# Vista SP2 RC on way to testers



## sjb007 (Dec 10, 2007)

Microsoft has delivered a preliminary release candidate for Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) to testers and is again on track to offer another public preview next month. 

Just last week, a Malaysian website, TechARP, claimed that Vista SP2 had been pushed back a month. Wednesday, however, TechARP, which has accurately predicted Windows delivery dates in the past, revised its estimate, saying that Microsoft had "brought forward their release schedule" and would be issuing an "escrow" build no later than Friday.

However, earlier this week, reports surfaced that testers had been told by Microsoft that the escrow build of Vista SP2's release candidate was available for downloading. ZDNet blogger Mary-Jo Foley, for example, cited a section of the e-mail notification, which told testers that the company was not interested in feature feedback, but only reports on "SP2 regressions and confirmation of fixes we've made."

An "escrow" build is a version on which development has stopped but that is handed to developers and testers, who are asked to shake out the code one final time to make sure there are no show-stopping bugs.

TechARP's revised timetable claims that Microsoft will deliver a full-fledged release candidate to the public during the week of 16-20 February, not in March as the site said last week. That will be followed by a release-to-manufacturing (RTM) build sometime in the first half of the second calendar quarter - in other words, before mid-May.

Previously, TechARP had said Vista SP2 would reach RTM - a milestone at which the service pack is officially finished, and sent to computer makers and duplicators for retail copies - as late as June.

Vista SP2 will be released for download from the web at an undetermined date after Microsoft slaps the RTM label on the service pack. In the past, Microsoft has waited to post service packs anywhere from just two weeks after RTM to more than six weeks after.

But with the recent appearance of the first public beta of Windows 7, the follow-up to Vista, already in users' hands, some have dismissed Vista SP2 as irrelevant.

http://www.techworld.com/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=110232


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## DraZZe (Jan 31, 2009)

Isn't SP1 like just out...?


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

does SP2 add support for Directx 11?


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## asidman (Nov 28, 2008)

Probably not...
That would be a major coding change. With 7 already in Beta and looking pretty good, they will probably make it a 7 only feature kinda like Vista/DX10


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

I kind of want to upgrade to Windows 7 anyways


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## asidman (Nov 28, 2008)

To be honest I'm willing to upgrade right now with the beta if i knew it wouldn't expire eventually...


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

well from what I know windows 7 uses up around 700mb of ram compared to Vista's 1gb of ram on startup


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## asidman (Nov 28, 2008)

Well i cant honestly say, mines a Virtual PC, but it does seem less resource hungry.
Only thing that i miss is the Sidebar, but thats a minor thing, so many alternatives out there.


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

I don't use the side bar so thats nothing to me


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## swingman011 (Jan 26, 2009)

i'll wait for windows 7 instead of vista SP2.


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## asidman (Nov 28, 2008)

Thing is SP2 will be nb...so to wait will be kinda silly. No def release for 7 yet. Sp are released for a reason...


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

yea I'll be upgrading Vista SP2 no matter what people say

I say "bugger off Ludites" but in a more mean fashion in the real world and I'm not British well only a quarter


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