This is sort of like the fact that every Star Trek movie utilizes a different transporter effect, but as you probably know, just about every version of Windows uses a different set of sounds, including the startup and shutdown sounds. On the various Windows and Linux computers I use both personally and professionally, I often modify the sound schemes to the one from the Longhorn Beta, which ultimately turned into Windows Vista. Unfortunately, the Longhorn Beta sounds didn’t make it into Windows Vista (or Windows 7, for that matter), which is a shame because quite frankly I find them to be the most soothing of the Windows sounds.
Yes, I am soundly a geek when it comes to sound. (There’s some of that wit!)
Here is a YouTube clip of the Longhorn Beta startup and shutdown sounds. I really like the ethereal sound of these. I have the whole Longhorn sound scheme and someday I’ll post instructions on how to make these beta sounds your default on your computer. I hope I’m not infringing on someone’s copyright by doing that.
Anyways, here’s the sounds I was just talking about.
