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Right on cue, Microsoft has made available the (long-awaited) Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista to a private group of beta testers.

The update is noted for a number of positive changes, some of which include a much snappier logon experience, a new option in the Disk Defragmenter “allowing you to choose which volumes you would like to defragment,” improvements in responsiveness when resuming from Hibernation / Sleep modes, enhanced BitLocker function(Enterprise and Ultimate version only), better wireless network and dual monitor support.

Click for more on Vista SP1 Beta release available today »

Microsoft begins beta testing for both Windows Server 2008 Release Candidate (RC) 0 and Windows Vista Service Pack (SP) 1 beta.

Testers had been expecting the new test builds of both Windows products to debut earlier this month.

Click for more on Windows Server 2008 RC0, Vista SP1: Back together again »

Make the gadget work in non-English Vista systems and “remember” user settings.

One of the new features in Windows Vista is the Sidebar and Gadgets, which provide a handy and speedy way to retrieve various information without additional efforts. The integrated weather gadget, does look great when it works, however, might become less appealing, even unusable by some [serious] bugs.

Click for more on HowTo: Fix The Built-in Weather Gadget in Vista »

Windows Vista by default employs User Account Control (UAC) for better security, but it also brings some obstacle when you try to modify(replace or delete) a system file. This can be achieved by taking ownership of the file and then grant yourself full control over the file.

Without turning off UAC, we need to get an elevated command prompt first:

Click for more on HowTo: Modify Protected System Files in Vista »

Avoid the annoying prompt permanently.

Internet Explorer 7(IE7) is intended to defend users from phishing as well as deceptive or malicious software, and it also features full user control of ActiveX and better security framework. It put more restrict control over SSL certificate, and completely blocks any site with a self-signed certificate.

Click for more on Install Website Certificate Under IE7 »

Microsoft rebuts talk at DiskCon that current Vista drivers must be improved for hybrid drives to work better.

Microsoft on Sept. 21 denied claims by hard drive industry executives and analysts that the world’s largest software company isn’t providing optimized drivers for the new hybrid drives about to come into the market.

Click for more on Microsoft: Vista Supports Hybrid Storage Drives »

While Microsoft is still pushing Vista hard, the company is quietly allowing PC makers to offer a “downgrade” option to buyers that get machines with the new operating system but want to switch to Windows XP.

The program applies only to Windows Vista Business and Ultimate versions, and it is up to PC makers to decide how, if at all, they want to make XP available. Fujitsu has been among the most aggressive, starting last month to include an XP disc in the box with its laptops and tablets.

Click for more on The XP alternative for Vista PCs »

A release candidate is typically almost identical to the final release. Windows Server 2008, currently in Beta 3 and feature complete, is scheduled to ship in the first quarter of 2008.

Michael Neil, general manager of virtualization for Microsoft, disclosed the plans while demonstrating the software’s virtualization capabilities at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco. A release candidate is typically almost identical to the final release. Windows Server 2008, currently in Beta 3 and feature complete, is scheduled to ship in the first quarter of 2008.

Click for more on Microsoft To Ship Release Candidate of Windows Server 2008 Next Week »

It works better for older system with less than 512MB ram than the newer ones.

PC Stats has an interesting six page review regarding Microsoft Windows Vista’s ReadyBoost feature. ReadyBoost is supposed to allow the user to plug in a fast USB stick into their system to speed up work the OS needs to do and effectively improve the computer’s performance by storing non-essential information on the drive. The review concludes that this is not the case with current USB keys on the market. Although ReadyBoost does improve overall performance on the system, it is not enough to make a significant difference or to raise some eyebrows. It seems that on older computers with little memory (512MB), ReadyBoost can help out much more than on newer systems - probably the systems Vista would be installed on anyways. Surprisingly enough, however, ReadyBoost did make a slight mark even on video game performance and system startup time.

Click for more on Windows Vista & ReadyBoost: Does it Make a Difference? »

“With the discovery last week of the connection between Vista’s poor networking performance and audio activities, word quickly spread around the Net. No doubt this got Microsoft’s attention, and they have responded to the issue.

Click for more on Microsoft responds to Vista network performance issue »