A few days after announcing that Windows XP SP2 would no longer be supported, Microsoft on Monday announced the availability of a beta version of its Service Pack 1 update to Windows 7.
Intended for business computing professionals, the single update package simultaneously addresses Windows Server 2008 R2, which uses the same core code base as Windows 7. Microsoft made the announcement on the first day of its Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) in Washington D.C.
Microsoft had discussed the coming service pack back in March at the company’s Desktop Virtualization Hour event, but no release date was divulged at that time. Then just last month at Tech Ed 2010 Bob Muglia, Microsoft’s president of Server and Tools Division, announced that the public beta of the service pack would appear in July, without getting more specific.
According to Microsoft’s TechNet site targeting IT professionals, “This early release of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Beta is not available for home users. The SP1 Beta does not provide new end-user features, and installation is not supported by Microsoft.” In fact, as has mostly been the case with recent Windows service packs, this first Windows 7 update is made up of previous fixes already delivered through Windows Update.
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