Release date for Windows 7 SP1 moved forward

Rumors have it that Microsoft will be releasing the first service pack for the popular Windows 7 operating system toward the end of 2010, or about Q4 of this year. Using previous Windows releases as a benchmark, Microsoft "traditionally" releases the first service pack within a year after the operating system is released, though there has never been a fixed time table in that sense.

TechARP.com quoted unnamed sources on the presence of "a few serious bugs that would affect performance in certain scenarios." This has resulted in the initial 22-month development period planned for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 to be pushed forward by Microsoft, says the site. Microsoft declined to comment, though TechARP has in the past correctly predicted the service pack schedules for Windows XP and Vista.

For now, detractors are arguing that a service pack this year would be too early, considering the success of Windows 7.  Not only does the latest version of Windows lack any "significant problems," analyst Michael Cherry noted that "If Microsoft wants to break people of the habit of waiting for SP1, this would be the time to do it."

Ultimately, the report noted that Microsoft doesn't have an exact release date yet, and also conceded that it's still too early to pinpoint a specific month.

For more on this story:
- check out the article at TechARP.com
- check out the article at Computerworld

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