MORE BREAKING NEWS: RTM of Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Windows Vista!
Wow.. it's shaping up to be quite a day! I just got word that SP1 for Windows Vista is also ready to be made available to the entire world. Soon...
Right on the heals of the announcement (though not related) that Windows Server 2008 is RTM, now SP1 for Windows Vista quietly went RTM (well, not so quietly.. there will be a lot of blogging) as well today.
Check out the Windows Vista Team Blog, and in particular, this post by Mike Nash.
"So.. can I download SP1 today?"
Not in its released form yet; no. You'll definitely want to read the blog post about the timing, and the REASONS for the timing of the availability.
"I don't want to read the post, Kevin. I want YOU to tell me when I'll be able to get it."
Okay. It will be downloadable in mid-March. And it will be rolled out via Windows Update sometime in mid-April.
(2/11/2008 UPDATE: Check this post. They moved up the dates for Technology folks to get 'hold of the SP.)
"Have you installed it?"
I actually just finished installing it on several of my home machines. My initial experience is that it does indeed seem like things are performing faster.. but I'm not ready to say yet that, yes, absolutely it's made things faster or more reliable. I have been plenty happy with Vista already. My hope is that some of the big file transfers I've been doing over my gigabit Ethernet connection between my laptops and my media center for the sake of synchronizing recorded TV shows to my Zune will be a lot faster. (Apparently it could be as much as 50% faster. Sweet!)
"How big is the SP1 download?"
Well.. I don't know how big the full install (with all updates included) will be. I did my downloads as a test using Windows Update. My machines were already up-to-date with all earlier patches and security updates. On my 64-bit Vista Ultimate machines it was roughly 125MB. On 32-bit Vista Ultimate, it was around 65MB. Naturally, the full download will be much larger; which is why I recommend that if you're using Windows Update, or Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), you should get your computers as up-to-date as possible before doing the Update installation. The only reason to have the full-installation on hand would be to build slipstreamed Vista installations, or to apply SP1 to a new installation using the original Vista non-SP'd media.
"Will SP1 be included in PCs purchased? Will SP1 be also included in the packaged product I buy from the store?"
Yes, eventually both of these things will happen. In fact, that's what RTM is all about. We have released it to the world to be able to now create the new product DVDs and to sell new PCs with the Service Pack already installed. Those products will be on store shelves in mid-March to mid-April; which, as you recall, is also when you'll be able to download it. That's NOT a coincidence.