Microsoft rolls out a preview release candidate that includes changes to the setup and installation experience.
Microsoft has released a preview release candidate for Windows Vista SP1 to a large group of beta testers.
The software maker released the first, private Vista SP1 beta to some 12,000 pre-selected testers in September. At that time, it also promised a larger public beta was in the cards but declined to say when it would be available.
The RC preview beta, which was released late Nov. 14 and includes changes to the setup and installation experience made as a result of tester feedback, was made available to 15,000 pre-selected beta testers, just 3,000 more than the first beta.
Microsoft now plans to make a Vista SP1 release candidate available to a broader group of testers in the near future, the company said in a statement that gave no additional details except to say it was still targeting the first quarter of 2008 to release SP1 to manufacturing.
Even though Microsoft has downplayed the impact that SP1 is likely to have on business adoption of Windows Vista, analysts maintain that it is the key to turning around what has been extremely slow adoption by businesses of the new operating system.
Directions on Microsoft analyst Michael Cherry said he expects evaluations to pick up based on SP1 and said that if organizations find value there, deployments should increase.
Rob Enderle, an analyst with the Enderle Group, said that while some enterprises have reported problems with the initial version of Vista, early reports on SP1 indicate that many of their issues have been addressed. "Corporate adoption should start to pick up in 2008 if SP1 continues to perform well in tests," he said.
A report released Nov. 12 by Forrester Research put enterprise adoption of Vista at just 2 percent to date but said that nearly half of the 1,001 enterprises it surveyed have concrete plans to deploy the operating system.
"Many are waiting for news on SP1, which Microsoft has confirmed will be released in Q1 of 2008," Forrester analyst Benjamin Gray said in the report.
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Microsoft has released a preview release candidate for Windows Vista SP1 to a large group of beta testers.
The software maker released the first, private Vista SP1 beta to some 12,000 pre-selected testers in September. At that time, it also promised a larger public beta was in the cards but declined to say when it would be available.
The RC preview beta, which was released late Nov. 14 and includes changes to the setup and installation experience made as a result of tester feedback, was made available to 15,000 pre-selected beta testers, just 3,000 more than the first beta.
Microsoft now plans to make a Vista SP1 release candidate available to a broader group of testers in the near future, the company said in a statement that gave no additional details except to say it was still targeting the first quarter of 2008 to release SP1 to manufacturing.
Even though Microsoft has downplayed the impact that SP1 is likely to have on business adoption of Windows Vista, analysts maintain that it is the key to turning around what has been extremely slow adoption by businesses of the new operating system.
Directions on Microsoft analyst Michael Cherry said he expects evaluations to pick up based on SP1 and said that if organizations find value there, deployments should increase.
Rob Enderle, an analyst with the Enderle Group, said that while some enterprises have reported problems with the initial version of Vista, early reports on SP1 indicate that many of their issues have been addressed. "Corporate adoption should start to pick up in 2008 if SP1 continues to perform well in tests," he said.
A report released Nov. 12 by Forrester Research put enterprise adoption of Vista at just 2 percent to date but said that nearly half of the 1,001 enterprises it surveyed have concrete plans to deploy the operating system.
"Many are waiting for news on SP1, which Microsoft has confirmed will be released in Q1 of 2008," Forrester analyst Benjamin Gray said in the report.
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