14 DAY TRIAL // While Microsoft continues to keep mum on the first major upgrade for Windows 7, a third-party source indicates that the company could have already decided which interim release of Service Pack 1 will be labeled as the official Beta development milestone. Microsoft did confirm that it had been hard at work building Windows 7 SP1 in mid-March 2010, although it downplayed the relevancy of the service pack for customers already running, or looking to buy the latest iteration of the Windows client. The company talked a bit about new features such as RemoteFX and Dynamic Memory, designed to kick up a notch Windows Server 2008 R2. However, details specific to Windows 7 SP1 are a tad scarcer.
No additional details were provided on the first service pack for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2009 R2 since March, outside of information regarding RemoteFX and Dynamic Memory. Still, if Russian website Wzor turns to be right (it did so on many occasions in the past), this detail is bound to change. Microsoft has reportedly compiled Windows 7 SP1 Build 6.1.7601.16560.win7sp1_beta.100524-1800.
This interim build of Windows 7 SP1 belongs to the actual Beta branch, and was compiled on May 24th, 2010. The latest Build is superseding 6.1.7601.16559.win7sp1_beta.100506-1349, which was produced during the period in which Windows 7 SP1 was still in Escrow. According to Wzor, chances are high that 6.1.7601.16560.win7sp1_beta.100524-1800 could be selected as the official Windows 7 Beta Build. The Russian website is noting that the users won’t have to wait much longer before Microsoft officially confirms this aspect.
Fact is that when Microsoft is downplaying the impact that SP1 will have on Windows 7, the company is right to do so. SP1 will offer an upgrade to the operating system, but nowhere near the level of changes introduced by SP2 for Windows XP for example. Customers should expect nothing more than a standard service pack, which will represent only a minor evolution to Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.