The spotlight may be on the next-generation Windows 7 operating system, but Microsoft has thrown a lifeline to customers that adopted the much-maligned Windows Vista desktop OS. Late Tuesday the company released
Windows Vista and Windows
Server 2008 SP2, a combined service pack for both operating systems.
Owners of an earlier service pack, Windows Vista SP1, can download the new service pack from the Microsoft Download Center and through Windows Update, according to a blog posted Tuesday evening by Brandon LeBlanc, Microsoft's Windows in-house blogger. Delivery of SP2 through Microsoft's Automatic Update service will begin in June.
All this comes as the industry anxiously awaits the delivery of Windows 7, which could happen as early as August. While Microsoft will offer mainstream support for business versions of Vista until 2012, Windows Vista SP2 is likely to be the final service pack for the operating system.
The earlier Vista SP1 corrected many of the well-publicized problems with the first release of Vista, including performance issues and device-driver compatibility glitches. Vista SP2 incorporates all those changes and adds some new capabilities, including Windows Search 4.0 that speeds indexing and query response times, improved Wi-Fi performance and support for Bluetooth 2.1.
"While most updates contained in SP2 are available as individual downloads, the roll-up convenience of SP2 is a major benefit for administrators," LeBlanc said in the blog. The service pack is coupled with "advanced deployment features" such as a single installer and a pre-installation analyzer, he said.
Microsoft is apparently anticipating that many Vista owners plan to move from Vista to Windows 7. "Business customers with Windows Vista will find the transition to Windows 7 will be significantly more straightforward due to the high degree of compatibility between Windows Vista and Windows 7," LeBlanc said.
