Latest Vista SP1 Beta Opened Up to Public
Posted by chintan | Posted in PC technology | Posted on 25-01-2008
Tagged Under : computer, IT services, Latest Vista, Lunched, market, Microsoft, Public, SP1 Beta, tecnology, Web site
Microsoft has reversed field and opened public admission to the latest beta build of Vista Service Pack 1. Users can now download Vista SP1 RC Refresh from Microsoft’s Web site. Users can install the beta via Windows Update, but Microsoft is providing a list of procedures users should follow to avoid problems.
Microsoft at first released the Refresh beta on Jan. 9 to approximately 15,000 beta testers that built-in corporate customers, consumer fans, software and hardware vendors, and others, according to a company spokesman. The spokesman said on Jan. 10 Microsoft determined to make the beta open to everyone with a notice via its TechNet Web site. Microsoft said its intention was to get the widest and sincere feedback it can before releasing the software.
The spokesman said Vista SP1 is still slated for release before the end of March.
More Popular in Businesses?
The beta news comes on the heels of the third phase of a year-long study conducted by Walker Information for IT services and artificial goods supplier CDW, which shows Vista gaining status in the business market. The study shows that 48% of respondents are using or evaluating Windows Vista — up from 29% in the previous poll from February 2007 and from 12% in the first poll taken in October 2006.
Microsoft first made Windows Vista SP1 RC Preview accessible on Nov. 14 to 15,000 testers as part of its private beta program. In December, the company opened the beta to the public.
Microsoft hopes to align SP1’s ease of use with Windows Server 2008, which Microsoft hopes to ship on or before its Feb. 27, 2008 launch event in Los Angeles.
Vista SP1 will comprise a number of bug fixes and performance enhancements but no new features, Microsoft said. Microsoft also is updating its set of Vista relocation tools, including the Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0, Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 2.1 solution accelerator (formerly called Business Desktop Deployment), and Microsoft User State Migration Tools 3.0.
Microsoft officials said the Vista SP1 RC includes changes that streamline setup and installation. It also includes all previously released updates since RTM, performance and reliability development such as file copy, network browsing and better response time to resume from sleep, and change to administration features, including changes to BitLocker that allow encryption for multiple volumes. Over the years, SP1 versions of any Microsoft products have become a traditional milestone that some corporate users wait for before they even believe rolling out the software.
Uptake of Vista has been slow by corporate users, many of whom have standardized on XP and are reluctant to undertake another migration.
