what is a release candidate?

[Neerav]

just came to know vista has sp1 rc1 out wich the MS website says is not a
required update. can anyone tell me what does rc1 mean and what will the
final version be called?

 

[Augustus]

just came to know vista has sp1 rc1 out wich the MS website says is not a
required update. can anyone tell me what does rc1 mean and what will the
final version be called?

It'll be called Vista SP1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Release_candidate

 

[the wharf rat]

A release candidate is something that looks like it actually
works but QA isn't ready to commit themselves yet.

 

[Andre Da Costa[ActiveWin]]

Release Candidate basically means the software has basically reached a stage
in development that is possibly good enough for commercial release. But it
is continually tested for bugs and if show stoppers are found, then it was
just a candidate and it moves to a next stage in development RC2 until the
bug count reaches a level the software developers are satisfied with they
then Release to Manufacturering. (RTM)

 

[Michael Chare]

Will they issue fixes to RC1 (as needed) to make it into RTM? - or will RC1
have to be backed out to install the RTM version, as you would have to do
with SP1 beta.

 

[Mike Hall - MVP]

Will they issue fixes to RC1 (as needed) to make it into RTM? - or will
RC1 have to be backed out to install the RTM version, as you would have
to do with SP1 beta.

There is no 'upgrade' from beta or RC to RTM. RC1 or maybe even RC2 will
have to be uninstalled first. Just one of the reasons why beta software
should never be run on a production machine.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

just came to know vista has sp1 rc1 out wich the MS website says is not a
required update. can anyone tell me what does rc1 mean

Release Candidate 1. It's a test version. It's a candidate for
release, and if no bad problems are found with it *might* be nearly
identical to the actual release.

But there are no guarantees. It's still a test version, and I do not
recommend that anyone run it on their computer, unless it wouldn't
bother him to lose everything there. That's always possible with a
test version.

and what will the
final version be called?

Windows Vista Service Pack 1.