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Windows Vista SP2 is live, ready to download
Face it: in between waiting for Windows 7 to launch and tweaking the XP build on your newly purchased netbook, there's this little thing called Windows Vista that needs to be maintained. Today, Microsoft did its part and released the standalone installers for the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Service Pack 2 for Vista and Server 2008. Now it's all up to you. Hit the read links to patch the Wow with a little SP2 Meh.[Thanks, Justin W.]Read -- 32-bitRead -- 64-bit
Windows Vista and Server 2008 SP2 Release Candidates now available to download
That Windows Vista / Server 2008 Service Pack 2 that hit Release Candidate status last week? You can now download and try for yourself, should you feel inclined and not patient enough to wait for the final version that's rumored for sometime this quarter. It's available for Vista x86 and x64 platforms and Server 2008 in x86 / x64 / IA64 varieties. Of course, anyone keeping this in tuned to the going-ons at Redmond probably already installed Windows 7 beta, but if you kept Vista and want Bluetooth 2.1 support and the ability to record data to Blu-ray discs, now's your chance.Read - Windows Blog announcementRead - Download Service Pack 2 RC
Windows Vista, Server 2008 SP2 officially Release Candidate status, coming Q2 2009
Well that didn't take long. Just last week, we heard about the Release Candidate (RC) builds of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 making the rounds, and now the official Windows blog has confirmed the updates should soon be available to TechNet and MSDN subscribers, with a public test to follow sometimes before its final release. And when might that be? Sometime in second quarter of this year apparently, which fits well with some rumblings we caught wind of last month.
Vista SP2, Server 2008 R2 start making the rounds as Release Candidates
It looks like the long-awaited Release Candidate build of Vista SP2 is hitting the streets today, alongside Server 2008 R2. According to Ars Technica, these guys will soon be available for testers via Windows Update, as a standalone installer, or as a slipstreamed version for select languages, including English, Spanish, German, French, and Japanese. Rumor has it that Microsoft is gearing up for a final release date sometime in April.
Windows Vista SP2 RC may be in the hands of testers as we speak
Sure, the big hubbub's been Windows 7 (give us some time and we'll figure out how to install it on a toaster!) but Microsoft is betting that quite a few folks will be stranded in Vistaland (Vista Town? Vista Village? The dreaded Vista Flats?) for some time to come, and they'll need provisions -- like blankets, candles, water, and service packs. According to Tech Arp, Windows Vista SP2 RC is meeting testers sometime this week as an escrow build, which means that the public could see this thing as soon as early Q2 this year. You've been warned...[Via Computerworld]
Windows Vista / Server 2008 SP2 Beta out now to MSDN and TechNet subscribers
Windows Vista SP2 may not be hitting manufacturers 'til next April, but the beta is already scootin' about to MSDN and TechNet subscribers. Yep, as of this very moment in time, the Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 SP2 Beta is in the wild, and Microsoft is planning to making it publicly available via TechNet this Thursday. Check all the juicy details in the links below.Read - AnnouncementRead - More details / download schedule
Windows Vista SP2 set for April launch to manufacturers?
In case you missed it, last week TechARP said that Vista SP2 is scheduled for an April 2009 release to manufacturing -- that means not you... not yet anyway. We're guessing that it will hit a month later for general release if the Vista SP1 rollout was any indication. So who's TechARP? Oh just the same group of Malaysian kids that like to boast about how they broke the Vista SP1 and XP SP3 release schedules to the world. That makes their "confidential source" worth listening to. The source adds that Microsoft will deliver a SP2 release candidate as early as February so we'll know soon enough how accurate this rumor is. [Via PC Advisor]
Microsoft signals some improvements in Windows Vista SP2, still not moist and chewy
It hasn't been too awfully long since Windows Vista SP1 hit the intertubes for real, but the Vista team is already talking up SP2. Granted, we all know Redmond is focused on moving beyond all of this Vista hoopla and forging ahead with Windows 7, but there's apparently still some work to do on the outfit's current OS. Unfortunately, the latest update isn't exactly enthralling, as we're given no set time frame for launch and we're not shown any forthcoming changes that really get our juices flowing. For instance, Vista SP2 will add Windows Search 4.0 for faster and improved relevancy in searches, the Bluetooth 2.1 Feature Pack, ability to natively record data on Blu-ray media and Windows Connect Now (WCN) to simplify WiFi configuration. Wait, did you just yawn? You did. We saw it.
Vista, Server 2008 could get their SP2s before Windows 7 kicks them out of the house
Maybe you're running a six-year old pirated copy of XP because you still don't trust Vista -- "I'm waiting on one more Service Pack, just to be extra sure," you say. If that's the case, you might have to come up with a new excuse soon: Mary Jo Foley over at ZDNet is reporting that a beta build of Vista Service Pack 2 is already in the hands of some software and hardware partners, and that Microsoft intends to deliver both Vista SP2 and Server 2008 SP2 before it launches Windows 7 -- err, 6.1, no wait, yeah let's go with 7 -- which it supposedly hopes to release June 3rd of next year. At present we know very little about SP2's features, but we're sure you have a few ideas.
Windows XP to get a significant performance boost with SP3?
We're always a little wary of unconfirmed speed reports derived from beta software -- especially when no build number is given -- but a Florida shop called Devil Mountain Systems is claiming that Windows XP SP3 will offer a 10 percent speed increase over SP2, going so far as to call it a "must-have update." On the flip side of the coin, it looks like Vista SP1 won't offer much in the way of noticeable fixes, and certainly won't speed things up. Of course, it's not at all unexpected that the finely-tuned XP would run faster than the relatively new Vista, but analysts are having a field day, with Forrester's Benjamin Gray saying "Vista's biggest competition isn't Apple or Novell or Red Hat; it's Microsoft itself, it's XP." That seems a little hysterical to us, actually -- Microsoft deserves major props for continuing to improve XP even as it tries to speed up the transition to Vista, even if that means cannibalizing some sales. That said, let's try to get a little speed out of SP2, mkay?
