You've heard about it, you know what it's got, you want it like crazy -- and about 11 months after launch Microsoft delivers on Vista's first service pack (in release candidate form, anyway). Go crazy!

P.S. -How big is this download really? The installer's under 400k, but we're still trying to find the big kahuna offline update package. Hit us up in comments.

[Thanks, Michael]

Those of you clamoring for a public beta of Vista SP1 Release Candidate can spend your weekend brushing up on what all is going to change when that download finally goes live. Available now on Microsoft's website is a sizable document outlining "notable changes" in the forthcoming update, which includes improvements in application compatibility, hardware ecosystem support, reliability, performance / power consumption, security, desktop administration, support for new technologies / standards and interoperability. If we tried to even hit the highlights, all but the most vigilant would probably doze off before they could scroll down to the next post, so we'll just advise the curious to hit the links below and cancel every plan you had for the next 30 or so hours.

[Via I Started Something]

Speed boost or no, all of you clamoring for some hot Vista SP1 action will be able to get a beta-style fix in December, according to ZDNet. Apparently "selected testers" will get a release candidate in the first week of the month, with general availability to come the week after. ZDNet says the current SP1 build being tested is 17051, but it's not clear whether that's the version to be released or not. Like all things SP1, looks like we'll just have to wait and see.

[Via Download Squad]

Right on cue, Microsoft has made available the (long-awaited) Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista to a private group of beta testers. One lucky user actually goes on to describe the update and note a number of positive changes, some of which include a much snappier logon experience, a new option in the Disk Defragmenter "allowing you to choose which volumes you would like to defragment," improvements in responsiveness when resuming from Hibernation / Sleep modes, and interestingly enough, slightly improved battery life on a tested laptop. Furthermore, "select members of the community" are also getting to give five new "reliability packages" a whirl, which are all slated to be available to the public before SP1 is released en masse. Be sure and hit the read link for the full rundown.

[Thanks, Dhanik M.]

The leak of the first service pack for Windows Vista, imaginatively named SP1, means that we get to hear about the improvements before it gets a real release. APCMag reviewed a leaked copy of the software, and found that it's pretty much your standard service pack fare: a bunch of bug fixes and noticeable performance tweaks. The only new feature is an option to create a recovery disk, along with a crapload of new install packages for Vista's components, with no readily apparent changes. So, what's Microsoft waiting for? Get it out the door already!

Whispers that Redmond certainly can't be pleased about hearing are beginning to gain traction all over the 'net, as more and more individuals claim that they have Vista's Service Pack 1 pre-beta in their possession. Reportedly, the 6001.16549 build "sounds like it's the real deal," and could be the version that Microsoft has been "trickling out to more and more testers over the past few weeks." Of course, we aren't likely to hear anything one way or another from Microsoft, as the last tidbit that was let loose by it contained the phrase "not anytime soon." But as proven by the Vista Performance and Reliability Pack that just recently found its way into public hands before its intended release date, there's always a chance for leaks. So, dear readers, have any of you stumbled upon a pre-release version of the much-anticipated update?

[Via ZDNet, thanks Mark]

The word on the street earlier this month was that Redmond was readying its first Vista service pack, set for release to beta testers sometime around the 16th of July. Well apparently, Microsoft has caught wind of the rumor and is on a serious mission to quell the cries of eager upgraders. Hot on the heels of July 17th reports that the company had released a beta of the Windows Driver Kit (or WDK) meant to coincide with the service pack beta, Microsoft issued a statement claiming that the SP beta will be made available "sometime" this year, but for only a select group of testers, and with no plans for a public showing "anytime soon." For those used to not getting the Microsoft updates they were hoping for this should be business as usual; everyone else, welcome to the land of little "wow."

[Via ZDNet]

While those tantalizing Vienna rumors may have had your heart working overtime for a brief stint, the back-and-forth between Microsoft and Google may have really had users worried that a service pack delay was all but certain. Interestingly enough, "various unnamed sources" have purportedly stated that Microsoft is actually prepping Vista's very first service pack beta (aw, how cute) for a "mid-July release." To be precise, word on the street is pointing towards July 16th, but the final version of Vista SP1 isn't slated to land until "sometime in November." Additionally, it was suggested that this highly-anticipated update will focus "more on fixes and less on new features," but it's not like that's of any real shock. Of course, it wouldn't be unheard of for this proposed date to slip just a bit, but there's no harm in penciling in a reminder for next Monday just in case all goes well.

[Thanks, Arneh]

Seems that all it takes to get things done these days is whine and be named Google. A mere nine days after the aforementioned search giant kvetched about the rigidity of Vista's built-in search functionality, the higher-ups in Redmond have apparently caved. According to a blurb at CNET, "Microsoft plans to use the first service pack for Vista to make the changes to desktop search," and it was also suggested that the firm would detail these very changes "in a federal court filing being jointly made with the Justice Department." Man, talk about responsive.

Vista hasn't even completely made it out the door yet, but Microsoft looks to already be hard at work on the inevitable first service pack, code named "Fiji," sending out a call for testers in hopes of rolling out the upgrade by the end of the year. As rumored the first time we got wind of the Fiji moniker, the upgrade will apparently add a number of features to Vista that had to be axed in order to meet this month's launch date, as well as address various "high impact" issues, although Microsoft doesn't seem to be willing to elaborate on exactly what those issues might be or how high their impactedness may rank. Of course, all this pales in comparison to rumored changes coming in that other exotically-named Vista upgrade supposedly in the works, with Vienna promising to turn the OS on its head, doing away with that pesky compatibility for "all applications" and throwing everyone for a loop with a completely new interface. No word yet on a possible service pack for it.

[Via The Inquirer]