Microsoft is cooking up a little surprise for Windows Vista users. Of course, it involves the first service pack for the operating system. The Redmond company is preparing to offer free Windows Vista Ultimate Service Pack 1 Beta DVDs, along with the product keys necessary to activate the platform, in order to support a veritable Vista SP1 install bonanza. Microsoft made available the first version of Windows Vista SP1 to a limited pool of testers back in mid July 2007. The initial pre-beta version of Vista SP1 was shortly followed by a similar release. But while the July pre-beta Vista SP1 contained the service pack already integrated in the operating system, the second offered the refresh as a standalone .EXE installer.

Only at the end of August did Microsoft start talking about the first fully-fledged beta for Windows Vista SP1, promising a release by the end of September. Well, the company actually delivered, and in the last week of the past month, Vista SP1 Beta became accessible to in excess of 12,000 testers via Microsoft Connect. But there is more coming, such as the Windows Vista SP1 Beta Install Fair. "The Windows Vista SP1 Deployment Team wanted me to pass along notice of an upcoming Install Fair being held here in Redmond at month's end; we've held events like this before and they've always been well received. You're welcome to drop by if you qualify and you're in the neighborhood", informed Microsoft Product Manager Nick White.

The Windows Vista SP1 Beta Install Fair will be nothing short of a hands-on experience, currently scheduled for 27 October 2007 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Redmond Campus / Microsoft Conference Center (Building 33), McKinley Room. According to White, Microsoft employees, friends & family are the primary audience, and the company has set up an internal registration via this link, although public registration is also available via an email at this address: vsp1reg@microsoft.com. Users will have to bring their own computers and power cables, otherwise, Microsoft will take care of the rest.

"Resources provided: monitors, keyboards, mice, network cables and speakers; Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 Beta DVDs and product keys; update analysis tools; food, beverages and a gift for participating! The goals of the Install Fair are to: update 100 Windows Vista RTM PCs or laptops with less commonly found applications, configurations and devices to Windows Vista SP1 Beta; acquire valuable feedback about the Windows Update and stand-alone installation experience from the broader community; send attendees away with a usable Beta version of Windows Vista SP1 and generate excitement about Windows Vista SP1 Beta", White added.