Microsoft To Speed Vista SP1 Rollout For Testers

angered beta testers and partners

In a Monday entry to the Windows Vista team blog, Mike Nash, corporate vice president of Windows Product Management, said Microsoft is now offering the Vista SP1 RTM to TechBeta customers and will release it to MSDN and TechNet subscribers later this month.

Microsoft also plans to release the English version of the Vista SP1 RTM to volume licensing customers on Feb. 15, according to Nash, who reiterated that broad availability for Vista SP1 is still slated for mid-March.

"I want to be super-clear on one point: Windows Vista SP1 is final. It has been fully released to manufacturing and we do not plan to make any changes to the SP1 code prior to public availability," Nash wrote.

While many subscribers to the Windows Vista team blog applauded the decision, some posters continued to vent their frustrations.

"If you were really listening, you would have released this on TechNet and MSDN already. Why would you keep final code out of IT personnel and developers hands for no reason? You need to afford them as much time as possible to test this service pack," wrote a poster who uses the handle 'rmcardle.'

"Still not good enough. If the bits are gold, I want them. What purpose does it serve to make me, a full price Windows Ultimate user, who is willing to risk having to reinstall a device driver, wait for six more weeks?" asked poster 'shollomon.'

Microsoft announced the Vista SP1 RTM last Monday, but said technical glitches, which reportedly have to do with third party audio drivers, graphics drivers, and network drivers being disabled after installing Vista SP1, would delay the public release of Vista SP1 until mid-March.

Files labeled as Vista SP1 RTM began popping up on BitTorrent and other Web file sharing sites the following day.