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Microsoft Plus! for Windows XP

Microsoft Plus! for Windows XP

List Price: $19.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Useless to the Average Home User
Review: Microsoft is getting worse at what it includes in its Plus! add-on packs. In its Digital Media Edition, it includes such useless stuff as the Dancers, where people dance at the bottom of the screen, and an alarm clock. Like anyone is going to leave their PC on overnight to wake them up in the morning. Why doesn't Microsoft include items that the average home user can use, such as DVD software to watch DVDs, or an anti virus (like they included in Plus! 98). Another thing to note about this program is that you have to activate it, like you have to do Windows XP which is very, very annoying. If you're looking to save money, leave this worthless thing sitting on the store shelf. If you're looking to waste money, well by all means buy this. If your a person who does a lot of sound and music editing, get a more professional piece of software such as Roxio's Easy CD Creator.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Mostly Useless
Review: It's ironic that a software package that costs only $20 could still be termed "a poor value". While the intentions behind Plus! Digital Media Edition were probably to enhance the XP experience, these features should have been included with Windows XP as a patch given the price of XP and the limited features of Plus! DME.

For example, we have Plus Dancer. This program puts a small, pre-recorded dancer on the bottom of your screen who moves with the music selection that you currently have playing. After about 5 minutes my amusement with this feature was gone. Some of the other features are useful if you are into photo or music editing, but there are far better tools out there, and many are free.

The only feature that I have ended up using was the Alarm Clock. It is moderately useful as I prefer choosing an MP3 track to wake me up, rather than a buzzer or an annoying early morning DJ.

If you are hardcore into photos and music and need something cheap to enhance your projects, this MIGHT be worth picking up. Otherwise, just hit the Net and look for some decent share.ware

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Be ware of Plus!
Review: If I could give this review zero stars, I would because that's what it deserves. I couldn't wait to remove this infestation from my computer. And even after I disinfected my computer by running the uninstall program, my pc was still diseased with several Plus! files in Windows\Prefetch directory. I had to manually remove those. It was a messy job, but somebody had to do it.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Don't Bother with this one.
Review: Unlike previous versions of Plus, this one is not worth the "extra features." There is a cd-label maker, but there are better ways to obtain that kind of software. There are only a handful of additional screen savers and themes and are really boring. I was really disappointed in the lack of versitily of XP theme-wise, but this add-on didn't expand my options very much. Spend your money on something else.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Big Disappointment
Review: Lot of Filler. I've gotten free downloads from Microsoft with more value. Who is going to hook up their PC in the living room for a party? If you don't like Moviemaker (which stinks), the extras are useless.

Hmmmm. Alarm Clock?!? Who sleeps by their computer...(Okay, some of us do).

Need I say more?!?!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Not worth it!
Review: I personally was among the first person who tested and used Windows XP products in my firm. Though Windows XP professional impressed me with bunch of feature improvement, Plus! for XP was very disappointed. Program itself offered you a lot fo dazzy-pazzy toys but lack of useful features. McAfee Anti-virus was the only one found to be useful, despite being inferior to Norton Anti-virus. Games and Wallpapers/Screen savers may give you some excitement but fading in just few weeks. I also found digital audio tools useless since everybody can get Windows Media Player 9 for free (download) with more features and WMA converter is also not interesting and versatile, compared to MP3.

My suggestion is Microsoft should incorporate Plus! to Windows XP itself (esp. Home edition if they want to target Home user)...

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: I didnt find it useful
Review: The only feature I found remarkable is the "Dancers" part where you download different dancers
(pretty big files, though so downloading can take some time, even though I surf through a T-1 connection)
Thats cool because the dancers seem to be real videos with transparent background and look really cool on the screen.
I never even used the other programs and I might use the Photo Story software as soon as I get back from my Grand Canyon,
Las Vegas trip. But, after a rebate, the price was so low I dont have any complaints. Not a hot buy!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Wait for the Freeware Version
Review: Although PLUS! has some useful features, it is nothing more than a Sampler CD or Glorified Advertisement tool Microsoft uses to get you hooked into having to purchase more "Add On" packs for the games and the screen savers. Read the package carefully, you initially get a couple of levels for the games before you have to purchase the rest. But with any product, this is my opinion, so you will have to form your own opinion. If I had to do it again, I would not have spent the money elseware.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Worth it for the money you'll save.
Review: I hate Microsoft, usually. With software that crashes more often than not and a price tag that's 3 times more than anything else its easy. But I've got to give it up for this one. I've only used one product and that's the Analog Recorder. IMHO its the best thing they've ever done. I have tons of audio tapes and there was no way I was going back and rebuying them as CDs. This moves all of that stuff onto CD easily and quickly. It can automatically recognize, combine and separate different songs. It even reduces the pop and hiss. After that you just burn and go. At [money amount]its more than worth it when you look at how much money you'll save buying a pack of blank CDs ([money amount]max) vs all of your cassettes all over again as Cds($$$ and that's if you can find them).

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Activation Catch 22
Review: So.. I buy the the...program but the activation code doesn't work.. I call microsoft who says they can't help me they say they have had both piracy problems and wrong activation code problems.. Microsoft says return it to Amazon. Amazon says it is unreturnable because its been opened. Catch 22...


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