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Microsoft Corporation on Monday released Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista to manufacturing for the first set of languages - English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese.

Vista SP 1 is the first major package of updates and fixes for Windows Vista operating system.

However, current Windows Vista users will have to wait till mid-March to download SP 1. Microsoft will begin delivering Windows Vista SP1 to Windows Vista customers who have chosen to have updates downloaded automatically by mid-April.

Mike Nash from the Windows Product Management group at Microsoft wrote in a blog that the Vista SP1 improves performance, reliability and compatibility.

“Service Pack 1 is a very important milestone because it addresses many of the key issues that our customers have identified with Windows Vista over the last year both, directly and through programs like the Customer Experience Improvement Program,” the blog said.

With Vista SP 1, systems run faster and more reliably than they did with the "Gold" release of Windows Vista. SP1 also includes changes focused on improving the performance of Windows Vista in areas that impact the customer experience the most.

“For instance, with SP1, copying or moving files around your PC, your home network or your corporate network should now be much faster -- up to 50 per cent faster in some scenarios (according to our internal tests). In addition, on many kinds of hardware, resuming a Windows Vista-based PC from sleep is faster on Service Pack 1,” Nash said.

Microsoft’s OEM partners will get SP1 to start producing new PCs running Windows Vista with SP1 pre-installed.

“We will also start the manufacturing process for retail product of Windows Vista with SP1. Both will be available in stores for new Windows Vista customers in the coming months,” he added.

Microsoft also started the process to manufacture DVDs for its enterprise customers who get its software via its Volume Licensing program. The Windows Vista operating system was launched in 2007.

Microsoft also announced the Released to Manufacturing (RTM) of Windows Server 2008 code-named ‘Longhorn’, will be available for purchase to new customers on March 1.

Microsoft Corp. released on Tuesday a suite of free Web services that connect to its Windows operating system, delivering a major element of its strategy to maintain the dominance of its software while extending its reach on the Internet.

The package of "Windows Live" services, which was first released in a test version in September, makes available in a single download updated versions of e-mail, instant messaging, photo gallery, blogging and event planning applications.

As part of the new software suite, users can access their free Web e-mail through a downloaded desktop application -- similar to Office Outlook used by many businesses -- instead of using a Internet browser to check, reply or write e-mails.

Similarly, Windows PC users with a single click can either save photos to the computer's hard drive or publish and store the pictures on the Web using Windows Live Photo Gallery.

Up against competitors looking to replace traditional Microsoft software that runs on a computer's hard drive with software run over the Internet as a service, the company faces a dilemma that strikes at the core of its business.

Does it dive headfirst into Web services at the expense of its dominant Windows and Office franchises? Or does it ignore the shift to Web services and risk outdating its bread-and-butter businesses?

Microsoft's solution is to straddle the line between the two with a strategy called "software plus services." The idea is to develop new Web services that complement, but not replace, its traditional software.

"Microsoft can't take a brand new approach with services on the Internet because it has to protect Windows and Office," said Morningstar analyst Toan Tran.

Web and desktop meet

To understand the company's strategy, look no further than the executive pushing its Windows Live agenda.

Chris Jones, a Microsoft corporate vice president, is well versed in both the Web and desktop worlds. Jones worked on developing new versions of its Windows operating system after guiding Microsoft's early Internet Explorer initiatives.

Now he's responsible for leading a team of Web developers who will try to weave the company's software that runs for free on the Internet like its free Hotmail e-mail, rebranded as Windows Live, together with license-generating desktop software like Windows.

Those links must also extend to cell phones, so users can access services from mobile devices.

"Most people connect to the Internet using a Windows PC, most people use Internet Explorer, many people use Office. We have lots of Hotmail users and lots of (instant) messenger users," Jones said in an embargoed interview this week.

"If we just stitch it together and remove the seams, what an opportunity we have."

By fostering loyalty to its Web services, Microsoft can create a valuable audience to sell to advertisers. Microsoft and its Web rivals like Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. are all jockeying to capitalize on the surge of advertising money flowing to the Web.

Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft sees the market for online advertising doubling in size to $80 billion in two or three years from its current $40 billion.

Microsoft plans a marketing campaign that will highlight the potential benefits of downloading its new Web services suite to work with its new Windows Vista operating system. The new services are available at Windows Live.

Morningstar's Tran said the company has been hindered by a fragmented message to consumers about its Web services.

In the Web business, Microsoft has two umbrella brands in MSN and Windows Live, while individual applications sometimes share branding like Hotmail and Windows Live Mail.

"It's important to get a cohesive message to consumers," said Tran.

Enterprises are familiar with issues associated with working in heterogeneous environments. Late last year, on November 2nd, 2006, Microsoft and Novell signed a landmark agreement focused on bridging the worlds of proprietary and open source technology with a focus on to improving interoperability for mixed IT environments.

The Novell and Microsoft bridge is based on a foundation to expand innovation and collaboration through a mutual respect for intellectual property. As a result, both organizations will be collaborating on new technology over the coming year to help improve Windows and Linux interoperability in four areas: virtualization, systems management, directory integration and identity, and office documents formats. This technology will help customers reduce costs in their data centers, gain new levels of flexibility, and streamline operations, all with complete IP peace of mind.

Frost & Sullivan recently concluded a series of closed door roundtable discussions titled 'Re-exploring Interoperability' between Novell and Microsoft and a group of very select CTOs and CIOs. These roundtable sessions focused on addressing the key interoperability issues that users would have to deal with in mixed environments and key pain points customers would like vendors to address for greater interoperability.

This was a five-city series, which was held in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad. The roundtable, which was moderated by Dr. Mohan, Director (Consulting), ICT practice, Frost & Sullivan, South Asia and Middle East, comprised Tom Cochran, IP&L Customer Advocacy, Microsoft; Richard Fanous, Microsoft Alliance Executive and Sandeep Menon, Director, Linux Business, Novell West Asia.

According to Dr. Mohan, "our objective behind organizing a series of Executive Roundtables is to discuss the benefits and challenges associated with Interoperability in a setting that allows for candid discussion about the same in light of Microsoft's and Novell's partnership".

Cochran says he is aware that to be successful, Microsoft's role must be to build a bridge to the open-source community. "Our relationship with Novell is important for several reasons. Through our TCA (Technical Collaboration Agreement) we are delivering solutions that allow you to deploy Microsoft/Novell solutions that work better together in the areas of virtualization, systems management, directory federation and document compatibility." He continued by stating "it's also important to note that Microsoft and Novell have created a new model for sharing valuable intellectual property that respects the diversity of one another's business models and it's this respect that allows our relationship to exist." Customers not only benefit from the tangible results of the TCA, but also from an assurance, secured through a legal covenant, that they are not subject to patent assertion by either company.

Mr. Sandeep Menon, Director, Linux Business, Novell West Asia, opines, "I believe Novell has made a brave move in acknowledging that mixed environments are a reality. Customers will very often need to use both Windows, as well as Linux for specific deployments. And it is incumbent on us to ensure that customers do not suffer through interoperability issues. In that sense, this move to ensure interoperability clearly drives customer benefit. And the best proof point today is the work that has been done in allowing the two operating systems to co-exist efficiently, in virtualized environments, even on a single system."

According to Vikram Dhanda, Head IT, India and Sri Lanka, Virtusa (India) Pvt Ltd., who attended the Hyderabad roundtable series, "Interoperability has been a tough hurdle to overcome. The Microsoft and Novell alliance provides a middle of the road option to address disparate homogeneity."

Commenting on the alliance Pankaj Sindhu, Director, IT, Fulford (India) Limited stated, "I am happy to see this alliance as an enterprise user. This alliance will give us a bigger scale to operate and bring down our total cost of ownership."

Concluding the roundtable discussions, Dr. Mohan, Director (Consulting), ICT Practice from Frost & Sullivan said, "It is a significant development. Coming together of world's largest OS player (Microsoft) and the more popular Linux (Novell) signals a new chapter in how vendors work together to address interoperability between proprietary and open-source products. It has the potential to change how the IT landscape will emerge over the years to come."

Microsoft’s Windows mobile (WM), has achieved sales of 1, 00,000 units in over 15 months of its launch in India. This performance has been a result of WMs value proposition that allows consumers to remain connected while on the move and work and play anytime, anywhere. Windows Mobile devices provide an integration of enterprise as well as consumer features at affordable prices and are therefore being widely embraced within all segments.

Over the last year, WM has had a growing partnership with leading Smartphone device manufacturers like HTC, HP (iPAQ), Imate, O2 and Motorola and has significantly increased its portfolio of form factors. Today, WM offers India’s widest portfolio of form factors with close to 35 models (including 20+ Touchscreen phones) with prices starting from Rs. 11,990 upwards. "The one lakh mark is a significant achievement for any player in the messaging space, but that we have done so in record time underlines the powerful value proposition that Windows Mobile enabled devices offer. We are greatly enthused by the response we have received, and, having crossed this important milestone, we aim to touch the two lakh figure by end of FY08”, said Sumeet Gugnani - Director, Mobile Communications Business, Microsoft India.

Windows Mobile, which had achieved a record market share of 30.5 % in Q1 2007 (according to IDC quarterly tracker) maintained its shipment level this quarter as well shipping more than 20,000 units of WM based phones, thus underlining its leadership position in the messaging segment. According to IDC Worldwide Converged Mobile Device 2006-2011 Forecast and Analysis, May 2007, Windows Mobile is expected to see a CAGR of 57.0%, the highest rate of growth among the top 5 platforms through 2011.

"Mobility is a key focus area for Microsoft, both in India and globally, and we have over 1300 gold certified partners working just in this area, developing applications for the Windows Mobile platform. We believe in empowering our consumers with powerful software which can enable them to remain connected anytime, anywhere and Windows Mobile is one such significant innovation which makes this possible." added Mr. Gugnani.

Microsoft has recently launched the next iteration of Windows Mobile platform, Windows Mobile 6 which is currently available on models like - HTC Touch, HTC S710, HP iPAQ 512, and O2 Zinc.

Besides a host of applications, all Microsoft Windows Mobile platform enabled smartphones offer a four pronged value proposition to smartphone users : Office on the move (consumers can have access to their familiar MS office - Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Internet Explorer ), Push Mail Messaging (E-mail and other information - Contacts, Tasks, Calendar - is pushed and synchronized directly between the Microsoft Exchange 2003 (SP2) and Exchange server 2007 providing end-users with up-to-date information , Line-of-business-applications (The .Net framework provides a platform which supports line-of-business applications like Sales force enablement, mobile CRM etc ), and Multimedia functionality (camera, MP3, video recording). It also offers the security features most requested by enterprise customers such as data protection, password protection; remote and local wipe which allows them to have control of their vital information