Microsoft Ships Windows Server 2003 SP1 Release Candidate
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Microsoft on Monday debuted an almost-finished version of the first service pack for its Windows Server 2003 software, and like October&#39;s SP2 for the desktop Windows XP OS, stressed security in the update.
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft's first server OS aimed at helping Windows users organize and share files on a home network is nearly ready for prime time. The companyÂ will releaseÂ Windows Home Server Release Candidate 1 (RC1) to early adopters this week in anticipation of the product's final release later this year. There are two ways for users to get the software. Developers can sign up for the Windows Home Server Code2Fame Challenge, a contest Microsoft has set up to encourage them to build new applications and add-on technology to the OS. Developers are eligible to win up to $50,000 worth of cash and prizes, according to Microsoft. For users who just want to experiment with the new OS, they can get RC1 by participating in a survey , after which they will be permitted to download the software. Microsoft unveiled Windows Home Server, formerly known by the code name Quattro, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. The software is aimed specifically at letting home Windows PC users share and store multimedia and other files, as well as install security to protect files on a home network. Initially Windows Home Server will be distributed through hardware vendors only, though Microsoft is mulling selling it out of the box as well. Hewlett-Packard Co. was the first hardware vendor to sign on to distribute the OS on its MediaSmart Servers, which will be available before the end of the year. The vendor was later joined by U.S. computer maker Gateway Inc., French external storage maker LaCie Group SA and German consumer electronics company Medion AG, which also will build hardware for Windows Home Server. Microsoft also will offer a version of the OS for custom system builders. Windows users said they are curious about the forthcoming OS, but are in no hurry to rush out and purchase a new home server unless it would solve a specific need they have. Windows XP user Matt Villano said he is interested in setting up a home network once he completes an upcoming move to a new residence in the San Francisco Bay area, and is considering Windows Home Server to help him do that. Villano, who works from home, said there are limitations to his current IT workflow, ones setting up a network would solve. "Right now when I print, I have to shut down, undock from my station, dock at [my wife's] and start up again," he said. "A home network would eliminate that." Villano said that Windows Home Server is only one option he is mulling to set up his network, but likes the idea of using the product to manage multimedia files as well as perform everyday tasks. However, he said he would need to read about and evaluate Windows Home Server carefully before making any final purchasing decisions.
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Microsoft Corp. plans a Dec. 1 release for the latest version of its server software that aims to give companies more secure instant messaging and other corporate communications tools.
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Microsoft has started recruiting testers for the first beta of Windows Server 2003 R2, an update to Windows Server that the vendor plans to ship in October next year.
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The party is on for February 27th, as Microsoft confirms its star attraction, Windows Server 2008, will be released on time. Admins everywhere may now be breathing a sigh of relief.
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One of Microsoft's most ambitious new projects is taking off more rapidly than many expected, perhaps due to popular demand. Windows Home Server -- one of the stars of WinHEC last month and a surprise standout at TechEd last week -- has officially moved to Release Candidate 1 status.
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Microsoft announced today that it will soon release -- to a limited number of testers -- a beta version of Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista. Here's what we know so far.
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Microsoft is poised to deliver a new interim build of its Windows Server 2003 SP1 (Service Pack 1) to testers. Windows Server 2003 SP1 is the server complement to the recently released Windows XP SP2 (Service
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Velocity Micro is first system builder to offer Vista SP1
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With an absence of fanfare, but otherwise on schedule, Microsoft opened up its download page for Service Pack 2 of Windows Server 2003, both 32-bit and 64-bit editions. Perhaps most importantly, enterprises won't have to wait until Longhorn to be able to utilize Windows Deployment Services, the company's new image-based system for pre-composed, remote Windows installations.
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MICROSOFT Corp announced the broad availability of its Windows Storage Server 2003 (WSS2003) solution for South Asia markets, in conjunction with the TechEd 2004 developer conference here yesterday.
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Despite denials from members of its own server development team on blogs last week, Microsoft announced today that it is indeed making Release Candidate 0 of Windows Server 2008 available for download tomorrow, if not sooner, as a community technology preview.
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Microsoft gives us an update on Windows Home Server
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Early version of first significant Vista update released to testers. Also, near-final "release candidate" version of Windows Server 2008 to be available within 24 hours.
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft distributed a new build of Windows Vista's first service pack last week to its invite-only list of testers, according to bloggers armed with copies. But as is the norm, the version also leaked to BitTorrent networks. The 6.0.6001.16633 (longhorn.070803-1655) build weighs in at a relatively svelte 684MB, bloggers and message forum users claimed. The first Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) beta, which leaked earlier this month to BitTorrent peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, was significantly larger -- more than 3GB -- and came as an .iso file that was, in effect, Vista with SP1 already added. Last week's build, an .exe file, updates existing Vista installations. Vista updates -- such as security patches and other hotfixes -- are normally packaged as .msu files, however, perhaps indicating that 6.0.6001.16633 is not a direct step toward a public release of SP1. "Surprisingly, the update file is in the .exe format," said WinBeta last Thursday. "Many (including myself) were expecting Microsoft to deliver the update for Vista SP1 in the new Vista/Server 2008-only .msu format used for current Hotfixes." Odd-Magne Kristoffersen, a Norwegian blogger who specializes in Microsoft's software, posted a series of screenshots Tuesday that he claimed show the newest build being installed. "The installation process involves no less than 3 restarts," said Kristoffersen. Like the earlier SP1 beta, it appears Microsoft has been unsuccessful in keeping build 6.0.6001.16633 testers in line; Computerworld easily found it on P2P networks. Microsoft has been mostly mum about Vista SP1; as recently as a month ago, the company quashed rumors that that the beta was just around the corner. Its official line has been that it will issue SP1 beta "sometime this year." Many corporations, on the other hand, have taken the advice handed out by analysts, who recommended that companies delay deployment until SP1 is available.
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Microsoft will releaseWindows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1)&#160;on Monday, Feb. 4, according to reports Friday from Tech ARP.com, a Malaysian Web site.Vista SP1 will make RTM on Monday, said Tech ARP, with computer makers receiving media later in the week to install the updated operating system on new laptops and desktops. Bits will also be posted for download on Monday, the site claimed.&quot;Microsoft will be deploying SP1 in two &#39;waves,&#39;&quot; said Tech ARP. The first, on Monday, will include just five of the 36 available language packs -- English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish. The second wave, slated for one to two weeks later, will include all 36 language packs.Previously, Microsoft has said it would break SP1 into two stand-alone installers for businesses: a 450MB package that includes the five packs and a 550MB installer that offers three-dozen languages. Both are expected to be available for download from Microsoft&#39;s Web site.SP1 will also be offered to users through Windows Update, Microsoft Update and presumably Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). That update will weigh in at around 65MB. Microsoft explained the smaller size in a change log posted to its support site: &quot;Windows Update ... utilizes an efficient transfer mechanism to download only the actual bytes changed.&quot;Microsoft last issued an SP1 build on Jan. 24, when it updated the code offered to an invite-only group of approximately 15,000 testers. That build, along with one the week before, gave credence to accounts that SP1&#39;s pace had quickened, and that the service pack&#39;s release was imminent. At that time, a report out of Taiwan pegged SP1&#39;s RTM as Feb. 15.Microsoft repeated Saturday what it has said all along: Vista SP1 would go final in the first quarter of 2008, which ends March 31.&quot;We are targeting to deliver SP1 RTM in Q1 CY08,&quot; a spokeswoman said in an e-mail. Representatives of the Windows Server team, however, were not available for comment. The company has previously announced plans to launch Windows Server 2008 on Feb. 27 at an event in Los Angeles.Computerworld is an InfoWorld affiliate.
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Microsoft has strolled a little closer to delivering an update for Windows Server 2003 by showing a release candidate service pack for the OS.