Windows 7 SP2

Mr-White

Mr-White

Mr-White

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With all the commotion of the Window 8 Developers review earlier this month people are already forgetting about Windows 7.

Microsoft believes that it should release a new version of Windows every 2to 3 years, while service packs should be released ever 12 to 18 months. Windows 7 SP 1 was made available 16 months after the launch of the operating system, so in theory SP 2 should be released between February and July next year. Furthermore, in the case of Windows Vista, Microsoft made sure Service Pack 2 was released five months before the next iteration of the Windows operating system. Microsoft has previously said Windows 7 will be released sometime during 2012, but has remained silent on exactly when. However, if a new version of Windows is released every three years then we should see Windows 8 hitting the shelves by October 2012. This could mean Windows 7 Service Pack 2 will be released in May 2012.

So what will it contain, counting up the updates that have already come through, Windows 7 SP2 will include well over 100 security and performance improvements (rumours earlier this year said around 130 for 32-bit systems and 170 for 64-bit, but the exact numbers will depend on how many more fixes are released before SP2 goes into testing, and the update is likely to patch Windows Server 2008 R2 as well as Windows 7).

However, some are speculating that SP2 will supplement support for USB 3.0 and Intel’s LightPeak dual-channel record that was strictly announced in Feb this year.

Normally service packs are something worth looking forward to but Windows 7 SP1 was just updates and hotfixes. Tbh there's not much incentive for Microsoft to release a fully loaded service pack full of fancy gizmos when 6 months later they'll be wanting to wean people off of it onto Windows 8.

MW
 
Other than the Metro UI and the more tablet centric components I doubt Windows 8 will be much different to Win 7, for us desktop users.

It wont be another Vista vs Win 7 situtation.
 
Mr-White said:
Windows 7 SP1 was just updates and hotfixes.
Click to expand...

Isn't that pretty normal for a service pack?

Whenever MS releases a service pack for Windows, everybody expects something as transformational as XP SP2. But having that many new features in an SP was the exception rather than the rule. Most SPs are more about update rollups than new features!
 
yup the service pack just means they are printing new disks with the updates already on.
 
Windows xp needed a big update with SP2 as xp lasted twice as long as it should have.

opethdisciple said:
Other than the Metro UI and the more tablet centric components I doubt Windows 8 will be much different to Win 7, for us desktop users.
Click to expand...

Have you tried the Windows 8 Developers Review ?

MW
 
I've installed Win8 but at the moment I'm at a loss what to do with it, i.e. how to do things differently from Win7 - saying that I've not had much of a play with it maybe just need apoke in the right direction.
 
USB 3 and LightPeak are barely considered as "new features". They're just a couple device drivers...

It makes sense to support them otherwise it restricts Microsoft's partners in the consumer electronics industry.
 
Mr-White said:
Windows xp needed a big update with SP2 as xp lasted twice as long as it should have.



Have you tried the Windows 8 Developers Review ?

MW
Click to expand...

I admit I have not actually looked at the developer preview.

My opinion is based on what I have seen and read.

Is there a bigger difference than just the UI?
 
A lot of what has changed is under the hood. Apart from Metro I doubt a lot will be much different. It certainly doesn't feel any different when in Desktop mode. Having said that, we are still at least a year away from release, so anything could change in that time.
 
Azuse05 said:
Iirc the first build of W7 looked exactly like vista, the ui only changed in subsequent releases.
Click to expand...

That's pretty much how it's always been, at least since the XP beta.

XP looked like 2000 with a few minor changes. Vista looked like XP in classic mode. Windows 7 looked identical to Vista in classic mode except for the changed menu layouts.

They only seem to tack the UI on in the last few beta releases right before their first RC build.
 
I think that Win7 is so perfect especially when compared to Vista, that so many people have moved to it.

XP still has a massive user base ... Windows 7 has a hugely massive user base of course, and I feel that those on XP and Vista are the ones that will benefit from Windows 8

Win7 users probably wont benefit all that much at all.

Of course the end result will probably be nothing like the pre-releases, so it could be that anything goes
 
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