MSDN subscribers: Vista SP1 to hit by the end of this week

Microsoft is continuing to accelerate its timetable for Windows Vista Service Pack (SP) 1 availability.

Microsoft officials said on Monday that subscribers to its Microsoft Developer Network subscription service would be able to get Vista SP 1 by the end of February -- a number of weeks earlier than the company originally promised.

On February 13, the MSDN subscriptions team updated SP1 availability information, noting that subscribers will most likely get the final Vista SP1 bits by the end of this week (which will end on February 16).

No word whether TechNet Plus subscribers will get the bits this week, too, but usually MSDN and TechNet subscribers seem to get bits simultaneously.

Update: Neowin is reporting that TechNet Plus subscribers also are being told they will have the RTM Vista SP1 bits this week.

Update No. 2 (on February 14): Looks like both MSDN and TechNet Plus subscribers can get the bits as of today. Information for TechNet Plus download of Vista SP1 is here.

Microsoft announced it had released to manufacturing (RTM'd) the Vista SP1 bits on February 4, but decided to hold back on making them available to users in order to resolve some driver incompatibilities discovered in the later phases of the testing process. (Thanks to Winbeta.org for the link to the MSDN Subscriptions blog.)