Yes, we have come quite a long way since the initial introduction of the pre-beta releases of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows XP Service Pack 3 to a limited pool of testers, in mid July. Microsoft is, in fact, on the verge of releasing the first public version of Vista SP1. Nick White, Vista Product Manager, officially confirmed that the first public build of Vista SP1 would hit in just a few days, come the week of December 10. The combination of the Release Candidate stage and the public builds are a clear indication that Vista SP1 is closing in on the date it will be released to manufacturing, in the first quarter of 2008.

"We're making available the release candidate (RC) of Windows Vista SP1 via Microsoft Connect, and subscribers to TechNet and MDSN will have access to those RC bits too. In addition, the RC will be available to the public next week via Microsoft's Download Center. The release candidate phase of beta software is typically the final phase before the RTM (release-to-manufacturing) of a product and indicates that the code has attained a significant level of performance and stability," White stated.

But at the same time, the first public version of Windows XP SP3 is not that far behind Vista SP1 RC. Microsoft has synchronized the releases of the two service packs since July, moving the refreshes into Beta and then into RC almost concomitantly, with Windows Server 2008 in the background. Well, with the availability of Vista SP1 RC and that of Windows Server 2008 RC1, Microsoft is bound to also drop the first public version of XP SP3.

Just a few days ago, a pre-final version of the Release Candidate for Windows XP SP3 was made available for download to the subscribers of TechNet and of MSDN. With the focus placed on Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008, XP SP3 slipped into the background a little, but a public release is on the horizon. That much is sure.