Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 1
March 18, 2008
Microsoft is officially rolling out Windows Vista Service Pack 1 to users today. The retail version should be released later this week (by retail, I mean copies of Microsoft Windows Vista that contain Service Pack 1) You can install it through Windows Update or through the links below. Automatic updates will start around a month from now.
Some changes/improvements:
- Performance increases (file copy operations, hibernation, file share browsing, etc.)
- Windows Disk defragmenter - can now choose individual drivers to defragment once again).
- Support for exFAT file system
- Support for 802.11n wireless networking
- Added IPv6 over VPN connections/tunneling
- Extensible Firmware Interface on 64-bit systems can now be used for booting.
- Desktop search changes (including changing the default desktop search program).
- New tools/APIs to help antivirus software developers.
- DirectX 10.1
Some links to get you started:
- Windows Vista Developer Center
Stand-alone Installer
- Service Pack 1 Five Language Standalone (KB936330) (435MB)
- Service Pack 1 Five Language Standalone for x64-based Systems (KB936330) (727MB)
Review: Windows Vista SP1 Performance (CNET)
February 13, 2008
CNET labs has followed up some of their previous Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) testing, including using a laptop (Dell XPS M1530 to be precise).
this round of testing exposed some interesting issues, including one that many laptop users may encounter these days:
The one area where we saw a significant performance degradation with SP1, however, was when writing the folder to a USB 2.0 hard drive. We saw between a 44- and 54-percent degradation on Vista SP1 versus Vista. It’s difficult say exactly what is causing this performance drop.
They also didn’t see any significant change in laptop battery life or application performance.
February 10th Odds and Ends
February 10, 2008
A roundup of interesting articles from the past week.
Wired Magazine: Like Apple, Intel Wants to Put the Internet in Your Pocket - Discussion of Intel’s Silverthorne and Intel’s efforts at pushing beyond that, to where we can have a near-desktop like internet experience in a mobile device we can practically carry in our pockets.
CNET Blogs: “Which is sturdier, a MacBook Air or an HP business laptop?” A quick first-look at the MacBook air at how it stacks up against an HP notebook and how sturdy it feels and how it’s handling heat.
Akihabara News: Evergreen’s Mini Trackball for Your Laptop - a very small trackball made for travelers and those desiring a very small device - weighs in at 77 grams/2.7 ounces.
Engadget: Dell XPS M1330 update BIOS hints at upcoming Blu-Ray/DVD combo drive - a new BIOS update for the M1330 mentions “Blu-Ray / DVD +/- RW Combo Drive”.
AppleInsider: Rumor: possible Apple event brewing for late February - Might or might not be somewhere around the 26th. Could it be time for Penryn-based MacBook Pros, etc.?
LifeHacker: Remove Stains from a MacBook with Toothpaste - apparently toothpaste can clean up white MacBooks
jkOnTheRun: HP wants to sell you a Tablet PC - HP has produced a cool little video detailing the advantages of convertible/Tablet PC laptops.
GottaBeMobile: How Cool Is The HP TC1100 Tablet PC? mentions that the TC1100 makes an appearance in the above video showing off the 2710p convertible.
Engadget: Dell further clarifies how and where it’s dropping AMD The Engadget crew spoke with Dell about whether or not Dell was dropping AMD CPUs from their lineup. There was an image that went up on a Dell site indicating that AMD CPUs were not going to be sold anymore (or rather Dell products with said CPUs). Dell’s response: Not sure how/why the image appeared, AMD-based consumer computers will be in stores only except for certain desktops and the Inspiron 1501 notebook. Business-oriented lines (including the Latitude) that have AMD CPUs will still be sold online, and so on. Read the full article for all the details. Kind of an interesting/murky situation if you ask me.
Finally,
CNET Blogs: Windows Vista SP1 - Benchmarks - Robert Vamosi has put Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) through it’s paces, including Adobe Photoshop CS3, file copying, iTunes encoding, and DVD battery life tests.
As you know, Vista SP1 has been released to manufacturing and some users are already getting their hands on it.
That wraps it up for this week in review.
Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 1 - RTM
February 4, 2008
Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 1 has officially been released to manufacturing:
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) was released to manufacturing today and will start being available to customers in March, starting with Microsoft Volume Licensing customers……Windows Vista SP1 includes quality improvements that help enhance reliability, security and performance.
You can read the full press release here (Microsoft.com).
Some interesting information:
- It will be released through an Windows Update as an option to existing customers in Mid-March if you do not have any driver issues with SP1 - SP1 contains some driver issues/problems and will not automatically install on those machines. This will be for English, French, Spanish, German, and Japanese.
- Windows Vista users who have updates set to download and install automatically will receive SP1 in mid-April, although, again, systems that have known driver issues will not receive it automatically. Once those drivers are fixed and received through Windows Update (automatically), then it will be turned on and installed.
- All other languages not being released in March will be released to manufacturing in April.
More from the Windows Vista Team Blog (excerpts):
Read more
Sony SZ7 Series Shipping, Taking Pre-Orders
January 23, 2008
Sony is starting to make available some models of the new VAIO VGN SZ7 series (last month, Notebook Review came across the information on Sony’s website as well as online retailers). At some point it will be fully replacing the SZ6 series.
While it shares many things in common with the SZ6 series (similar 13.3″ LED-backlit displays, Same Hybrid Intel and NVidia graphics system, carbon fiber casing, Vista Business, etc.), it offers several different features, including upgraded memory, larger hard drives, and most importantly, Intel’s new Penryn CPUs. The Penryn line is faster, with better power consumption (and in theory less heat), and in some instances it adds more cache (up to 6MB L2 Cache).
Earliest ship dates (with minimum options):
SZ740 - Maybe shipping now using existing Intel Merom-2M CPUs
SZ750N/C - Ship Date of 2/20/2008
SZ770N/C - Ship Date of 1/30/2008
SZ780 - Ship Date of 2/3/2008
SZ791N/X - Ship Date of 1/30/2008
Differences and prices between models:
- SZ750N/C - $1899 at Amazon/Sony, Intel Core 2 Duo Penryn T8100 (2.1GHz), 2GB Memory
- SZ770N/C - $2249 at Amazon/Sony, Intel Core 2 Duo Penryn T9300 (2.5GHz), 3GB Memory
- SZ791N/X - $2499 at Amazon/Sony, Intel Core 2 Duo Penryn T9300 (2.5GHz), 4GB Memory (May have “Premium” Carbon Fiber Case)
Configure to Order Models (CTO):
- SZ740 - Starts at $1429 - Options vary - see SZ7 page for details
- SZ780 - Starts at $1541 - Options vary - see SZ7 page for details
Deal of the Week: HP Pavilion tx1000z ($699)
January 22, 2008
Note: This deal is now over
Now that the HP Pavilion tx2000z, HP’s latest “entertainment” 12.1″ widescreen Tablet PC/Convertible Laptop is in production, prices on its predecessor, the HP Pavilion tx1000z, are being reduced quite a bit to clear out existing inventories.
You can now find (if you are in the US), the tx1000z on sale at Office Depot for $699.99 (before taxes, but has free shipping if you qualify) through January 26, 2008 (sale page at Office Depot).
The particular model on sale has these specifications:
Read more
