From the Windows Super Site, run by Paul Thurott:

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) FAQ

While most Windows service packs are hardly worth discussing, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) has been steeped in mystery almost since before Vista itself was completed. With Vista, Microsoft has engineered a new update deployment technology that allows administrators and power users to “slipstream” service packs and other fixes into new Vista installations in a manner that is much simpler than with previous Windows versions. But the real issue with SP1 is in how Microsoft is handling — or mishandling, in my opinion — the dissemination of information about this release. For this reason, and because there are so many silly rumors floating around, I’ve created [an] FAQ for Vista SP1 that will be updated as new information is released. My guess is that these updates will be unnecessarily frequent.

Q: What is Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1)?

A: Previously codenamed Fiji, Windows Vista SP1 is the first major update to Windows Vista, a collection of bug fixes, functional changes, and other additions to Microsoft’s latest operating system. As is the case with Vista, however, the feature set for SP1 has changed dramatically over time. Originally, Microsoft hoped to ship a Media Center update with SP1 but my understanding is that this update will no longer be included in SP1.

Q: So SP1 is real? I though Microsoft said that it had no plans for SP1 yet.

A: During a Microsoft briefing in 2006, I was told that the company planned to ship SP1 alongside Windows Server 2008, which is now due in February 2008. However, since then, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer twice publicly disavowed any knowledge that the company had even considered releasing such an update. The first time he said this was at the Windows Vista business launch in November 2006, and I was in the audience at the time. My guess is that Ballmer didn’t want to discuss SP1 at the time because the company’s corporate customers typically wait for the first service pack release of an OS before upgrading. Microsoft was hoping that with Vista, companies would upgrade on the initial release and not wait for a service pack. Now we know that Microsoft’s corporate customers are proceeding as they always do, so Microsoft has quietly, begrudgingly begun discussing SP1.

Q: What features will Vista SP1 include?

A: While the full feature-set of Windows Vista SP1 is currently unknown, we do know that the following features will be included, based on my own discussions with the company and on its public statements about the release:

1. A collection of previously-released and new security fixes, bug fixes, and other updates.
2. A major update to the Windows kernel to bring the Vista kernel (version 6.0) up to date with the version in Windows Server 2008 (version 6.1).
3. A change to the Kernel Patch Protection (”PatchGuard”) feature in the Vista kernel that prevents security companies like McAfee and Symantec from integrating as tightly with the OS as they could in previous Windows versions. This will include a set of APIs aimed at helping developers write code that interacts with this security feature.
4. A change to Vista’s Instant Search feature that will allow third party desktop search product makers to more closely integrate their products with Windows Vista. In the initial shipping version of Vista, the Instant Search indexer still runs at full speed even if a third party product is installed, reducing overall system performance.

And folks, that’s it. If you’ve read about any other SP1 features, you’ve been reading unsubstantiated rumors. If and when more SP1 features are revealed, I’ll add them to this FAQ.

Q: When will Microsoft release Vista SP1?

A: A very private beta of SP1 is already underway. The company says that it will ship a public beta by the end of 2007, and [it's] expected to publicly ship the service pack sometime in 2008.

Q: But I heard that Microsoft would release the final version of SP1 by the end of 2007.

A: Microsoft says that it is not the case. It will ship only a beta version in 2007.

Q: What about that Windows Vista Service Pack 1 WDK [Windows Drive Kit] I heard about?

A: It doesn’t exist. The WDK is for Windows Server 2008.

Q: Any word on when Microsoft will ship the much-need Media Center update?

A: No, when I last spoke with the Media Center team, I was told that Microsoft shipped a Media Center update every year around the holiday season and [it] would try to keep doing that. At the time, SP1 was expected by late 2007, so the delivery schedule made sense. Right now, it’s unclear if the Media Center update will ship out of band by itself to Vista users this year or as part of a set of related updates (like “XP Reloaded” from 2005) later on.

Q: Why is Microsoft being so secretive about SP1? [It's] even discussed Windows 7, an OS release that’s not due until 2010.

A: As noted above, Microsoft is concerned that news about a new service pack will cause corporations to put off [its] Vista deployments even further and the company desperately needs a success story for this OS, which was delayed over a five year span. So it’s not really surprising that Microsoft is a bit edgy about SP1. After all, it’s just a service pack. Anyone who thinks that SP1 is going to dramatically alter the Vista experience needs a reality check: It’s still Windows Vista.

There we have it, from the biggest fanboy for Microsoft I’m aware of, dated July 25.

I do wonder how Microsoft plans to move everyone to 7 so quickly after Vista, especially when many businesses have no intention to make the switch until SP1 is available. Many businesses I know will also wait until the code is integrated onto a disk, which will take a couple of months after the release of the pack.

The powers at Microsoft have shot themselves in the foot with Vista, and trying something new so soon after the first round of bug fixes seems that aim is already being taken on the other foot. This seems like a move in the wrong direction, from their point of view, as they will, again, from what has been released, be supporting XP, Vista, Vista SP1 problems, and 7, all at once.

This was to be the point of XP, and the move away from more than one consumer OS. The loss of focus is real, and the loss of market share will follow.

[tags]Microsoft, Vista, Service Pack 1, Windows 7[/tags]