Microsoft announces Windows Vista SP1 beta

As I post this piece, Microsoft is revealing the official existence of Windows Vista™ SP1, the SP1 beta , and the timeframe for testing and availability.

Microsoft will release the beta of Windows Vista SP1 to approximately 10,000 testers.

The Windows Vista SP1 beta will not be a public beta. However, MSDN and Technet subscribers will be eligible to participate once the Windows Vista RC (Release Candidate) beta is available.

There isn’t any stated date or time period for the RC release, since, as with all Microsoft betas, it will be based on feedback from beta testers.

The announcement will also reveal the following targeted timeframe in which Microsoft expects SP1 to RTM.

Please not that the beta will be available to those 10,000 testers ‘within a few weeks’.

Please expect the SP1 update to be approximately 50 MB in weight, with the full deliverable, generally used by enterprise customers, to shadow that of Windows Vista, namely about 1GB for Windows Vista SP1 x86, and about 1.5GB for the SP1 x64 release.

This Microsoft white paper, Windows Vista™ Service Pack 1 beta, lists details of SP1.

Edit: Brandon LeBlanc has graciously made a downloadable copy of the white paper available on the public Windows Vista Team Blog SkyDrive folder. (This document is in XPS format.)

Coincident with that, Microsoft also divulged updated RTM timing information for Windows Server 2008.

Windows Server 2008 is now slated to RTM (Release To Manufacturing, signaling availability on MSDN and a precursor to general availability.

The (launch) party is on! Microsoft has scheduled a February 27, 2008 bash in Los Angeles, California for the combined Windows Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008, and SQL Server 2008.

This is very good news. Very good news indeed!

Lastly, Microsoft will be confirming that the RTM for Windows XP SP3 remains on target for the first half of 2008.

My follow-on post will cover the details.

Nick White has details on the Windows Vista Team Blog here.

EDIT: While all this information is appreciated, Windows Vista, as currently ships, works.

With adequate testing for incompatibilities – for which Microsoft provides numerous tools, of which the ACT 5.0, or Application Compatibility Toolkit is a major component, Windows Vista will work in any environment, surpassing Windows XP in security every time.

Please be advised that this Service Pack 1 update to Windows Vista will not take the place of adequate testing.

We are continuing to deploy Windows Vista™ to all our users, managed and unmanaged, as part of our planned migration process for all Logikworx clients. We have deployed, and continue to deploy it.

We are not waiting for Windows Vista SP1 to deploy Windows Vista.

Why?

We did our due diligence.

We were part of the beta process – in fact, I received an award from Microsoft for my participation in the Windows Vista beta process, thank you.

We tested Windows Vista, both internally, and against each client’s primary LOB application.

We availed ourselves of Microsoft’s free migration tools.

We assessed both hardware and software.

We architected solutions specifically for each client.

We set timeframes and deadlines.

Basically, we did our work.

If you are an IT manager who is waiting for Windows Vista SP1 to commence testing, shame on you. You have failed your enterprise, and shirked your duty to your employer.

However, starting a Windows Vista test and eval regimen immediately will provide redemption. And job security.

For, as we all know, Windows Vista is here to stay, and you cannot avoid it.

Related Posts:

Windows Vista Hardware Assessment is at v2.1

Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 2.0

Vista Migration Step 4: Use Microsoft’s Free Migration Tools

Microsoft further enables enterprise customers

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