Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is targeted to be released in the first quarter of 2008.  Since the Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 engineering efforts are aligned they are also targeting the first quarter of 2008 for their release date.

Here is an excerpt talking about what changes SP1 includes:

In addition to updates we’ve previously released, SP1 will contain changes focused on addressing specific reliability and performance issues we’ve identified via customer feedback, supporting new types of hardware, and adding support for several emerging standards.  SP1 also makes additional improvements to the IT administration experience.  We didn’t design SP1 as a vehicle for releasing new features; however, some existing components do gain enhanced functionality in SP1.

See Also:

• Announcing Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Beta - Windows Vista Team Blog
• Windows Server 2008 Timing Update - Windows Server Division Weblog
• Windows Vista SP1 white paper

Steve Clayton: Geek In Disguise recently posted some cool demos that were shown at the WorldWide Partner Conference this year.  When I watched the Windows Automotive demo all I could say is I sure wish my car could do that.

Here is a list of the demos as well as links to their websites for your convenience:

• Microsoft Surface [demo]
• Live Labs Photosynth (and SeaDragon) [demo]
• Windows Live for Windows Mobile [demo]
• Microsoft RoundTable [demo]
• Microsoft Dynamics Live CRM [demo]
• Microsoft Silverlight [demo]
• Windows Server 2008 [demo]
• Windows Automotive [demo]