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Customers who’ve been waiting for Microsoft to release the final Vista Service Pack (SP) 1 bits are going to have to wait another month or two to actually get their hands on them — at least through legal channels.

In a posting to the Windows Vista team blog, Corporate Vice President of Windows Product Management Mike Nash explained how and when users can get the Windows Vista Service Pack (SP) 1 bits. Microsoft released Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 to manufacturing on February 4.

According to Nash, the schedule looks like this:

Update: Early March: SP1 bits will be made available to TechNet and Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) subscribers.

Full Article – http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1151

Windows Vista SP1 includes a number of enhancements over the original Vista release in the areas of application compatibility, device support, power management, security and reliability. You can see a detailed list of the changes in the Notable Changes in Windows Vista Service Pack 1 whitepaper that you can download here. One of the improvements highlighted in the document is the increased performance of file copying for multiple scenarios, including local copies on the same disk, copying files from remote non-Windows Vista systems, and copying files between SP1 systems. How were these gains achieved? The answer is a complex one and lies in the changes to the file copy engine between Windows XP and Vista and further changes in SP1. Everyone copies files, so I thought it would be worth taking a break from the “Case of…” posts and dive deep into the evolution of the copy engine to show how SP1 improves its performance.

Full Article – http://blogs.technet.com/markrussinovich/archive/2008/02/04/2826167.aspx

Networking enhancements, a reduced attack surface and virtualization capabilities earn Windows Server 2008 eWEEK Labs’ Analyst’s Choice award.

“Faster” and “slimmer” are two adjectives to which few software product upgrades can lay legitimate claim—particularly if the software upgrade in question is a Windows operating system.

Full Article – http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Infrastructure/Windows-Server-2008-Is-Microsofts-Leanest-Meanest-Yet/

This document provides more detail about the notable changes made to Windows Vista in Service Pack 1, which were focused on addressing specific reliability, performance, and compatibility issues, supporting new types of hardware, and adding support for several emerging standards.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=d69c4e1b-c81a-41be-b1f5-66e615ba5912&DisplayLang=en

These Release Notes provide important information you should know prior to deploying and using the Windows Vista SP1 operating system, including known issues. You should familiarize yourself with all of the known issues listed here prior to installing the software.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=b5b681f5-f366-4ad2-ba10-6a7d209de7bd&displaylang=en&tm

For plenty of people, a big reason to upgrade to Vista SP1 will be the death of the dreaded “Kill Switch,” which in essence kills Windows if for some reason Microsoft determines your copy isn’t a validly bought version. Good move…but getting rid of the Kill Switch is something that Microsoft can easily do as an update without bundling into SP1. So why hold it hostage until SP1 ships? To force you to upgrade, and make the service pack’s uptake numbers look better.

Full Article – http://blogs.computerworld.com/microsoft_holds_end_of_the_kill_switch_hostage_to_vista_sp1

For plenty of people, a big reason to upgrade to Vista SP1 will be the death of the dreaded “Kill Switch,” which in essence kills Windows if for some reason Microsoft determines your copy isn’t a validly bought version. Good move…but getting rid of the Kill Switch is something that Microsoft can easily do as an update without bundling into SP1. So why hold it hostage until SP1 ships? To force you to upgrade, and make the service pack’s uptake numbers look better.

Full Article – http://blogs.computerworld.com/microsoft_holds_end_of_the_kill_switch_hostage_to_vista_sp1

You got an Excel 2007 spreadsheet in your Inbox but there’s no Microsoft Office on you computer to open that file.

You could either buy Office 2007 or just grab the free Microsoft Excel 2007 viewer that was released this week. This program has been available since long but only the new version supports the xlsx format.

With this new Excel 2007 Viewer, you can view and even print spreadsheets created using any version of Microsoft Excel. You can also copy data from Excel Viewer to another program.

The other option for opening xlsx files is the Office Compatibility pack but that works only if you have a copy of Office 2003 or Office XP.

Excel Viewer [Microsoft Download Center]

I’ve written a great deal about how Windows Vista’s Performance and Reliability tools help users understand and solve problems and how greater levels of instrumentation and error reporting are what drives Vista’s now native update application. It’s time to share a bit more and perhaps help Windows Vista users discover the details around the real causes for the problems and errors they encounter.

Full Article – http://blog.libertech.net/blogs/lketchum/archive/2008/01/31/problem-caused-by-windows-quot-oh-really-quot.aspx

I’ve written a great deal about how Windows Vista’s Performance and Reliability tools help users understand and solve problems and how greater levels of instrumentation and error reporting are what drives Vista’s now native update application. It’s time to share a bit more and perhaps help Windows Vista users discover the details around the real causes for the problems and errors they encounter.

Full Article – http://blog.libertech.net/blogs/lketchum/archive/2008/01/31/problem-caused-by-windows-quot-oh-really-quot.aspx

Sitting on the desk of Steven Sinofsky, Microsoft’s senior vice president of the Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group, and the man most directly responsible for Windows development, is a document titled “Shipping Seven.” I haven’t seen it, and I don’t have a copy of it. Sinofsky, of course, would like to keep it a secret: He’s among the cagiest of Microsoft executives, and no particular fan of mine. Previously responsible for Microsoft’s dominant Office group, Sinofsky has a can-do reputation, a man who can ship product on time in a very regimented fashion. After the multi-year delays that plagued Windows Vista, it’s no wonder that he was picked to head Windows development going forward.

Full Article – http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/win7_shipping.asp

The Windows SDK provides support for development with Win32/64 and .NET Framework programming models. The Windows SDK has replaced the PSDK. Windows SDK is the name for Windows Vista and later OS SDKs that include all content found in recent PSDKs plus content for the .NET Framework. The Platform SDK or PSDK is the name for the OS SDK prior to Windows Vista. PSDKs don’t include content for the .NET Framework programming model.

I, like many before me, have downloaded the Windows SDK, installed it, and moved on to more pressing problems. Other than digging into header files, I had rarely looked at what else might be included. As the builder of the SDK, I now have a vested interest in what is delivered with the SDK, and I thought I’d share some of the interesting jewels I’ve found.

Full Article – http://blogs.msdn.com/windowssdk/archive/2008/01/26/windows-sdk-hidden-gems-part-1.aspx

Complete guide to Change or Add Logo and Support Information to your Windows Vista Laptop/PC.

How Did They Do That?

Did you Ever wonder How famous Laptop/PC manufacturer’s such as DELL, HP, SONY, FUJITSU, ASUS, ACER, LENOVO and others put their Logo and information to your Computer?

This is the guide!

Full Article – http://unlockforus.blogspot.com/2008/01/branding-your-windows-vista-computer.html

With a major launch event next month serving as an unmovable anchor for Microsoft at this point, the ancillary launches for Vista Service Pack 1 and XP SP3 would probably raise suspicion if they were delayed.

A group of 15,000 private beta testers received what’s being called “RC Refresh 2” of the release candidate for Windows Vista Service Pack 1, Microsoft confirmed to BetaNews this morning. Numbers for the actual release candidate or the beta number, judging from Microsoft’s recent correspondence with us, are no longer being used, which could lead some to believe that this may not be the final “refresh” coming down the pike.

Full Article – http://www.betanews.com/article/Vista_SP1_on_schedule_for_March_RTM/1201280378

With a major launch event next month serving as an unmovable anchor for Microsoft at this point, the ancillary launches for Vista Service Pack 1 and XP SP3 would probably raise suspicion if they were delayed.

A group of 15,000 private beta testers received what’s being called “RC Refresh 2” of the release candidate for Windows Vista Service Pack 1, Microsoft confirmed to BetaNews this morning. Numbers for the actual release candidate or the beta number, judging from Microsoft’s recent correspondence with us, are no longer being used, which could lead some to believe that this may not be the final “refresh” coming down the pike.

Full Article – http://www.betanews.com/article/Vista_SP1_on_schedule_for_March_RTM/1201280378