Microsoft Details Vista RC1 Plans
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Microsoft has provided further details on its plans to more broadly release the first release candidate of Windows Vista, however criticism of the build has come from some unlikely sources.
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Microsoft Corp  said on Monday  its first update to the Windows Vista operating system has been  released for manufacturing.
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Microsoft is delaying the rollout of Vista SP1 (Service Pack 1) for several weeks in order to address problems arising from the use of a small number of device drivers that do not conform to the software giant's installation guidelines.
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Microsoft will announce availability of business versions of its long-awaited Vista operating system on Thursday, according to analysts invited to a release event in New York City.
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Documents released today detail changes Microsoft will make to its desktop search and indexing feature in Windows Vista.
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Software giant Microsoft confirmed Monday that the first update to its Windows Vista operating system will be available as an official download in mid-March. Windows Vista Service Pack 1 will address various performance and stability issues and improve the desktop OS's hardware support.
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Microsoft has modified Vista for release in Europe to meet European Commission requirements.
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(InfoWorld) - MicrosoftÂ could pull the trigger on putting out a beta of the first service pack for Windows Vista any day with a final release by November, sources close to the company said. Microsoft has been mum about exactly what will be included in Windows Vista Service Pack 1, a rollup of updates for the OS, many of which are pushed out automatically through its Web-based update services. The company also has not said when the software will be in final release --Â the latest from the company revealed only that a beta will be out sometime before the end of the year. The WinBeta.org blog reported Tuesday in a post that Microsoft 's WDK (Windows Driver Kit) team sent out an e-mail to beta testers that a new build of the WDK was being released to them to coincide "with the recent OS beta release for Vista SP1 Preview," hinting that SP1 beta is soon to be sent to testers. Others speculate Microsoft might release the SP1 beta Thursday, the day it will report the company's fiscal 2007 fourth quarter and year-end financial results. In an interview Wednesday, one source close to the company said he had been told by insiders that a beta of SP1 would be out by now, so an imminent release is highly likely. And another source said that beta testers report SP1 will definitely be out this week with a final release coming in November or December. At Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference in Denver two weeks ago, Mike Sievert, corporate vice president of the Windows business group at Microsoft, toed the party line on Vista SP1 and said little about when it would be released or what would be in it and hinted that Microsoft's own plans for the service pack are still in flux. Sievert also downplayed the software's role in when some Windows users will upgrade to Vista, though it's widely known many users -- especially business and enterprise customers -- are waiting for SP1 before replacing Windows XP with Vista. "Most companies are still in the evaluation phase," he said in an interview. "Service pack or no service pack, they're still looking at what they will deploy."
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Microsoft Corp's  upcoming  Windows Vista computer operating system will include technology  that is designed to prevent pirated copies from fully  functioning, the software giant said.
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Microsoft released a refresh of its first service pack for Vista to beta testers on Thursday, indicating the final release might be near.On Thursday, beta users of SP1 received an e-mail from Microsoft alerting them that Vista SP1 refresh 2 is available for download. Microsoft released the latest build, which addressed a small number of bugs that testers encountered in the previous version, to around 15,000 beta users, the company said.Microsoft issued Vista SP1 Release Candidate in December&#160;and a refresh earlier this month. It has said that the&#160;final Vista SP1 will be available to the public during the first quarter of this year, with some reports suggesting that it might come out as soon as Feb. 15.The fact that Microsoft even has a beta of SP1 and has now issued two refreshes to it indicates that the company is trying to be very careful in testing the software and ensuring compatibility, said Andrew Brust, chief of new technology for consulting firm twentysix New York. &quot;They are working hard to under-promise/over-deliver,&quot; he said. &quot;Given the dynamics around the initial release of Vista, that is a prudent course to pursue.&quot;Because it&#39;s quite unusual to issue a beta and multiple refreshes, Microsoft is likely very close to issuing the final public version of SP1, Brust said.That will depend, however, on any problems that testers may find in the newest refresh. If something is broken, Microsoft will have to spend time fixing it, said Chris Swenson, an analyst at NPD Group. &quot;We&#39;re just in wait-and-see mode,&quot; he said.The release of a second refresh doesn&#39;t provide many more clues about when to expect the final version of SP1, agreed Michael Cherry, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft. &quot;The only thing is that we know they are making progress, but we don&#39;t know how close they are,&quot; he saidStill, the initial indication from people who have been testing SP1 is that it&#39;s pretty solid, so it&#39;s reasonable to think the final version might come out in a couple weeks, Swenson said.The final public release of SP1 could boost Vista sales, at least among enterprise users, since&#160;some companies have said they are waiting for the release of SP1&#160;before upgrading from XP to Vista. Consumers, however, don&#39;t appear to have decided to wait. Retail PC sales were up last year and less than 1 percent of all computers including Macs that sold in retail outlets last year had XP, Swenson said. &quot;It&#39;s more of an issue for businesses,&quot; he said.
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Blog: Tucked inside Microsoft's agreement to change Vista's desktop search is word that a beta of the first service pack for Vista will come this year. No word on when the final version will ship, however.
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Microsoft is now drawing up plans to deliver its follow-up client operating system by the end of 2009, according to a company executive.
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In response to media coverage and pressure from partners, Microsoft finally opened up about Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Wednesday, detailing what customers should expect of the update, and setting a final release date of Q1 2008.
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Microsoft Corp's MSFT.O upcoming   Windows Vista computer operating system will include technology   that is designed to prevent pirated copies from fully   functioning, the software giant said.
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Within its recent response to the U.S. Department of Justice that stated it would modify Windows Vista to enable end users and OEMs to change the default desktop search it uses, Microsoft for the first time discussed Service Pack 1 for the OS, saying a beta will come this year.
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Here it comes: Microsoft today confirmed that the first service pack for Windows Vista is entering beta next month and is slated to ship during the first quarter of 2008. A third (and final) service pack for XP is on tap for the same timeframe.
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Microsoft Corp. today released Windows Vista Release Candidate 2 (RC2), which it expects to be the last release of the OS before it goes to manufacturing.