS targets sole proprietors and small-business owners who want to do work and personal tasks on the same PC.

BitLocker in Vista Ultimate is considered a major enhancement because it provides whole disk encryption for a PC's hard drive, a feature increasingly applied by enterprises to lock down data. This is important to protect information in mobile PCs that might be lost or stolen.