Some would say that no version of Windows is complete without that collection of screensavers, games, and add-ons better known as Microsoft Plus. But Plus for Windows XP was a major disappointment--a $40 disappointment, at that. Now Microsoft is hoping you'll pick up a second installment of add-ons, called Microsoft Plus Digital Media Edition (DME). This time, the multimedia-minded upgrade might be worth it--and better yet, it's half the price.

Burning up Plus Party Mode lets you mix music collections with other users

The $19.95 DME is available for the first time as a download rather than a cumbersome boxed CD set. It's also saddled with XP's product-activation scheme, meaning that you'll have to enter a 25-key activation code (just as you would with the complete operating system) and you can't use Plus on more than one PC.

While Microsoft Plus for Windows XP offered desktop decorations, screensavers, and a few minor audio enhancements for $40, Plus Digital Media Edition offers 10 useful-sounding tools at half the price. For example, you can use DME to turn digital photos into slide shows (called Photo Stories) with narration, music, and animation. DME also throws in some additional transitions and special effects to the Windows Movie Maker 2.0 application and adds desktop visualizations called Plus Dancer. It even includes a tool called Analog Recorder for converting records and cassette tapes to digital audio. You'll also find a tool for making CD labels and a feature called Plus Party that lets you give password-protected access to a variety of people who can then mix collections of music or create an interactive guest book.

The Great Pumpkin Create photo stories out of your family digital photos

The Digital Media Edition also includes a syncing application called Plus Sync and Go, which lets you more easily synchronize digital video and audio, such as news clips or music videos, onto your Pocket PC device. Some have speculated that Plus Sync and Go may have prodded Apple into an early release of its iSync software, which lets Mac users synchronize calendar and contact information with Palm handhelds, iPods, and Bluetooth-enabled cell phones.

Of course, all those digital media tools wouldn't be complete without Microsoft's own Windows Media Player Series, and on Tuesday, the company also unveiled version 9.0 along with the final version of Movie Maker 2.0. The new version of Plus uses WMP Series' compression technology to compress photos for its Photo Story feature (making the narrated or musical slide shows easier to send via e-mail, for example) DME's Analog Recorder feature then lets you convert MP3 or WAV files to Windows Media Audio files.

Private dancer Plus Dancer adds new visualizations to your digital music mix

Windows Media Player 9.0 has been in public beta for some months and doesn't appear to have changed much in final release. The platform looks and sounds better than previous versions and includes improved tools for managing your digital music, but it still lacks important tools such as native MP3 encoding or DVD playback.As for Movie Maker, it gets a double boost: an upgrade and the additional effects found in Plus.

At first blush, Microsoft Plus Digital Media Edition looks like the package of add-ons the company should have issued last year, with both fun and useful multimedia features. At $19.95, it's a relative bargain, but we can't believe Microsoft slapped its product-activation scheme on such an inexpensive app. After you've spent hundreds of dollars to upgrade a houseful of PCs to Windows XP, you shouldn't have to spend another $20 per machine to add these tantalizing extras.