Microsoft Confirms SP1 Development For Windows 7, Server 2008 R2
Microsoft has confirmed that there's a service pack in the works for both Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 but the company isn't saying when it plans to release the updates—at least not yet. The fact that Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 are built on the same code base should simplify SP1's development. Thus far, Server 2008 R2 seems to be getting most of the goodies; Microsoft will introduce two new features for the business OS dubbed Dynamic Memory and RemoteFX. Dynamic Memory is a virtualization technology that allows sysadmins to customize the physical RAM allocated to specific virtual systems while RemoteFX will allow remote users to view rich content (think Silverlight, Flash, etc) running on a local system.
When it comes to Windows 7, Microsoft has said only that the service pack will contain "minor updates, among which are previous updates that are already delivered through Windows update." Microsoft always insists that customers don't need to wait for a service pack to take advantage of a new operating system and Windows 7 is no exception to this trend, but this time around companies might actually be listening.
According to an IT survey performed by Dimensional Research, 46 percent of IT admins are planning to deploy Windows 7 before SP1 is released. While that's still a minority of IT administrators, it's quite a high number for a deeply conservative group of respondents. The survey results imply that system admins feel much more comfortable with Windows 7, with 87 percent of respondants planning to deploy it at some point. When Dimensional Research asked the same question several years ago, when Vista had been out for an equivalent time period, just 47 percent of IT administrators were planning a rollout around the new OS.
These trends reinforce the argument that Windows 7 is generally perceived as "Vista Done Right," but that's not a bad thing from Microsoft's perspective (at least not anymore). Barring any disasterous discoveries or incompatibilities, Windows 7 looks as though it'll need a service pack less than any Microsoft OS in over a decade.
When it comes to Windows 7, Microsoft has said only that the service pack will contain "minor updates, among which are previous updates that are already delivered through Windows update." Microsoft always insists that customers don't need to wait for a service pack to take advantage of a new operating system and Windows 7 is no exception to this trend, but this time around companies might actually be listening.
According to an IT survey performed by Dimensional Research, 46 percent of IT admins are planning to deploy Windows 7 before SP1 is released. While that's still a minority of IT administrators, it's quite a high number for a deeply conservative group of respondents. The survey results imply that system admins feel much more comfortable with Windows 7, with 87 percent of respondants planning to deploy it at some point. When Dimensional Research asked the same question several years ago, when Vista had been out for an equivalent time period, just 47 percent of IT administrators were planning a rollout around the new OS.
These trends reinforce the argument that Windows 7 is generally perceived as "Vista Done Right," but that's not a bad thing from Microsoft's perspective (at least not anymore). Barring any disasterous discoveries or incompatibilities, Windows 7 looks as though it'll need a service pack less than any Microsoft OS in over a decade.
