And forget all about Vista SP1?

Dec 27, 2007 17:42 GMT  ·  By

Windows Vista was released to manufacturing and to businesses in November 2006, and the operating system hit the shelves only at the end of January 2007. Launched with a fatuous $500 million worldwide marketing campaign under the slogan "the Wow starts now", Vista managed to miss the Wow by a long shot. In fact, not only did the majority of Windows users not adopt the rather limp Wow on the spot, but they also turned around to Windows XP and are now failing to let go. And with Microsoft having made available the public Release Candidates of both Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3, the question emerged whether or not the third and final service pack for XP is the true upgrade for Vista.

Microsoft's position is, of course, to wait for the RTM versions of Vista SP1 and XP SP3 before making up your mind. Of course that, more or less subliminally, the Redmond company has delivered strong signs that Vista is here to stay and ignoring it is a move equivalent to ignoring the inevitable. The option of Windows 7 lingers on a distant horizon, but the successor of Windows Vista is still at least a couple of years away, and this will mean ridding XP for all that it's got until 2010. This is if Microsoft will make good on its promise to offer Windows 7 in mid 2010.

"Customers can take advantage of all that Windows Vista has to offer by evaluating and deploying the operating system now. They do not need to wait for Windows Vista SP1, which includes updates already released through Windows Update. Windows Vista enables higher levels of productivity and mobility than earlier versions of Windows, and it helps lower the cost of ownership. Customers currently evaluating and deploying Windows Vista should continue their evaluation, pilot programs, and deployment on the RTM version of Windows Vista. Microsoft provides the tools and guidance customers need to deploy Windows Vista today and will provide additional guidance, tools, and support for moving to Windows Vista SP1 when Microsoft releases it", the Redmond company revealed.

Of course that some end users fail to play to the same tune as Microsoft. This is why, Windows XP SP3 comes to represent a much more appetizing perspective than Vista SP1. With XP SP3 due in early 2008, probably alongside Vista SP1, Microsoft will only manage to make sticking with XP an easier choice for the end users that have been disappointed with Vista RTM. At the same time, it is clear that Vista will get a second shot with the introduction of SP1, and one that will accelerate adoption, even with XP SP3. It is interesting to see the reaction of the corporate environment, which will be forced into a migration, whether it will be to XP SP3 or to Vista SP1. It remains to be seen if having to update the Windows infrastructure one way or another will swing corporations toward Vista.

But as far as the Redmond company is concerned, there is simply no alternative to Vista SP1. "Customers just starting to evaluate Windows Vista should plan a pilot program based on the original release and then move to a pilot or deployment when Windows Vista SP1 becomes available. Customers planning to wait for Windows Vista SP1 before deploying Windows Vista can start compatibility testing on the RTM release of Windows Vista now, and then begin their evaluation and pilot programs on the release candidate of Windows Vista SP1 when it becomes available", Microsoft added.