Do it right now!

Aug 30, 2007 11:43 GMT  ·  By

The first service pack for Windows Vista will be delivered to some 10,000 MSDN and TechNet subscribers by mid September and the final refresh for the operating system is planned for the first quarter of 2008. Microsoft correlated the release of Vista SP1 with the release to manufacturing and availability date of Windows Server 2008, as the company's latest server and client platforms share the same core. In this context, it's highly likely that Vista SP1 will be made available to users of the operating system after February 2008. This means that even by the most optimistic forecast you will have to wait at least six months before Vista SP1 drops. But fear not, Microsoft has a solution: upgrade to Vista now!

"We think Windows Vista is one of the best versions of Windows we've ever released, and, just like with past Windows releases, the servicing model is about continuously improving the quality of the code after it is released and keeping up with an evolving PC ecosystem. While it's likely customers will experience some improvements when updating the RTM version of Windows Vista with Windows Vista SP1, many of the improvements will be available prior to the release of the service pack through the other vehicles I've mentioned, and we think that Windows Vista is an operating system that offers great benefits today for everyone from home users to large enterprises," revealed Jon DeVaan, Senior Vice President of the Windows Core Operating System division at Microsoft.

"Organizations do not need to wait for SP1 to deploy Windows Vista; they are encouraged to begin their Windows Vista evaluation and deployment now," also advised Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc. "Organizations currently evaluating and deploying Windows Vista should continue their evaluation, pilot programs, and deployment on the initial ("Gold") Windows Vista release. Microsoft provides the tools and guidance needed to deploy Windows Vista today and will provide additional guidance, tools and support for moving to SP1 when the service pack is released. [And] organizations just starting to evaluate Windows Vista should plan a pilot program, targeting the PCs that gain the most business value from Windows Vista (for example, many organizations will find that mobile PCs get the most benefits) and present the simplest upgrade from the gold release of Windows Vista to SP1."

Additionally Microsoft also offered a worst case scenario, from its perspective, of course. In this regard the Redmond company advised companies that are keen on waiting for the availability of Windows Vista SP1 before upgrading to debut compatibility testing on the RTM build of the operating system immediately. Such a move will permit the synchronization of the evaluation and pilot programs with the release candidate of Vista SP1.

"Windows Vista includes architectural changes relative to Windows XP that improve security and reliability. These changes can cause some applications which work on Windows XP not to work on Windows Vista. However, these architectural changes are also part of Windows Vista SP1. For this reason, testing applications on Windows Vista today will be a very good proxy for compatibility with Windows Vista SP1," LeBlanc added.