Microsoft Answers: When You Can Get Vista SP1

Joe Wilcox News Brief. I got an unsolicited Microsoft PR response to this afternoon's earlier post, "Vista SP1: It's Here, but Can You Get It?"

The responses I got from Microsoft PR are officially unattributed and were received via e-mail.

Microsoft's response to my paragraph beginning, "The Vista update is surprisingly absent through the OEM channel ...":

"Customers should expect to see Windows Vista SP1 FPP online and on store shelves as soon as retailers can make them available—in Amazon's case, starting tomorrow."

Amazon lists two separate dates on its Web site, March 18 and 19. I reported March 19 yesterday.

Microsoft's response to my paragraph beginning, "Automatic update delivery ...":

"We are targeting mid-April for automatic updates."

Right, I previously reported that date.

Microsoft's response to my paragraph beginning, "The question: Why hasn't SP1 flooded the channel ...":

"We released Windows Vista SP1 to manufacturers on February 4—since then, retailers have been working to build PCs with Windows Vista SP1 and make them available to consumers as soon as possible. Based on what we understand from our partners in retail and OEMs, April is our best estimate for availability for PCs with SP1. However, there will be certain exceptions based on individual companies' distribution models."

The response is inconsistent with February's Microsoft spokesperson comment about dealing with driver incompatibilities. David Zipkin, a Windows Client senior product manager, said Microsoft will "ensure that new PCs from PC manufacturers [will] begin shipping with SP1 preinstalled as soon as possible." In the context given, timing implied before retail box availability.

Windows XP SP2 released to manufacturing in early August 2004. The software started shipping on some new PCs in September and the majority in October. April would be at the long end of the XP SP2 comparison, but comparable enough if not for those driver incompatibility problems.

Related Posts:

• Vista SP1: It's Here, but Can You Get It?, Microsoft Watch, March 18, 2008
• Vista SP1: This Week Is a Date, Microsoft Watch, March 17, 2008
• Vista's Ultimate Challenge, Microsoft Watch, March 4, 2008
• Microsoft Pulls Troubled Vista Update, Microsoft Watch, Feb. 19, 2008
• Pre-SP1 Updates Whack Windows Vista, Microsoft Watch, Feb. 15, 2008
• Vista SP1 Goes MSDN, Microsoft Watch, Feb. 13, 2008
• The Vista RTM Question, Microsoft Watch, Feb. 7, 2008
• What's Good About Vista SP1?, Microsoft Watch, Feb. 4, 2008
• Microsoft Sort of Releases Vista SP1, Microsoft Watch, Feb. 4, 2008