Windows 7: Microsoft details Windows 7 SP1 plans, public beta end of July

Microsoft revealed its plans for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 today at its annual Tech-Ed conference. Bob Muglia, President of Microsoft's server and tools business took to the stage to kick start Tech-Ed 2010 in New Orleans. Muglia detailed plans for Windows 7 SP1 which will include the usual hotfix patches and new virtualization tools in SP1 will help Windows Server 2008 R2 users prepare for cloud computing. SP1 will include remote FX which provides rich 3-D graphical experience for remote users. The service pack also will include a series of incremental updates, previously released on Windows Update for both Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1.

I just can't wait for it should they add graphical acceleration support for VPC so I can do more tests with my VM. I am not in the position to by any paid software to do that. :| I would prefer VPC instead.

Microsoft today said that it would ship a public beta of Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) in July, but did not set a release date during the month.

The company made the announcement from TechEd, the Microsoft IT and developer conference that kicked off Monday in New Orleans.

Microsoft acknowledged it was working on a service pack for its newest operating system in March, but at the time declined to discuss timeline for delivering a public preview.

Microsoft's timetable for Windows 7 SP1 is ahead of Vista's schedule by approximately two months. In 2007, Microsoft seeded an invite-only group of testers with an early build of Vista SP1 in September, but didn't offer a build to the general public until December, 11 months after that operating system's release to retail. Windows 7 SP1 is slated to appear nine months after the debut of that OS.

Today, Microsoft repeated what it said in March, that Windows 7 SP1 will not include any new features. "SP1 will not contain any new features that are specific to Windows 7 itself," said Gavriella Schuster, senior director of the Windows commercial product management group, in a post to a Microsoft company blog on Monday. "For Windows 7, SP1 will simply be the combination of updates already available through Windows Update and additional hotfixes based on feedback by our customers and partners."

The most notable addition to SP1 will be an updated Remote Desktop client designed to work with RemoteFX, the new remote-access platform set to debut in SP1 for Windows Server 2008 R2, which will also reach public beta next month.

Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 will also include a feature dubbed "Dynamic Memory," which lets IT staff adjust guest virtual machines' memory on the fly