Word is that Microsoft is set to drop Windows Vista SP 1 Beta sometimes in the week of July 16. If the company manages to release the final version in November, the Windows client team is sticking to the schedule the company outlined a year ago. November is also the release-to-manufacturing target for Windows Server 2008, some sources say.

Vista SP 1 is more about fixes than features, Microsoft emphasizes. Microsoft most likely will tweak the performance so that the amount of time it takes to copy files and shut down Vista machines is going to be less, among other improvements.

However, when the Microsoft officials were asked about Vista SP 1, they didn’t replay and don’t even admit they are working on a service pack.