14 DAY TRIAL // The second service pack for Windows Vista will be made available well after a year since the delivery of Service Pack 1. New leaked information on the Vista SP2 release schedule indicates that Microsoft has changed its initial plans for the release, pushing the RTM date within the second quarter of 2009. In all fairness, the Redmond company has, so far, neither announced any official deadline for the delivery of Vista SP2, nor confirmed in any manner the release schedule dates reportedly leaked in the wild. The only confirmation provided by the software giant involves the availability of Vista SP2 by mid-2009.
Although the Vista SP2 was previously reported to be released to manufacturing in April 2009, it seems that this won't be the case. According to information provided by TechARP, Microsoft has pushed the RTM in the second quarter of 2009, at a date which remains to be announced. Q2 2009 will also see the release of the Wave 0 of Vista SP2 Builds, only six weeks after RTM. The availability of Vista SP2 will continue with Wave 1 releases, namely the rest of the localized versions that have not been included into Wave 0.
At the same time, Microsoft no longer plans to offer Vista SP2 Release Candidate in February 2009. Instead, testers will be getting an RC Escrow build of the service pack. In Escrow, the RC code will be complete, but the company will allow testers to identify show-stopping bugs before the public Release Candidate is offered. Only in March 2009 does Microsoft intend to deliver the fully-fledged Vista Service Pack 2 Release Candidate.
Microsoft announced RTM SP1 for Windows Vista in February 2008 and started serving the bits to the general public in March of last year. At the start of December 2008, the company launched the first Beta for Windows Vista SP2 and for Windows Server 2008 SP2. In this regard, the development of the second SP for Vista will continue in parallel with that of SP2 for Windows Server 2008.
Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) Beta is available for download here.