Windows Vista SP1 RC Refresh available

Biting your nails in anticipation of Windows Vista SP1? Yeah, you and every other IT department in the world that decided to take the Vista plunge, buddy. At any rate, folks who are following the play-by-play from their desks would be well advised that Microsoft has seen fit to make the "Windows Vista SP1 RC Refresh" available to the general public for testing. Previously only available to a private group of testers, the latest release candidate has been opened up "[i]n the interest of gaining additional tester feedback." According to a Microsoft spokesperson, the latest build packs "a number of bugs that testers encountered in previous pre-release versions of SP1." While Microsoft maintains that the final version of SP1 will hit sometime during the first quarter of this year, it has reiterated that the product will only be released after meeting certain quality standards and to that end, the company "will continue to track customer and partner feedback from the beta program before setting a final date." Looking to get some compliancy testing in before the final release? Head on over to Microsoft's TechNet site for the download.

For more on the latest build:
- see this ZDnet article