Vista SP2 and Windows 7 releases a step closer
The final release of Vista’s second Service Pack looks relatively imminent with the release of a ‘final’ testing edition. Meanwhile Windows 7’s release candidate looks set for April.
Microsoft has this week released the ‘release candidate’ of Vista SP2, meaning that no new features will be added and the project is at the last testing stage. It’s not publicly available, though you can get it by registering as a Microsoft tester.
At this stage the firm has confirmed a couple of points about the final edition. First, it’s not going to find a solution to a bug which incorrectly warns that some third party anti-virus software is inactive. (The problem only appears to affect now outdated editions of packages.) Second, installation of SP2 will definitely require SP1 to already be on a machine. That’s to cut down the size of the update files and reduce server strain.
Meanwhile Windows 7’s development is progressing rapidly. The first version, which takes into account feedback from the beta edition, is already with testers and the formal release candidate could be produced within a couple of week before going out to the public in April.
There has been some confusion in reporting of this story with headlines giving the impression that the final edition itself will be out in April which clearly isn’t on the cards. Accompanying stories instead suggest it’s the release date which will be unveiled in April. However, there’s no firm evidence to suggest that’s already planned.
There will be ‘new’ Windows 7 material of a sort before April. Starting next Tuesday Microsoft is releasing up to five updates for the beta edition. However, these simply replace existing files with near-identical copies and are designed purely to test the Windows Update delivery process is working properly in Windows 7. The updates will not be set to automatically install themselves and while it shouldn’t do any harm to install them manually, there’s no need to do so.
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February 21st, 2009
Vista SP2 candidate IS publicly available.
The x86 version was a 388MB download. An 64 bit version and an ISO image are also available.
February 28th, 2009
@John,
“[...] relatively imminent [...]”
“imminent” is not a relative term – something is either imminent or it’s not.
“First [...] Second [...]”
It’s not “first” and “second”, it’s “firstly” and “secondly”.