For as long as I have been using all the different versions of Windows I have been first in line to try any beta releases of their operating systems and just as quick to elbow my way through the line for release candidates of any service packs that they release.
Sometime this riding the razor approach has been fairly safe with very few times where I got bit on the ass in my rush to be among the first on the bleeding edge to subject myself to the possible torture that comes from using beta’s and release candidates. Now if it were a case where I was still running XP I wouldn’t hesitate a minute to grab any available version of XP SP3 and install it without a second thought.
With Vista however I am breaking this self-made rule and putting my gauze bandages back in the closet because this is one Windows OS version where I won’t be touching anything less that the final build of SP1. Unlike some of the more vocal commenters in previous posts about Vista problems I have some serious doubts about the OS.
While release candidates of Service Packs have proven to be fairly stable in the past I don’t have the same feeling about SP1 for Vista. Much of the advance gossip about SP1 isn’t saying anything about performance improvement but more around stability and security; along with a totally revamped WGA system. I have yet to hear anything about things like the copy/move problem being addressed plus other problems being voiced around the web.
So while the word is that a Release Candidate of Vista’s first service pack will be hitting the download links in the next few days this is one former early adopter of all things Service Packs; with the razor blade wounds to provide, that wouldn’t be stepping up to download anything stamped RC1 or any other number.
No .. this time I’m going to be waiting for the gold stamp to be applied along with readying my XP install discs just incase the so-called fixes do nothing more than change a version number or two.
Listening to: Fatboy Slim - Better Living Through Chemistry - The Sound of Milwaukee
Conversation Tags: Microsoft, Windows, Vista, Service Packs


