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Windows Vista SP2 release date slips

Microsoft has delayed Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) by at least a month, and will now ship it to manufacturing sometime in May or June, according to a website that has accurately predicted Windows release dates in the past.
windows - comments - 25.1.2009

Vista SP2 RTM Already Leaked and Available for download soon

Microsoft was yet to announce the releasing to manufacturing of Windows Vista Service Pack 2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2 that the bits had already been leaked to torrent trackers. On April 28, the Redmond company indicated that Vista SP2 (a package that also contains Windows Server 2008 SP2) had RTM'd.
windows - comments - 29.4.2009

Vista SP2 RTM General Availability Just Around the Corner

The general availability of the second service pack for Windows Vista is just around the corner.
windows - comments - 26.5.2009

Download Windows 7 RTM Technologies for Vista SP2

Microsoft has wrapped up a package of technologies it is backporting from Windows 7 to Windows Vista.
windows - comments - 28.10.2009

Vista SP2 RC in February, RTM in April 2009

Microsoft is laboring to serve Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista a little over a year after the availability of Service Pack 1, beating Windows 7 to the market.
windows - comments - 24.11.2008

Vista SP2 RTM DVD ISO Images Available for Download

Microsoft released Windows Vista Service Pack 2 to manufacturing on April 28, 2009. As was the case with Vista SP1, the RTM and General Availability dates failed to coincide.
windows - comments - 15.5.2009

Vista SP1 RC1 Flies Past Vista RTM and Windows XP SP2

Despite the fact that Microsoft has expressed its official position regarding testing Windows Vista Service Pack 1 ahead of its finalization, there is simply too much of a hunger for the service pack.
windows - comments - 27.12.2007

Windows Vista SP2: RTM Escrow build reaches internal testers

Sources say that the RTM Escrow build of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 has been released to a group of internal testers. The build number of this pre RTM build is 6002.17506.090313-1730, compiled on March 13, 2009.
windows - comments - 22.3.2009

Windows Vista with SP2 RTM Slipstreamed/Integrated DVD ISO Image

Microsoft has finalized the Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, which has been RTMed as version 6.0.6002.18005.
download - comments - 27.5.2009

Vista RTM vs. Vista SP2

We are all well aware of the limping start of Vista on the OS market. Despite the fact that its launch had been highly anticipated for a good while, contrary to all Microsoft expectations, Vista was received with great reluctance and unwillingness on the part of XP fans.
windows - comments - 13.12.2008

Windows Vista: It's A Date

Microsoft says full-feature beta test code to be finished by year-end

Microsoft is serious about meeting its ship date for Windows Vista during the second half of 2006.

During a briefing last week, Microsoft executives said the feature-complete version of the Vista beta test code would be finished by the end of the year. Executives declined to provide an exact release date for Beta 2 but hinted it could be sometime in the first quarter of 2006.
windows - comments - 4.12.2005

Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 SP2 reaches RTM

Microsoft has finally finished and compiled the RTM version of Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008. The full version string being 6.0.6006.18005, which company officials have confirmed is the final RTM version of SP2.
windows - comments - 28.4.2009

Guess the Windows Vista Launch Date

Think you can guess the date Windows Vista will officially debut next year? If so, you can win an all-expenses-paid trip to the launch event, or one of nine Xbox 360 consoles.

The contest is being held as part of Microsoft Europe's new Beta Experience program, which is designed to keep users up to date with Vista and Office 12 news.
windows - comments - 1.1.2006

Microsoft: Push the Windows Vista date back

Earlier this week Neowin reported about the call from Longhorn Blogs for Microsoft to give Windows Vista more time. Yesterday WinSuperSite.com and WinCustomize.com put up their own views on whether Vista is ready which could be summed up as "No. God, no."
microsoft - comments - 4.8.2006

Download Office 2007 Service Pack 2 - SP2 RTM

It's time for the next stage in the evolution of the Office 2007 System. Microsoft will release Office 2007 Service Pack 2 today, April 28, 2009.
microsoft - comments - 28.4.2009

Windows Server 2008 with SP2 RTM ISO Download

Windows Server 2008 shares the same code base with Windows Vista, and that explains why a single Service Pack 2 (SP2) is released for both operating system. With the RTM of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 SP2 version 6.0.6002.18005, the Windows Server 2008 with SP2 slipstreamed or integrated DVD ISO images are also been prepared by Microsoft.
download - comments - 4.5.2009

Capture Windows 7 and Vista SP2 Images with ConfigMgr 2007 SP2 Beta

Capturing Windows 7 and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 images, but also client assessment, updating and deployment are tasks that can be performed with System Center Configuration Manager 2007.
windows - comments - 15.6.2009

Windows Server 2008 SP2 RTM Multilingual User Interface Language Packs

On June 30, 2009 Microsoft released not only the remaining localized versions of Windows Vista Service Pack 2 to web and through Windows Update, but also those for Windows Server 2008 SP2.
windows - comments - 6.7.2009

Windows Vista SP2 and Server 2008 SP2 download

Microsoft has released a standalone installer for Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2 today.
download - comments - 27.5.2009

Windows Vista SP1 vs. Windows Vista RTM vs. Windows XP SP2

Feb 26th, 2008. Principled Technologies has released two Microsoft commissioned reports on Windows Vista SP1 performance. In these tests, Principled Technologies measured responsiveness of Windows Vista SP1 vs. Windows Vista RTM vs. Windows XP SP2 when performing a set of common business and home tasks.
windows - comments - 28.2.2008

October 15, 2008: the Real Kill-Off Date of Vista SP1 Pre-Release Builds

Microsoft confirmed that there is still some life left into the pre-release versions of Windows Vista Service Pack 1.
windows - comments - 11.7.2008

32-bit and 64-bit Language Interface Packs for Windows Server 2008 SP2 RTM

Language Interface Pack (LIP), which also known as Multilingual User Interface (MUI) is an update which can be installed into supported operating system to convert the user interface into another localize language. Similar with Windows Vista SP2 LIPs, Microsoft has also released LIPs for Windows Server 2008 SP2 RTM.
download - comments - 4.5.2009

Nintendo Revolution Launch Date Revealed


Nintendo announced that it plans to reveal details about its codenamed Revolution gaming console, which the company states to be available in 2006. Very few details are known about the next generation gaming console from Nintendo, but eh company promises to reveal more at the E3 media briefing, that is scheduled on the 8th of may 2006. The vent is set to be hold at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, California.
common - comments - 30.11.2005

SQL Server 2008 gets a due date

Even though Microsoft is launching SQL Server 2008, code-named “Katmai,” in February 2008, the SQL Server 2008 code won’t be released to manufacturing until Q2 2008.
microsoft - comments - 12.7.2007

Amazon.com offers Office 2007 Release Date & Pre-order

Windows Vista isn't the only forthcoming Microsoft Corp. software for which Amazon.com Inc. has apparently pre-announced availability.
microsoft - comments - 1.9.2006

Windows 7 Upgrade Program start date shifts to June 28

TechARP made a few updates to their popular Windows 7 Upgrade Schedule. According to TechARP’s new schedule, the Windows upgrade program will begin on June 28, 2009 instead of the previously mentioned July 1, 2009 date.
windows - comments - 23.2.2009

Notable Changes in Windows Server 2008 SP2 RC and Windows Vista SP2 RC

Microsoft® continuously improves the Windows Vista® and Windows Server® 2008 operating systems by providing ongoing updates while working with software and hardware vendors to help them deliver improved compatibility, reliability, and performance. These updates are provided to customers by Microsoft’s hardware and software partners, as well as directly from Microsoft in the form of regularly distributed updates delivered via Windows Update. Updates to Windows are also delivered directly to some affected customers and preinstalled by PC manufacturers.
windows - comments - 1.3.2009

Windows XP SP3 RTM and Windows Vista SP1 RTM – Just Around the Corner?

Microsoft is in the final stages of cooking the upcoming service packs for Windows Vista and Windows XP.
windows - comments - 7.1.2008

Where is Vista SP2?

Even though Microsoft seems increasingly reticent to say the “V” word (Vista), some users still do care. I’ve had several readers ask me when the Redmondians are going to release Vista SP2 on the Microsoft Download site.
windows - comments - 20.5.2009

What is inside of Vista SP2?

Microsoft is continuing to broaden the pool of Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) testers beyond the fairly small, select group who’ve been working with test builds for the past few months.
windows - comments - 4.12.2008

Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 SP2 reaches RTM

Microsoft has finally finished and compiled the RTM version of Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008. The full version string being 6.0.6006.18005, which company officials have confirmed is the final RTM version of SP2. Currently circulating around popular BitTorrent websites, the final version is available in 32 and 64 bit versions. Microsoft is expected to announce public availability later this week. Screenshots of the file properties: Thanks to Neowin user Vask for the heads up.

Read full story.....
neowin.net - 29.04.2009

Windows Vista SP2: RTM Escrow build reaches internal testers

Sources say that the RTM Escrow build of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 has been released to a group of internal testers. The build number of this pre RTM build is 6002.17506.090313-1730, compiled on March 13, 2009. The RTM build numbers are also finalised and would be 6002.17507.090319-1515 and 6002.17508.090320-1600 Windows Vista & Windows Server 2008 SP2 is expected to reach RTM in April 2009 and the final release announcement is likely to happen at the TechEd 2009 event scheduled for May 11-15, 2009 in Los Angeles. The release candidate version was made available to general public early this month.

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neowin.net - 22.03.2009

Microsoft readying RC of Vista SP2 for February 2009

Citing a source at Microsoft, Techarp has revealed that Microsoft is targeting a release candidate (RC) version of Windows Vista SP2 for February 2009. Microsoft sent invites to testers in mid October asking them to take part in the SP2 beta. Build 16489 was released to special group of testers in late October but Microsoft has been quiet since then. TechArp also believes the RTM of Vista SP2 will be in April 2009. Microsoft is readying SP2 so there are additional incentives for customers to upgrade to Window Vista now, instead of waiting for Windows 7.

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neowin.net - 24.11.2008

XP SP2 vs. Vista RTM vs. Vista SP1: Gaming benchmark

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes: Here are the benchmark results that many of you have been waiting for - a look at how well ten popular games work on XP SP2, Vista RTM and Vista SP1.



Its been nearly a year since I took a look at the state of gaming under the Vista OS. The last time I compared XP SP2 to Vista, I was disappointed with Microsofts new OS as a gaming platform because I could get far more bang for my bucks out of XP than I could out of the new OS. Partly I put this down to immature drivers, but on the whole I was convinced that at the core of the problem was Vista.



So, is Vista worth bothering with as a gaming platform?




winbeta.org - 28.02.2008

Windows Vista SP2: RTM Escrow build reaches beta testers

Neowin earlier reported that the RTM Escrow build of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 had been released to a group of internal testers. Microsoft today released Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 RTM Escrow build to Connect beta testers. This build is available on Windows Update for download and install or by a number of other package options such as Slipstream versions and Standalone installers, for the Connect beta testers. The build string reads 6002.17043.090312-1835 which is different from the one we reported earlier. If you are a Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 SP2 Connect beta tester, you can download this build today from Microsoft Connect.

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neowin.net - 26.03.2009

Windows Vista SP1 vs. Windows Vista RTM vs. Windows XP SP2

Principled Technologies has released two Microsoft commissioned reports on Windows Vista SP1 performance. In these tests, Principled Technologies measured responsiveness of Windows Vista SP1 vs. Windows Vista RTM vs. Windows XP SP2 when performing a set of common business and home tasks. The results show that SP1 performs on par with Vista RTM and Windows XP.

The test show that as with Windows Vista RTM, overall performance is on par with Windows XP. It’s important to remember that Windows Vista is a more advanced operating system, which includes many more capabilities than Windows XP. By default, Windows Vista includes antispyware, a search indexer, and the shadow copy service. All these work in the background, providing important services to customers, but they of course take up a portion of the PCs memory and processor resource.

On several common business and home operations Windows Vista SP1 was noticeably more responsive after rebooting than Windows XP.


neowin.net - 28.02.2008

Microsoft delays Windows Vista SP2 by a month

Tech ARP reports that Windows Vista SP2 might be delayed until March. Microsoft will deliver a Release Candidate of Windows Vista Service Pack 2 in March and not in February. Also, Microsoft will send the service pack build to OEM and retailers only in the second quarter of 2009 and not in April. Below are the scheduled dates as predicted by TechARP: Image Courtesy: Tech ARP The time delay between RTM and Public Versions release is hard to predict as there was a delay of 2 weeks between Windows XP SP3's RTM and Public Versions and 6 weeks delay in case of Windows Vista SP1.

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neowin.net - 22.01.2009

Microsoft releases Windows Vista SP2 and Server 2008 SP2

Microsoft has released a standalone installer for Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2 today. The software giant posted some things to know about the service packs last month, one of the warnings is if "vLite" was used to customize your Windows Vista installation, you may have removed required system components which prevent Service Pack 2 from installing. Microsoft has a workaround for this issue. Microsoft is expected to post the bits to Windows Update in the coming weeks but if you are eager to install SP2 today then the download links are listed below. Download: Vista SP2/Server 2008 SP2 32 bit Download: Vista SP2/Server 2008 SP2 64 bit

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neowin.net - 26.05.2009

Windows 2003 KB: Slow network communication from Vista RTM (6000) to Windows 2003 SP2

Brad Rutkowski: This was one issue I worked on for quite some time a few months ago. We found that Vista clients were taking forever to download group policies from domain controllers in the regions while Vista SP1 and XP clients did not see the issue. If the local DC was running LH or Windows 2003 SP1, we didn't see any issue. If the server was running Windows 2003 SP2 though and had a certain type of hardware we would see the latency.



Based on customer reports, Windows Dev learned of more widespread devices in the network that dont understand greater window scale factors. So, they improved the heuristics in SP1 for when to limit or disable auto-tuning, which is why we only saw in in Vista RTM and not SP1.




The bug is in Windows 2003 SP2 and the details can be found here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947773



So if you find that you have vista clients experiencing network latency when hitting a Windows 2003 SP2 server (File server, DC, Exchange, etc) then you should look into this hotfix.




winbeta.org - 31.01.2008

Windows 7 RTM sign off set for July 13th

We have some big news regarding the Windows 7 RTM. According to Wzor, the final sign off is set for July 13th. According to a translation, this is the final roadmap for Windows 7: FINAL ROADMAP FOR WINDOWS 7 : 6/1 - 6/19 BUILDING RTM ESCROW - already assembled RTM ESCROW. 6/22 - 7/10 RTM RECALL - assembly and search for candidates to the final RTM release. 7/10 WINDOWS 7 RTM FINAL BUILD TARGET - build day "gold code". 7/13 WINDOWS 7 RTM SIGN-OFF - the date of signing the final RTM release! We previously reported that Windows 7 could RTM at the end of this month, but it looks like we now have a final RTM date.

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neowin.net - 22.06.2009

Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes: Over the past few days I posted two sets of benchmarks comparing Windows Vista RTM with Vista SP1 (first post here, second here). These posts generated a lot of feedback, and from reading this feedback it’s clear that what many people are really interested in is not the performance differences between Vista RTM and Vista SP1, but between Vista SP1 and XP SP2.



A few days ago I posted in reply to several TalkBack comments that I wouldn’t carry out these tests until XP SP3 is released. There didn’t seem any point. That didn’t satisfy the crowds who wanted to see Vista SP1 and XP SP2 go head to head. So, to cut a long story short, the pestering continued and I eventually gave in. So what follows are the fruits of nearly two whole days of work at the PC Doc HQ (the test was hampered by the death of a motherboard, something which rendered hours of work obsolete).



How does Windows Vista SP1 compare to Windows XP SP2? Read on …




winbeta.org - 15.02.2008

Microsoft: Vista SP2, Windows Server SP2 betas Thursday

Not one half-hour after Microsoft responded to BetaNews' inquiry, the company reversed its position, effectively announcing that the first public betas of Vista SP2 not in February, but next Thursday...
betanews.com - 03.12.2008

Windows Vista SP2 RC to be released to public next week

Last week we had a rumor that Windows Vista SP2 RC was released to select testers. It turns out that it might be just a notification from Microsoft a week ahead that RC is done and available for testing or it might have been a near final RC made available for testing to select testers. Microsoft has announced today that the RC of SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 is available to TechNet and MSDN subscribers to test prior to final release. Microsoft will make SP2 RC available to the general public via TechNet during next week. As expected the final version of SP2 will be made available in the 2nd quarter of 2009.

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neowin.net - 26.02.2009

What Windows platforms will Windows Installer 4.5 ship in?

Our friends at InstallShield had some questions about schedule and platforms. One of those questions was:



Question:

What Windows platforms will Windows Installer ship in?



Answer:

Windows Installer 4.5 will initially ship as a Windows redistributable component via download center. At RTM, redistributable packages will support installing to Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows Server 2003 SP1 and SP2, Windows Vista RTM and SP1, and Windows Server 2008. These redistributable packages will support the three CPU architectures Windows to which these platforms ship: x86, x64, and ia64. These choices for platform support are consistent with the Windows Service Pack road map...
winbeta.org - 01.09.2007

Vista SP2 Released to Testers

Yesterday, Microsoft sent an email to select testers notifying them that the RC-Escrow Build of Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Server 2008 was available for download.

This Service Pack was made available to testers via Windows Update, as a standalone installer, and as a slipstreamed version. This service pack includes 656 hotfixes, and the usual tweaks.

At this "Escrow" stage in development, the Service Pack is essentially complete; unless major errors are spotted, this version will likely be very close to that of the RTM version.

One more public beta is expected before it RTMs however, so if you'd like to get your hands on one more beta build, your chance will come soon enough.

The only pre-requisite for the SP2 install is that you have SP1 installed; all other updates are included in SP2. Their reason for not making a cumulative update with SP1 already included is because of the huge filesize that would result. Most clients already have SP1 installed; new Windows Vista discs and Server 2008 was shipped with it included.

It would seem that, contrary to some recent rumors, SP2 will ship long before June.


jcxp.net - 31.01.2009

IE 8 RTM expected in the week of March 16, 2009

TechARP reported earlier that Microsoft will finalize its IE 8 RTM schedule on March 5 and the RTM version of IE 8 will be released during the final 2 weeks of March. Now TechARP has reiterated the dates a bit. According to the latest update by TechARP, Microsoft will RTM IE 8 in the week of March 16, 2009. The specific RTM date for the IE 8 will be announced in the week of March 9, 2009. TechARP is not sure whether this announcement would be a public announcement, or an internal one. IE 8 is currently in RC1 and reached its RTM milestone on the 21st of February.

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neowin.net - 05.03.2009

Details on Windows Vista SP2 emerge

Microsoft has begun to release some details on the enhancements that they intend to bring with Windows Vista Service Pack 2. As we reported on Neowin last week, Microsoft has released an early beta build of Vista SP2 to testers weighing in at around 290MB.

The reason why the file size is so much smaller then SP1 is that SP2 will require SP1 to be installed before upgrading and this is something Microsoft intends to carry through to the final product. This is a departure from Microsoft's past service pack philosophy that was used in Windows XP and Windows 2000, where each new package included all of the fixes from the previous versions, and is a return to the way that Windows NT service packs were released.

Starting October 29, SP2 will be available to customers of the Technology Adoption Program. Microsoft intends a public release in the first half of 2009. After feedback from the beta program has come in, they state that they will use that data to better set a schedule for the final release.

What hasn't been talked about much is that Windows Vista SP2 will also be Windows Server 2008 SP2, embodied in a single service pack which Microsoft said, on their Springboard Series blog, "continues the single serviceability model established with the Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 RTM release. This approach helps reduce the testing and deployment complexity for our customers."

Windows Server 2008 RTM (release to manufacturing) is labeled as "Service Pack 1" in the about dialog, so when Microsoft releases SP2 it will actually be the first true service pack for that operating system.

In addition to all of the fixes and enhancements included in Windows Vista SP1 and in Windows Server 2008 RTM, Service Pack 2 will feature:
  • Support for VIA 64-bit CPUs
  • Support for Bluetooth 2.1.
  • Support for ICCD/CCID smart cards.
  • Support for native Blu-Ray media recording.
  • Windows Connect Now (WCN), a new tool to assist in connecting to Wi-Fi networks.
  • ex-FAT file system, supporting UTC timestamps to ensure correct file synchronization across time zones.
  • Windows Search 4.0 integration.
  • Improved support for resuming with active Wi-Fi connections.

Microsoft plans to retain full backwards compatibility on Windows Vista SP2 with applications that run on Windows Vista and Windows Vista SP1 and are written using public APIs. They recommend that companies who intend on adopting Windows Vista SP1, plan to deploy SP2 when it becomes available.



Read full story.....
neowin.net - 27.10.2008

Microsoft acknowledges Vista SP1 Refresh 2 = RTM

Which build of Vista SP1 became the release to manufacturing (RTM) edition? This was definitely a topic of high speculation in the last few weeks, even before SP1 hit the RTM milestone. Many were adamant that SP1 RTM was, or would be, different from the final release candidate, while those on the other side grasped at straws to prove their suspicions. The Microsoft Watcher, also known as Mary Jo Foley, has finally received confirmation from Microsoft that the Vista SP1 RTM build (6001-18000) is none other than Vista SP1 RC Refresh 2. The latest official statement from the software giant is:
"RC Refresh 2 code is the same as RTM. In final stages of a product Microsoft likes to get as much validation as possible before releasing. The release candidate ended up being a high enough quality to be approved to release to manufacturing."



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neowin.net - 08.02.2008

Vista SP2: What's inside?

Mary Jo Foley: Microsoft is continuing to broaden the pool of Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) testers beyond the fairly small, select group who’ve been working with test builds for the past few months.



Over on the jkOnTheRun blog, Kevin Tofel posted the most complete list I’ve seen of what’s in Vista SP2. In addition to the known Vista SP2 features such as the ability to record data on to Blu-Ray media natively in Windows Vista and the addition of Windows Connect Now for simpler wifi configuration Tofel says SP2 also will include...




winbeta.org - 03.12.2008

Vista and Windows Server 2008 SP2 RC released

Last week the Windows Team Blog announced that the availability of SP2 RC for Vista would be available soon. Today they have posted that the download is now live and you can find the information needed here. If you have a beta install of SP2 loaded on your computer it must be uninstalled before attempting to load the RC. It should also be mentioned that this, while close, is not a final product and a few hiccups may occur along the way. You can download the RC directly from the Customer Preview Program or use the Windows Update Experience Kit to obtain the RC for your personal computer.

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neowin.net - 05.03.2009