Microsoft has begun preparing its partners for the arrival of Windows Vista SP1 (Service Pack 1), and whilst officials have not yet released the schedule or details,they have begun openly referencing the upcoming Vista SP1 release in documentation onthe Microsoftwebsite. Industry experts have long been predicting the arrival of aVistaservice packwith some observersspeculating on its release dateeven before the launch of the OS itself in late 2006 but Microsoft have remained tight-lipped about anything to do withan SP1 update.
However on 7 June, Microsoft posted documentation for a Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK) on its download center portal which is applicable to a product dubbed Windows Vista SP1 Beta 3. The Windows AIKis designed to help OEMs, system builders and corporate IT departments deploy the OS on to new hardware Microsoft said. As part of the announcement, Microsoft posted a document which indicated that Windows Vista SP1 had been under development since at least February 2007, the date amended to the file which provides an informational overview of the download.
Some German researchers were recently able to sneak a couple of screenshotsthat references Vista SP1 from a presentation at the WinHEC (Windows Hardware Engineering Conference) in Los Angeles in mid-May, however, Microsoft officials didn't immediately respond to calls seeking comment on the details.
When SP2 for Microsoft Windows XP first arrived in August 2004 it set off a wave of discontent as many businesses had problems installing the update.However, it is widely perceived that the release significantly benefited Windows users once it could be swallowed, particularly in the area of improving security.
Some Microsoft partners have also alluded to the update publicly. On 19 April, Intel CEO Paul Otellini was asked how Vista sales would impact his company's 2007 sales projections on a conference call, and he replied that "[Vista] deployment [in enterprises] will actually happen when the Service Pack gets released in the fourth quarter time frame, probably the October-November time frame."
In early April, a software patch blog posted over 100 fixes it said are expected to be included in Windows Vista SP1. Sources close to Microsoft have confirmed that the company is currently testing SP1.
The blog poster, former Microsoft employee Ethan Allen, owner of the The Hotfix blog and Web site is predicting that SP1 will include device driver and software compatibility technology that many users had hoped would be available in the OS from the start.
Among them could be support for third-party USB and Firewire devices such as digital cameras, in particular products from Sony that have been having compatibility problems with Vista, Allen said.
There also will be patches to improve the TV playback and other Media Center capabilities in Vista, as well as to repair inconsistencies with the power management functions such as sleep and hibernation modes, he said. but claimed that Vista SP1 will not include a heavy dose of security updates.
