A quick break for lunch and I saw this come across the news…
Windows Vista, Windows XP Service Pack Previews Released
IDG News Service – August 07, 2007
“Microsoft confirmed Tuesday that it released preview code for both XP SP3 but still would not say directly when the updates to each OS [Windows XP Service Pack 3 and Windows Vista SP1] will be released in their final versions.
“While Microsoft said it will have a beta of Vista SP1 available “sometime this year,” it won’t commit to a more firm date or speculate when the final release will be available. Some insiders had expected a beta to be available by now, though one has yet to materialize. As for Windows XP SP3, Microsoft said it is shooting for the first half of next year but called that date “preliminary” and declined to disclose more details.
“A third service pack for XP, which has been in the works for some time, may seem a moot point now that Vista has been available to consumers for about seven months and to business users for nine. However, there are many XP users, particularly business customers, that would find a third service pack for the OS valuable, said Samir Bhavnani, a research director at Current Analysis West.”
Moot point? Don’t think so.
I am running Windows XP and Windows Vista at home (along with Office 2003 and 2007), and I have machines that will continue to run XP even after Vista SP1 is released. This not an issue of faith in our new OS, but being practical Ias I have written here previously, we have older client machines at home that run XP, namely older PCs with smaller than currently average memory footprints and hard drives. These are PCs that our kids are happy to use for various games (many running under Win98 compatibility mode!), and one of the computers I use at home is running XP SP2 (Media Center Edition, acually) along side two PCs running versions of Vista.
At the office all machines in my office are running Windows Vista Enterprise edition. At some point my PCs at home will be retired and we’ll move them to a new Vista PC, but at home for me it is not a sprint to Vista.
Is more info needed on these updates? Sure, IMHO. And it will come.
There are many millions of customers in the same situation, looking to Microsoft to release another free update for Windows XP that offers offers improved security and the features touted in Windowsx XP SP2: protection against viruses, hackers, and worms, and features like Windows Firewall, Pop-up Blocker for Internet Explorer, and Windows Security Center.
Of interest:
- Windows Vista Migration Step-by-Step Guide on TechNet.
- Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor – This is a small application that you can run on your current Windows XP-based computer to find out if it’s ready for an upgrade to Windows Vista.
- Windows Vista step-by-step guides for IT professionals – These step-by-step guides provide instructions for deploying or migrating to Windows Vista. These guides also describe how to configure security, monitor performance, and manage printers.