The online retailer Amazon.com is already getting ready for
the wave of upgrades that will follow the release of Windows Vista SP1.
Although, Microsoft didn’t reveal any exact launch date, Amazon.com
is now taking pre-orders for boxed
copies of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and according to its website it would
start shipping tomorrow.
Windows Vista Ultimate with SP1 is priced at $299.99, while Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1 costs
$215.99.
Microsoft hopes that the release of Windows Vista Service
Pack 1 will boost the adoption of its latest OS in the enterprise environment.
According to Microsoft, Windows Vista SP1 will not add new
features, but instead it will address key feedback received from its customers.
Also the company insisted that the SP1 will not affect any applications that
are currently running on Windows Vista.
Also, Microsoft said that the Service Pack 1 will improve
existing features. For example, the service pack improves the performance of
the desktop shell, but it does not provide a new search user interface or a new
version of Windows
Media Center.
“SP1 also includes changes focused on improving the
performance of Windows Vista in areas that impact the customer experience the
most. For instance, with SP1, copying or
moving files around your PC, your home network or your corporate network should
now be much faster -- up to 50% faster in some scenarios (according to our
internal tests). In addition, on many
kinds of hardware, resuming a Windows Vista-based PC from sleep is faster on
Service Pack 1,” explained some time ago Mike Nash, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice
President on Windows Vista official blog.
Also SP1 will enhance BitLocker Drive Encryption (BDE) by
offering an additional multifactor authentication method that combines a key
protected by the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) with a Startup key stored on a
USB storage device and a user-generated personal identification number (PIN).
For notebook users Windows Vista SP 1 could mean better
battery life, as Microsoft reduced the CPU utilization
Many of the changes in Windows Vista SP1 will address also
the administration Experience. Administratos will surely appreciate the
improvements to Group Policy management.
In the SP1 timeframe, administrators can download an
out-of-band release that will give them the ability to add comments to Group
Policy Objects (GPOs) or individual settings and search for specific settings.
Microsoft, which has sold so far 100 million licenses of its latest
operating system, announced last month important price cuts for Windows Vista.
Microsoft intends to offer Windows Vista SP1 for download
from Microsoft's Web site, but no official date has been announced so far.
