Windows Vista has more holes than a colander and now curious PC owners can check out a list of 300 hot fixes and security patches available in the forthcoming service pack. Even though Vista’s problems are still ongoing, Microsoft is also leaking details about its next OS.
Digital Journal Op-Ed — Microsoft released Windows Vista this year to a mix of enthusiasm and criticism, and now the new operating system is under the microscope once again. This week, Microsoft announced a list of more than 300 fixes and patches for its latest OS, ranging from data protection patches to video performance updates.
The details for this upcoming service pack can be found on Microsoft’s website in a 47-page downloadable document. Now that is a quick read.
Among the updates SP1 will address: a glitch that sparks an error message when large files are copied from one Vista-based computer to another; an update to improve the OS’s speed when it’s operating on a computer linked to a virtual private network; and a patch to boost Internet Explorer’s streaming video capabilities.
Some of the included updates were available as individual releases this year, but this is the first time Microsoft has collected all the Vista fixes in one area, and they have been issued as a Release Candidate for IT professionals. Microsoft is expected to include even more fixes and patches before it releases the final SP1 to the general public in the first quarter of 2008.
This could be a sign of how vulnerable Vista has been since its release. Also, a list like this points to the many glitches Vista contains even as it’s being pre-installed on computers around the world.
Earlier this week, Microsoft also released Service Pack 1 for its latest Microsoft Office product. The pack seeks to improve performance and reduce crashes. Microsoft Office product manager Reed Shaffner said in a statement:
SP1 addresses problems customers have experienced in Outlook 2007 when opening large mail files. We also did a lot of work to improve the reliability of the 2007 Office system’s server components with SP1.
Microsoft obviously has problems with Vista that need to be addressed. It’s curious, to say the least, why the company is plugging an upcoming OS when the current one requires such revamping? A Microsoft blogger revealed recently that Vista’s successor will include touch-screen features. Hilton Locke, a Windows test engineer, wrote:
If you are impressed by the “touch features” in the iPhone, you’ll be blown away by what’s coming in Windows 7.
No doubt they sound like interesting features, and if you’ve seen Microsoft’s Surface computer, the potential features are exciting.
However, it’s too early for Microsoft to make grandiose claims about its next OS. Instead of heaping praise on what’s to come, shouldn’t the software giant focus on Vista’s issues? Indeed, this monster patch is the band-aid the industry has been waiting for, but who is to say there aren’t more festering wounds underneath its beau visage?
The upcoming service pack is Microsoft’s attempt to save face after Vista’s lackluster reception, but it will be interesting to see if those 300-plus fixes will be enough to quell the criticism.
If it doesn’t, Microsoft’s Windows execs should make a New Year’s resolution to only release software without any holes.
Then again, what are the stats for people not keeping their New Year’s resolutions?
