Windows Vista SP1 goes RTM

This is the day that Windows Vista users (and those waiting to make the leap to Vista) have been waiting for. Windows Vista Service Pack 1 has been released to manufacturing.

Here's the Microsoft announcement.

OK, so what does this mean? Well, first off, you won't be able to get your hands on it just yet. Going RTM means that Microsoft's OEM partners will be getting their hands on the code so that they can start pumping out PCs with SP1 loaded onto them. The process of making retail copies of Vista with SP1 included also begins.

Here's a quote by a Microsoft spokesperson:

"Microsoft has integrated with its partners to significantly improve the Windows Vista experience. Customers will especially see enhanced value in terms of security, performance, reliability and application compatibility."

According to Microsoft beta testing "identified an issue with a small set of device drivers" which did not "follow our guidelines for driver installation" so this means that these issues still need to be resolved and that means that Microsoft is going to "continue our work of identifying as many of these devices as possible" over the next month running up to the public release.

Here's the time line:

• SP1 will be released in mid-March in the following languages: English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese
• In mid-April will be sent to users who have chosen to have updates downloaded automatically (however, users known to have the driver issue mentioned above won't get the update until that issue is fixed)
• Remaining languages will RTM in April

As soon as I get my hands on the SP1 RTM code, I'll pass on my findings.

[UPDATE - No word on whether beta testers will get their hands on a copy through the Microsoft Connect site. Also, no word how soon these updates will appear on TechNet/MSDN ...]