Vista SP2 Release Looms, But Does Anyone Care?

Microsoft has reportedly begun circulating a near-final "escrow" release candidate for Windows Vista Service Pack 2 to a select group of testers, and some sources say the final Vista SP2 release will arrive sometime in the second quarter.

But considering how favorably the Windows 7 beta has been received by testers, how much attention will be paid to Vista SP2 once it's released, outside of the few organizations that have migrated large numbers of PCs to the operating system?

Solution providers who've had a front row seat to the Vista soap opera don't believe Vista SP2 will have any impact at all on Vista adoption.

"I really see very little relevance in Vista SP2," said Bob Nitrio, president of system builder Ranvest Associates. "Vista SP2 is too late to the party, and with Windows 7 on the horizon, I just don't see how anyone would want to go to Vista at this point."

In fairness, Microsoft isn't touting Vista SP2 as a panacea for Vista's ills, mainly because the release last February of Vista SP1 effectively eliminated most of the performance and device driver compatibility issues that plagued early adopters.

Instead, Microsoft says SP2 is aimed more at fine-tuning performance for Vista and Server 2008. In addition to rolling up all of the fixes that Microsoft has released since Vista SP1's launch, SP2 will include Windows Search 4.0, support for Bluetooth 2.1, simplified Wi-Fi configuration and better power consumption.

But not all Microsoft partners are yawning at the prospect of Vista SP's arrival. Susan Bradley, a Microsoft Small Business Specialist partner, said any time Microsoft releases a service pack, it's an important milestone, particularly because some customers view service packs as benchmarks for deployment.

And Brian Corn, director of marketing for system builder Source Code, says it's possible that Vista SP2 could spark a bump in Vista sales, at least until Microsoft releases Windows 7 sometime later this year.

"We're starting to see a slowdown in XP availability in the channel. Distributors are still stocked up, but Microsoft is going to kill it off soon, so I suppose there could be a rise in Vista sales until Windows 7 comes out," Corn said.

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