I have heard this scenario from a variety of sources. From friends to
Paul Otellini, the CEO of Intel, they have all expressed their decision
to wait until Microsoft will make available the first service
pack for Windows Vista before they upgrade their operating
system. Currently, Microsoft has planned to release Windows vista
Service Pack 1 in the second half of 2007. Is there any relevance to
this upgrade strategy? Is it any truth to the claim that Windows is
simply no good until SP1?
Is there any basis to the well established tradition of waiting for the
first service pack? Is this approach in any way valid for Windows
Vista? Well, you will be able to answer this yourselves. Here are the
comments Microsoft’s Stephen Toulouse, senior program manager for the
Trustworthy Computing Group has provided me in regard to Windows vista
SP1.
“Thanks to comprehensive pre-release testing and the immediacy of
services like Windows Update, service packs are becoming less relevant
as a milestone of a product’s maturity. It is too early to provide any
firm date range for delivery, but we expect Windows Vista SP1 to be a
standard service pack that will include security updates and hot fixes,
as well as other limited changes focused on improving overall quality.”
The bottom line with Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is that it will be
focused on security updates, hotfixes and on general performance and
quality. And that is it! At this time, Microsoft plans Vista SP1 to be
no more than a standard refresh to the operating system. There is no
saying that the Redmond Company's plans will not change throughout this
year, but the decision to postpone the upgrade is based on the
information currently available. And judging by what SP1 will deliver,
waiting for it is nothing more than a tradition...
However, Windows vista will evolve with SP1. And customers will benefit
from added compatibility, experience, performance and stability. The
issues that are inherently associated with any product launch, and that
have also plagued Vista will disappear until SP1. Also you have to
consider the time aspect. Vista SP1 will deliver superior support to
what is currently available.
