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Ah, Vista. It has forced many to return to the waiting arms of Windows XP, while sending others fleeing to the other camp. There are those who still remain in a holding pattern, waiting for Vista SP1 to be rolled out before plunking down for a new PC. If you're among this last group, Velocity Micro has a computer to sell you. It says it is the first system builder to begin selling systems preloaded with Vista SP1. A quick scan of its competitors' sites today--including those of Dell and HP--revealed nothing to contradict Velocity's claim. It's only a matter of time until every vendor has updated its lines with the latest version of Vista--Microsoft has previously stated that volume license customers would have the code by tomorrow--but we have to give Velocity credit for its hustle. At the very least, it could save you from a very looooooong download.

Velocity says it will begin shipping systems with SP1 on February 18. Celebrate Presidents' Day with a service pack!

It's called the Vista Service Pack 1 Release Candidate Refresh. It's supposed to be a bug-fixin', feature-enhancin' behemoth that makes Windows Vista leaner, meaner, taller, and sexier.

It'll do your dishes and take out your garbage, too.

Microsoft released this "Release Candidate Refresh" late last week--just one month after the initial release candidate made its debut. The company asserted that it wants additional information from testers, which indicates that even more bugs need to be fixed. But what does RC Refresh really do? Is it really that large? Most importantly, do you need it?

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If you've been waiting for Windows Vista SP1 to come out before you make the leap to the new operating system, don't, says Microsoft.

Microsoft's Pete McKiernan, a senior product manager for Windows, told CNET News.com that one of the purposes of a service pack is to include all the patches that have been released in one package. Windows Vista SP1 will have that, but little else for the home user.

Unlike the buzz surrounding Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista SP1 won't include a new version of Internet Explorer, and won't include any new features that are considered must haves. Most of the enhancements within Windows Vista SP1 are under the hood and for enterprise customers. In short, Windows Vista SP1 lacks "wow."

Currently, Microsoft is beta-testing the Windows Vista Service Pack 1 on about 12,000 machines worldwide. As the beta continues, more users will be invited, but the numbers will not match the estimated 5 million that tried the operating system prior to RTM (release to manufacturing) last summer. CNET obtained an official copy of the Windows Vista SP1 beta for review.

What surprised us is that Microsoft is really downplaying this service pack. Why? Because, unlike Windows XP, Windows Vista includes automatic updates, so for most users the Windows Vista SP1 release won't be dramatic. At CNET, we found it took about two hours to install SP1 on a newly installed Windows Vista machine, in part because we had to bring the operating system up to date with various patches and updates before we could install the upgrade. See our slide show for more on the installation process.

What is included in the "upgrade"? McKiernan called out two features expected to be within Windows Vista SP1, neither is likely to excite consumers already on the fence about Windows Vista. One is an improvement to the BitLocker drive encryption system, available only in the Enterprise and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista. Under SP1, BitLocker will be able to encrypt multiple drive volumes; all drive volumes, that is, except for USB drives.

A second feature touted by Microsoft is support for emerging hardware and standards. Windows Vista SP1 will support Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI), Intel standard for the interface between software, the operating system and firmware, and Extended File Allocation Table (exFAT), a new Microsoft file system that may eliminate the need for defragmentation in the future.

McKiernan categorized other expected changes within Windows Vista SP1 as:

Security enhancements: There is nothing here that the desktop consumer will notice. Under the hood, Microsoft will provide more opportunities for third-party security vendors to communicate their product status with the Windows Security Center. In x64-bit editions, third-party security vendors can work with the kernel patch protection, a source of controversy last summer. Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) files will be signed. The Windows Pseudo-Random Number Generator will have Elliptical Curve Cryptography (ECC) added. And BitLocker will add multifactor authentication combining Trusted Platform Module (TPM) with a Startup key stored on a USB device, meaning that the startup key must match the hardware you are trying to use.

Reliability enhancements: Microsoft has been analyzing crashes of Windows Vista reported by users and will be making improvements. In particular, more compatibility with newer graphics cards and printers; greater reliability with extended displays on a laptop, various networking scenarios, in systems that were upgraded from Windows XP, and when Windows Vista enters sleep or resumes from sleep.

Performance enhancements: Microsoft says SP1 will offer performance boosts including the speed to copy and extract files, time to become active from Hibernate and Resume, CPU utilization within Internet Explorer 7 and CPU utilization in laptops, thereby reducing battery drain, and shortening the time when browsing network shares.

None of these is a compelling reason to wait for Windows Vista SP1. Users who have automatic updates turned on will have a significantly shorter time when upgrading to Windows Vista SP1 than users who don't have it turned on or are planning to upgrade or purchase Windows Vista when SP1 becomes available. That appears to be Microsoft's message with this release: The more you use Windows Vista, the better it gets. So why not get started today?

In short, judging by what we've seen, don't expect SP1 to be the impetus to get you or your corporation to upgrade to Windows Vista.

Microsoft on Monday said it has released a beta version of the first service pack of Windows Vista to about 12,000 testers.

Microsoft had said back in August that it expected to start private testing of the service pack within a few weeks. The update is largely a collection of bug fixes and performance and compatibility improvements, but includes some minor new features such as support for the ability to encrypt multiple hard drive partitions using Vista's BitLocker feature.

In another expected move, Microsoft said that it has completed its first near-final "release candidate" version of Windows Server 2008. The "RC0" version is slated to be available for download from Microsoft's Web site within the next 24 hours.

Originally slated to be released this year, Microsoft has delayed the release of Windows Server 2008 until next year.

Microsoft has quietly released two hot fixes on its Web site for Windows Vista. It has not, however, pushed these out to Windows Vista users via the Windows Update process. Nor would Microsoft comment on rumors the two are related to a yet-to-be-announced Windows Vista SP1 release.

One hot fix is considered a performance update. Designated KB938979 this update addresses a variety of media and photo-related issues, including the inability to edit photos in the raw file format from Canon EOS 1D and Canon EOS 1DS cameras.

The other hot fix is also media related, though KB938194 also addresses problems experienced by the print spooler and when the Windows Vista machine goes to sleep with an active Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) connection.

In an e-mail to CNET, a Microsoft representative said "the two updates (KB938194 and KB938979) will be available on Microsoft's download center today and broadly available via Windows Update in the near future." Many have interpreted "the near future" to mean the next Patch Tuesday, which is scheduled for August 14.

As for Windows Vista SP1, Microsoft wouldn't comment directly except to say "since Windows Vista launched, we have continued working with partners to improve overall device coverage and application compatibility."

It's been an incredibly busy evening in Microsoft-land, with news Tuesday of the company's agreement to change desktop search in Vista and its flip-flop on virtualization licensing changes.

But it's worth pointing out that, as part of its court filing on the desktop search changes, Microsoft says it will have a beta version of Vista Service Pack 1 before the end of the year. It's especially noteworthy given how little Microsoft has said on the matter until now.

There's no word in the filing on when the final version of SP1 will arrive, so I'm guessing that means 2008.