Microsoft has been ticking many people off by not having an actual schedule for Vista SP1’s release. Microsoft’s response was that they’re basing the release date on the quality feedback of the current in-development SP1 testers. The corporate giant had as of late released near-complete versions of the service pack to both internal and public testers, collecting feedback. Finally the release date for the major update has been finally announced.
That date is February 4th, just 2 days from now. Quick huh? Well this is certainly great news for those who had beenriding on the rumors of SP1 being released some time at the end of the month. Service Pack 1 is just almost here, and ready to answer to everyone’s demands.
What was that all about?
Windows Vista has had the weirdest response of any other OS Microsoft has ever released. Over six years in development, it hardly comes with the radical improvements its predecessors were. The OS looks more like a revamp of XP with a few extra fancy features. It was plagued by its fair share of bugs, nothing exceptional to what any of the previous fresh Windows releases had really. However, complaints came in by the millions regarding application compatibility, hardware requirements, and an overall lack of interest in adoption. One could say Microsoft did something wrong by actually doing something right for a change – creating a stable, secure OS that is Windows XP, with which everyone was happy. People around the world saw no reason to upgrade to Vista. What’s more they began praising the old and familiar, 7-year old OS, defending it fiercely against the lag monster that is Vista. So began a freakshow that would last an year. But deep inside everyone knew it: Vista is the future, and sooner or later everybody will upgrade to it. The question on everyone’s lips was “when?”. And the world had its eyes on Service Pack 1, the update which promissed to address Vista’s bugs, improve compatibility, and support older hardware — Vista’s saviour. That time is now.
The SP1 “prophecy”
Microsoft has yet to speak about what Service Pack 1 means to their hopes on Vista’s future, but I think they’re waiting for the adoption as much as anyone else. Vista’s sales have been horrendous, and many have publically stated that they refuse to give Vista a try until SP1 is out. The service pack, according to Microsoft, will be released Monday on February 4th in two waves. The first wave will have SP1 in 2 waves:
-wave 0(Feb 4): to include only English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese languages
-wave 1(between Feb 11 and 18): to include all other languages
While security has not been an issue with Vista systems, Microsoft still mentioned that SP1 will be adding improvements inthat area, along with performance, stability, and support improvements. All in all SP1 is to include:
-All Windows Updates released since RTM
-Performance and stability improvements in scenarios such as file copy, network browsing, and improved response time when resuming from sleep.
-Support for new types of hardware, and several upcoming standards.
-Administration improvements
Among these improvements are also a reduced frequency of UAC prompts. Don’t expect anything spectacular, they’ll still be the nag they are when installing software, copying to certain locations, or configuring system options. Unless UAC is revamped or are using 3rd party software I suggest you don’t bother keeping it on. BitLocker encryption will also support multiple drives.
If you’re testing a build of Vista SP1 you will need to uninstall that prior to installing the final version. Additionally, Microsoft says to allow a one-hour running period between SP1 installs and uninstalls, and prior to installing any other updates, as Windows continues to update files after the install has completed, to insure there are no install problems. “Wait one hour”…well that’s a new one.
Pirates rejoice and beware
Vista SP1 is also to remove the reduced functionality mode in Vista to simply taking off the wallpaper every hour and displaying nag popups. But if this comes to any relief for non-legit Vista users, Vista is also disabling the timestop and OEM BIOS crack methods for Vista. It is however, not much of a hassle to the community, who have been trying out the SP1 beta builds and finding ways to crack them.
Your own little server
The kernel of Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 are basically one and the same. Many core files found on Vista SP1 will be identical to those in WS2008. Yes people, you will be using a home OS with server-like stability. Vista has been rock-solid even back in the beta days. I’ve only ever had two crashes – they were two BSODs, one when using the beta, and another when I had force-installed an incompatible driver. Another praise-worthy feature of Vista SP1 is hotpatching — the ability to update core files of Windows on the spot, without need for restart. This will maximize uptime and surely please many users.
The old and dead shall not rise from the grave
If you’ve been waiting to see compatibility with older DOS apps, it won’t happen. The command prompt has given up on supporting any type of legacy DOS graphical modes. Also many a program which were not updated by the developer will continue not to work on Vista. They are gone, forever. However, if you’ve just bought a computer and are planning on using Windows Vista for the first time, Service Pack 1 will be an overall pleasant experience. Anyone starting out with Vista these days will notice that almost every hardware and software being sold are Vista-compatible, and the OS itself will behave.
Yes, it’s safe to come out now
Vista is through with its hardships. It is becoming a trustworthy OS which has gotten over much of its infamy. If you’re a customer buying a Vista PC these days you won’t be taking much of a risk at all. But wait, what about Windows XP? Service Pack 3 is just around the corner, right? And performance-wise it’s shown better results in benchmarks than Vista’s SP1. Well, it’s true. A previous Windows OS will always run faster than a newer one on the same hardware. Just install Windows 98(if supported) on your machine now and be amazed… seriously, this is an irrelevant issue. And Vista is fine just the way it is. I feel however, that SP3 will still have a role to play in Windows Vista’s history. However, many are beginning to open up to Vista and seeing what it has to offer — just another Windows OS, with fancier interface, a few new features, and support for better in-game graphics. What’s so bad about that? Vista has reached both its maturity and its time. And if this is true, Windows Vista will see a greater adoption rate than it has on its first year. Just another oddity in the freakshow that was Vista’s adoption history…
PS: There’s quite a few alleged “SP1 RTM” torrents out there. At least today, don’t bother with any of them. They’re all just SP1 RC1. Not even RC2…
