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Redmond, Wash — Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) was released to manufacturing on Monday, Feb 04, and will start being available to customers in March, starting with Microsoft Volume Licensing customers.

Windows Server 2008 was also released to manufacturing today and will be available for purchase to new customers on March 1. Microsoft Volume Licensing customers with active Microsoft Software Assurance coverage or an Enterprise Agreement will be able to download the server software toward the end of February as part of the joint Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008 “Heroes Happen Here” launch event.

Windows Vista SP1 includes quality improvements that help enhance reliability, security and performance. Windows Server 2008 builds on the success and strengths of past server solutions and helps give organizations a solid foundation for their information technology (IT) infrastructure. Organizations using Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 together can see a number of improvements for IT professionals, including benefits in security and manageability, overall system performance, and streamlined planning and deployment.

More at Microsoft, WindowsVistaBlog.

On Tuesday, Dec 18, Microsoft has publicly released Service Pack 3 Release Candidate for Windows XP and is available at Microsoft here.

Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released updates for the operating system. This update also includes a small number of new functionalities, which do not significantly change customers’ experience with the operating system.

What Is In Service Pack 3
Windows XP SP3 includes all previously released Windows XP updates, including security updates and hotfixes, and select out-of-band releases. For example, the service pack includes functionality previously released as updates, such as the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) 3.0 and the Microsoft Core XML Services 6.0 (MSXML6).

Microsoft is not adding significant functionality from newer versions of Windows, such as Windows Vista, to Windows XP through XP SP3. For instance, Windows XP SP3 does not include Windows Internet Explorer 7, although Windows XP SP3 does include updates to both Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 7, and it will update whichever version is installed on the computer.

One notable exception is that, SP3 does include Network Access Protection (NAP) to help organizations that use Windows XP to take advantage of new features in the Windows Server 2008 operating system.

More info about Internet Explorer 7 is available at Microsoft here. Knowledge Base article 936929 lists all other all Knowledge Base articles associated with updates that are included in Windows XP SP3.

More at Windows XP Service Pack 3 White Paper (in pdf), Release Notes.

Dec 12, ‘07 — Microsoft has released Service Pack 1 (Release Candidate) for its flagship Windows Vista on Tuesday, Dec 11.

Microsoft also announced shipment of Service Pack 1 for the 2007 Microsoft Office system, which includes both client and server products under the Office umbrella. More at Microsoft here and here.

Free Update Adds Improved Calendar Functionality, Enhanced Email Support and HSDPA Capabilities for AT&T Customers.

SUNNYVALE, Calif –BUSINESS WIRE– Dec 04, ‘07 — Palm today announced an update to Windows Mobile 6 for Palm Treo 750 smartphone customers in the United States. Windows Mobile 6 brings increased functionality, enhanced user interface and strengthened security and performance to the Treo 750 smartphone, which is offered exclusively in the United States by AT&T. The update is available today as a free download for existing Treo 750 smartphone customers.

The Treo 750 currently is available in the United States on AT&T’s 3G BroadbandConnect network, which is available in more than 200 major metropolitan areas and provides average download speeds between 600Kbps (kilobits per second) and 1,400Kbps. For those customers, the update will facilitate High-speed Download Packet Access (HSDPA) capability, allowing faster data-download speeds on 3G/UMTS/HSDPA networks and access to AT&T Multimedia services: AT&T Music, CV (Video), and AT&T Mall.

Windows Mobile 6 combined with Exchange Server 2007 support is available out of the box and delivers a wide range of enhanced features, including the following:

* Microsoft Direct Push Technology connection to email, calendar, contacts and tasks;
* Email enhancements such as HTML-formatted email messages;
* Ability to set an out-of-office message from the Treo smartphone;
* Mini-SD storage card encryption, password and PIN improvements, and remote data wipe;
* Ability to search for email messages on the Exchange server;
* Meeting request and scheduling conflict improvements; and
* Improved Calendar with Day-at-a-Glance bar.

Palm’s Windows Mobile 6 update for the Treo 750 is available as a free download at Palm.com/750UpdateATT.