Amazon: Microsoft To Release Vista SP1 This Week

All four versions of Vista with SP1 will be available through Amazon on Wednesday, March 19, and customers can buy Vista now and upgrade to Vista SP1 when it's released on Tuesday, March 18, according to the online retail giant.

Microsoft couldn't be reached for comment, but company officials have stated on numerous occasions that it plans to release SP1 to Windows Update and the download center on microsoft.com in mid-March. SP1 for Vista Ultimate will initially be made available to users running English, Spanish, German, French and Japanese versions, with the remaining 31 languages slated for release in mid-April.

Todd Swank, director of marketing for system builder and solution provider Nor-Tech, Burnsville, Minn., believes that Vista SP1 will have a marked effect on Vista uptake.

"So many people have been bashing Vista, and a lot of business customers have been waiting for Vista SP1 to get sign-off on upgrading," said Swank. "SP1 is the blessing from Microsoft that they've been waiting for, and a sign that they've worked the initial bugs out and that Vista is now ready for prime time."

Michael Cocanower, president of Phoenix-based solution provider ITSynergy, installed Vista SP1 on a business laptop several weeks ago and has been pleased with the performance boost it has brought.

"Vista SP1 eliminated every issue I was having, especially issues around offline file synchronization. SP1 cleared all of that up and even got rid of some orphaned offline files I wasn't able to delete," said Cocanower.

ChannelWeb Test Center reviewed Vista SP1 on Feb. 25.