Vista SP1, Windows Server 2008 Ready to GoVista SP1, Windows Server 2008 Ready to Go

Microsoft has released the first major update to its Vista operating system to manufacturing, as well as the Windows Server 2008 platform.The update, whose full name is Windows Vista Service Pack 1, includes more than 300 fixes. They address issues ranging from problems with optical disk formatting and network copying errors to improving streaming video performance in Internet Explorer. Some of the fixes have already been made available through downloads, but others will only be included in the whole service pack. Vista SP1 is expected to be available through Windows Update and via download starting in mid March, with the updated appearing on new computers around May. The update should be of particular interest to smaller businesses, who, as discussed in bMighty, are out in front on the Vista adoption curve already.

In addition, Windows Server 2008 has been released to manufacturing. The new server platform is supposed to offer improved security and Web development features and to work particularly well with Vista, with which it shares a good deal of code. Computerworld today has a lengthy analysis of the new platform's pluses and minuses.Information Week, Information Week